Further down Under June 14,2006
Our flight took off from Cairns about 1:30 PM today as we headed south toward Hobart. Being that we are living in the topsy turvy world of the Southern Hemisphere two things begin to take meaning; one is that although it is June its winter time, two is that as we go south it will get colder. In Cairns we were at approximately South 15ﾟlatitude which means that we were in the tropics, or to put it another way if we were in the Northern Hemisphere and at the right longitude we could have been in Martinique, West Indies. Now, being in Hobart which is at South 43ﾟthat would be the Northern Hemisphere equivalent to being in Portland, Maine and I will remind you that it is winter here.
Having whined enough, it’s not as bad as it sounds. The high temperature in Cairns today was forecasted to be 77ﾟ, the high in Hobart was forecasted to be 55ﾟ. Not exactly a winter wonderland. According to the Tasmania Tourism Board it rarely reaches the freezing point in Tasmania or anywhere else at sea level in Australia. It must be something to do with ocean currents and prevailing winds.
Tasmania is another of the Australian states that was founded as a depository for England’s castoffs. Convicts were shipped here and used as labor to build a new British colony. A sentence of seven years hard labor was not unusual for the horrific crime of stealing a loaf of bread. My guess is that the economics of sending someone on a three month one way all expense paid cruise dictated that you needed to get your pound of flesh in return, not to mention that those damned new Americans had not only stopped the revenue stream from those colonies but had also cost the British a few shillings in war debt. What was the empire to do?
We found our B&B around 10:15 PM without any problems thanks to the computer printed directions that the Hertz agent had given us. The Lodge on Elizabeth Street is where we are staying tonight. Keith and Ann, the substitute inn keepers, made us feel right at home by doing everything but tucking us into bed. They have an Inn in the Sunshine Coast which is located in North Queensland and were nice enough to give their friends who own the Lodge a holiday during the off season. They are very nice people with Keith having a joke for all occasions.
We have a rental car here and will begin touring South Eastern Tasmania on Thursday June 15. We are looking forward to seeing the historical sights as well as the natural beauty of Australia’s most southern state. If we don’t freeze and are not thrown into a convict work program we will try to update again tomorrow.
Having whined enough, it’s not as bad as it sounds. The high temperature in Cairns today was forecasted to be 77ﾟ, the high in Hobart was forecasted to be 55ﾟ. Not exactly a winter wonderland. According to the Tasmania Tourism Board it rarely reaches the freezing point in Tasmania or anywhere else at sea level in Australia. It must be something to do with ocean currents and prevailing winds.
Tasmania is another of the Australian states that was founded as a depository for England’s castoffs. Convicts were shipped here and used as labor to build a new British colony. A sentence of seven years hard labor was not unusual for the horrific crime of stealing a loaf of bread. My guess is that the economics of sending someone on a three month one way all expense paid cruise dictated that you needed to get your pound of flesh in return, not to mention that those damned new Americans had not only stopped the revenue stream from those colonies but had also cost the British a few shillings in war debt. What was the empire to do?
We found our B&B around 10:15 PM without any problems thanks to the computer printed directions that the Hertz agent had given us. The Lodge on Elizabeth Street is where we are staying tonight. Keith and Ann, the substitute inn keepers, made us feel right at home by doing everything but tucking us into bed. They have an Inn in the Sunshine Coast which is located in North Queensland and were nice enough to give their friends who own the Lodge a holiday during the off season. They are very nice people with Keith having a joke for all occasions.
We have a rental car here and will begin touring South Eastern Tasmania on Thursday June 15. We are looking forward to seeing the historical sights as well as the natural beauty of Australia’s most southern state. If we don’t freeze and are not thrown into a convict work program we will try to update again tomorrow.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 4:13 AM
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