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UK time... Sunday 12th February... 10.30am

Our flight from Singapore landed at Heathrow on time at 5.25am .....the flight was nearly 14 hours long, but we were surprised how well we coped. It was the first time we've been on an Airbus A380 and we thought it was good. We were amazed at how many people were gathered around the departure gate in Singapore and one of the hostesses told us that there were about 450 passengers!

It was so good to see friend Tony waiting for us at Heathrow, ready to drive us home in comfort! ....we are so grateful to him for coming out so early and in such cold weather to meet us.

Brrr...Brrr... it was -5.5C as Tony drove us around the M25 and there was snow lying in the fields beside the motorway ... it was only a degree or so warmer (?)  as we arrived home around 7.30am...and would you believe it, an hour later it started snowing again! ....check out the pictures below of our house and garden this morning.

We hope you've enjoyed reading the Blog.

Singapore Airport

UK time... Saturday 11th February... 12 noon

Recently arrived on time in Singapore, with now around three hours to wait in transit for our connecting flight to London, leaving here at 11.15pm local time

The flight from Brisbane was good, but food awful.

Leaving Brisbane

OZ time... Saturday 11th February... 9.30am (and 28C outside already!)

Just had breakfast with Ian & Anne, thanks again to them for their hospitality, friendship and great Brisbane itinerary whilst we were here.

Bags packed and ready to go. Weighed them and they're both within the limit, so the only overweight items will be us!...Jan insisting that we'll both be on a diet as soon as we get home!

Leaving for the airport in an hour or so. We'll be flying from Brisbane to Singapore, then four hours wait there before flying Singapore to London.....thanks in advance to Tony for meeting us at Heathrow on Sunday morning (sorry to get you up so early!).

Mooloolaba to Brisbane

OZ time... Friday 10th February... 5pm

This morning, Mike & Ian went to the beach to play in the surf again, Jan went along to get some more sun! The picture of Jan & Mike is in front of the Mooloolaba Surf Club that we mentioned yesterday.

We left Mooloolaba around mid-day to travel back to Brisbane. Our first stop was to call in on Anne's mum & dad, nice to meet them.

After lunch on the way south, our next stop was wonderful....Ian had arranged for us to go to the Alma Park Zoo, where not only did we get to feed Kangaroos but also we got to cuddle a Koala....Jan was so pleased!...Mike thought it was cool too!...Jan also got to stroke a baby Koala...thanks so much to Ian for making Jan's wish come true.

We also saw some Red Pandas... Owen will be jealous!....we'll have to take him to Port Lympe again.

Now back at Ian & Anne's home, planning to go for great Aussie fish and chips this evening.

Mooloolaba

OZ time... Thursday 9th February... 8pm

Left Brisbane mid-morning to go to Mooloolaba, a coastal resort one hour's drive north. Anne drove and Jan was so pleased to be a passenger at last!

We went to the Mooloolaba Surf Club for a great lunch. Jan also bought the club t-shirt.

In the afternoon, Jan went for a walk along the bay and Anne relaxed in the penthouse, while Mike & Ian played in the surf.

Now about to have a meal at the Via Italia restaurant on the seafront, sitting outside on a warm balmy evening.

Evening in Brisbane

OZ time... Wednesday 8th February... 11pm

Not long after we arrived at Ian & Anne's home, there was a typical Queensland tropical downpour! The weather improved within an hour or so and we went into Brisbane for the evening.

Anne drove to New Farm Park near the Brisbane River, where we parked and got the "City Cat" catamaran service up the river to the city centre. There was a lovely sunset as we travelled up the river.

We went to the Cha Cha Char restarant for a lovely meal, before getting the City Cat back down the river

Hobart to Brisbane

OZ time... Wednesday 8th February... 4pm

Woke up to sunshine in Hobart, after last evening's rain! We left hotel around 8.45am to go to the airport for our 10.40am flight to Sydney.

When we returned the hire car, it showed that Jan had driven another 843 miles whilst we were in Tasmania....such a star and she coped really well, even with the long drive from Queenstown to Hobart yesterday.

The flight to Sydney was on time, just as well as we only had a scheduled 40 minute connection time in Sydney for our onward flight to Brisbane.... we needn't have worried, as when we got off the plane in Sydney and went to look for our next departure gate, it was the one we arrived at and we got back on the same plane!

The flight to Brisbane was on time too and it was great to see Ian & Anne waiting to meet us in the airport.

Now at their house, before hopefully going into Brisbane this evening.

Queenstown to Hobart

OZ time... Tuesday 7th February... 4.30pm

We left Queenstown around 9am for the long drive to Hobart. Just south of Queenstown, we stopped at the tourist look-out to see the famous copper mine and the resultant locally scarred landscape. Something unique to see... but we didn't see the iconic view as per postcards, because they appear to have moved the viewing platform....still it was worth the visit.

Initially, our route was through mountains and valleys, great scenery but more "twisty" driving for Jan. However, soon we were into lakes and forest scenery, where we stopped at a place called Derwent Bridge to see "The Wall" project...it's an Oz sculptor who is creating a massive wood-carving wall depicting local mining history...very impressive to see and almost unbelievable that it is, in fact, wood in some places so good is the carving (but not allowed to take photos).

We arrived in Hobart around 1.15pm, it had been sunny most of the way but as we arrived at our hotel it pelted down with rain for about twenty minutes!

Once the rain relented, we walked back up to Battery Point to have lunch at Jackman McRoss...fantastic!

It's our last night in Tasmania this evening, not sure what we'll do yet as it will depend on the weather.

