end of another great trip

Have arrived back in sunny Brisbane...  a great day was spent on Sunday, strolling around the St Kilda market and then down into trendy Acland Street.  managed to get a touch of the sun and a blister on my foot...

Tasmania was not all that I expected - only a couple of days of wearing my rain gear and only 1 day of headwind!  But the hills were there - just as bad as I knew they would be - maybe a few more than I had hoped for.  those little bumps on a trip profile can be much steeper and harder than one might imagine.  But Hennie and me got along just fine - though there were plenty of occasions when I had to get off and push Hennie and her load up to the top.

I loved the forests, the fruit trees in blossoms and the beautiful gardens all brimming with wonderful flowers - rhododendrons being the most spectacular at the moment.  Interesting to see not many native plants used in the gardens, a few calistemons and flowering gum trees, but the forests made up for that. 

I also loved seeing all the old buildings still being used today - and loved the experience of staying in some really lovely old buildings.  In fact I can't recall any of my accommodation being uncomfortable and unclean.  from modern cabins to rustic ones, friendly backpacker dorms to old cottages - I loved them all.

The things I didn't like were the amount of road kill and litter!  Its amazing that there are any animals left in Tasmania - and soooo sad to see many wombats among the stinking corpses.  But then some in Tassie think that there's too many of them and I am sure many are killed on purpose...  but the wallaby count was also very high. 
And the litter is continuous - same as in Queensland:  beer cans and bottles, cigarette packets, coffee cups, plastic bags and bottles, general garbage just flung out of cars or blown off of utes...  Keep Australia Beautiful is no longer a force...  something needs to re-awaken the public psyche... 

I missed the cycling infrastructure that I have experienced in the Nordic regions and in the Baltics and Japan...  and although most motorists were kind and gave me plenty of space, there were several that I was thankful I wasn't hit - they came so close and a couple of occasions it was obvious it was deliberate...  Aussie culture again...  even the Kiwi drivers were much better than - and I think the tourists were the best drivers of all... 

So some good and bad...  the natural environment and old historic places were beautiful tho - will upload some of my favourite pics later - but today is Granny Day again so am off on the school pickup run and to spend some time with my wonderful grandkids whom I have missed these past 3 weeks!