Yesterday was spent kicking around Tassie’s northern stretches and making our way, after two road detours due to storm wash outs (my weather timing after this weeks’ rain and snow storms was perfect), to Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park.

Along the drive to the Park, outside Launceston. It turns from big town to countryside in the blink of an eye.

Indeed.

These murals astounded me. They were in the middle of nowhere, painted on the sides of a hydro electric plant building. How someone managed to get them there on ribbed walls fifteen feet high was beyond me. Natural art surrounded by nature – nice.

We had to turn around twice on really small back roads en route to the Park because of storm road damage and wash outs. Determined, we pushed on with good old-fashioned maps (no GPS or cell signals out there). The effort was so worth it – Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park is really something to behold.

Approaching the Park. High alpine tundra.

Surprise – me in front of the lens, captured by my crafty assistant.

Our timing was fantastic – it was really socked in a half hour away, the peaks barely visible through thick clouds, and as we finished our hike, the weather quickly closed in again. When we arrived and during our stay, however, things were perfect. We’ve really been blessed weather-wise the past five weeks. Someone has been smiling down on us, for sure.

Snow made the hike a bit slippery, but the woods and views were beautiful. Finally, it felt like winter down under.

Alas, the hand of man appears starkly in Queenstown and its environs in the form of mineral mining. Mountains laid low in a place where nature rules supreme is a shock, but reality often intrudes unexpectedly.

Heading back to Hobart, late afternoon, through Tassie’s gorgeous lake country.

Another terrific day. Tasmania is incredibly special. I hope to come back on my next visit down under. There’s so much more to see, and the people are so warm and engaging here, that returning is a must.

Off to Perth and Fremantle tomorrow. Urban drama – should be fun.

Today was superb in terms of weather, scenery and vibe. Just north of Swansea, heading for Coles Bay and Freycinet National Park.

Brekky view in Coles Bay, overlooking the Hazards in Freycinet NP.

The Hazards (named for sailors’ comfort, no doubt).

View towards mainland from Cape Tourville Lighthouse.

Friendly Beaches in Freycinet NP. Yes, that’s their real name.

Not sure why, but I had to stop and capture this. Hard to know if it was a good deal.

Lunch view in Bicheno. The seafood here is just fantastic.

Wish I had my GS here. The roads are perfect for twisting the throttle and ripping it up.

Even the animals have a majestic natural glow to them. This was on the ride from St. Helens to Launceston. I was gonna meander on the north coast, but I’m so glad I drove this way. The scenery was off the charts, with winding roads, mountain passes, tiny villages and crazy beautiful views everywhere.

His friends moseyed over for a peek. All young bulls. Then they stared me down…

Ben Lomand National Park’s skyline, north of Derby.

Female youngsters up the road.

The earth is just electric here, buzzing with energy and color.

Salmon fishing is religion here. This wonder was painted on a cliff and measured about a hundred feet across. Cool.

Chasing the sun en route to Launceston, late afternoon.

Launceston, Tasmania’s second largest settlement (74,000) after Hobart (200,000), appears out of the forest primeval in the north country. A bit surprising to see a pretty big town up here, but I had fun last night hanging with some locals. Exchanged numbers and texts with Adrian, a musician and petroleum engineer, before calling it a night (they were heading off to another pub and we were tired), and when we woke up and I turned my phone on this morning, I received his text, sent sometime late last night, saying, and I quote: “Hey, Richie, sorry to bother you but things turned south after we parted. I’ve been locked up for best part of the night. Could use your services?” Wow. Good call parting ways. .. Adrian has’t responded to my text today, so I guess he’s OK, or a prison guard has a new phone…  Off to Cradle Mountain National Park and other exotic treasures.

Tasmania is impossibly beautiful. It’s so pristine, so rugged and so earthy that it doesn’t compare to anywhere else I’ve ever been. Mountains, ocean and bays are everywhere, juxtaposed together into a spectacular landscape that defies description. Words fall really short in describing it, and I’m rarely at a loss for words.

Hobart, mid morning. Everywhere you peek, the water beckons.

Mount Wellington keeping sentinel over Hobart, snow-capped after this week’s storms. I’m headed up in a couple of days.

