“Man alone can not put the boat into the sea.” Swahili proverb

We arrived a little late Saturday afternoon at the Toyota breaks so that they have time to mount and balance the two tires, we buy them anyway – 150$ the used pair against more $300 low-end new). If they close early on Saturday, some businesses are open on Sunday and it is in Tyre Professionals we do install tires. Everything seems to haggle in Australia : advertised price $50, Ronald wonder they do for $40, the boss said nothing, but when we get TS, he presents an invoice $40. 🙂

Last meal with our guests – et le voisin – Sunday night. Another huge thank you for all !

Spirit of Tasmania approach

Ramp

Monday 19 January, us we slip gently away from home around six in the morning, towards Port Melbourne where we ship to Tasmania. Two hours and fifty minutes before the ship's departure, passenger vehicles are already there because everyone should be inspected. Comme pour certains états australiens, Import of fresh fruit and vegetables is prohibited – Remember in 2008 😉 – to this are added the fish and fuel. All that is gas and weapons – ax and butane for us – set is taken and will be made on arrival. They let us keep our sandwiches, although it is forbidden even on the boat, and tell us that it is essential to eat before arriving in Tasmania. Nearly ten hours of crossing the Bass Strait, of course we eat them ! In the living room of a corner of the ship restoration, we find that the favor is not for us since our neighbors come out around noon grapes, plums and apples from their cooler ! 😀

Goodbye Melbourne

Spirit of Tasmania

We spend the day between musical bingo, rides on the boat, siesta, playing cards, television series on the computer, reading and snack.

Tasmanian coast

Spirit of Tasmania II

To eighteen hours the coasts of Tasmania are emerging and less than an hour later we enter the bay Devonport, welcoming the fact that there is no city in building. Makes part of the first to be entered in the boat, we are also the first to come out, down a small welcome pack is distributed : city ​​map, vouchers, advertising and even a SIM card of the operator Telstra.

Arrive in Devonport

End of the day in Devonport

In case ... !

Landing

Direction Latrobe où nous avions repéré une aire de camping gratuite, only we get away from the city that we are already in love with the island. Sun rays on a river surrounded by trees, it perhaps should not we much after a month and a half spent in town !

Latrobe n’est pas loin mais l’arrêt sur l’aire n’est autorisé que de jour. We then test our 3G key to look for another place – j’ai installé le module ImageBlock sur Firefox pour empêcher l’affichage des images et ainsi économiser sur le transfert des données. Alma Reserve area marked, we drive, ride – meet a Dalek ! – ride and when we begin to say that we probably missed something here that panel shows an area near a lake.

Nous croisons notre premier wallaby et nous nous installons non loin de trois jeunes en train de manger. Des Français, encore 😉 ! Nous sommes sur l’aire de Barrington Lake, qui est bien gratuite mais n’est pas celle que nous visions et que nous avons dépassés de plusieurs kilomètres, les jeunes ont deux Camps 7 – guide alliant cartes géographiques et liste de sites gratuits ou peu chers – et nous en proposent un à moitié prix – car si c’est la bible du voyageur, il coûte quand même dans les $60 ! Après cet achat utile, nous avalons un sandwich sans légume (!) sous un superbe ciel étoilé.

Dalek !

I always look Claire St

Le lendemain nous discutons avec d’autres voisins arrivés très tard hier… encore des Français 🙂 ; un couple et leur fils depuis cinq mois en Australie. La matinée passe et nous ne retournons à Devonport qu’en début d’après-midi. After a tour of the information center to take cards, guides and use Wi-Fi – Thirty free minutes – to locate the cheapest gas station – but more expensive than Melbourne – we do some shopping : there as prices soar. After inspection fruits and vegetables are cheaper to Woolworth but everything else is more affordable in Coles.

Leaving the parking lot TS acting funny and when later we are about to leave the gas station, he bluntly makes a big crunch forcing us to stop. Like metal balls on the floor… the right gimbal just broken. We knew we had to change soon, he would just have to wait a bit ! Fortunately Tasmanians also show that the inhabitants of helpful hand land – as they call the other Australian island here. 🙂

Next door there is a Mazda dealer which one garage just see the damage. It confirms that it is the universal and shows us a garage close by saying that we can roll like that. It even gives us a firm address as during the conversation we explain that we are going to look for work. The garage has no place before February, but it calls for us two other people, Marcus, the second, just received gimbals. Marc de Tyrepower nous indique la route en nous disant de rouler doucement et que si les voitures s’amassent derrière nous, nous n’avons qu’à baisser les rétroviseurs pour ne pas les voir 😀 !

A Ace Industries, Marcus peut nous faire la réparation demain matin. Nous lui demandons si nous pouvons rester devant sa boutique et dormir dans notre voiture : “Of course, vous pouvez même déplier la tente, prenez ma carte, si quelqu’un vous dit quelque chose vous m’appelez. Ou vous pouvez rester dans la cour, je vous donne la clé du portail. Vous avez besoin d’électricité ?” Nous avons encore de la chance dans notre infortune, Marcus n’est pas sans nous rappeler Christophe de Mecanique’L à Béziers !

Nous voilà installés pour la nuit après avoir trouvé quatre bières dans ses poubelles – il n’aimait pas ! – et mangé des pâtes avec une boîte de sauce tomate Aldi franchement infecte – miam il nous reste trois boîtes de la marque Remano, nous espérons que c’était juste une mauvaise. 😛