I am now at home. Thank God. It is a wonderful experience to sleep in my own bed. No more can food. There is no need to walk 200 metres four times to prepare a simple meal. Internet access is at my fingertips. May I plug in my USB memory stick to update my website? Of course, I can. Everything is so handy at home. Unfortunately I have to depart soon for the second leg of my Australia wide adventure in a week. I will head north to NSW this time and return when I reach Brisbane.

I have learned a lot during this Tassie trip. In other words, I won't carry those nice-to-have stuff. Simple is the best. The rewards of the Tassie trip wasn't bad but it could have been better. At least I should have taken more sunrise shots!

I will be conducting two photographic presentations (Sydney and Brisbane) during this second leg of my adventure and I can't wait to share my experiences with others.

If you have been watching this space in the last few weeks, please accept my appreciation and I will work even harder to reward you. Now sit back and relax as you can take a week off too. Till next time.

The accommodation for my last night in Tasmania (Devonport) was impressive. The onsite caravan was almost an en-suite. Although it hasn't got toilet and shower facilities, it was bundled with almost everything you could imagine - a basin, an American style sofa, a 20 year old TV, a toaster, a kettle, an electric stove, a 30 year old fridge, a double bed with pink/red linen and quilt, a wardrobe, 3 lamps but only one was working and windows at all sides. Wonderful ha? The owner only asked for a small fee of $40. I took it as there wasn't a better choice.

An onsite caravan that is probably older than me

It was a three hour drive from St Helens to Launceston and I had my lunch break at Scottsdale. As I wasn't in rush to Launceston, I browsed the magazine shelf at a local newsagent. Guess what I found? My article on the magazine, Digital Photography+Design.

'Do you have a spare cabin for tonight?' I asked the housekeeping lady at the caravan park in St Helens. 'Yes we have two left and they are $90 a night.' she replied promptly. 'Wow, do you have something a bit more economical (a better word than 'cheap')?'. I was hoping for a special offer. Seriously $90 per night isn't a lot if I compare this to our trip to America a few years ago. In Monument Valley, they were asking for US$230 a night. However, it is expensive to me now as there are more than 230 days on my travelling plan. Obviously spending $20,000+ for accommodation appears to be unacceptable. In the end, I had to politely decline her offer.

After seeking help from the local visitor centre, I was offered a backpacker en-suite room for $60 per night. Although the room was advertised under the banner of backpacker, the room was clean, quiet with privacy. It was a good lesson of not judging things by name or appearance only.

My stay at St Helens was quite constructive. I worked from midday till dusk (8:30pm) and the rewards still cannot be measured as there are stacks of photos to be processed. Here are a couple that caught my immediate attention.

Binalong Bay

Bay of Fires

After driving for more than 80 kms of gravel road, I went through the central Lake region and hit the Midland Highway to Ross. I was supposed to stay at Ross overnight but its geographical location didn't excite me at all. A town on a plain doesn't carry any dramatic contours for landscape photography. I drove on to the east coast until reaching Bicheno. Bicheno isn't a new foundland to me as I had been to this growing tourist town a few years ago. This sense of belonging made me feel that it was worth staying here for two nights.

Although the grey weather was good for minimising sun burn, it didn't help me to capture the beauty of the coast. In the end, I left with a pair of empty hands.

Where should I go next? There were two options: do a small loop and stay overnight at St Mary or go further north to St Helens and hope for the best at the Bay of Fires, which was voted recently as the second best beach in the world.

It hasn't rained since my arrival in Tasmania for more than two weeks until my last night at Lake St Clair (Cynthia Bay). According to the local, this summer is the warmest one in the last decade or so. Many waterfalls dried out or turned into a few drips.

My transport and mobile home - taken at Lake St Clair campsite

Although Cynthia Bay is the point where civilisation welcomes all walkers for the completion of their overland walking journey, it is a much less exciting place than its sister, Cradle Valley where the famous Cradle Mt icon is located. The walks near Cynthia Bay certainly exceed my capability. I tried a 14-km one and ended up with a retreat after walking for just a few km. Perhaps the weather was too warm or the scenery wasn't attractive enough for me. There wasn't much to do except talking and waiting for sunrise and sunset. Everybody appeared to be so friendly that we could talk almost anything from family to various personal subjects. I met many people from various states and overseas and the age groups were ranged widely from young Swedish girls to retired seniors travelling with their caravan trailers.

