Bye bye Ashbolt farm

The idea was to make a nice video to show how olives are turned into oil ... But the lights weren't good enough, we didn't have the time, ... Hopefully a professional photographer came on the first day of the harvest, the weather was very nice and he had a drone ... The video is brilliant !! In reality, it isn't always that glamorous ... It's noisy, your shoulders and neck hurt and, on some days, there is so much fog that you can't see the end of the row ... ;)

We don't know if we can blame our appearance but we aren't main protagonists in the video ... ;)

On our bucket list stands Bruny Island, off Hobart, and the Tasman Peninsula in the south. Thanks to two long weekends, it's now done! Crystal clear water, walks on colossal capes, no tourists, we feel spoiled!

Suddenly, with almost half an orchard left to harvest, Bob and Anne decide that there is no money left for olive pickers. We fall back to our former volunteer status for a week. And here we are again back on the road!

Spring is on its way, the days are getting longer, it is milder (except the day it snows, quick reminder that it's still winter!) ... We cross the Midlands, north-east of Hobart, huge sheep plains, flooded by recent rains, punctuated by small historic towns. We try to camp the first night in the high hills around but the snow prevents us from climbing a small hill to park on flat ground. The Mentos has very poor grip and despite our many blankets it would not have been what you would call a cozy night ...

We therefore branch off towards the east coast. In Bicheno, our eyes are locked on the sea ready to spot any migrating whales ... Too bad, they aren't there today! A few seals sunbath on a rock and a whole colony of penguins start to chat after dark (can't fire the camera since the flash would damage their eyes).

The charming little village of St Marys is the perfect spot for morning tea. "How good are you with technology?" asks the lady at the counter. It's a mission for Bibi apparently! The consumer screen of the cash register no longer displays anything ... After an hour of troubleshooting, we peacefully set off, the screen works. A well-deserved shower and a forest walk later, we reach the ocean at Bay of Fires. The lichen is sparkling orange, the sun works on our tan, but the name "Bay of Fires" comes from the fires set by the aborigines on the beach during the passage of the first explorers. At the end of the day, we raise a ginger beer on the beach to an incredible sunset. The next day, we come to the most north-eastern point of the island: Larapuna and its lighthouse.

The season may not be optimal for climbing summits but heavy rains fuel up the waterfalls. Halls Falls, St Columba Falls, Ralph Falls don't disappoint us. Even at Lylidale Falls, giant ferns are everywhere. Too bad the platypus (seen this morning in the public park pond) overshadows all of today's attractions.

We follow the Tamar River to its mouth, where Narawntapu National Park begins. We race with the sun to reach the top of Archer's Knob before dark. On the way back, we have to be careful not to stumble on a wallaby or a pademelon (tiny cousin of the kangaroo) in this Tasmanian Serengeti.

Today, last day before finding the comfort (and what comfort !!) of volunteering in Gunns Plains. We zigzag between the drops to observe the wildlife of Narawntapu from a hide. But, considering the rain, it's a bit "I'm staying home" amongst the birds. It keeps on raining, we sneak into Devenport post office to collect Olivier's birthday mail and nothing: the sorting center in Melbourne is a little slowed down because of the confinement. Then, rain jacket on, we walk along the "platypus walk" in Latrobe (rightly proclaimed capital of our monotreme friend) and not a single one comes to greet us. It's okay, there are penguins in Penguin (the town). We have to order a strategic fish at the fish'n'chips to learn from the waitress that they won't be there for the next few weeks ... No worries, a hot shower awaits us at the little campsite in Riena. Hmm, it's winter, we didn't warn the manager, so the boiler is not on. There are days like this :D, we can't wait to stay at Penny and Steve's !!