Diary of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[zanzibar138]

A compromise

I know I said I had talked myself into being ok with a late arrival at WDW, but after a few weeks, it still wasn't sitting well with me. Ben agreed that we should prioritise getting there sooner, but at the same time was unwilling to take any more days away from Vegas. After going through all the possible options, and getting input from my parents as well, we've decided to take the red eye with Spirit We will now be departing from Vegas at 11:45pm, which will give us plenty of time to have a last dinner with his friend, and get us into Orlando just before 7:30am.

If you've read the rest of my PTR, you will know that I normally flatly refuse to fly overnight unless there's a lie-flat seat involved, but I'm willing to be tired and uncomfortable for 4.5 hours to get our money's worth from the Poly We were able to cancel our final night's accommodation in Vegas, so I was able to justify splurging on Spirit's 'large' seats to hopefully provide a bit more comfort.

We'll keep our plans pretty open for that day so we can just do whatever we feel up to doing at the time. Definitely open to suggestions (including potential napping locations!) if anyone wants to share their tips for a post-red eye arrival day.

 

[AnnaS]

I have never taken a red eye. I have tried to nap/sleep on a long flight - but I don't sleep too easily/quick. Dozed off maybe and took a Tylenol PM once

I don't have advice but definitely try to close your eyes and rest even if you are not "sleeping"/no TV. You might be a zombie next morning.....just take it easy anyway that day.

 

[zanzibar138]

The rough plan for Vegas

We met up with Ben's friend yesterday to go through the plans for the road trip and Vegas part of our trip.

Road trip day 1 (LA to Death Valley): We agreed that we'll just get up at a reasonable time, have breakfast and then hit the road (we'll pick up the hire car on arrival the day before). Our specific route from LA to Death Valley will depend on the weather - if there's any chance of snow/ice, we'll have to avoid the higher altitude areas. We'll aim to arrive in time to enjoy sunset in the park.

Road trip day 2 (Death Valley to Boulder City): We'll plan to book a sunrise horse riding tour to start the day, and probably just drive the scenic route on the way out, stopping wherever looks interesting. Death Valley is quite a high priority for all of us, so we'll be happy to spend most of the day there. We'll just keep in mind that we've got about a 2.5 hour drive to the next stop, and aim to arrive before dark. If we've got time to check out Red Rock Canyon on the way through we will, but it's not going to be a high priority.

Road trip day 3 (Boulder City to Vegas via Route 66): We'll get going straight after breakfast this morning to be able to fit in as much as we can. Ben expressed interest in a rafting tour at Hoover Dam, as well as the actual dam tour, but we decided we'll probably just stick with the dam tour since it will be a fairly big day. From there we'll be driving down to Route 66 and through Oatman - we'll probably have lunch in Kingman or Oatman depending on the timing. Ben's friend has also expressed interest in stopping in at Laughlin on the way back into Vegas. We'll drop off the hire car near the airport, then get an uber from there to the hotel. We're planning to kick off our time in Vegas with the medieval dinner, probably followed by drinks at one of the nearby rooftop bars.

Vegas day 1: After a few early starts, this will be our first no alarm day! We'll plan make our way down to the old part at our leisure and spend the afternoon/evening there.

Vegas day 2: Another leisurely start day, we'll probably spend this day checking out some of the hotels/casinos along the strip, and do dinner at the Eiffel Tower. Ben and his friend are keen to check out the Sphere and we might do the big wheel as well.

Vegas day 3: It'll be check-out day for us, but we'll have the full day and most of the evening. I freaked out a little bit when Ben's friend said he'd already booked tickets for the ice hockey that night, but apparently it finishes at 8pm, so will be early enough for us to still get to the airport in plenty of time. We don't really have ice hockey in Australia, so it'll be something different for us and should be fun! For the day, we'll probably just check out anything on the strip that we haven't got to yet or wanted to go back to.