Rainbow over Lake St Clair (the abandoned plumb house on the right)

Apart from the nature attractions, it is worth mentioning a sculpture gallery named The Wall in that area. The sculptor is currently working on a huge one-man wood craving project to illustrate the history in that area since the early settlement. When complete it will measure 100 metres in length and 3 metres high. So far the sculptor has completed approx 23 panels out of 100. The thing is so real that I was even able to see the individual ligaments on the arms of the wooden workers.

Before thunder storm, Lake St Clair

I changed my plan at the last minute. Nobody would take me as a Western Explorer hero even if I can survive for driving through the nasty gravel roads to Corinna. What is Western Explorer? To those who don't know much about the history of Tasmania in the 19th century, here is my short answer. Western Explorer is the route the early settlers found along the west coast, from Stanley to Strahan. Today many parts of the route are still unsealed although the last upgrade from 4WD track has now allowed better access.

In order to get to Rosebery, I needed to go back north and made a big turn to come down via A10 highway. I made it after a five-hour drive and arrived Rosebery in the mid afternoon. However, Rosebery was a big disappointment. It was hot, rough and the caravan park owner was away. I tried to contact her from a public phone but a lady was having a long chat with someone for her daughter's ballet lesson. She made a five-more-minute signal to me. Okay. Fine. I walked into the post-office nearby to avoid the heat.

'I thought Tasmania is supposed to be cool.' I made a statement to the postman. He explained to me how the geographical position of Tasmania affects the climate. I nodded my head and made a wish to him. ' I hope you sell cold drink here. Apparently you don't.' I saw no fridge in his office.

'Two dollars a can (Coke) and you can have mine.' he was keen to sell. 'It is a bit pricey but I consider this is a special service. Okay, give me a can then.'

A can of pricey Coke - this was all I got from Rosebery. Before getting robbed again, even more seriously, I left Rosebery and hoped to find a place to sleep tonight. The destination was Queenstown.

Queenstown sunset, the barren hills were the results of over mining

The alarm clock went off at 5:00am, an extreme time in the morning and I was really reluctant to wake up. What for? A photo. Come on, you got to be kidding! Yes this is why I am supposed to be here, taking photos at the edge of the world. It is better to be a great shot otherwise... At 5:45am, I turned my car key and then arrived at the shore of Eternity in five minutes. Athough I have already scouted this place yesterday, the light didn't come up as the way I predicted. This is normal. To know a place, it really takes time.

In the late afternoon, the whole town was blacked out. No electricity. Even the public phone box was out of action too. It was the St. Valentine's day and I had to call my wife. Luckily my satellite phone came to rescue.

The endless ocean view to Argentina at Arthur River

The rocky coast at Arthur River really excites me and I believe it has real potential to express the mystery of ancient seascape. Countless rocks in layered form stand on the beach in an inclined angle and the cruel ocean waves wash them endlessly. There is a plaque standing at the outermost spot of the watching platform and it says:

The Edge of the World

North West Coast Tasmania

I cast my pebble onto the shore of Eternity to be washed by the ocean of time. It has shape, form and substance. It is me. One day I will be no more. But my pebble will remain here on the shore of the Eternity. Mute witness for the aeons. That today I came and stood at the edge of the world.

Brian Inder

Here is my version:

The Edge of the World

North West Coast Tasmania

Light is different every day even at the shore of Eternity. Although I have not casted any pebble onto the shore, I took a photo which would last until I am no more. All pebbles here will wait for my return. When that day comes, I will no longer be alone to witness this shore of Eternity. Today I stood at the edge of the world and will be back one day.

Pele Leung

The plaque at the edge of the world

The strong wind last night was both annoying and unforgiving. At some stage, I thought my tent was going to collapse. At 10:00pm, I decided to knock the owner's door for assistance. Unfortunately all cabins were full so the only choice left was a bed in hostel. With the kind offer from the owner, I was moved to an empty room with twin bed. Apparently Stanley is a windy town as the blowing force hasn't stopped since my arrival, 24x7. It would be a perfect location for wind power plant!

'What happened last night? I saw your tent was collasped when I came back from the amenity at midnight.' the lady next door asked me when I was packing up my collasped tent in the morning.

'Well it was just so windy and I decided to abandon the camping idea. I slept in the hostel last night.'

'I also noticed that the wind here is merciless. Perhaps you should consider a camper trailer like ours.' at the same time she pointed me to her camper trailer which looked quite uncommon in shape.

