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A few things usually dictate when and where we travel – time of year, events and price of flights. Cheap flights pretty much always take a precedent but we prefer travelling in between seasons to avoid crowds and public/school holidays where possible. This time however was pretty much the opposite of that. We were locked into a small window due to work commitments so basically it was the Easter weekend or nothing till the end of the year and who wants to wait THAT long amiright?? With only 5 days at our disposal we had to keep it reasonably accessible with minimal expenditure. We’ve heard rave reviews from our landscape photographer buddies championed by Mel Sinclair who mentioned (and was smart enough to go the following week!) that around this time of year the Fagas trees start changing colour (they even have a festival dedicated to it) so we thought, why the heck not.

Well the first problem was going when we had to not when we wanted to so we were actually about a week early for the colour changing, no problem, just need to look for places in cold areas where winter is coming early. Second problem, travelling during a batch of public holidays, surely not everything will be closed right? Sadly we were wrong on both accounts, throw in constant wet weather ranging from heavy drizzle to outright monsoonal downpours and a feeble rental car with no will to live and that was just the beginning of our Tasmanian adventure! It was trying to say the least but we’ll try to keep the whinging to a minimum and stick to the facts 😉

The biggest Keyzer Soze moment of making people believe the devil didn’t exist was arriving at the airport to clear skies. The drive out to Eaglehawk Neck was reasonably uneventful, apart from a bit of afternoon/pre long weekend traffic it took a bit over 2 hours from the airport including the low speed limits, endless road works and unpaved roads with trucks and 4wds gunning it with no consideration of on coming traffic.

We chose the Best Western Lufra Apartments because they are pretty much directly above the tessellated pavements. The hotel was a little dated but that sort of thing never really bothers us, we go on holidays to do things other than look at the wallpaper! Meals were a little higher priced but when it’s the only option in the surrounding area the choice is pretty easy if you don’t want to go hungry. The staff however were friendly and helpful.

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The next morning we got up for sunrise, a little icy but nothing too unmanageable. The sunrise itself was rather uneventful – enough for a couple nice photos at the tessellated pavement, nature working its magic on carving out a rather intricate grid in the rock, but it did hold high hopes of a beautiful day of sightseeing. Back to the hotel the dining room’s expansive windows displayed a spectacular view and the buffet brekky with most of the basics covered wasn’t too bad either. Being a long weekend we were expecting a bigger crowd but it was rather tame, probably was a different story for the proceeding days though.

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Conveniently, the Pirate’s Bay area is also very close where you can take in the blowhole, Tasman Arch, Fossil rock look out and Devil’s Kitchen all with in the space of an hour or so if you stick to the main lookouts and 86 the scenic walks. The weathering and layering of the rock formations at the Tasman Arch was tragically poetic to see nature creating and at the same time destroying history of the landmark. Like most natural landmarks there is no open and close times so getting an early start, beating the crowds and getting these sites out of the way is definitely the way to go to maximise your day.

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Travel tip: about 2km from Eaglehawk Neck on the way to the blowhole there is a small town nicknamed “Doo Town”, which lovingly coming about because… well they added “Doo” to everything. Its pretty much a “blink and you’ll miss it” blimp on the map but cute and quaint enough to stop for a quick selfie while trying not to snicker at “doo doo” jokes.

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With the weather still clear and our sense of adventure high we headed further south to Port Arthur to take in the convict town and its historic buildings…

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Tasmania 2014 part #1 – Arrival, Eaglehawk Neck
Tasmania 2014 part #2 – Port Arthur and Salamanca markets
Tasmania 2014 part #3 – Hobart to Queenstown to Cradle Mountain and Liffey Falls

The Rise Against punk rock machine rumbled through town a couple weeks ago. Here’s some of the action!

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Image courtesy of Dreamstime.com

Image courtesy of Dreamstime.com

In case you missed it, I was in Melbourne a couple weeks ago covering the Sneaker Freaker x G-Shock launch party and since I came straight from the airport, I needed a place to stash my suitcase, after a spot of Googling there wasn’t anything recent regarding luggage locker storage in the CBD so here’s a quick run down that will hopefully help other travellers.

Flinders St Station – has limited space and times via the third party Travellers Aid place which provides lockers and other assistance to travellers.

IBIS hotel – work in conjunction with baggagestorage.com.au and have 24hr access. Going by their online calculator, the pricing is based on per item. $13 for carryon luggage, add a backpack it jumps to $29.

Southern Cross Station – Is the best bet for those in town for a short time ie. Heading straight to a gig, be it photo, video, dj or performance and don’t have time to drop your stuff off at the hotel or your friend’s place (or they might not live in the CBD). It’s conveniently the same station where the Skybus stops so if you’re not driving or getting picked up, you will be more than likely getting off at this stop in the CBD.

The heavy duty lockers unmanned and fully automated and being inside the Skybus station which runs buses all hours means the lockers are accessible 24/7. Access and paying is via an ATM-like terminal in the middle of each bank of lockers, there are several along the length of the station in this area as well as some upstairs at the train station (note: the upstairs ones may not be open 24/7). The lockers that have a green arrow are the ones that are free and unlocked so it’s a good idea to test fit your gear before paying as the price varies for sizes. Note the door of the locker is noticeably smaller than the locker cavity, so while it may look like it will fit on the outside its best to open the door and “try before you buy”. Once in they are quite roomy, a medium size one easily fits a carry on sized suitcase, a backpack and some shopping bags. Using the terminal to allocate your locker and pay is very straight forward, just follow the prompts.

Prices are listed on the console and will probably change over time but a medium size locker was $12 which is for 24 hours of access so it may be a little expensive if you only need it for a couple hours but the up side is you can access the locker as many times as you like in that period via a unique code which is printed on a ticket when payment is made. This was ideal for my trip as it began with about 8 hours in the evening, collected at about 2am, then back the next morning to dump my stuff for another 4-5 hours and be baggage free to wander around the city.

Travel tip: the re-entry code is on a small paper slip which could easily be lost while travelling so treat it like money. Writing down the number elsewhere or taking a photo of it on your phone adds extra piece of mind. Also note when re-entering the locker you will be prompted to continue using the locker or to end the use. Obviously not a good idea to get these two mixed up!

Hope this helps some what, happy travels! (:


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This week we shoot heavy rollers Vessel Born for The Music Magazine’s (Brisbane) – “In Focus” feature.

Read about them in the current issue of The Music (Brisbane) #107.

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Get it FREE from all the usual street press outlets, read current and back issues online @ The Music magazine – Brisbane or download the new app for iTunes and Android.