A Little R 'n R; Well sort of!

...A little R 'n R....???....I am so confused.....isn't that what we have been doing so far...????? *grin* ...ahhh, just sit down little one and let me tell you the story of what happens next!

The Overland Track goes from Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair (65 km), and during the peak season; which we were hiking in, it must be hiked from the Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair (north to the south) - this meant that we ended our hike in Lake St. Clair; or the aboriginal name, "Leeawaleena", meaning "sleep water". Sorry, I forgot that part of the story of why "sleep water:, but I do know that it is big, deep (the deepest in Tasmania) and beautiful. We decided that because it is so beautiful and there were still things to do, we would like to stay close by and explore it a bit more before heading back to Hobart to pick up our stuff in storage and meet our friends - so we did! We stayed one night in the backpackers in the Lake St. Clair campground and met up with Pauline, Anne and Anne's partner Julie (she met them after the hike - skipped the pain and suffering of hiking the track and met for the relaxing stuff - smart girl *grin*). Julie treated us with some Tasmanian wine; a Pinot Nior from Stefano Lubino vineyard (turned out to be our most favourite - how ironic). We drank wine, chatted and had a great time. With Delia still feeling the affects from the gastro, she was unable to join us and unfortunately the girls were not able to experience the "social butterfly Delia" that we all know and love! This only meant that we would have to meet again.

For the next two nights we stayed at a place called, Derwent Bridge Chalet and Spa...ahhh...spa, that sounds so devine after 7 days of humping a pack around - I mean, I loved the hiking, but there is nothing wrong with some diversity.....my motto in life.....everything in moderation!!! The place Derwent Bridge itself was a very small town, really small. One store, one hotel, one restaurant and of course our little piece of heaven; Derwent Bridge Chalet and Spa. Delia and I tend to get attracted to these places and people often wonder what we could possible do there. And just like most of these places, there is always so much to do and it is always quiet and serene, just the way we like it! Not only was Derwent Bridge a cute town and the Chalet and Spa a beautiful spot, the owners; John and Louise, were so hospitable - they treated us like family instantly. Our visit started off with John picking us up from Lake St. Clair and taking us to the Chalet. John then proceeded to tell us all the little secrets of the town and where to go and offering to take us back to Lake St. Clair to do some more day hikes the next day - just incredible! This was our time to relax and recouperate from our Overland Track, but of course we still had to enjoy some more day hikes. One day we hiked to the platypus bay without any luck of seeing a platypus and another day we hiked to Shadow Lake and Forgotten Lake (about 5 1/2 hour hike). They were beautiful - lakes between the mountains and no one there - it doesn't get much better than that. The only downfall was the water was cold that we could only tolerate dipping our feet in as we ate our lunch, no swimming for us. On the third morning we woke up and had hot chocolate and tea in bed for the last time, ate breakfast and then it was time to hop on the bus back to Hobart. After our initial experience with Hobart I was not looking forward to going back, but I knew the next day we were going to meet up with our friends from back home; Dan and Mark, so I got over it. We said our good-byes to John and Louise and headed for the bus. Funny story when we were leaving, Delia stuck her hand out to say good-bye when John grabbed her and said, "Come over here & give me a hug".......if he only knew what Delia was like - our little "space invador". I got a chuckle out it anyways. As we walked towards our bus, I looked over my shoulder when I spotted Delia, two days earlier. Sitting there, at the side of the driveway, I saw this big, strong strapping looking guy with no more strength in him then to cradle his head between his hands and mutter a few words when necessary to his girlfriend. I knew he was sick, but when I saw his girlfriend carry all their gear; his and hers to the bus and looking helpless otherwise, I recognized those signs of gastro and sure enough, it was. He got it at the same place along the Overland Track that Delia did and like I said before, with that many people and the set up of the water, it is all a matter of luck or bad luck in his and Delia's case. It really is awlful and other then offering those pathetically cliche consoling words, "It will get better with time", we could do nothing. The one good thing is that by the end of the bus ride, he did say that he was starting to feel like eating a burger...strange choice of foods, but at least he had an appetite. Otherwise, the bus ride back to Hobart was uneventful and fairly painless. We were back at the Transit Backpackers in Hobart and all our stuff in storage was there safe and sound; including the lost luggage that the airport delivered - "all is well that ends well"!