'When I was younger we are prefectly fine and happy with camping in tent but it doesn't work for me now.' she explained further.

At a glance, her trailer looked like a Swiss cottage when it was fully erected. She also mentioned that this kind of trailer costs about A$20,000 in good second hand condition. Well it doesn't sound like my option although it would have been nice to get one for free.

In the late morning, I went out to Tarkine with full expectation. I was told it is a remote forest wilderness but reality doesn't always come out the same as expectation. I won't say the looped drive of Tarkine was terrible but it really has limited photo opportunity. The gravel road was shocking and sometimes I thought I were surfing in an ocean. Never hit your foot brake without considering using lower gear first. At some stage, I thought I would have done Tarkine twice in two consecutive days. It is now obviously that doing once is more than enough.

After exploring Stanley for a day, I think I know it quite well now, at least for those interesting places. As the local says, everything in Stanley is supposed to be interesting including the cemetery. They may not have overstated the situation but I have to admit that this town is just too small. Unless you are a writer who would like to handcraft a story book here without any interruption otherwise you will get bored soon at least this is the case for most tourists. How do I feel with Stanley so far?

Foodwise, the cafe (only one) and the burger shop are quite nice. I spoke to the owner of the burger shop last night and he is definitely a happy man. Why? He only works a few hours per day and five days per week. What does he do for the rest of his time? Shooting video, documentary of Tasmanian Aboriginal people who are no longer exist now, all being slaughtered long time ago. Apparently he is an expert in this academic area and certainly processes the passion. I asked him whether his business is good enough to support himself, his 6-year old boy and also his shop helper, a very friendly local girl. 'Definitely yes.' he replied with confidence. He also mentioned that his office hour in winter is even less, only two hours per day and his helper looks after the rest. Well, this is a sample leisure life of Tasmanian in small towns.

Locationwise, the Nut is the obvious centre of interest. At the time of writing, the rocky outcrop is just at the right hand side of my view while my front windscreen is filled completely by a half collapsed historic convict barrack. Yes I am writing this diary in my car! A 21st century man with a 19th century view. It is no wonder why there were many fictions written about going back in time as it is a very interesting subject indeed.

Peoplewise, the locals are all very friendly and I have no complaints. The lady in the Stanley Visitor Centre is the only one so far allowing me to plug my USB memory stick to her internet machine. There was no other internet cafes allowing this kind of unsecured operation. Her kind trust on me has allowed this diary to be published within reasonable timeframe.

Photowise, I still haven't captured my shots here yet and understand this sort of thing cannot be rushed.

Till next time...

Update: Finally I got a chance to dig out a better pic taken in Stanley

A convict barrack with the Nut in the background

Now I have seen enough of Cradle Mt and it is time to depart. Breaking camp is probably one of the most time consuming activities on the road so I would try to avoid setting up my tent for only one night.

After driving for more than two hours (winding road!), I arrived at Stanley in the early afternoon. Stanley is a historical town where the unique Tasmanian prime minister, Joseph Lyon, was born. My first impression was that Stanley is a relaxing town and you can just stay here for a day or a week even if there is nothing to do - this is why it is a relaxing town. The Nut, a large piece of flat top rock connected to the main land, is the icon of Stanley. Finally I am here driving around it and it makes some difference than looking at it in a photo. This is what travelling is for - seeing and touching the real scene. Smell and feel it if you like. I haven't climbed to the top of the Nut yet but would do so tomorrow by chairlift.

According to my plan, I was prepared to stay at Stanley for a couple of days only but now it appears that Stanley can be my base for exploring other surrounding regions like Tarkine, a remote forest reserve. Perhaps staying for 3-4 days would be an option.

Perhaps I should have celebrated today as it is a first week milestone of my adventure. So far so good. Now I manage to live alone on the road. I have received emails from friends, ex-colleagues at work and even ex-clients and they are really my true supporters. Needless to say, my wife's support is absolutely vital. Without all these supports, my wandering life would be aimless like a musician without audiences. If you have time, write to me. Please.

After getting a few fantastic sunset shots last night, I decided to relax and spoil myself by skipping the morning sunrise appointment. In the afternoon, I aimed at beating the Marthon Lookout and headed off with just my video camera. Presumably the loading was quite minimal but the last climb to the lookout appeared to be too demanding. Although I knew I could do it, the price might not been justified. Instead I watched and took a few footage of how those youngers climbed the steps - the staircases to heaven.