 

[zanzibar138]

And in other news

Honeymoon:

• I've gotten a travel card for USD, which I was able to try out for the last instalment of our AKL accommodation. All went smoothly. Ben has gotten a no international transaction fee account so we can withdraw cash fee-free while we're over there.
• Very pleased to say that just yesterday AA advised that our flight out of Orlando has been rescheduled, and is now scheduled for departure just before 8am, which is a VAST improvement on 6:30am!
• We've been discussing the plans for our arrival day in Orlando and our day between flights in LA. We think it's probably worth booking a hotel for a few hours on each day, however we're also considering just hiring a car in LA and driving to Universal to check out Nintendo World.
• Still considering which days to do what at WDW but information is starting to come together. Still waiting on the MK CM appreciation thing to be announced, as we'll definitely plan to visit MK that day and then hop to another park in the evening.
• I should get in touch with our photographer for the wedding shoot to confirm what day/time that will be before making too many plans.
• Also still thinking about cute outfits for some of our park days, and considering buying a camera. I generally take hundreds of photos a day on a Disney trip, so not sure my phone will cope.

And in wedding news:

• I have found a local dressmaker to do alterations on my dress. After trying it on, the alterations list includes: adding an extra couple of ivory layers to the skirt to soften the blue, shortening the train and re-doing the bustle which wasn't functioning as required, adding the plain detachable straps to the corset, it also turned out that the corset needed taking in quite significantly around the bust. Unfortunately it's going to cost me (which I hadn't factored into the budget since it was a custom dress to start with), and I'm still not going to end up with exactly what I wanted, but I'll be a lot happier with the dress for the day.
• We've finalised the guest list and I'm just putting the final touches on the invitations to send out in the next couple of days. We're doing mostly digital invites, but will print off a couple for the grandparents.
• I've ordered and received our artificial flowers from Etsy. They are lovely real touch ones - I'm very happy with them and looking forward to working on the arrangements next.
• We bought Ben's wedding ring. While we were there, I remembered I had a birthday voucher for the store, so ended up getting 25% off the total order and thought I'd add a nice pair of sparkly earrings too!
• I've booked a coffee cart and now we're also considering whether to book someone to set up a grazing table instead of DIY catering.
• I've also booked accommodation for our wedding night - we'll be having dinner and going dancing in the city so have booked a lovely waterfront hotel for the night.

My poor credit card has really been copping a beating

 

[pkondz]

We'll plan to book a sunrise horse riding tour to start the day,

That sounds really nice.

Ben expressed interest in a rafting tour at Hoover Dam, as well as the actual dam tour, but we decided we'll probably just stick with the dam tour since it will be a fairly big day.

Sounds like a dam fine day.

Re: Vegas. I strongly urge you to take in a Cirque show. Ka was stunning and O was (IMHO) a fairly close second.

We've finalised the guest list and I'm just putting the final touches on the invitations to send out in the next couple of days.

Standing by for my invite...

 

[zanzibar138]

That sounds really nice.

Unfortunately now that I've looked into it, I can see that they don't offer the sunrise OR sunset horse riding tours at that time of year - must be too cold and/or dark. The only option for the regular 1 hour ride is 10:30am, which is probably going to eat into our day too much. Otherwise we can book a 90 minute private ride that starts at 7:45am, but that is just ridiculously expensive! Bit of a bummer, I was looking forward to that

Sounds like a dam fine day.

Re: Vegas. I strongly urge you to take in a Cirque show. Ka was stunning and O was (IMHO) a fairly close second.

I see what you did there

I'm keen for a Cirque show, but Ben is less convinced because he thinks that's something we can do at home. Not sure when we'd fit it in either! As much as I though 3 nights in Vegas was going to be heaps, I'm now seeing that 3.5 is actually cutting it pretty tight. Ben's friend has told us he wants to take us for a helicopter tour of the strip one evening too.

Standing by for my invite...

Bit of a long way for you to come

 

[pkondz]

Unfortunately now that I've looked into it, I can see that they don't offer the sunrise OR sunset horse riding tours at that time of year - must be too cold and/or dark. The only option for the regular 1 hour ride is 10:30am, which is probably going to eat into our day too much. Otherwise we can book a 90 minute private ride that starts at 7:45am, but that is just ridiculously expensive! Bit of a bummer, I was looking forward to that

Well shoot. That’s too bad.

