Tasmania

Australias oldest stone bridge. Built by convicts.

Many years ago I saw a TV program about Tasmania. Think it was produced by some UK channel. Tasmania was portraited as close to paradise that you can come as I remember it. I recall I was thinking that I have to go there one day. And that day came! Last weekend in January included Australia day which meant one day extra off and a perfect opportunity to spend a long weekend in Tasmania.

Every Saturday Salamanca market is on in Hobart

Here in mainland Australia there are quite many jokes going around about Tassie, as it's called, due to a small population on an island and hence suspected inbreeding. Also Tassie was where the Brits sent their worst convicts back in the days.
So I couldn't wait to meet those banjo playing people with 6 fingers and two heads.
Jokes aside, I went there with high expectations on beautiful nature and friendly relaxed people.
Hobart is the Capital of Tassie, which is an own state in Australia, and that;s where I landed and picked up my rental car. Hobart turned out to be a nice average size city with quite many heritage buildings from the 1800's.

There are many old charming buildings in Hobart

Unfortunately the more modern buildings lack any happiness in their design.

The newer ones though are more ugly...
Mt Wellington in the background!

Just concrete square boxes which is a pity, similar to many swedish cities rebuilt in the 50's and 60's. Outside Hobart is Mt Wellington point, a 1271m high mountain that is a must to visit. There is actually a paved road all the way up to the very top! The stupid swede, who should probably have been the one to know, didn't realise that it was going to be ten degrees colder on the top than down in the city and quite windy, so he entered the summit in shorts and t-shirt! Not a good idea but you just have to smile and pretend you have it under control. On the other hand it was funny to see all the Chinese with full Mount Everest equipment covered from top to toe. After all it was 12-13 degrees so just a normal jacket would have been enough. Anyway, the views were breathtaking.

The freezing Swede at Mt Wellington with Hobart behind

After a day in Hobart with surroundings I spent next day travelling north along the mountains and did some bushwalking in a national park (That's the main thing you're supposed to do in Tasmania) A good experience with some nice waterfalls and giant trees.

Local bushwalking friend

Bushwalking

More bushwalking

Even more bushwalking

Then continued north in various landscapes to finally reach Launceston where I spent the second night. Launceston was a quite nice small city with good restaurants and some old colonial buildings in the city centre. Last day before going home I went for a drive along the River Tamar that leads to the Tasmanian Sea. On the way I visited the Swiss village which I thought was a real village created by immigrated Swiss people wanting to live like home. Unfortunately it turned out to be just a tourist resort, lol.

The Swiss village

I also visited an old gold mine which was quite interesting. It was actually only in service for about 10 years in the gold rush days before closed down.

From the gold mine

The gold mine in Beaconsfield

So to summarise Tassie. It is a nice island with more varied nature than I expected. Along the west coast there is a mountain range with many opportunities for bushwalking. In the central parts there are a lot of lakes very popular for fishing. In the northern part there is more of an agricultural landscape. Add to that nice and not too big cities like Hobart and Launceston in combination with the colonial heritage and you could easily spend a week here.

If you ever go to Hobart you must go here for lunch

And this is what you should order. The most delicious Seafood chowder

No visit to Tasmania is complete without visiting Australias first suspension bridge :)

Cheers

Vanuatu

Secluded beach on Efate

My christmas holiday trip continued to Vanuatu. Vanuatu is one of more than a dozen island countries in the South Pacific and one that can be reached directly from Australia.

Most tourists probably arrives with cruise ships and stay for a day or two but there are also flights. One issue with many island countries, not only in the pacifics, is the difficulties getting around. In the case of Vanuatu which consist of about 80 islands where about a dozen can be considered inhabited it is time consuming and expensive to get around. There are not even regular boat routes so you have to fly. Hence with my short time limit I stayed on the main island Efate where the capital Port Vila is located and also the international airport. Unfortunately that meant I missed out on what's maybe considered the main attraction, island Tanna with it's active volcano.

