2012-03-16 TASMANIA;PEPPERMINT BAY CRUISE

G'day Mates!

At Sullivan's Cove in Hobart we boarded the luxury plush Peppermint Bay II Catamaran that would take us on a cruise through the harbour. the River Derwent and the magnificent waters of the d'Entrecasteaux Channel. We would pass Bruny Island to get to Peppermint Bay.

Jillian had gotten the upper level seats which had plush comfortable seating just behind the captain. I was surprise to find out that there was assigned seating. We had an assigned waitress to bring us champagne, coffee and soft drinks. I took my second glass of champagne outside on the upper deck so I could take photographs of the wonderful scenery. The layered sandstone cliffs with caves carved by the ocean waves were neat looking. The layers were of different colors making it interesting. There were several places where huge chunks of sandstone rock had collapsed and laid at the bottom on the cliff. My imagination wondered what that sound had been like when the massive rock fell. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the outer upper deck and was rewarded with a great show of rare majestic Sea Eagles flying in like a bombardier pilot to catch the fish. I got several awesome photos of the Sea Eagles that catch my breath away which I will post to the blog.

The captain stopped the boat and put a camera down into the water about 20 feet from the shoreline where we were treated to see what laid beneath the water of the river. There was lots of fish and colorful coral in the river. It was interesting to watch the TV screen to see what was under the water in the river.

We had a lovely lunch at Woodridge in Peppermint Bay. As we walked from the boat to the restaurant we saw flowers, herb gardens. The pretty lily "Naked Ladies" in their pink playful coloration were a treat to view. Lunch was served family style and we had eight people at our table. We each had a serving of hot pea mint soup which was OK but both Joe and I ate only a little bit of it. Next was a green salad with a light vinaigrette dressing followed by potato salad with ripe quarter tomatoes. Meat was roast beef that was tasty. The bread on the table was similar to sourdough bread but the center was more dense and grainy. I love the crunch crust and tender insides which we dipped in olive oil. Sea Salt was service in a small white dish which one is suppose to take out with the tip of the knife. Jillian went to the bar and got herself and me a glass of white wine where Joe has Iced Tea with mint in it. Dessert was banana bread made with raspberries, caramel sauce and fresh whipped cream. Nice lunch was included with our tour voucher. We could not walk over to the small village since it was raining on this side of the river so we just sat and talked about our travel experiences. Jillian told us of her experience with a cabin mate who was the Cruise Mate from Hell.

We got back to Sullivan's Cove in Hobart about 4PM. Jillian had messages from her two sons that they were not going to be able to make it tonight to the BBQ. I could tell she disappointed that they were not attending. On the other hand it would give Joe and me more time to repack our bags for our flight to Sydney in the morning so we will board the Ocean Princess for 20 days. There will be lots of rest for Joe and me since we need it.

Jillian continues to be Superwoman by taking in our clothes from the outside clothes line and she even ironed our clothes. Geez, I do not do that. I am delighted that she liked the thank you gift that Joe and I gave her. I really hope that she will visit us in Atlanta someday. Her sister came over and joined us for the BBQ. Sis came in and got us to come watch Jillian cook the BBQ and talk. It is what you are suppose to do, so we did it. On BBQ Jillian cooked marinated prawns, sausage (Joe loved it), and some steak. She also served macaroni and potato salad as well as cole slaw. We all enjoyed our meals very much and everyone helped in cleaning it all up.

Her sister called me to come to the side of the house where we saw three good sized kangaroos jumping around and eating just before the sun went down. I got so excited about seeing the roos in the wild and so close that I could see its eyes.

We will wake up at 7AM on Saturday morning to drive over to the Hobart Airport. Our JetStar flight leaves at 9:25AM and it is a two hour flight to Sydney's Domestic Airport. We will have to find a way to get to Darling Harbour to board the ship. Once I get our stuff on the boat, I need to head out and buy myself a Sydney T-Shirt and some Diet Coke to place in our cabin.

I have added photos to my blog the last few days and hope to add a few more about the things I talked about.

Heading to bed! Joe is already asleep.