Arthur Circus in Battery Point. A circular street of gorgeous cottages constructed in the 1800’s to house British military officers. Very neat. I got the local history from a resident who stopped me to chat.

Seven Mile Beach, just minutes outside Hobart en route to the Tasman Peninsula. Holy smokes – beyond gorgeous, with a perfect break to boot.

Port Arthur started as a British timber outpost in 1830 and then converted in the ensuing decades to a brutal prison and convict settlement for incorrigible criminals who the Crown wanted as far from the UK as possible. Think they succeeded? Nobody was swimming back to Dover from here. Ah, the benefits of slave labor. The historic sight is amazingly well-preserved after the inevitable dilapidation caused by a hundred and eighty years of weathering. It was a bit eery to walk its grounds, which are located in a stunningly beautiful location. You could almost hear the screams and cries of its prisoners begging to be released from their misery. Sorry, fellas….break’s over…

Knowing how beautiful the countryside was outside your cell had to make one’s stay even more grim.

Cellblock with fireplace heat to keep the prisoners toasty and warm. Not. I’m sure the guards were kept quite comfy, however.

The Convict Church. I was blown away by this building. Even after its deterioration, it was magnificent to see and walk through. It really grabbed me.

The main cellblock, with hospital and barracks behind.

Tasman Blow Hole. Really wild as the waves were compressed and shot up a hundred feet.

En route from Port Arthur to Swansea on the east coast, where I stayed the night.

Approaching Swansea next morning, contemplating Freycinet National Park and its peninsula. Incredible.

I’m off to the northern stretches of Tassie today. Weather’s great – I’m psyched.

I’m sitting on the water in Manly, a gorgeous suburb of Sydney, and smiling a really big smile. This view on Manley’s promenade is just so perfect. Imagine living here and being a fifteen minute ferry commute to downtown Sydney. Send it in…

This is my third time in Manly in the past five weeks (whodathunk?), and life is good. Really good. For some reason, Manly called out to me today after the drive from Darwin, so I obliged, and I’m really glad that I did. The vibe here is just awesome.

I finished the 2,400 mile drive from Darwin to Sydney this morning after visiting Blue Mountains National Park in Katoomba earlier in the day. Absolutely beautiful place. It was a long drive, mate and the countryside coming into Katoomba was absolutely gorgeous after last night’s rains and clearing skies.

Decided to go to Tasmania for three days after the song of the Sirens kept tugging at me, so I’m off to the wildest parts of Australia (as I’ve been told by mates who know the lay of the land here) early tomorrow.

Aussies love to shorten words and add a “y” or an “ie” to the end of the abbreviated term, so to them I’m going to Tassy, or more commonly, Tassie. Pretty funny – breakfast is brekky, football is footy, chocolate is choccy, petrol is petty, and on and on. I love it because it’s part of how sweet and chilled everyone here is.

I mentioned the “Road Trains” here on Australia’s small, winding roads. Here’s a triple – small brother to the big boys – 4 very long full load trucks, which I’ve seen all too often. You get the idea…. Not fun to pass on the right at night going 135 KPH, but they’re good drivers unless they have to turn or stop…

Yes, indeed.

Three Sisters peaks in Blue Mountains National Park, Katoomba. The Park gets its name from the oil dispersed into the air by its Eucalyptus trees, which shades the landscape with a beautiful blue hue.

My buddies in Manly. Great gyros and conversation with Nikko and his son. Matt – you remember them.

This chap was so happy to look up and see me taking his photo. Only in Australia…

Sydney’s charms extend to its neighborhoods and architecture.

Met the sweetest Aussie lass, Kate, an engineer in the Australian Navy, and ended up chatting for over an hour on a street corner near the harbor. Here’s her toy. I was impressed.

Sydney’s downtown skyline at day’s end from the Art Gallery (following shot).

I popped in (it’s open ’till 10 pm every day – how cool) and wandered into a big party with the architects chosen for the museum’s expansion giving a presentation of the proposed work. What a super nice crowd.

Francesca, from a small town in Italy, educating me on great Italian wines. What an angel.

Outside my hotel.

1963 Porsche 356B. This couple was so happy to stop and chat with me on their night out on the town.

Off to Tassie. Really excited. Next post will be from the other side of the Tasman Sea… I’ve been told to be careful with Tassy Devils over there. No wonder….