I have just received another invitation from a camera club in Queensland and they would like me to present my work at their camera club meeting. This is the fourth one and I am excited and also working on the materials.

The facilities at Cradle Mt Cosy Cabin camp site are actually quite complete. So far I have checked out most of the facilities and also cooked my first non-canned food meal. Although the taste of my pasta wasn't as good as ours at home, I was quite pleased with it because I haven't cooked for a long while. Am I pretty useless in this domestic task? I have to be honest to admit that cooking is just not my expertise.

Sometimes I thought it was nice to be at home because everything is just so handy. Making a cup of tea wouldn't take more than three minutes but here ten minute is the absolute minimum.. It is so tedious to dig out things from a fully loaded car like mine.

There were only two cars left including mine at the Dove Lake car park. It wasn't a surprise as the Tasmanian weather has scared all tourists home. However, after learning the failure at Mole Creek, I insisted to stay until the last minute. At 8:20pm, a bit of pinkish colour shone through the rim of a small cloud and I knew there could be something unusual coming. It was more than unusual. It was another miracle - a long boomerang cloud turned red like a mono coloured rainbow drawn over the Cradle Mt as if it were tailor made for the icon. Absolutely breathtaking. You can take my words. When I was done, I saw a couple of cars rushed into the car park but it was obvious that they were late. Perhaps they have seen it from a distance and wanted to take a shot including the Cradle icon. This was another lession I learned - persistence and patience are the major factors to successful landscape photography.

Cradle Mountain Sunset

Goodbye Mole Creek. I had enough and took off to Cradle Mountain a day earlier than expected. In a few hours later, the awesome the Cradle Mountain icon appeared right in front of me.

'I have booked a power tent site for four nights' I said to the lady at the counter of the only commercial campground at Cradle Mountain. 'Do you have a campervan?', the lady replied. 'No, I don't but the lady who took my booking had ensured me a tent site with power supply'. I was a bit worried as a modern man with seven battery chargers can't survive for long without electric power suuply. 'Sorry guy, it was a mistake', the lady answered firmly. I was reluctant to say 'thank you' but I did. Am I here for appreciating nature? Absolutely. Okay I checked in.

After staying at a friend's place, I departed Westbury and kicked off my solo touring in Tasmania. After passing a few towns which only Tassie would remember their names, I settled at Mole Creek for a night. The most famous local feature in this little town is its underground caves. I couldn't recall whether I have visited any caves in Australia but Marakoopa (the Tasmanian Aboriginal word for 'magnificent') Cave definitely impressed me. Marakoopa Cave was formed a few million years ago and so far its condition is still quite good. The cave keeper even built a 'shower box' to protect a very special stalagmite that is partially blocked the path.

Marakoopa Cave

'Look at the sky' a man shouted outsided my tent while I had already retired for the day. Just about half an hour ago, I had declared a dead sunset so what he was talking about now. I popped my head out of the tent and saw a miracle. My God, was it real?. Now I realise that weather (or landscape light) is something that nobody can predict exactly. I was just standing there for five minutes with no action. Right time wrong place. What can I say? My soul was woken up by the noise of most campers and everybody was shooting the miracle with their cameras. There wasn't anytime to dig out my tripod and this was why I ended up with a few fuzzy shots. Better than nothing!

Sunset at Mole Creek

Just a be-lated thank you note to my friend David in Westbury, Tasmania for his hospitality during my stay at his place. We visited a waterfalls nearby and also exchanged some valuable opinions for photography. Thank you David.

After waiting for an hour on the queue, I finally boarded Spirit of Tasmania. According to the experience of my last visit, the first priority was to locate a seat and then decide how to kill ten hours of travelling time. Reading is usually a common thing to do especially for a lonely traveller like me. Life on this boat isn't that bad, you can do a lot of things from checking out the on-board tourism centre, visiting the poker machine room, watching the penguin movie in the small cinema, to doing your own private activities like reading.

Like a travel writer, I sat down in the restaurant and performed my first people obversation exercise seriously. There were a lot of things happening but the most unforgettable scene was a retired man taking footage of his wife with his video camera bought in 90's. While everybody is now talking about digital video, it is unusual to see such kind of ancient machine anymore. Well, his wife has done well as an actress with a big smile on her face for ten seconds. I bet his husband has got his shot - a fuzzy footage taken in low light. Is it a pretty ordinary scene? It appears to be. If you look deeper, this scene is a mirror for everyone's future.We would probably do the same thing too after our retirement. However, if you really like to do something a bit more unusual, perhaps you may need to consider a different approach. Retire earlier while you still have a better physical health? Most people probably can't afford doing it and the target of retiring at 65 is their best bet. I have to admit that I am a lucky person as my lovely wife has given me maximal freedom but minimal domestic responsibility. This is why I have the privilege to write this diary in a Devonport caravan park alone. Mind you, I am not retiring and trust that you know what I mean.

