An easier day today as we hopped off the ship in Devonport. The wake up call was 5:45am, but I went outside at 5:30am to try to find the sunset. People were sleeping all over the ship, with thin white blankets covering their bodies and faces.
Onto the busses and into Devonport for breakfast. Half the group headed to a local diner, while we found something that looked remarkably like a Panera but with a light 'brekkie,' toasties and small breakfast pies. Craig was given the hottest cup of coffee known to man, and I had to choose a pre-made egg and cheese toastie with either BBQ sauce or hollandaise.
Once out of the seaport, the expanse opened up to beautiful forest, cut up by farmland. Sheep, cattle, horses and the occasional goats and emu live next door to poppy fields for pharmaceutical use. The mountains in the background frame the green landscape.
Water is not plumbed so each home has a cistern for rain collection Nearly every house has solar panels on the roof.
Marakoopa Caves
Millions of years ago a small stream started cutting away through a limestone formation, and today we are left with the Marakoopa Caves, a wonder that was discovered by two brothers in 1906 and opened to the public in 1912. Our guide Alwyn, led us down a forest walk into the side of a mountain. We took the steps by floor, crowding onto platforms in semi-darkness before he passed us with his flashlight and turned another set of lights. We walked all the way up to the grand cathedral, a large round dome in the ceiling caused by another stream millions of years ago. Kristine sang a short piece from Spring Awakening while W and I stood there listening to the echo. It was amazing to see the stalagmites and stalactites formed over millions of years, readying to meet in fingers that would take millions more. The most impressive formation is the wedding cake. The last stop on our sighting was the glow worms in the lower cave.
Merita Honey Farm
A cute shop owned by a mother daughter team, the honey farm is a traditional stop for the Elon students on this trip. Chudley is a small stop in Tassie, with beautiful roses lining the streets with nameplates and poetry quotes. We all tried various honey flavors and ought ice cream, boysenberry for W and hazelnut for me.
Swimming hole
We went back to the Gowrie Park campground and checked into our rooms along a long hallway off the smelly comonroom. The park is a campground, RV park, bunkhouse and our building, about 12 rooms with a common area at one end and four showers at the other. ($1 to shower for 5 minutes.) We changed quickly and about 75% of the group went with Craig, our guides and I back to a swimming hole. Lots of diving, freezing, sliding on rocks ensued. The highlight was the students holding the Elon flag in front of the river while Scotty, one of the guides, jumped off the makeshift diving board in the background. Yes, I jumped off too.
A quick shower and we walked up the path to the Old Black Stump Restaurant up the street. The kids made a beeline for the bar, while I grabbed 5 at one time to healthy cheers. Two choices - roast pork or roast chicken with some of the best potatoes ever, cooked carrots and peas and corn mixture. We enjoyed the company and walked back to see some paddymelons, including a momma and her baby. Then we talked to the kids for awhile and headed off to our bunk beds.
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