Before I forget – an updated map of my journey so far:

Thought I’d change things up a bit with today’s reflections for a couple of reasons. First, today marked four weeks since I arrived in the Land Down Under, which is hard to believe. It has gone both delightfully slowly and really fast at the same time, depending on the time of day or night and the location I happen to be in when I reflect on things.

Second, I’ve seen a lot of blacktop the past two days, traveling from Darwin, up on the edge of the Northern Territory, to Barcaldine in Queensland, en route to Sydney – 1,463 miles so far on this leg, to be precise, according to Googlemaps, where I’m staying tonight before mushing on to the coast. As a result of my own personal Race Across Australia (only a part of it, to be sure) the past several days, I haven’t taken many photos of the outback. Rest assured that it’s really big and really vast, and this winter – the dry season in Australia – is very special because a lot of rain fell in the fall and the outback is a thousand beautiful shades of green. This is almost never seen here – kind of like the desert flower blooms in Death Valley. Reminds me of Marin in April after the winter rains.

As a result, I’m gonna look back a bit with some photos of the trip so far.

This trip has astounded me every day in countless ways, and I’m so thrilled that I decided to do it. As I mentioned in my first post, Australia has been high up on my “places to go” list forever, but I wanted to wait until I had enough time to do it justice. Although five weeks is a fairly good stretch of time, I could easily stay for another three to six months. Hell, I could easily live here. It’s that good. The landscape, the scenery and the people have blown me away. All have wildly exceeded my pretty high expectations. I’m so grateful for  that.

A couple of observations on my visit so far – I’ve seen almost no police, in the cities or out in the country. I haven’t seen one hunter or gun, which has really surprised me because in the States, once you get out west (and in hunting season pretty much everywhere), rifles in gun racks are de rigueur in virtually every pickup truck you see. By the way, crimes rates and those involving firearms are a tiny fraction here of what they are in the States. Food for thought…

Aussies are such happy and mellow people. They love to chat and hang out and love to tell you fantastic places to visit. I’ve also talked politics, as I’ve been here during the election for prime minister (which Malcolm Turnbull , the incumbent, won in a real squeaker), and have found no polemics or vitriol at all in my conversations, which is so rampant these days in the States. I’ve always believed that you can disagree without being disagreeable, and the folks here are totally that way.

I also had an interesting introduction to Australian criminal law at 9 am the other day en route from Uluru to Darwin. I was flagged down and stopped while driving slowly through Larimmah, a tiny place in the Northern Territory, by an indigenous police officer. When I came to a stop and rolled down my window to greet him (he looked very serious), he stuck a breathalyzer in my face without saying a word. Taken aback, I asked what was going on. He told me (and I don’t think race had anything to do with him stopping me) that I had no choice but to take the test. When I laughed and asked if he wouldn’t do better business at night, he said “Oh no, mate – there are roadhouses north and south of here, and folks drink all night then get in their cars and drive all day,” I got it. I didn’t put up any resistance, and was quickly on my way. That just wouldn’t happen in the States without the police officer interviewing you first and having a legitimate suspicion that you’d been drinking. Vive La difference.

Here are some shots from the past two days, when I didn’t have the pedal to the metal.

Litchfield National Park. This Cathedral Termite mound was over fifteen feet tall. Crazy. Imagine being tied down by the natives and eaten by these beasts. Oh, never mind….

The natives dress up Cathedral Termite mounds, which I couldn’t figure out at first, as folk art. It’s very cool to see all of the different ways they humanize mounds of earth.

Cooling off at Buley Rockhole in Litchfield NP.

Bush fires in Litchfield NP. Unlike in the States, fire is a natural part of the forest here. Fires are set in controlled ways by natives for many reasons, including hunting and agriculture, and natural fires are not suppressed. As a result, forests here are very healthy and bush fires are typically small and don’t burn out of control.

Dusk in Kakadu National Park.

My casa in Kakadu NP. They’re built off the ground (as many houses are) to protect you from all the Cathedral and Magnetic Termites (Magnetic Termites, which are blind, build their paper thin but tall nests aligned precisely with magnetic north, which minimizes the amount of sunlight that strikes them, keeping the mounds and creatures inside cool and comfortable).

Yes, it’s true – the legend of Crocodile Dundee is alive and well in the Outback.

