1/8/15 OZ Day 6: Canyoning on Tassie

Buffet breakfast at the hotel once again included the standard fare of baked beans, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Andy remarked that it is a standard farmers' fare for Australia. We loaded up the coach for the short ride up the street to The cradle mountain parking lot. We had to go in one large bus, while Sophie and Scotty took our vans on the daytime ferry ride. There was simply no room on the evening ferry ride, and we barely were able to secure passenger berths for all of us. W and crag divide the group into three and we stood out on the porch of the building to get our instructions, wetsuits and helmets.

http://www.cradlemountaincanyons.com.au

Our Canyon guides, Leon and Al, instructed us to gather up our gear and put them in the large backpacks that we were to carry into the canyon. It was a beautiful hike across about 2 miles of floating wooden walkways over scrub, past paddymelons and through completely untouched forest. We walked into and out of a rainforest, stopping at a rock formation to suit up in our gear, including wetsuit, best, jacket, neoprene socks and booties, topped off with a helmet. Another scramble downhill and we arrived at our first stop, rappelling or abseiling down a several story drop. I didn't look down and had no issue bouncing down the cliff side, landing in waist high water. 

Once we were all down, Leigh Ann gave us instructions on how to float on our backs with feet up through the deeper sections of the water, until we came to an outcropping of rocks. We shimmied across them, stopped at the edge, and then Al simply pulled us off, slamming us into the water. Hello - water up my nose! The next several hours included jumping off heights up to 6 meters into small dark pools, climbing across rock faces, sliding down old trees stuck in the canyon, and freezing our tears off. It was so cold!!! W said to me at one point 'this is not my happy place.'    

I was cold but all right. My biggest fear was jumping off some of the high jumps. I did every one!!

The students finished with a human pyramid at the end for our photo happy guides. Then came the surprise...we had to climb up the side of the cavern in all our gear. And we thought the tough stuff was over yesterday! Rocks, big climbs, holding onto trees, sliding along cliff faces, all of it with several pounds of water in our booties and hip flexor movement blocked by wetsuits. I stayed right behind W even as the kids slowed down :). Several times he told me, just look at the rocks so I wouldn't get stuck looking into the abyss. After about 25 minutes of climbing, we reached our bags, stopped to change back into our clothes and to make lunch. It was a light pick nick with wraps, turkey, hummus, and vegetables including beetroot. Then on with the bags again for the 2 mile hike out. 

The sun was starting to peek out at this point and we hustled to make it back before getting fried. But we were able to wonder at the beautiful view of mountainsides, low brush and  lots of green (plus some square wombat droppings). We got cleaned up at the visitors' center and waited for the other groups. 

Once back on the bus, almost everyone was asleep in 20 minutes. It was a pretty ride across Tassie back to Devonport where the students wandered off for shopping and food. Andy, Craig, W and I ate at Molly Malone's, a counter service pub. Then we wandered the town, talking to drunk twenty somethings and being amused at the early closing hour of the shops on a Saturday evening! 

We waited several hours at the ferry terminal, then boarded around 9pm. Everyone of the adults headed to bed early. It was a wild night on board, with the boat crashing loudly through waves for several hours in the middle of the night. But the late departure meant we could sleep until 7:30am!!!

1/7/16 OZ Day 5: Tassie and Cradle Mountain

I woke at 5:45am and walked a bit outside, chasing paddymelons as they crashed through the brush. After getting cleaned up, Wally made pancakes while we all prepped for breakfast and lunch. The students really moved and we were out by 7:45am. 

We drove to Cradle Mountain, one of the most famous sites in Tasmania, a popular tourist destination and a World Heritage site. To be honest, it is difficult to begin to summarize the day. Beautiful, challenging, breath-taking, scary as hell, empowering....these barely cover it. 

The kick off included the standard group photo with the Elon flag, then we began the long walk at Dove Lake. The terrain was rocky and quickly ascended into white boulders with chain fences to help you up. Wooden boardwalks with chain link coverings were the other main passage, designed to protect the fauna. We scrambled up over several kilometers, with our path framed by low scrubby brush, bushes and the occasional stubborn daisy-like flower. We even saw a small wallaby! 

Our first stop was Marion's lookout, a high overlook to the lakes below.   A quick snack, some photos and we were back at it again, coming up onto a large plain with descending steps and a grassy landscape with lots of rocks. It looked somewhat like a lunar landscape. We stopped and ate lunch at the Kitchen Hut, a tiny two level wooden building that our guide Andy once slept in with 11 students and 3 backpackers during a blizzard. Also at Kitchen Hut is the lone bathroom, a frightening smelling room with a toilet, sink and no tp. The human waste is actually flown out by helicopter. 

Then the rough stuff started. By then we could see the path up the mountain face, with people dotting it. The path eventually ceased and gave way to small boulders and large rocks, outcropping with little grass or greenery. Then the greenery stopped entirely and we bagn walking or scrambling up with large boulders, some of which were the size of a VW. The rocks were not the issue. The challenge was the sheer drop off below and the possibility of slipping into a crevice. I made the mistake of stopping to help one of the students, primarily in carrying her pack. That and waiting while Andy looked for first aid supplies for a student, left me with far too much time to think. By the time I got started again, I was almost sick with fear of the heights and the challenge. 

The two of us started up again and within 15 minutes, W had come back down to find us. He took the student's pack and concentrated on helping guide both of us up the steepest climb to the false summit. This consisted of giant to fist sized rocks, many at odd angles leading to sharp drop offs and many deep crevices. At one point two young girls bounded past us like Billy goats, talking me through a couple of maneuvers. I was thinking that I couldn't get over my fear at a large rock that I had to lean back to get around, when W said 'you will kick yourself in the morning if you don't get to the top of this." That was what I needed to stop thinking and start climbing. We reached the false summit, a small crest before a dip and the real summit, when W made the tough decision to ask the student to wait there. We simply wouldn't make it in time and would have to turn back early at the pace she was going. She agreed and we pressed on through the rock valley and up again the other side. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel when the crevices ended and grass grew in small patches between the rocks. While limited, these made me feel safer. We finally reached the top where I got a rousing 'yeah, Mrs. B!' from the students. 

We ate some food at the summit while the kids caught some sun. Then we took some photos and prepared ourselves for the Longblock back. W had to talk one of the students through a panic attack and then we set off. It was a crabwalk scramble down the mountainside, helping each other to find our footing down the steep rocks. 

Instead of returning the way we came, we headed to the left around wombat lake, looking at the large lakes below. It took us over two hours to return back, and we reached Dove lake and the car park around 4 PM in the afternoon. While the way up was a mental challenge, the way down was just physical. With our tired legs, it was easy to trip and stumble around the loose rocks. I really enjoyed it however, due to the variations in vegetation and topography. By this point, many of the students were just talking about wanting a cold beverage. 

Our next accommodation was the Cradle Mountain Hotel, about as far different from the Gowrie Park campground as could be. Two level hotel rooms with jacuzzi tubs, sliders to outside and a very welcoming lobby and bar greeted us. A quick change, 3 minute drive and we were figuring out the ordering and seating process at Pepper's Restaurant at Cradle Mountain Lodge. Most of the students had dressed for a 70 degree night on what was closer to 55 and outside seating was all that was available to start. The guys sent the students in to order 10 at a time, and they staked out indoor tables. The guides, Craig, W and I found a small bar around the corner of the restaurant and settled in with ciders and beers. About two hours later we got our food, all served with fries as is standard. Off the bed! Another active day in the morning. 

1/6/15 OZ Day 4: Tassie

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.