Melbourne & Tasmania

We had an interesting shore excursion on the “Puffing Billy” a narrow gauge railroad run by volunteers. The fires has recently come though and there were many areas blackened. We were lucky that the day we visited was not a high alert day so we were able to use the Steam engines. The passenger have the availability to sit over the edge of the cars and dangle the legs over the edge. It is quite a sight to see. The tour was well organized and of course quite expensive. We visited fern gully where the ferns reached 25-30 ft high.

Tasmania March 5th

The sea had been pretty rough on the way to Tasmania with 20-30 ft swells and winds of 80 knits.
We were lucky that the weather was wonderful when we got there.

For today we hired a private tour guide to took us to the major points of interest including The House of Anvers a Belgian Chocolate manufacturer. We were able to taste many different varieties. They also produced a Liquorice ice cream. One of our stops was the Ashgrove Farm a 3,000 acre dairy farm. The cheese factory produces 14 types of cheeses including wasabi! There are many Life size cows located around the Factory which are painted each year to raise money for local charities.

We also visited a honey company that produce 14 different types of honey. They are also sending many thousands of bees to the USA to to replace the dying bees there. We stopped for a lunch of meat pie, sausage roll and sweet Chili sauce. Tasmania is know for the export of wood chips and paper.

The town of Sheffield has a mural contest each year. A poem is selected and the local towns people are requested to paint a picture to represent the painting. The 10 best enlarge their work on 30 ft x10ft billboards in a local park and the public vote for a winner. The wall throughout the town have many murals on them.

One of the cities along the way was Penguin. There are actual penguins in this part of the world. There is a ft tall fence between the beaches and the road to prevent the penguins being hit by cars.

One of the last stops was at Annsliegh Gardens and Cafe a favorite place for local weddings.

I was lucky enough to stop and buy a 24 pack of Pepsi for $9 AUS compared to a cost of $48 on the ship. On the way back we had to change to the shuttle bus. While doing so I left my camera in the tour van. I only realized when I got back to the ship. I was able to contact someone on the dock who called the van and luckily it was returned to the ship. I am glad I had given the guide a good tip.