Taz 2017 | Driving lessons

I've just sat down with the remains of a glass of wine after discussing the ins and outs of going through round-abouts from the wrong side of the road.  Clockwise. Yield to cars on the right, says our host. WELL YES OF COURSE. Yield to cars in the circle, which are on your right. Half way round in the outside lane, max. Use the inside lane to make a right hand turn.

I managed to delay the inevitable by convincing Margaret to asume driving duties for two days but today there was no getting out of it. We were headed out on to the Tasman Peninsula toward Port Arthur, the old penal institute, but first I had to get out of Rob's driveway, down the gravel road, onto the freeway and through the round-about. I missed the access to the freeway so we took the scenic route through towns and villages. It was good practice. Push the button on the stick shift for reverse, gear down to first before stopping, turn into the left hand lane, look right for cars, stay left, keep your eye on the centre lane, the  signal lights are at your right, which is nearest the door, and the rear view mirror up and to the left.  By the time I got to Sorrell which is about 10 km away I had to stop to catch my breath. But I cruised right up to the door without a hitch--okay there was that little problem at the traffic circle just below us here--after a fun day on the road. 

Everything here is about getting around and across the water. There are peninsulas on peninsulas and bays inside bays. At Dunnaley, an isthmus that connects to the Tasman Peninsula, we found the Waterfront Cafe and Gallery where I had my first bit of gf bread since leaving home: toast with cinammon butter and raspberry jam, and a latte in a glass. We hiked 40 minutes up the Tasman Coast  Track to spectacular views of the rugged coastline, and stomped around the blowhole and Tasman Arch. At Devil's  Kitchen, we stretched ourselves over the ledge with our cameras down a 60m cleft in the cliff wall. We took a detour to catch  White Beach, a half moon shaped stretch of ... you guesed it ... white sand, then went on to Lucky Ducks, another great cafe with gf options. Thank you, Lonely Planet!



Margaret cooked grilled blue eye, a local name for deep sea trevalla; for the uninitiated that's a deep sea fish we first tasted in the Cook Islands. Yum. I could get to enjoy Margaret's cooking on a regular basis!