For the parts of our trip that was not planned in Ontario before we left, we relied mainly on our Lonely Planet books. Although not everyone has the same experiences and things don't always work out, the Lonely Planet for us has been great. They rate things as lower, moderate and higher end for budget, but also will describe the details of the place and how they rate it and often they will have "their pick" in a town whether it be for accommodations or food or activity. Being in Hobart for only 1 night before meeting up with our friends and having not had the time or resources to go grocery shopping, Delia and I decided to try a restaurant for dinner that was suggested in the Lonely Planet. We had a few places to look at, but with the downtown part of Hobart easily accessible by walking, we took a walk and checked out the city and restaurants. Down by the water, things were pretty busy and because we tend to like things quieter, our "noses" pointed us a bit out of the hussle and bussle to a quaint Italian family owed restaurant called, D'Angelo's. It was a small place and could be missed very easily if you weren't looking.....hmmmm....just perfect. It was about 5pm so one would think that getting in to eat would not be a problem. When we walked in and asked if we could have a table for 2, the host asked if we had reservations. And at the same time that we looked at each other with a surprised look as we were shocked that at 5 pm we would need a reservation, a customer; obviously a regular, spoke out loudly to us in a huff, "....well, you must have reservations, this is a popular restaurant and nobody gets in without a reservation...". Okay then, I guess we are out of luck. But as we were about to turn away, the hostess said she would check with the owner; D'Angelo, of course, to see if they could fit us in - remember this is 5pm - I didn't think anyone else except Delia and I ate that early - *grin*!!! Anyways, D'Angelo came to the door and finding out that we were from Canada, he gladly made room. I have to tell you, I can see why you need reservations, home cooked Italian food, great service and a very fun atmosphere. It was not a big place and in about 10 min of sitting down, the place was full and they were also filling take away orders. Delia and I made a little faux paux on the wine selection, but other than that, it truly was perfection! We were not long, but for squeezing us in, they certainly did not rush us at all. We had a nice walk back and got ready for tomorrow. The hostel was loud, but we survived!

The next morning as we waited for our friends, we got up early and decided to go to a cafe for breakfast; another recommendation from Lonely Planet. It was 8:00am, but thought that we would still be okay to get a coffee/tea/hot chocolate and a piece of toast, somewhere...you would think. As we had our map and trying to orientate ourselves to get to the cafe, walking along, we started to think that maybe the cafe wouldn't be open - it was very quiet. As I said before Hobart shuts down early and as it turns out, it appeared that they don't open until late either - just a little to get use to that's all. It is good to see that people relax a little and people are not always on the go. We still decided to try, because if nothing else, it was a nice walk. As we got close to the cafe I saw someone put flowers out on the patio tables which I thought was a good sign. We went to the door and it was open - yeah! We stepped inside and there was a woman and a man behind the counter working away, obviously getting ready for the day. By this time it was 8:55am. We asked if we could get some breakfast and they said yes, but they were not quite open yet so we may have to wait a bit for our food, but they certainly would start us off with a beverage - cool - we were not in a rush. So as we sat there, we started chatting and knowing that we were Canadians and travelling on their turf, they had a few things to share - always a good thing! Again the food and service was outstanding and as we left we noticed on the door that they did not open 5 minutes early for us, but a full hour and 5 minutes......they didn't open until 10am.....that would never happen in a big city. It was just a great feeling - just like we arrived at a friend's place early for dinner. As we walked back to our hostel to wait for our friend's we realized that Hobart really is a nice place, we just had to give it time and go to the right places!