Day 162

Lucky I had my MP4 player and Gerald slept a but we moved out at 4.00am and had a coffee and tea....free. Breakfast opened at about 5.45am so expensive $3.50 for tea or coffee.

Boat docked at Devonport at 6.00am and were off at 6.30am it took 35 min to get throught customs, but thats OK we need to keep our state disease free. It turns iut there was a lot of car space available but no passenger space, there were a lot of bike beacuse Phillip Island had been on the week before.

Into Launceston to fill with gas and then home...we were home by 9.30am but it felt like it was 3.00pm

HOME AT LAST.......Conclusion in a few days. LOVED EVERY MINUTE.

Day 161

We didn't leave the park till 3.00pm and I left all my fruit and veg with the park management. What should have taken us 30 min to travel took us 45 min , we got every red light. Any way we got as for as St Kilda pier where we stopped, and found out later there was a charge to stay there. We watched the wind surfers there were heaps, and it was very windy.

On to the boat you can start to line up at 5.00pm we get there at 5.05pm and went straight through customs into the line where we waited for an hour, but we are almost home.

Anyway found our "chairs" and put our water and books in them and went to the bar, where we saw several people from our little town. Off and had tea and on to watch a movie, chatted to a friend well that made up to 1.00am. We got back to our seats and found all our pillows and blankets had been taken and a woman was in Geralds seat, so we had to go and get security to get us more pillows and blankets.

Day 160

Our spot here is right next to the amenities block so I was going to catch up on the washing but then I thought we will be home in a couple of days why pay when I can do it for free. Most of the area was taken up with permanent caravans with solid annexes.

Once again we are only marking time before we can get on the boat. So we watched the V8's on the Gold Coast.

We asked about a late check out for tomorrow no problems no extra charge

Day 159

Back to Emerald where Puffing Billy had the stop at Lakeside and there was the model railway. Well off Gerald went and I caught up on the bolg. But he was back after and hour "You have to come and look at this" which I did and I must say it was one of the best layouts I have seen for scenery and realism and I have seen a few. You don't necessarily have to be a train person to enjoy this and it was $5.50 entry.

Forgot to say on Puffing Billy it is encouraged that you sit on the window with your feet hanging out. The guide told me to take my shoes off when I did it. I told him I would be lucky to lift my legs that far.

Gerald had done all the research and did the phone call to the Chelsea Holiday Park so he programmed the address into Nat and she took us there.

Day 158

Kurth Kiln is a lovely spot, but as for being isolated, today in came the CFA about 20 utes, they must have been doing fire training, after all we are in the area of last years devastating bushfires.

We are just marking time till we can get on the boat.

Day 157

So after much discussion we decide to find somewhere close so we could visit the model railway again. Well after a few wrong turns we ended up in the middle of nowhere at Kurth Kiln National Park. No one will disturb us here...yet on dusk down came some headlights and did several turns round an area above us and were never seen again.

This morning a large old ford car drove up next to us and he tooted his horn. It turned out that the old guy was from Tassie and spent a lot of time in the park because its so peaceful, that we can agree with.

Went for a walk and discovered there was a chap in the Rangers hut, have just made afternoon tea for a group of bush walkers (we didn't hear them). Even though there were information boards he told us a lot more. The kiln was for making charcoal at used to be used to run cars on. The Professor that started the kiln did his original research in Southport in Tasmania and the Prof is berried at Conelien Bay in Tasmania.