You know how it is when you have planned something for a while, and finally the reality is here and this is the moment you had wanted? Well it began at 4:15am for me to emerge into this day for a 5:30am departure to the dock in Melbourne for our journey on the Spirit of Australia. As a child I had made the overnight crossing to Tasmania on the older boat Princess of Tasmania, but this was the first time doing it during the day. We were at the dock shortly after 6am for a 9am departure, so patience was the virtue of the day.
Fortunately it was not difficult to wait.
The rising sun provided a wonderful show.
However, the ship wasn't at the dock. What was the deal? Happily there were many other photographers out and other passengers waiting, so chatting was fun.
Finally it came sailing into port. It seems it crosses overnight, unloads, then turns right around and heads back. A hard working ship and crew!
The bow crossed our path right at sunrise.
There were many campers, but they loaded them in separate lines. We were in the car line.
Loading was very easy - lots of personnel around to direct us.
We drove on through the bow of the ship.
Although this is an out of focus picture, I loved the reflections of all the tail lights that it shows. They squished us in pretty tightly. Two more rows of cars were loaded to our left. Then brakes on, alarms off and lock it up. They said alarms can be triggered by the movement of the ship and one can come back to a flat battery at the end of the day if they are not disabled.
From here, we found a cozy quiet space to hang out until our anticipated arrival time in Devonport of 6:40 pm. The upper decks were very attractive for a car ferry.
There were many different styles of space to appeal to different folks. Activities and movies were offered. Angus was amused at how busy my photography kept me. I was running around like a kid exploring the best 'spots' to take pictures and fiddling with all my technology!
Finally we were underway. By now, the early morning colors had left the Melbourne skyline.
From here, there was little that I could photograph adequately, so I settled down to that old-fashioned practice of reading a book! That doesn't happen much in my life these days I'm sad to say. It was a pleasure to have some time of quietness, without wi-fi, to just be.
The day passed pleasantly. Snacks, meals, walking around, chatting all helped time pass quickly. Fortunately the ocean was pretty calm - a very slight swell but nothing that required one's attention. I was surprised when land came into sight as the day had not seemed long.
There is is, the north coast of Tasmania. It was also becoming sunny.
Our destination, Devonport is on the Mersey River and has a population of 30,000. It didn't look as if it has grown much since the last time I was there.
It still looks like a sleepy town. Not much in the way of high rise or other modernities.
This is looking to the east. This is the direction we will be heading in the next few days.
You can see the northern end of the Great Western Tiers mountains which are part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site.
You can see this is not a big city port...........
.............but it is very lovely. Once we docked, it took a while for us to leave, as the bigger vans and campers were unloaded first. Then we had to line up for a very disinterested quarantine inspection intended to stop people bringing fresh fruit, veggies and meat into Tasmania. They had already cleared us for that in Melbourne, so one would think it would be clear sailing, but much like airports, each jurisdiction had to do its own thing.
We were happy to finally get on the road to Launceston where were were to spend the night, a little more than an hour away. I was thrilled at the clarity of the air and the brilliance of the low light in the evening. It was a beautiful drive, but we were hungry and tired by the time we met up with Judy at our accommodation. It had been a marvellous day.
great pics. how lovely...
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