Shopping in Launceston.

It's 200km from St Helen's to Launceston which is a very long distance to travel for shopping. What's on the list? There's: a pair of motorbike boots to replace the new ones we purchased only six or seven weeks ago, which are now torn; some kind of mat that lets the sand/dirt drop though and a Telstra NextG™ mobile phone, hopefully on the same number as the Optus Next-To-Useless™ (in Tasmania) phone. Ben wants to keep the number because he has a long list of new contacts. Life in St Helens sounds fine. New people arrive at the camping ground each week. Two 'old blokes' from Exeter, both fond of a drink or three, happily referred to Ben as Evel Knievel as he rode his bike in and out of the camp grounds. A giant of a man driving a small car strolled over the other day and introduced himself, 'G'day name's Bear.' There's the possibility of some packing work in an oyster farm or some picking work in orchards. Ben says the packing job starts tomorrow. In the meantime, this shopping expedition requires an immediate (small) transfer of funds.

Congratulations, your booking was successful!

Willows Roadhouse (web image)

I pushed a few buttons on the keyboard, entered the magic 16-digit number and its expiry date, and was congratulated by the screen. Heading over on the boat (with the car) on 13th March for a week. Haven't been able to contact Ben yet. Secret tracking device puts him at Willows Roadhouse, Pyengana at approximately 11.30am today. Pyengana is on the Tasman Highway, between St Helens and Scottsdale. His room at home is still occupied.

Repaying a favour.

House guest in Ben's room

You meet people when you travel. Sometimes they do you a favour and occasionally the favour is repaid. So, you ask, who's the guy in the photo and why is he in Ben's room, sitting comfortably on Ben's chair and using Ben's computer? Well, he's a traveller from Germany who's doing the backpack-around-Australia trip. When Tuyet visited Tasmania, the only campervan available was a manual which she couldn't drive. Ben asked his German friend to drive and now his German friend is here and staying for a night (or maybe two three) in Ben's room. That's just how the system works, sometimes.

One month ago...

(web image)

... a tall young man wearing new motorcycle gear and riding a recently-purchased VTR 250, loaded with full saddle bags and a tent strapped to the back, queued with all the other vehicles on Station Pier. The queue ran from the entrance gate to the other end of the pier and then back again with a final 180 turn and a steep run up the ramp and into the ship. A month is a long time when you get to thinking about it.

The one that got away.

"Found the beer in the fish's belly."

Usually it's a fish that gets away but this time it's a new fishing rod, reel and all the fishing gear that were washed off the rocks and out to sea by an unexpectedly big wave. What do you do when a big wave comes along and washes all your stuff away? Start again I suppose.

Our visitor has returned with stories of fishing, camping, cooking, shopping, rain and sunshine. It sounds like St Helens and surrounds is a beautiful spot. One lesson learned is to book a car or van in advance. Cost for a camper van was high, $70 a day with a minimum of five days, however we're informed that it was reasonably comfortable inside, especially on rainy days. The trip continues with Ben heading south again in a day or so.

Afternoon postscript: The fish story may, like many fish stories, have been exaggerated in the telling. Ben rang from Scottsdale and said he only lost a fishing bag. He also mentioned that he'd ridden 100km from St Helens to Scottsdale just to do some shopping and use the mobile phone! Now has to ride all the way back. He also has a long-term plan, and that's to stay in St Helen's and go fishing every day. It sounds remarkably similar to his short-term plan.

No news is no news.

A few more photos then... the theme is 'seaside':

Video posted.

Short (54 sec) video taken on the way to a camping trip. Better quality (and smaller screen) on Facebook. Skillful driving, especially at the end.