I'm keen for a Cirque show, but Ben is less convinced because he thinks that's something we can do at home

No. It’s not. I’ve been to Cirque shows here where I live, and they don’t even come close to what you see in Vegas. The entire stage is purpose-built for the show at great expense. Much more-so than a traveling show could possibly do.
Hmmm… I have seen a couple traveling Cirque shows and was very entertained. I saw Ka in Vegas and was stunned.

Ben's friend has told us he wants to take us for a helicopter tour of the strip one evening too.

Wow! That’d be great!

Bit of a long way for you to come

I measured on a map. It’s only about 6 inches away from me.

 

[zanzibar138]

No. It’s not. I’ve been to Cirque shows here where I live, and they don’t even come close to what you see in Vegas. The entire stage is purpose-built for the show at great expense. Much more-so than a traveling show could possibly do.
Hmmm… I have seen a couple traveling Cirque shows and was very entertained. I saw Ka in Vegas and was stunned.

I definitely agree! But there's still the problem of when to fit it in

I measured on a map. It’s only about 6 inches away from me.

 

[pkondz]

I definitely agree! But there's still the problem of when to fit it in

Can’t help you there!

 

[zanzibar138]

Mini TR: Taking Grandma to Tassie

Just going to interrupt this PTR for a quick mini-TR after our short trip to Tasmania. Ben got the idea earlier this year that we should take his Grandma (GM) as they've both always wanted to go. We based ourselves in Launceston in the north of Tassie and did a few day trips around the area.

Day 1 was actually Melbourne. Since we had to fly through Melbourne, I'd decided to add a couple of days in the office there to spend some time with a new colleague. I had some free time on the Thursday morning before heading to the airport, so I went to SeaLife Aquarium. It would have been very enjoyable had it not been soooooo busy!



The highlight of the aquarium is the penguin exhibit, particularly since they currently have a baby penguin (which may have been why it was so ridiculously busy on a weekday morning). I enjoyed some of the less popular exhibits more.



After that, I took the Skybus to the airport to meet Ben and GM for the short flight to Launceston. Then it was picking up the hire car and driving to our very lovely house in Launceston.





We hadn't realised it was actually a public holiday on our arrival day, so we struggled to find anywhere open for dinner. We did eventually find an Indian restaurant not far away that was quite nice.

Day 2 we got up at our leisure and headed out west. Since Ben and GM weren't much help at picking activities, and pretty much just said they'd be happy to see anything, I decided to tick a few things off my own list, including 'The Nut' in Stanley. It was a bit of a drive, but we all enjoyed the scenery and stopped for lunch on the way, then eventually got to Stanley.



Unfortunately we had chosen a very windy day to visit, so the chairlift wasn't running. It was a short but very steep hike up the hill for me, while Ben and GM stayed warm and comfortable at the cafe. It only took me about half an hour to get up to the first lookout and then back down to the cafe.





On the way back, we had been planning to stop at a tulip farm in Wynyard, but it was later than we'd expected and we arrived just as it was closing up. We found a little lookout close by that had some lovely rows of flowers planted with the view of the lighthouse in the background.



From there we took the scenic drive along the coast, Ben put his feet in the ocean to see how cold it was (spoiler alert: it was VERY cold), and we stopped at a pub in one of the towns along the way for dinner. It was pretty late by the time we got back.

 

[zanzibar138]

Continued...

Day 3 we had a 4 hour lunch cruise booked on the Tamar River, and we had to be up relatively early to check in. One of the highlights was the short cruise into Cataract Gorge.



After leaving Cataract Gorge, we enjoyed morning tea, a wine tasting and a running commentary from the captain as we made our way down the river. The next highlight was Batman Bridge, which was the turnaround point.



On our way back, we enjoyed some lunch while quietly observing the scenery. While cruising, we decided to book a penguin tour for later that night. The timing was a little awkward for the penguin tour, but we thought it would be a nice scenic drive along the river and there would probably be things we wanted to stop at along the way to fill in some time. It was a nice scenic drive, but there wasn't much anyone was interested in stopping at! Just this one lookout point.



Even after stopping for dinner, we were running about an hour early for the penguin tour, so we took the opportunity to enjoy the sunset. It was actually quite nice to have that peaceful time before the rest of the crowds arrived!



Once the sun had set, we made our way down to the beach for the penguins. It was a quiet night for the penguins, but we still got to see several large groups come through. Photography was challenging!



