Elvis is alive, and living in Tasmania!

25/10/14

Our rough plan today was Rex and I would go and visit a mate who lives south of Hobart. We'd be back in town and meet up with the others to do a tour of the Cascade Brewery, and have a few samples, then roll in to Salamanca Place for dinner. Sounds like a plan.

We did a quick main road run down to the Huon Valley and were on Jason's door step about an hour later. We were eagerly greeted by Elvis and Walt.

 Say hi to Elvis

And his mate Walt.

Justin is living the dream. He's living in a huge old house on eight acres, overlooking the estuary, with his dogs, goats, chooks, sheep, and more. Oh yeah, he also has his wife and son there as well. It really is a slice of heaven on earth.

A few of Justin's mates.

Justin whipped us up a huge breakfast which included some of his own fresh eggs. I just hope the bacon wasn't last week's pet. Then he showed us 'round the estate. Seriously, the property you can buy in Tasmania, for very little money, is staggering. I can see myself somewhere like this, with a heap of animals, including a bunch of stray dogs. Did I hear someone say retirement? Unfortunately our visit was all too short. I reckon about fifteen years would be about right.

When it was time to leave, Justin suggested an alternate, more interesting (read winding roads) route back to Hobart.

Rex and I did some calculations and worked out that if we listened to Justin's recommendations, we'd be back at 1 pm, our agreed time to meet up with the rest of the crew. Perfect.

Elvis gave us a goodbye smile.

Thanks Justin, the ride back was fun.

And the scenery was cool.

Last night's late night and shenanigans had taken their toll. Believe it or not, it is possible to nod off on a bike. Both Rex and I were struggling so a short rest stop was required. It was only five minutes but it made the world of difference.

Back into it.

We rolled into the hotel car park spot in one o'clock, just in time to grab a taxi to the Cascade Brewery. Our introduction to the tour was a beer pouring contest.

Mark did really well, only missing out on his heat win
by a whisker.

Uncle R pulled a perfect beer in his heat only to be beaten by a girl in the final. I personally think there was a bit of sexual bias in the judging. Uncle R's beer was definitely better.

Uncle R, and a perfect beer.

With the competition out of the way we were off on our tour. Our guide explained how Cascade make their beer (they don't use preservatives) and threw in a few bits of history along the way. It was educational and a bit of fun.

With the tour over we enjoyed our free tastings, then bought a few beers to drink, then bought a few more, then bought some beer to take home, and drank them. It was about this time we were asked to leave with the explanation that there was a wedding about to happen and if the bride saw us here she'll go nuts. So that's a first, I've now been thrown out of a brewery.

With our bellies full of beer, there was only one thing to do. Get something to eat. We grabbed another taxi down to the waterfront and as we couldn't find a kebab shop, we settled on a deluxe pizza bar to fulfil our food needs.. 

The Salamanca area of Hobart has a lot of history and has a lovely feeling about it. It's a great place to enjoy a gourmet pizza and a few drinks if you're ever in Hobart. The history in this area is really interesting even though some of it is a little sad.

With our huger sated, we had to earn a few beer credits for tomorrow, so we passed on a taxi ride home and decided to walk instead. We wobbled our way back to the hotel and about forty minutes later put the key in the door.

Luckily we're riding back to Dave and Jan's tomorrow to prepare for our return to the mainland. As much as i love Tasmania, I don't think my body could cope with much more holidaying here. It's hard work, and it's very tiring.

I guess I'll just have to struggle through. : )