I would never miss a local market

Obviously there are different qualities of pineapples but not easy to tell by the looks

Since I arrived in Port Vila I stayed my first nights there. Another reason was that since new years eve was coming on I thought I would like to be somewhere with some kind of party. Port Vila turned out to be a quite hectic but a bit worn down city. No beaches and not really any other attractions. Still, like with the other places I've been to in the Pacifics it feels very safe. Vanuatu markets themselves as "the happiest people in the world"  (hmmm I thought that was the Danes...) and although many of them are quite poor you don't see any beggars and they live island style meaning they take every new day as it comes.

Accommodation experience close to a prison cell and it was bloody hot!

I learned that the family/village traditions called kastom is still very strong and it's a familys responsibility to take care of all members, no matter poverty, mental disorders etc. Since the population is not enormous, about 275 000, almost everybody has relatives all around which means that wherever you go there will be someone obliged to take care of you.
Also the traditional kastom laws are still very important and in case they conflict with the federal law most people would consider kastom superior.

Welcome to the kastom village!

A funny app is always popular. This Aussie guy had one that showed the kids live with hats and mustaches

From a tourist point of view the city changes totally when there are cruise ship days. Imagine a ship with 4000 people coming in. I couldn't even find someone who was interested in taking me around the island (since I was alone) until a cruise came in.
The hotel I stayed at cancelled their new years celebration so I went to a resort instead which I later regret a bit.

Arriving to new years celebration

Not bad but I felt a bit bored among the Aussie and NZ families. Should probably have  celebrated with the locals instead. There was an incredible noise on the streets that night. Everybody had a trumpet similar to the vuvuzelas used at soccer world cup in South Africa. On the way back that night I saw many guys totally stoned. I later learned they use a mix of kava (the local "drug" made from roots), home made alcohol from coconuts and marijuana) No violence though.
On new years day I moved away from Vila to a small island resort, for a few relaxing days which gave me the right pacific feeling.

Relaxed island life

I also made a roundtrip on the island to see the main attractions and visit a local village.

Blue lagoon is a main attraction

I'm still not sure she's dressed like this when the tourists are gone...

So what's the summary of Vanuatu? Well, after my visits to Samoa and Fiji three years ago I had very high expectations. From that perspective I was a bit disappointed. I had a great time but didn't feel the same magic. The people are lovely. Extremely nice and friendly. I'm also sure there are heaps of things to experience if you go to other, more quiet islands, so the tip would be to not stay longer than necessary in Vila. But that's the thing, it is difficult to get around. Samoa with only two islands is so much easier and in Fiji there is a much more developed infrastructure with a fast ferry to many of the islands.

In every water there was someone swimming. Vanuatu people obviously love to be in the water no matter if it's the sea or a small river

Cheers

New Caledonia

My local beach

So for xmas and New years I this time travelled to New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Two island countries in the South Pacific. Well, Caledonia is technically not a country since it is still under french control but since they have their own currency and own flag I consider it a country. This post will be about New Caledonia.

Sun goes down also in New Caledonia

When you hear New Caledonia you might think... well at least I did... so where is then the old or original Caledonia? It turns out that it is actually an old name for Scotland. Obviously the first europeans who came thought it looked a bit like Scotland. The french made it their colony. When the brits send their convicts to Australia and New Zealand the french sent their to NC. It turned out there was also lots of Nickel here which has made the country rich. As with Aussie and NZ the government wanted people to move here to build up the country so many frenchmen also moved here voluntarily. The french today is the largest group of the population.

Riviera feeling 1

As a tourist destination you get struck by four things

- It's rediciously expensive

Food and drinks as well as taxi is about 50% above Australia

- It's very well developed 

Roads, buildings, cars, buses. All is modern

Riviera feeling 2

- It's very french

The feeling you get here is actually not being on a secluded south pacific island but rather being on the Mediterranean riviera. Lots of exclusive boats, people speak french, signs are in french and even most of the food have a french touch.

Riviera feeling 3

- People seem happy
The original ethnicity, the kanaks, are often gathered in big groups on the beach or in a park, always seeming to having a good time. Although they do have lower incomes and higher unemployment rates there are no beggars and it feels extremely safe on the streets.

Locals in the central park of Noumea

Always important to make friends with the locals

Day trip to Amadee Island for some pacific feeling

I like when the local beer has a name that is easy to remember!

To me NC was a "been there done that" place. Nothing wrong, not at all. But also not a place you would fall in love with

Another of my new local friends!! A bit shy though..

Cheers!