It was late after that, so we headed straight back to the house and pretty much went straight to bed!

Day 4 was ticking another thing of my own list - Cradle Mountain. I knew GM wouldn't be doing any hiking, but had hoped there'd be some shops/cafes there she could look at. Ben and GM ended up finding some other things to do in the area while I hiked the 6km Dove Lake circuit.



The whole walk was pretty stunning, and with so many photo stops, it took me a bit over 2 hours to do the circuit.



I was surprised how many people just did the very beginning or end of the circuit. The middle 5km was pretty quiet! The boathouse was the most popular spot, and required some experimentation with angles to keep all the people out of the photos.



On the way out, I was delighted to spot an echidna. My record remains intact - I see one on every trip to Tassie!



GM hadn't coped very well with the drive up the mountain, so we went a more straightforward way back. It did take us an hour out of our way though, so once again it was a bit of a late night by the time we got back to Launceston. We had leftovers from the previous night's dinner that we enjoyed with some chips from Maccas.

 

[zanzibar138]

Continued...

Day 5 was a bit lighter day in preparation for travelling the next day. It was also surprisingly difficult to find things that were open on a Monday! We started with Devonshire Tea at a nearby historic house.



We spent a bit of time wandering the stunning gardens.





We drove along the scenic Meander Valley Road through small historic towns, and stopped to stretch our legs at a little park in Deloraine. The ducks there obviously have high expectations lol!



We continued our drive to the nearby cheese factory, where we had a little taste and bought some of our favourites.





We stopped at a little bakery/cafe for lunch, and were going to make a quick stop at Cataract Gorge on the way back through Launceston. The main visitor section of the gorge is fully accessible, but the entrance was just a little too steep for GM, so we just went back to the house for a rest and to prepare for our departure day. I took the opportunity to go for a little explore around the local area, then we found a nice place to go for dinner. We'd been planning to have cheese and biccies with some wine after dinner, but it was a bit late and we were a bit full!

Day 6 we were up early to leave the house by 7am. We flew back to Perth via Adelaide with a couple of hours at the airport to have some lunch and look at some shops. We were all pretty happy to get home!

 

[pkondz]

Ben got the idea earlier this year that we should take his Grandma (GM) as they've both always wanted to go.

Excuse me! I want to go to Tasmania, but you didn't take me! What gives?

Day 1 was actually Melbourne.

This is not Tasmania.

I went to SeaLife Aquarium. It would have been very enjoyable had it not been soooooo busy!

Darn. I love aquariums. Too bad it was so busy.

The highlight of the aquarium is the penguin exhibit, particularly since they currently have a baby penguin

Awww!!

(which may have been why it was so ridiculously busy on a weekday morning)

Makes sense. I mean... I'd go.

Great shot.

Then it was picking up the hire car

I always love the differences in English from across the globe. I presume you mean you rented a car.
Here if we said that, we'd probably mean a chauffeured car.

our very lovely house in Launceston.

Looks very nice. Pretty yard.

Since Ben and GM weren't much help at picking activities, and pretty much just said they'd be happy to see anything, I decided to tick a few things off my own list

To the planner goes the itinerary.

I presume this is the "nut"? Or is that something else?

It was a short but very steep hike up the hill for me, while Ben and GM stayed warm and comfortable at the cafe. It only took me about half an hour to get up to the first lookout and then back down to the cafe.

Only half an hour round trip? Not bad at all.

Like this windswept photo of you.

Ben put his feet in the ocean to see how cold it was (spoiler alert: it was VERY cold),

I'm guessing (but have no idea of currents, so...) that it's usually cold being that far south?

One of the highlights was the short cruise into Cataract Gorge.

Wow! Nice!

After leaving Cataract Gorge, we enjoyed morning tea, a wine tasting and a running commentary from the captain as we made our way down the river.

Sounds like a very relaxing way to cruise.

The next highlight was Batman Bridge

Why is it called that?

we decided to book a penguin tour for later that night. The timing was a little awkward

Because the penguins would be in their jammies and a little shy?

we still got to see several large groups come through.

Cool!

Photography was challenging!

I bet.

