Toured Out
Just got back from dinner with two girls from the hostel. It is so nice to eat and talk with people!
I've been touring like mad since my last post. I spent the rest of Saturday biking down Mount Wellington. I got picked up by a bus that drove us to the top of the mountain, and we were very very lucky to have a nice clear view of Hobart and the surrounding area. According to Andrew, Darwin said that the view from Mt Wellington was one of the top two views in the world (the other being at Terra del Fuego- sp?). Of course, he didn't see all the views in the world, but it was a nice view. After some photo time we got on our bikes for the trip down. Now, I'm a bit afraid of heights, but I didn't think that biking down a road, even from the top of a mountain would be too difficult emotionally. I also didn't think it would be too difficult physically, because well, it is all downhill. I was soooo wrong! The first few kilometers were pretty scary, until we got back into the forested area where you couldn't see how high up you were. But I was still frightened of going too fast, and it was really really easy to go fast if you even let up on the brakes just a bit. So I'm gripping the brakes until my hands ache and my elbows are starting to hurt from all the force they're taking and I can't dare to relax at all because I'm too scared of picking up speed. Plus I was also afraid of getting hit by a car. I don't know what everyone else was thinking, because they were all pretty far ahead of me and must have been going incredibly fast without a care in the world. So the
first leg of the trip was a little difficult for me, but don't worry it got better.
After a while we stopped at the entrance to an off road trail. We were given an option of staying on the road or trying the trail. I was a little nervous about off roading, but everyone else (including the 70 year old couple) was up for it and it seemed like it might be a good change from watching out for the cars. It was a good decision- actually a lot less frightening than going down the top of the road. We got a little lesson from our guide- telling us to stand up on our pedals and keep them level, and also not to try and swerve around rocks because the bikes could handle going right over them. Then there was a ski lesson moment when he went down a bit of the trail and we had to follow him one by one so that he could see that we "got it". It actually reminded me of skiing in a lot of ways- first because if you were more confident and let yourself go a little then it was a lot easier, and going along with that, if you just let yourself go over the rough spots without trying to stop or avoid them, then you'd be safer. The whole off road part was a lot nicer for me than the on road part, although I can't imagine doing it at full speed like some other kids we saw on the way down. But overall a good experience.
After a little while we joined back up with the road- by this time it had started
raining- and headed back into town. When we got back to the city, I could not believe how sore I was. Who would have guessed that going down a mountain would be so stressful? To relax last night I went to see Music and Lyrics, which was bpth very dumb and very entertaining. I recommend it primarily for the opening credits which are absolutely hilarious. But maybe you can wait and see them on dvd...
So that was yesterday. Today I took a very unsatisfying tour to Freycinet National Park. The park itself was beautiful. We ate lunch on a beach and then hiked up a trail to look at Wineglass Bay, another famous beach. But it was too cold to swim and we didn't have a lot of time there. Most of the day was spent on the bus going there and back. The bus was very frustrating, because although it wasn't mentioned in the tour brochure, everyone going on the day tour had to take a regular commuter/Greyhound type bus up to the park- which meant that we had to keep stopping to let people on and off and all that junk. It was so ridiculous. At least the tour was free for me after I bought a week long bus pass (to get to Strahan and Cradle Mt). But it was really annoying.
I was supposed to do another day tour tomorrow but I have to confess that I am pretty much exhausted from the past few days of buses and bikes and sights. If there is space I might go in the afternoon to see some tassie devils, but otherwise I plan to chill out and sleep late. If anything happens tomorrow I'll let you know- if not next post from Adelaide!
Love,
Emma
I've been touring like mad since my last post. I spent the rest of Saturday biking down Mount Wellington. I got picked up by a bus that drove us to the top of the mountain, and we were very very lucky to have a nice clear view of Hobart and the surrounding area. According to Andrew, Darwin said that the view from Mt Wellington was one of the top two views in the world (the other being at Terra del Fuego- sp?). Of course, he didn't see all the views in the world, but it was a nice view. After some photo time we got on our bikes for the trip down. Now, I'm a bit afraid of heights, but I didn't think that biking down a road, even from the top of a mountain would be too difficult emotionally. I also didn't think it would be too difficult physically, because well, it is all downhill. I was soooo wrong! The first few kilometers were pretty scary, until we got back into the forested area where you couldn't see how high up you were. But I was still frightened of going too fast, and it was really really easy to go fast if you even let up on the brakes just a bit. So I'm gripping the brakes until my hands ache and my elbows are starting to hurt from all the force they're taking and I can't dare to relax at all because I'm too scared of picking up speed. Plus I was also afraid of getting hit by a car. I don't know what everyone else was thinking, because they were all pretty far ahead of me and must have been going incredibly fast without a care in the world. So the
first leg of the trip was a little difficult for me, but don't worry it got better.
After a while we stopped at the entrance to an off road trail. We were given an option of staying on the road or trying the trail. I was a little nervous about off roading, but everyone else (including the 70 year old couple) was up for it and it seemed like it might be a good change from watching out for the cars. It was a good decision- actually a lot less frightening than going down the top of the road. We got a little lesson from our guide- telling us to stand up on our pedals and keep them level, and also not to try and swerve around rocks because the bikes could handle going right over them. Then there was a ski lesson moment when he went down a bit of the trail and we had to follow him one by one so that he could see that we "got it". It actually reminded me of skiing in a lot of ways- first because if you were more confident and let yourself go a little then it was a lot easier, and going along with that, if you just let yourself go over the rough spots without trying to stop or avoid them, then you'd be safer. The whole off road part was a lot nicer for me than the on road part, although I can't imagine doing it at full speed like some other kids we saw on the way down. But overall a good experience.
After a little while we joined back up with the road- by this time it had started
raining- and headed back into town. When we got back to the city, I could not believe how sore I was. Who would have guessed that going down a mountain would be so stressful? To relax last night I went to see Music and Lyrics, which was bpth very dumb and very entertaining. I recommend it primarily for the opening credits which are absolutely hilarious. But maybe you can wait and see them on dvd...
So that was yesterday. Today I took a very unsatisfying tour to Freycinet National Park. The park itself was beautiful. We ate lunch on a beach and then hiked up a trail to look at Wineglass Bay, another famous beach. But it was too cold to swim and we didn't have a lot of time there. Most of the day was spent on the bus going there and back. The bus was very frustrating, because although it wasn't mentioned in the tour brochure, everyone going on the day tour had to take a regular commuter/Greyhound type bus up to the park- which meant that we had to keep stopping to let people on and off and all that junk. It was so ridiculous. At least the tour was free for me after I bought a week long bus pass (to get to Strahan and Cradle Mt). But it was really annoying.
I was supposed to do another day tour tomorrow but I have to confess that I am pretty much exhausted from the past few days of buses and bikes and sights. If there is space I might go in the afternoon to see some tassie devils, but otherwise I plan to chill out and sleep late. If anything happens tomorrow I'll let you know- if not next post from Adelaide!
Love,
Emma
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