Day 1 & 2 - Hobart to Lake St Clair by Campervan!
 
After a luxurious 3 weeks in Manly we were in for a reality check with our next trip, a week's campervanning around Tasmania. Leaving the huge king size bed, the satellite TV and a well stocked alcohol cupboard was going to be potentially traumatic. In addition Nik and I are engaged so this could be a real test of our relationship!! Catching a plane for the intrepid duo is pretty much automatic now we have well oiled routine that goes into plan normally 24 hours before takeoff, bizarrely though on the way to the airport, a sailing ship with 'Getting Married?' sailed past our ferry and then the main book being advertised at the airport was by 'Stuart McBride'...by now thinking this may be a signal from the parents to say 'when will the date ACTUALLY be?,' we both then realised quite worryingly that 'an engagement' means a wedding.......bugger!

Without mishap we duly arrived in Hobart - the airport felt like we were arriving in a school field compared to the huge international terminals of previous landings, the views in were stunning though and we were both really excited about another adventure ahead! First impression does anyone live here?? We drove over the vast Tasman Bridge with fantastic lake and mountain views to arrive in a near ghost town on what was a Saturday night! It was by then that suffering from man flu, the plague and the after effects from the strain of asking Nikki to be my wife I succumbed to sleep for a brief power nap in our resting place for the evening "The Pickled Frog". At this point it must be noted that the newly engaged couple encountered their first issue. Apparently I didn't put pillows in pillow cases properly and didn't do so at home. I blamed the valium and let this "slight" pass by without comment. The evening meal passed without further comment and your author just made a mental note to speak to his mother regarding "pillowcases". 
 
An early start compared to the last few weeks meant we had an alarm call in single figures not pleasant. Arriving at the campervan depot slightly bleary eyed the process of hiring the van began; various discussions regarding excess option 1 or 2, imprints of credit cards, windscreen replacement and unsealed roads left one somewhat jaded. Eventually the negotiations completed we were on our way, well 500m down the road to an outdoor shop to buy stuff and then to a supermarket for provisions for the week. Both were quite chuffed with our new home though, the way in which every compartment had about 10 uses, i.e. the cutlery draw opens out to be a chopping board or mirror, the table becomes a bed etc. etc. but I am sure that after one night of this 'compact' luxury with 2 inside, the novelty may wear off! After lunch in the carpark we headed towards our first nights campground only 2 hours late.

We left in glorious conditions bright blue sky and sunshine, following the coast you quickly leave behind so called civilisation heading inland and begin winding your way along the Brooker Highway in a north westerly direction, following the river. First problem for Nikki then arose...... being squeamish about dead things we then within JUST 3 minutes of being on the open road had already experienced 5 dead wallabies, 2 squashed foxes, 1 badger and about 2 other non-identifiable creatures, at this point she was almost destined to drive round Tasmania with her eyes shut and felt sick! I tried to hit more of them but kept missing!
 
On heading further into the country the scenery changes from dense woodland to fields of crops, there was also this browny orangey peat / moss type of vegetation that Nik thought was stunning. I didn't. (Personal Note: review medical research on long-lasting effects of Valium). Most of the landscape looked as if it belonged in a national park and scattered amongst all these were numerous lakes and lagoons it was beautiful. Throughout the journey we were constantly trying to work out where it reminded us of - a combination of Connemara National Park in Ireland, the flatter parts of the Lake District, Saddleworth Moor and Dartmoor. You get the picture if not here's a couple Nikki took! After a much needed caffeine injection my better half took over the driving duties. There aren't many people in Tasmania as a result there is no one on the roads and we ate up the kilometres, by now the weather was horrendous and the beachfront cafes of Manly seemed a world away. A lookout point proved to be the view of two 2m pipelines feeding 6 smaller pipes for the hydro station in the valley below surrounded by a town that was a ghost town. It was all very random - it was then we knew we were back on the road experiencing oddities. After stopping at several beautiful large lakes such as Lake Binney, we soon reached our space for the night.

Having completed the admin, we then took a 2 min walk to view Lake St Clair (by now it was hammering down), the lake, which is Australia's deepest freshwater lake at 167m! was still pretty spectacular if not eerie amongst the dark clouds. We parked up for the evening and set about the experience of campervanning it. Hooked up to electric (in the rain!) and on the obligatory slope that is the campervan mans lot, my intended and I made ourselves comfortable for the evening. Nikki managed to master the art of cooking pasta in a metre by meter square area and I mastered converting a dining area to a bedroom amongst numerous backpacks and very limited space! With that, after Nikki had assessed the claustrophic's 'get out exit points' of our tiny home, we finally, shattered, fell asleep at 9.30pm! Goodnight.