Day 4 was ticking another thing of my own list - Cradle Mountain.

Now that one I can see how it got its name.

I hiked the 6km Dove Lake circuit.

Nice length. Not so far that you'd have to worry about bringing anything. Just go.

I was surprised how many people just did the very beginning or end of the circuit. The middle 5km was pretty quiet!

I'm surprised by that as well, unless they were elderly, perhaps?

On the way out, I was delighted to spot an echidna. My record remains intact - I see one on every trip to Tassie!

That's so cool. I've never seen one even in captivity.

We started with Devonshire Tea at a nearby historic house.

Love afternoon teas. Not a huge fan of tea... but I love the whole... tea service.

The ducks there obviously have high expectations lol!

We continued our drive to the nearby cheese factory, where we had a little taste and bought some of our favourites.

Nice! I've never been to a cheese factory, but love cheese. Should rectify this.

We'd been planning to have cheese and biccies

Okay... there's one of those differences. I have no idea what "biccies" are.

We were all pretty happy to get home!

Sounds like a very fun little trip.

Next time, bring me.

 

[Steppesister]

but my real name is Lana

Ha! Now I finally know a name (and a sweet face!)

We met a couple of years ago at a ballroom dancing class

Ballroom is a wonderful thing. My girls and I (even my son too) spent quite a bit of time dancing Regency era, costuming and all. The balls were amazing! Miss that.

We definitely both enjoy our fair share of geeky interests including gaming, Lego and board games.

Oh yes, you and I would get along great! I don't game, but adore board gaming. (NOT well-known ones though, like Monopoly.)

Hoover Dam tour

I did this a zillion years ago in my teens and loved the tour. We went below and got close to the generators. The power was almost overwhelming.

• Lake View Studio at Polynesian Villas (more info here)
• 14-Day Park Hopper + Tickets (more info here)

Now that's a right might fine trip!

We are flying premium cabins using frequent flyer points,

Hoity-toity. I approve.

Suh-weeeeeet!!

Route 66 was also high on the list.

I've done a fair amount of this in chunks. I'd love to do the whole thing in one trip sometime.

Ontario Airport and not having to deal with LAX

That was my airport growing up. Soooo much better than LAX by a factor of a billion.

The Ranch at Death Valley.

Nice!! That'll be fun!

Zabriskie Point, Artist's Palette, Devil's Golf Course, Badwater Basin and Dante's View.

I have some photos of all of them on my TR

From there it's a bit over an hour to Kingman. There's nothing specific we want to do in Kingman - it's more of a gateway to Oatman really. Oatman made the list because of the iconic ghost town type feel and the wild burros. It's nearly an hour's drive from Kingman with some decent hilly sections but I wouldn't expect any snow (hopefully!).

Oatman was fun! Feeding the wild donkeys was a hoot!

At EPCOT, I'm interested in meals at Coral Reef, Space 220 and San Angel Inn.

You'll love them all. Well, I've never tried 220 but I'm headed there in Dec.

• Monorail bar crawl ending with Trader Sam's and fireworks from the beach at the Poly.
• Doing the entire Skyliner route -

I enjoy the Skyliner bars even more. I'm hoping to do a PTR/TR for my upcoming Dec. Disney trip and I've got a skyliner crawl cooked up with @disneyAndi14

Potential activities for KL:

• Petronas Towers and surrounding garden area
• KL Tower and surrounding rainforest reserve with suspension bridge
• Botanic Gardens including bird and butterfly aviaries
• Batu Caves
• Night markets

Doesn't all of that sound fun. You have some really great choices there. Asian markets are super awesome.

As we made our way outside to find somewhere for a drink, we could hear thunder rolling in, so I suggested we go to the place with a covered terrace where I thought it would be great to sit and watch the storm pass by. Turned out to be pretty big storm and we were there for a while lol!

Nothing better than passing a bit of time watching a thunder storm.

decided to check out the botanic gardens,

LOOOOVE me some Botanical gardens.

So without further ado... here's the corset top with the full bridal skirt. I would have loved the top to have been finished with an organza layer too - you can see it's a slightly different colour than the skirt.

Soooooo pretty!

