Monday, February 29, 2016

Sunday, February 21, 2016 – Off to Join the Tasmanian Devils

We were up at 7 and out of the hotel by 9:00 a.m. for our flight at 11:25. We knew exactly where to return the rental car to, so no worries there. Promptly into the shuttle van to the airport. As we neared the airport about 7 minutes  drive away, three lanes of traffic ground to a halt. Grunts and moans from the shuttle driver.

“Airport’s been a zoo  these past two days.”

“Is it always like this?” I asked.

“Nope, but it’s the Superbike World Championship. Everyone is coming in for that.”

Our hearts sank, we remembered seeing the advertising for that when we were watching the bikes at the race track a few days earlier. February 26 to 28. We never gave it another thought…until now!! But there was more.

“I can’t take you to your terminal,” the driver announced. “We are not allowed to go there, but I will try and drop you as close as possible.”

“Is it far,” Ray asked nervously. “Yeah, it is a long way. I’ll show you where to go. Government restriction. Many passengers get really angry at us, but there is nothing we can do” was the response.

I fast forwarded to the security line up, and immediately started thinking of ways we could push through in time to catch our flight.

 Well, I needn’t have worried. Being a shuttle service, we had priority and were able to beat the queue. Then we only had to walk “a long way” with our baggage to the terminal. But that proved to be an exaggeration. It was only about as far as from one end of the Toronto terminal to the other. Not far at all, and when we got in there, sanity prevailed. This was a brand new terminal for Jet Star, the Australian equivalent of West Jet. They apparently had designed the terminal to be traveler friendly. There were self service kiosks to check in at, an automatic bag drop that told you the weight of your bag and confirmed it was acceptable for travel. You immediately go through security….easy….no shoes off, no belts off, no starting up computers, cell phones, cameras….but ……all umbrellas must be opened!! Then when you arrive at the departure lounge you can go on a shopping spree, including Robin’s favourite store “Desigual” with its flamboyant colours, while you wait for the departure gate to be posted about 30 minutes before departure. There are mollifying notices to “relax” if you look at the board before the gate is posted!! When the gate number is posted, you head immediately through the gate and directly on the to plane without going through a second “check” in. Very sleek!!

 The flight was short, about an hour, smooth, and efficient, and we were on the ground in no time waiting for our baggage. As we stood waiting amongst the melee of passengers, a woman pounced on Ray and at the same time we both recognized Sue and Peter Morgan from Vancouver. We knew they were coming to Tassie but thought they were flying on the 22nd . They thought we were flying on the 22nd so we were all incredulous at meeting up with each other!  We agreed to meet for dinner and went our separate ways to find our luggage and pick up our respective rental cars.

As we drove from the airport to the hotel, we felt we would like Tasmania. The scenery seemed comfortable, beautiful, and welcoming. We checked into our rental “apartment” and were very happy with what we saw. But we didn’t stay long, long enough only to change, and then we headed off to visit Jimmy and Clare whom we had met on our West African trip. Jimmy was one of our tour leaders, and Clare, his then girlfriend, travelled with us as a passenger. Their acreage is in the beautiful Tasmanian countryside, half way up a mountain, and minutes from Hobart. As well as their own house, they have built two “eco” pods or rental units overlooking the Derwent Estuary. It is simply beautiful. Since we last saw them they have married, and had a beautiful little daughter named Priya.




On the way home from their place we stopped off for some food for dinner, breakfast, and nibbles for the Morgans whom we had invited over for dinner the following evening.

It was evening when we got back to the flat, and I took time to walk around and look out from the balcony. The view looks over Hobart and the estuary, from the top of a hill in West Hobart. It is also beautiful and the quality of the flat along with this view make it a very enjoyable place to stay.





We enjoyed a “home” cooked dinner, a bottle of wine, and a good night’s sleep.


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