Strahan

OZ time... Monday 6th February... 8.30pm

We had an early breakfast, ahead of a 45 minute drive to Strahan for our 9am Gordon River Cruise. Overnight, a storm had woken both of us, with high winds and driving rain. However, this morning the weather was fine.

The cruise was excellent and included a very good buffet lunch. From Strahan we crossed Macquarie Harbour and went out through its hazardous narrow entrance (known as Hell's Gate).

We then came back into the harbour and moored at Sarah's Island, an infamous former penal colony, where there was a walking guided tour.

The cruise continued up the Gordon River to moor at a Landing from which there was a Bush Walk through part of a rain forest, before re-boarding for the return to Strahan.

Back on shore, we spent an hour or so wandering around Strahan  prior to going to see a play called "The Ship That Never Was" at a small open-air theatre on the harbour-side. It was loosely based on a true story of some convicts escaping from Sarah's Island...well, it was hilarious with great audience participation (which included Mike being chosen as one of convicts and pulled on stage!).

PS.....the B&B has its own snooker room and last night (after dinner in town) we had a game...and Jan won!... and Mike was so pleased for her!

Launceston to Queenstown

OZ time... Sunday 5th February... 5pm

Left Launceston in warm sunshine this morning, but it had become cloudy by the time we reached the Cradle Mountain National Park in mid-morning.

On the way, we stopped off at Railton, famous for its topiary, there were items all over the town, see some examples below.

At the National Park, we chose to do the 2 hour Bush Walk around Dove Lake, which has great views of Cradle Mountain. Unfortunately, initially the mountain had low cloud around the summit, but we did get lucky a few times when the cloud cleared briefly to show the summit. We were also lucky that it didn't rain whilst we were walking, as it started just as we finished the walk and then continued for most of the afternoon.

We had lunch at the Park cafe, Mike loved his Ozzie Meat Pie, but not being squirted with tomato sauce as Jan tried to open an unusual form of sauce sachet!

Now relaxing at our B&B, which is an NT property and "quaint" to say the least! Our first sighting of it was scary (see below) with a mountain of steps up to it at the top of the cliff... but then we found the back road in! On arrival it was very windy here & within 30 minutes the rain started again. Hope it stops before we go out for dinner later!

Hobart to Launceston

OZ time... Saturday 4th February...9.30pm

Weather has been great all day today....hot and sunny, blue skies with fluffy white clouds.

We left Hobart around 8am and took the East Coast road towards Wineglass Bay. The countryside along the way was varied and interesting.

Our first stop was at the Spiky Bridge, built by convicts many years ago and no-one knows now why the bridge has its spiky design.

Around 11am we stopped at Kate's Berry Farm for fruit tasting, including jams etc. Well, the flavours were delicious and we stayed for brunch, which consisted of wonderful home-made scones, followed by the most superb Humbleberry Pie (which Mike ate virtually all of!).

A while later, we arrived at the Freycinet National Park where we then did the 45 minute walk to the look-out post over the most beautiful Wineglass Bay.  Jan wants to add that the walk was uphill all the way!...but we both agree that the view was incredible and well worth the climb (Fay, if you're reading this, thanks for the advice and hope you like the pictures below).

We then drove inland towards the centre of the island and visited the town of Ross. It's a very picturesque town, uncluttered by traffic (due to its by-pass), and there are many historic buildings to see, as well as an old bridge that is very photogenic.

We then continued on to our destination Launceston (we argue over how to pronounce it!). After checking in to our hotel, we went over to the Cataract Gorge and had a nice stroll around there before returning to our hotel for dinner (thanks to Patrick at the hotel for his advice on that).

Port Arthur

OZ time ... Friday 3rd February... 5.30pm

Woke up to sun and blue sky, it stayed that way all day.

Today we decided to drive out to Port Arthur, the infamous Penal Colony site. The scenery was good and, once out of Hobart environs, there was little traffic so stops to see the views along the way were easy to do.

At Port Arthur, we took the 11am boat trip around the harbour. During the trip, there was an option to get off at a small island called the Isle of the Dead, which we did. It was basically the cemetery of the Colony, where all those who died there were buried (convicts, soldiers, civilians, wives and children) and there was a 40 minute walking guided tour before the boat returned to pick us up. A very poignant place, with a number of interesting tales from the guide.

Back on shore, we had brunch before taking the 12.30pm walking guided tour of the main Colony sites. After the tour, we then visited selected sites that were of more interest to us. In particular, the Separate Block where convicts were kept in solitary confinement and silence....Jan persuaded Mike to go into one of the cells ...he also went into the Punishment Cell (a bit like the naughty step, Owen?!) which was very small and was pitch black when Jan closed the door on him.

We also visited the Commandant's House, interesting and of course it was built high up with great views across the harbour an the rest of the Colony.

On the way back to Hobart, we stopped off at Eaglehawk Neck to see the Tessellated Pavement, it's a flat rock formation at the sea edge, uncannily resembling the design of modern pavements. A bit further along the coast, we stopped at a high point to view Pirates' Bay.

Before getting back to Hobart, we detoured to Richmond as we had been told that it was picturesque to see. It was ok, but neither of us thought that it was anything special.

Hobart - Evening Meal

OZ time... Thursday 2nd February... 10pm

Well, tonight we didn't take the recommendation of the old man Mike met on a bus, instead Jan had a better idea and chose Flippers for our evening meal.

Flippers is a fish punt moored in the harbour and it is famous for its fish and chips, eaten with your fingers out of a cardboard box!....We both chose a fish called Trevalla and we both agree that it was one of (if not) the best fish and chips meals we've ever had...and the experience was great, eating it outdoors sitting on the harbourside.