Completely skipped over April 4th and went straight from April 3rd sunset to April 5th sunrise. Interestingly, in the first three plus decades of traveling internationally, we had never made it to this end of the world. And now, in the last 8 months, this would be our third time!

First to Uluru, Sydney and Brisbane. Then to Fiji and Samoa. And now let’s see what this trip has in stock for us!

First time we met one of our daughters in a foreign land (they have been to six different countries all by themselves). Nikita was waiting for us in Sydney airport. Our incoming flight was delayed – so we rushed to head out to our next destination… Tassie !

This is the southern most land we have ever been to! Beat our previous marks – Buenos Aires and Santiago by about 10 degrees of latitude!

First time driving on the other side in the southern hemisphere! I put Nikita’s name in too. I want her to do the same.

Our room is not ready. So, we quickly changed and hit the streets to take in some of the local culture. It is a bit windy which is making it seem colder than it is. You can see the second longest river in Tasmania behind us – River Derwent.

We landed on a Saturday – just in time for the Salamanca market in Hobart! Think of it as a huge farmer’s market with all sorts of local goods. Most were selling stuff made from local wood, leather and such. Surprising number of distilleries selling their own brand of alcohols. And a lot – a lot of coffee shops. Reassuringly enough, there was that one Indian food stall selling samosa, chaat and masala dosa!! It was very popular among the locals!

The girls, thoroughly inspired by the local cold weather, bought as many jackets and hats they could lay their eyes upon. I am not going to mention to them that our next target is going to be in mid eighties in temperatures!!

This was a great experience!

That little girl stood there totally mesmerized by the live music. The players played to her and she refused to budge from her position as much as her parents would have liked to move on and check out a few more shops. Her transfixion by the music was a live epitome of mindfulness.

In Salamanca market, I came upon this stall that makes all sorts of stuff from local wood. Interestingly, amongst all the wooden kitchenware, were quite a few pens. Out of curiosity and far less hope, I asked the gentleman “Are any of these fountain pens?”. What do you know? He said yes – and there was a whole section of them.

The girls went off on their own shopping spree as I sat down with Graeme and Saritthip to hear their story. Saritthip is the one who makes the fountain pens. They get their iridium point nibs brought in from Germany. Told me the story of each of the local wood they use.

Finally, bought two pens – one from golden sassafras wood and one from huon pine – both very local trees in Tasmania!

Today, the idea is to go to Bruny island. We are going to hit the southernmost point of our life so far – 43.5° S. But first, we have to figure out how to cross the water with our car!

First time I crossed the ferry with a car was when Gintautas and I crossed Klaipeda to the island of Neringa in his car. This was the first time for me to drive in a car to the ferry. And a very first time ever for Nikita and Sharmila.

The car you see behind and below them in the one we have rented for our stay in Tasmania!!

Nikita is all attention – driving for he first time on the other side of the road!

This is a small isthmus that connects northern part of Bruny island to the southern point. One side is Tasman Sea and the other, behind Nikita is Simpson’s Bay.

Reminded us of Eleuthera island

Down the wooden trail at the end of the beach is where the penguins are. Unfortunately, they move to the sea at dawn and come back at dusk. So, we could not spot them.

This area is very popular with the surfers. On this wind and cold day, there was one faithful surfer out in the waters!!

The island is lush green with rainforest but from every direction you see, there are very sheer cliffs that go into the water. Making it look like a cupcake. This is in the Kingsborough area.

This bronze sculpture in the Adventure Bay was unveiled twenty years back to emphasize the interplay of land and water.

But first, Niki had to drive over dirt road for a few miles to get to the trailhead of Mavista Trail (this is in Mangana forest reserve)

We three were all by ourselves in the entire trail. The sounds of the brook cascades and local birds were our only company.

We will probably never make it to here again ever

Niki was driving on the dirt road to our next stop – the lighthouse. The 10 miles of road were really broken and full of potholes. As we kept our focus on the road, she suddenly screamed “Wallaby”. And indeed, there was the marsupial crossing the road. Unfortunately, it was too fast for me to grab a picture!

After that 10 miles of dirt road, when the GPS said “Lighthouse Road”, we were a bit relieved. Our assumption wa that it would be an asphalt road. Instead we were greeted with 20 more kilometers of dirt road! But it was wider and relatively smooth. Reminded us of the dirt road to our old house a lot!

Bruny Island Lighthouse. 43.5° S

This is the most south we have ever been!!

We could not get out of the car to see it from outside. The rains had started and the winds were really strong. I mean strong enough that while trying to switch driving, I got out of the car and could not move forward – I was being pushed back so hard. Niki did not even bother coming out. She just jumped from driver’s seat to the passenger side!

The rains were coming down hard. And the winds were howling!!

Saw this thing in the harbor when Sharmila and I went out for a walk. It appears to be some kind of a really old crane. It was on rails and had an interesting rotating platform. Looked impressive against the dark clouds.

That would mean the boat has seen three different centuries!

Sharmila and I strolled into a cafe by the harbor. Right by the window, they had some interesting sitting spaces.. re-purposed bouys!

It was cool in terms of temperatures. But the winds were howling at over 50 kmph! The temperature felt like quite a few degrees below freezing per the weatherman!

That is the town of Hobart down below there.

We are off to the Eaglehawk Neck area. First stop – Tessellated Pavement.

That area down there looks like a man made area with regular shaped cut stones, right? Believe it or not – it is all natural!! It almost looks like nature actually created those building blocks and then stacked them together. In reality, it is the pattern of erosion on these rocks.

It is really really difficult to believe this is all natural! The straight lines are unbelievably long and regular.

First stop – the Blow Hole.

This is a small tunnel that got eroded and connects this pool to the outer ocean. During high waves, it spurts out huge fountains resembling the blow hole of whales.

The size of the cliffs are difficult to imagine.

There is no way a camera can do justice to the sheer size of these

Reminds me of the “mesa”s we had learnt about in eighth grade geography

Erosion over thousands and thousands of years has created this beautiful arch

Unfortunately, this is so big and we are so close to the edge, neither my mirrorless nor my phone could capture the full expanse. The 0.5x mode in the phone does not give it a natural look either. This one is probably best viewed from a boat in the water!

There was not a single human being anywhere. And we were within a few feet of dropping down hundreds of floors from a cliff!

On our way to the airport, we swung by Seven Seas Beach

As we were taxing to the edge of the active runway, this helicopter hovered over a parallel runway. What was peculiar is that you usually see helicopters go up and down. This one went along the road like a normla vehicle keeping a constant couple of yards distance from the ground!

I do not know if I will ever make it back here but sure would love to!

Looks like a green stadium. This is in Sydney.

I think first time we have stayed in a room like this. In Fiji, the rooms were on water and the provate balcony led into the lagoon. Here, the balcony steps into a private pool!

We are packed up and in the bud to go to the marina

It is sunny but a bit choppy

That stationary pontoon is our ground zero to do all the activities

One of those birds is going to take us away

For today, I get to sit upfront to get some good pictures.

Nikita is the snorkeler. Meanwhile, Sharmila and I have still not learnt swimming. We will go out in a submarine instead.

We will explore the coral reefs from inside a submarine!

Back on the bus. Dog tired!!

We had seen these birds during our walk around Bondi beach last August

But we are going to take the ropeway (Skyrail) up the mountains and then come back by that train.

Interesting shades of green in different leaves on this branch

Lush green and some really tall trees abound

You can see the dam in the far distance

Used by the Aboriginals, this makes some really crazy sounds

At first, I thought they were simply rocks made in the shape of crocodiles. Till one woke up from sleep and simply walked over another one!