On to the retrospective:

Trinity Beach on the north coast. Felt like Kauai. Truly sublime.

Sydney architecture.

Hill Inlet, Whitsunday Island. If Eden exists, this is it.

Town of 1770’s five mile beach (one of countless that long in Queensland and New South Wales).

The wreck of the SS Maheno on Fraser Island.

Evening in Noosa Heads.

Coffs Cove.

Matt in Lamington NP.

Waterfall on our Lamington hike.

Guess where.

Byron Bay – eastern most point of the continent and a great town.

‘Roos and Matt in Mallacoota.

Koala on Raymond Island.

Sorrento beach early morning.

Surfers’ dream.

Great Ocean Road.

Adelaide veterans’ protest.

Uluru basking in sunset with full moon rise. It confirmed my belief in a higher power.

Kevin, a/k/a Chevy, the proprietor of the Pink Panther Pub and Roadhouse in Larrimah.

Darwin’s Harbor.

Hope that was fun. I’m heading to the Blue Mountains in Wollemi National Park, a couple of hours inland from Sydney, tomorrow (thanks to Matt’s suggestion). After that, I’m off to Tasmania, which I’m really excited about. After Tasmania, Perth and Fremantle beckon. After that, reality and the States beckon….

The push from Uluru to Darwin was pretty big – 1,218 miles through the Northern Territory. I decided to split it into two days, stopping in Tennant Creek, pretty much in the middle of nowhere but halfway to Darwin on the Stuart Highway, which connects Darwin with Adelaide, 1,900 miles to the south. Because of Tennant Creek’s really small size and population (almost all natives), accommodation choices were very limited. The place I stayed in reminded me of a prison cell (not that I’ve spent a night in one, mind you), and I was more than happy to shove off the next morning for Darwin.

Giant Cathedral Termite mounds on the Stuart Highway. I thought these were rock formations at first – they get up to 15 feet tall. crazy. These were 3′ – 4′ in height. Wouldn’t want to mess with those ‘mites, mate.

Of course I had to stop at the Pink Panther Pub and Roadhouse in Daly Waters for gas (“Sorry, mate – our petrol station burned down twelve years ago”) and provisions. I’ve learned on this trip (and in Alaska) that when you live hundreds of miles from the nearest settlement and people, you can become rather whimsical. It’s a common theme in the outback. I think it helps take your mind off the isolation and sameness each day. Having said that, the folks that live and work in these tiny hamlets couldn’t be more friendly, outgoing or helpful. They are just fantastic people.

Local whimsy.

Dennis, a/k/a Chevy because of all the American cars he’s owned, is the proprietor of the PPP. I ordered a meat pie (one of the staples on the road here, which are actually quite good everywhere), and he gave me one, insisting that it was on the house. He said it had been in the oven keeping warm for a couple of hours and there was no charge What a swell guy. He wouldn’t let me pay him or buy anything (it was too early for a beer). We talked for a bit about American muscle cars – his knowledge was really impressive – after which it was time to say goodbye. A real charmer, that Chevy.

‘Nuf said.

Thursday night in Darwin. A native, after a bit too much imbibing on her bike. I think the charge was wobbly riding.

Mindil Beach sunset gathering. Reminded me of church.

Indigenous ladies enjoying the market.

Filed under the category Dumb, or at least wanting in personal safety. This mate was swimming with a 20 foot long, 80 year old giant salt water croc. Both his front feet had been bitten off in attacks long ago, so I guess he wasn’t too dangerous. Not. I was amazed that he could survive those attacks, but a ranger told me that they can slow their heart rate, and blood loss, down dramatically to avoiding bleeding to death after battle. Likely just one of the reasons they’ve been around for 200 million years…

Peering out at Darwin’s harbor.

I didn’t know that Darwin was bombed by the Japanese in WW II – by the same crew and only two months after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Darwin became very fortified shortly afterwards as the bulwark against a Japanese invasion of Australia, a very serious threat at the time until the U.S. took the fight to the Japs and prevented a full-on Australian invasion. A number of American sailors and soldiers also lost their lives in the attack, some going down in their harbored ships.

Darwin’s underground oil storage tanks (chiseled by hand into cliff rock), constructed shortly after the Japanese bombings.

