WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER   WHITE BEACH TO COLES BAY   266kms

We slept in a little, and so did not leave White Beach until about 10.30.

At Dunalley, stopped at the fish place where we bought some smoked salmon and a crayfish – these were very expensive luxuries because tomorrow is my birthday.

Today’s drive was a BIG one, in Tasmania! We opted to stick to the main, sealed roads, so went towards Hobart, as far as Sorell, then took the standard route up the east coast. More direct, shorter routes would have seen us on dirt roads of unknown quality, and we just wanted to play safe and get to our destination in good time.

Stopped to eat our packed lunch at Buckland, where we were able to pull off the road beside the Prosser River.

Just south of Swansea, we stopped to photograph the Spiky Bridge, which was convict built in the 1840’s. It is unusually topped with jagged pieces of rock, perhaps to stop cows from falling over the edge, as it is otherwise quite low.

Convict built Spiky Bridge, near Swansea

We went back to the Iluka Holiday Village – and even back to the same site we were on last time! It cost $14.40 a night, after discount.

There were gale winds forecast, which was not so promising. Apparently these were somehow related to the influence of a huge cyclone that was due to hit the WA coast today or tomorrow. The system was Cyclone John – its namesake was rather chuffed that it was the strongest one on record – a Category 5, with winds in excess of 295kmh.

Our site here seemed fairly sheltered, but the van was still rocking about a bit.

I made lobster thermidor with mashed potato for tea. John likes crayfish done that way – it was his idea. I think I prefer them eaten fresh and chilled, plain. Raspberries followed – never get sick of those!

V phoned in the evening, to find out where we would be for Xmas mail, and to wish me happy birthday. She has a job with the Commonwealth Bank and now thinks they will settle and defer any further travel. In the absence of the current family matriarch – me – she has assumed the traditional family Xmas role and is organizing a Boxing Day BBQ for a family get together.

John kept me up till midnight, to ensure he didn’t forget my birthday this year! He gave me two books – Bryce Courteney’s “Jessica” and the latest Patricia Cornwall one. Both should be good reading and I will appreciate them.