Just going to interrupt this PTR for a quick mini-TR after our short trip to Tasmania. Ben got the idea earlier this year that we should take his Grandma (GM) as they've both always wanted to go. We based ourselves in Launceston in the north of Tassie and did a few day trips around the area.

Fun to compare things you did with ours. It'll take days to get through my portion.

What a shot! Very pretty!

While cruising, we decided to book a penguin tour for later that night. The timing was a little awkward for the penguin tour, but we thought it would be a nice scenic drive along the river and there would probably be things we wanted to stop at along the way to fill in some time.

Another thing we wanted to do, but time ran short and we just couldn't fit it in.

Cradle Mountain. I knew GM wouldn't be doing any hiking, but had hoped there'd be some shops/cafes there she could look at. Ben and GM ended up finding some other things to do in the area while I hiked the 6km Dove Lake circuit.

We'd hoped to get there, but the island was just too big to see all we wanted to on it.

OH man.... you got the photos I really wanted, but the timing of our road trip just didn't work out.

On the way out, I was delighted to spot an echidna. My record remains intact - I see one on every trip to Tassie!

Oh you lucky duck!!! Nice find!

We drove along the scenic Meander Valley Road through small historic towns, and stopped to stretch our legs at a little park in Deloraine. The ducks there obviously have high expectations lol!

HAHAHAHA!! WE stopped there too and have photos of these same ducks!!! Next chapter in fact! I also got a fun photo of the historic hotel there in Deloraine.

 

[zanzibar138]

Excuse me! I want to go to Tasmania, but you didn't take me! What gives?

Oops, your invite must have got lost in the mail

This is not Tasmania.

But it was on the way. Close enough lol!

I always love the differences in English from across the globe. I presume you mean you rented a car.
Here if we said that, we'd probably mean a chauffeured car.

Haha yes, a rental car. For us, a chauffeured car would be a car service.

I presume this is the "nut"? Or is that something else?

Yes, that is the nut Wish I'd gotten a better photo of it!

Like this windswept photo of you.

Windswept photos were kind of the thing in Tassie lol!

I'm guessing (but have no idea of currents, so...) that it's usually cold being that far south?

I'm no expert on currents either, but I'm pretty sure it's at least partly due to proximity to Antarctica.

Why is it called that?

John Batman was a prominent figure back in the day - he was actually the founder of Melbourne. Unlike the caped crusader, the pronounciation of his name is more like 'Batmin', with emphasis on the 'bat' part.

Because the penguins would be in their jammies and a little shy?

Well they were dressed to the nines in their tuxedos, but they were definitely shy!

Nice length. Not so far that you'd have to worry about bringing anything. Just go.

Also, I've lost a lot of hiking fitness so didn't want anything too strenuous!

I'm surprised by that as well, unless they were elderly, perhaps?

A lot seemed like they would have been perfectly able to do the hike. Maybe they were short on time and trying to hit the highlights.

Love afternoon teas. Not a huge fan of tea... but I love the whole... tea service.

Yeah, I also don't love tea, but I do love a scone with jam and cream!

Nice! I've never been to a cheese factory, but love cheese. Should rectify this.

Eh. I wouldn't bother unless you're going past one to be honest. It wasn't that interesting! Although I did grow up in a farming community and spent a bit of time in dairy country in SW Victoria (my ex worked on a dairy farm), so I probably have more of a history than most.

Okay... there's one of those differences. I have no idea what "biccies" are.

Ah yes. In Australia 'biccies' is short for biscuits. Which can refer to what you would call cookies or crackers. In this case, crackers.

 

[zanzibar138]

Ha! Now I finally know a name (and a sweet face!)

Well shucks

Ballroom is a wonderful thing. My girls and I (even my son too) spent quite a bit of time dancing Regency era, costuming and all. The balls were amazing! Miss that.

Ooh that sounds fun! We don't really do balls as such - the costumes would be amazing!

I did this a zillion years ago in my teens and loved the tour. We went below and got close to the generators. The power was almost overwhelming.

Last time I went, I only walked around the top. Looking forward to doing the tour.

I've done a fair amount of this in chunks. I'd love to do the whole thing in one trip sometime.

The whole thing is definitely still on the list for another trip!

That was my airport growing up. Soooo much better than LAX by a factor of a billion.