Stokes Hill Wharf, with a bunch of great ethnic restaurants overlooking the Beagle Gulf and Timor Sea. The Asian food proximity and influence here are just fantastic.

Sunset and cocktails with Aussie friends last night.

This is my third day in Darwin, and I feel sad leaving. It’s such a cool place, and the weather up north (remember, it’s winter in Australia and it was kind of cool way down south in Adelaide and its environs) is amazing – 88F today. I’m off to Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks, after which I’ll meander through New South Wales and Queensland towards the Blue Mountains (Australia’s ski country – I may have to carve some turns) en route to Sydney. In Sydney, I’ll trade my wheels for wings, heading to Perth, Fremantle and the west coast for a bit before heading back to the States. Caiao for now.

A brief update post from Darwin – the End (of the continent):

Darwin is an impossibly seductive tropical town (Australia’s only) overlooking the Indonesian archipelago. Bali is a stone’s throw from here, and I might hop over for a look if time permits. Darwin’s fantastic – primeval and frontier-like, with  a super cool vibe. You can tell and feel that some people are here because it’s as far away from everyone and everything else as you can possibly get in Australia. Like Alaska in that way.

It’s absolutely great to be here for a couple of days. I’ve made some really nice friends, and was shown the town last night by some wonderful locals. I’m staying in a great hotel with all the amenities I haven’t had for three weeks, and suddenly I feel totally spoiled.

John Snodgrass made a brilliant suggestion today that I’ve pondered on these trips – a map showing where I’ve been (where I’m going is another story). I told Snoddy that it was a great idea, that I’d contemplated doing it for some time, but hadn’t gotten around to it.

No more excuses. Here’s where I’ve been so far:

Approximately 6,000 miles in three and a half weeks. Good thing I love to drive…. In trying to get a handle on the Australian landmass before my trip, I came upon a website that superimposed Australia on a map of the lower 48. Fascinating – both countries are very similar in size and dimensions. That gave me a quick reference, as I’ve been all over the States and know the distances between different places pretty well.

Here’s that map:

Fascinating similarity. Notwithstanding this, Australia is frickin’ big. Really big. In addition, the roads are small (virtually all of them, until you get within 30 miles or so of a city, are two lane and quite twisty), so you can’t cover big distances quickly, like you can in the States. There’s no equivalent of our interstate highway system, which has surprised me. In addition, semis pull three and four full truck loads behind them – no josh – they have big signs on the last ones that say “Road Train.” Passing them at 140 KPH (nighttime is even more fun) gets your adrenaline pumping, especially while driving on the left side of the road.

I’ve been on the road for over three weeks now, and haven’t even circled half of the country. Waaaah. I’ve thought about staying another two months, but I’m sure that I’d turn into a surf bum and never come back. I will have to return here, however, as quite a few folks have told me that the northwest and far western parts of the country are its most beautiful and provocative. Man, everywhere is like that here. I’ll be happy to confirm it, however.

I’ll post about the charms and pleasures of Darwin and my trip from Uluru up here next.

A couple of photos from last night and today. I was lucky enough to arrive on Thursday afternoon, when the local food market vendors all get together on Mindil Beach for sunset dinners, entertainment and group fun and camaraderie on the water. It reminded me of Off the Grid in San Francisco, which I can’t wait to get back to once I’m stateside.

Surf pool. I’m definitely headed there tomorrow. Cowabunga…

Adelaide is refreshingly different, and mellower, than Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Sitting on Australia’s south coast on St. Vincent Gulf, its architecture and materials beckon. Much like European cities with stone structures everywhere, Adelaide looks and feels very solid and enduring. You know it’s been around a long time and will be around way down the road.

Open space abounds and new structures fit in really well with Adelaide’s existing and past buildings. It’s a great combination aesthetically.

Winter Carnival:

Just passing’ through… There are quite a few camels in Australia. Didn’t know that, but it makes complete sense with its vast interior and bush lands.

Adelaide’s Cricket stadium. Seriously.

Open spaces are really beautiful, with the low skyline adding to Adelaide’s feeling of sky and water.

Protesting veterans’ cuts. Why is this such a common theme around the world?

If this fellow doesn’t deserve a break, who does? Neat truck – a Holden – GM’s marque in Australia.

Local flora and fauna.

