Trip to Tasmania...
The word frantic doesn't even start to cover us trying to get things done before leaving for Tasmania. The last snafu was they couldn't find John's drivers license at the checkout desk. They had taken it as collateral instead of a key deposit. Finally, just as the shuttle to the airport arrived, they found it filed under his middle name.

The 1-hour flight to Tasmania was pleasant and uneventful. It was on a budget Australina carrier called Jetstar.

John's friend, Eric, was at the terminal to pick us up. He had rented a 4-seat Hyundai Getz to use during the time of our stay. We went for coffee, spent a little while on the Internet and then he took us on a drive up to the top of Mount Wellington, which has rather spectacular views of Hobart and the surrounding region. It was a neat introduction to Hobart and Tasmania. Dinner was at an excellent Thai restaurant. We spent the evening drinking wine, talking and planning our journey at Eric's classy apartment. Afterwards John and I managed to find our way walking back to our hostel after only a few wrong turns.