In the meantime, I feel like I were a professional travel writer and photographer. Of course, I am not. Is it what I really want to do for the rest of my career life? I am not sure either. Although the production bit could be fun, knocking someone's door to sell a story or photo is probably not that interesting. Selling a print for fifty dollars doesn't really excite me unless I can sell thousands of them. In the meantime, enjoy the journey and I will find out what is feasible and what isn't later.

It isn't that warm today, only 31degree but is enough to "melt" me. Now my car is fully loaded and all I have to do tomorrow is to start the engine and go. After this short 3-week jounery to Tasmania, I would be able to tell what gear is useful and what is not. However, I still believe that all eight battery chargers are still required. What are they for? Of course, there are good reasons: DSLR x2, video camera x1, 40G digital storage viewer x1, notebook computer x1, camping light x1, mobile phone x1 and satellite phone x1. Luckily my GPS doesn't need one as it is AA batteries powered.

Now all I need tonight is a sweet dream and get ready for tomorrow. Tasmania, I am coming.

I thought reserving a week for preparation would have been more than enough but it didn't turn up as that simple. Installing and configuring software on my new dual-boot Windows/OSX notebook computer has taken me a few days. Windows XP still isn't fully compatible on MacBook computer!

There appears to be a whole room of gear to be packed into my all wheel drive vehicle and I am still unsure whether it is possible to bring everything I need with me. I just can't believe how much we, the civilised modern generation, need to survive in such a basic condition. I will be taking one or two wilderness walks into Cradle Mt and am still trying to reduce the weight of my pack. 28 kg seems to be a lot to a 70kg person like me. I am still working on it.

So far I have received a few invitations to present my photographic session, Fast Track to Landscape Photography, to three camera clubs in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Potentially more will come. As many of my work colleagues realised, I really enjoy giving presentations. How wonderful would it be if there are a few dozens or even hundreds of people coming to share my experiences and passion. Love it.

I made a very short farewell speech at work today and followed by a 5-minute multimedia slideshow. The immedate feedback was overwhelming and the atmosphere was emotional too. Thanks for the farewell gifts - an EPIRB (an electronic device for sending emergency SOS radio signals), video tapes, Swiss Army tool and a farewell card filled up with tons of blessing and thank-you words from more than a hundred of colleagues.

That's. I have to leave my colleagues there and am sure they will continue to proceed successfully without me. Pen down. I have just completed a chapter of my career.

Time flies. I just couldn't believe that tomorrow is my last day at work. After working for thirteen years and four months (116,856 hours) in the same company, my farewell presentation tomorrow will be a touching moment. I probably won't cry but.... you know what I want to say :-(

I will have 8 days off and then head off to Tasmania on 3/2/07. 9:00am sharp, Spirit of Tasmania will depart from the Station Pier Port Melbourne and take me and my Honda CRV for a 10-hour voyage to Devonport. That's it. The adventure will begin...

There are less than two weeks left due to commence my Australia wide photographic adventure. Unfortunately both my PC and Windows notebook computers resisted to work yesterday. However, kind and generous people are still everywhere and I am now writing this with a notebook computer borrowed from my friend.

Am I supposed to be excited in making a dream come true? The answer is definitely a big YES but it also means my life style will have to be changed, at least for a long while. There won't be any standard 9:00am office work but here will come with a new wakeup schedule at 5:00am instead.

At work, I will certainly miss a lot of things from a reserved carpark spot, the coffee call from my work colleague at 10:00am almost every morning, the challenging support calls from clients (I take this as a very positive gesture - they ask my advice because they value my input and respect my skills), to the monthly pay cheques (of course).

At home, the 7:00pm-sharp-ready dinner prepared by my mother-in-law will certainly be missed. Sometimes I find myself a bit guilty with this eat-in service but the feeling usually disappears quickly. Perhaps it won't be long that I will have to pay back the advantage I have taken. Cooking in the bush is not a punishment if you know how to do it. Now, I have to say that I probably will miss my mother-in-law :-)