Whimsy in a hotel’s entrance.

Miner’s bar smack in the middle of downtown. Cool.

Tired, hmmmm….. nah.

Not looking good for this lonely chap. Probably been here for days… Hadn’t he heard that the house always wins?

Old and new architecture coexist beautifully.

After three weeks of spectacular coastline, water, waves and sand, it’s time to push into Australia’s interior – the bush – as it’s affectionately referred to. What a great and simple name. This is where it’s at for many Aussies and explorers. Northward, ho…

Stay with me for a moment here. The past three days have been crazy good, and I’m going to share them in short order. I’m gonna go out of order, however, and cover Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (the home of Ayers Rock) first, then write about Adelaide, which I visited earlier in the week and which is the most beautiful city I’ve seen on my trip to date.

The reason’s simple – I can’t keep Uluru and my incredible experience there inside of me. It was that cool, so here goes.

Kata Tjuta. These formations look like a giant had some fun with a lot of Play-Doh:

Walking around Uluru, a 6 mile hike:

Uluru Sunset (pre-light show):

Great surprise – a full moonrise over Uluru as dusk enveloped it. This was the icing on the cake, as we didn’t think it could get any better than what we’d just seen.

Uluru Sunrise:

Climbing Uluru:

From on top:

Kata Tjuta in the distance:

Lunch stop. A camel expedition place. Yes, they do that in the outback. Hopefully his friends weren’t in my sandwich.

The trip came together the past two days in many ways. Uluru is beyond amazing. I was floored. Its size, magnificence, structure and colors absolutely stagger and blow you away. It’s mind bending. It felt so good to feel really small there. Kata Tjuta is similarly awe-inspiring to see and touch.

There are days and times on big trips that transcend exactly where you are physically and what you’ve done and seen up to that point. Yesterday and today were those days, spiritual and elastic in terms of time and place. Time slowed down and felt like a piece of taffy – stretchable and yielding in my hands. A cosmic sense flowed all day both days, hiking in and around Uluru and Kata Tjuta. I circled, them, climbed them and photographed them during the days’ excursions and at day’s end and start. I felt as though I got to know both a bit in my time there.

These past two days rank up there with the best days and experiences I’ve ever had. Wow. Mesmerizing in so many ways. The groove has been so clear and overwhelmingly powerful.

Listening to Santana / Europa in the car en route to Alice Springs and Darwin today, at full blast several times (well, more than a couple), was the perfect music for my state of mind. Totally sublime.

You can’t help but come away from Uluru and Kata Tjuta changed. They’re that powerful and moving. Rocks are simple and basic things, but in nature’s hands they can become absolutely majestic and mystical. This place is like the Grand Canyon in terms of how it affects you, but different and unique in its own ways. It’s so clear why the indigenous Anangu people held both sites so sacred and in such awe. They got it, for sure. When you come to Australia, you must visit Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. It’s that cool.

I said goodbye to Matt early this morning, as he needed to get back to the Big Easy for work. What a terrific time we had together. Couldn’t have been better or more fun. His visit was perfectly timed, after my first two weeks and before weeks four and five. Thanks, Matt. You are the perfect travel companion.

The Great Ocean Road, a 150 mile stretch of Victoria’s coastline in Australia’s south, is mind-bendingly beautiful. A stunning drive that rivals Big Sur but is of course different, it winds through and over cliffs, dunes, forests and small towns that dot its path. It overwhelms and overloads one’s senses after a while, but in really good ways.

Torquay is the starting point when driving west. Surf shops, endless rolling waves and smiling Sunday morning surfers were everywhere.

Catching rides on a stand up paddle board – pretty cool.

Just south of Torquay:

The Twelve Apostles, rock formations named after you know who, in Port Campbell National Park. Rather iconic, although the weather wasn’t ideal for photographing them today.

Cliff formations in Port Campbell NP. These were absolutely magnificent.

A really fun day with lots of coastal driving. Heading towards Adelaide and then Ayers Rock and possibly Darwin. I’ll be figuring out logistics in the next several days. There’s so much to see here that it’s a bit overwhelming. Everywhere I’ve been has been mesmerizing. I’ve never been anywhere before where it’s all stupendous, but Australia fits that bill. Just magnificent in every way, including the people, food and culture.