I have some photos of all of them on my TR

Ooh, I'll have to check it out!

Oatman was fun! Feeding the wild donkeys was a hoot!

Do you have photos of Oatman as well?

I enjoy the Skyliner bars even more. I'm hoping to do a PTR/TR for my upcoming Dec. Disney trip and I've got a skyliner crawl cooked up with @disneyAndi14

I'd definitely be interested in a skyliner crawl!

Fun to compare things you did with ours. It'll take days to get through my portion.

Yeah I tried to keep it pretty high level for just a quick rundown. And a lot of what we saw isn't as much of a novelty to me either! I imagine yours will be far more detailed.

We'd hoped to get there, but the island was just too big to see all we wanted to on it.

Oh gosh, now you have me intrigued as to why on earth you ended up in Miena on your first night lol!

I've actually spent quite a bit of time in Tassie - Hobart, Launceston, Strahan, short road trip up the east coast, and just before COVID hit I was lucky enough to spend about 3 weeks just out of Hobart. But on all those trips, I had never made it to Cradle Mountain, so it was an absolute must do for me. And now I have unfinished business there so I'll have to go back lol!

HAHAHAHA!! WE stopped there too and have photos of these same ducks!!! Next chapter in fact! I also got a fun photo of the historic hotel there in Deloraine.

Haha how funny! I'll be very interested to hear your take on things.

 

[pkondz]

Oops, your invite must have got lost in the mail

Darned postal service. I'll write a stern letter... wait... how will they get it?

But it was on the way. Close enough lol!

I'll give you that one.

Haha yes, a rental car. For us, a chauffeured car would be a car service.

I think mostly here we'd say "limo" for a car service.

Windswept photos were kind of the thing in Tassie lol!

John Batman was a prominent figure back in the day - he was actually the founder of Melbourne. Unlike the caped crusader, the pronounciation of his name is more like 'Batmin', with emphasis on the 'bat' part.

Huh!

I don't care that it's pronounced differently. I'm gonna still assume he wore a mask and cape.

Well they were dressed to the nines in their tuxedos, but they were definitely shy!

A lot seemed like they would have been perfectly able to do the hike. Maybe they were short on time and trying to hit the highlights.

Could be.

Eh. I wouldn't bother unless you're going past one to be honest.

Well, there's one just a few minutes south of me, so....

Ah yes. In Australia 'biccies' is short for biscuits. Which can refer to what you would call cookies or crackers. In this case, crackers.

Do you pronounce that "bick-ies" or "bich-ies"?

 

[zanzibar138]

Darned postal service. I'll write a stern letter... wait... how will they get it?

I think mostly here we'd say "limo" for a car service.

We only use 'limo' when we're talking about a stretch limousine, like for a wedding. So I'd be super disappointed lol!

I don't care that it's pronounced differently. I'm gonna still assume he wore a mask and cape.

Yeah, I refuse to pronounce it any other way

Well, there's one just a few minutes south of me, so....

Well that sounds like it would be worth the trip then

Do you pronounce that "bick-ies" or "bich-ies"?

Haha definitely bick-ies!

 

[pkondz]

We only use 'limo' when we're talking about a stretch limousine, like for a wedding. So I'd be super disappointed lol!

Hmmm... it's mostly used for stretches here too... but a nice chauffered car would be considered a limo.

Well that sounds like it would be worth the trip then

Haha definitely bick-ies!

phew!

 

[Steppesister]

Ooh that sounds fun! We don't really do balls as such - the costumes would be amazing!

It was super fun! The girls and I even made our ball gowns.



Loads of hand-stitching.

Do you have photos of Oatman as well?

I do.... I think they're in my ABC's of Starting Over TR.

And a lot of what we saw isn't as much of a novelty to me either! I imagine yours will be far more detailed.

Heh, which makes for an interminably long TR. LOL! I may never finish!

Oh gosh, now you have me intrigued as to why on earth you ended up in Miena on your first night lol!

That was as far as was willing to push it, knowing we'd be on thin ice with our arrival time/flight. I knew it'd be dicey driving at night, but wanted to get at least a LITTLE bit up the road towards Seahorse World so our next day would be that much shorter.