Today we began our Tasmanian road trip. We left Hobart at 10 and everything became rural very quickly. We drove alongside a river, and then up into hills. Unlike the Outback drive, this one required some effort from our driver Nick. It was twisty and turny and the speed limit kept jumping around drastically. At one point we got stuck behind a wide load truck going 20km for 30 minutes. The scenery made up for the annoyance.

Unfortunately we just missed the Hamilton show.

We took a Google-induced turn down a logging road as a “shortcut”. It was bumpy and windy but fascinating to see the dense forests suddenly open up where they had all been cut down, leaving a big mess behind them.

At this point we heard Millie doing big dramatic deep breaths and I noticed that she had turned her iPad off and set it aside. We knew what that means: car sickness incoming. I handed her a sick bag and hoped for the best.

We hadn’t planned to stop at the tourist stop “The Wall” but it was the only place to stop to recover. Millie made it just in time and didn’t spew. We paid our $20 to get in and admired the art.

There were many “no phones” and “no photos” signs, so I don’t have any of my own photos, but I’ll describe it and then find one on the internet to post below. The Wall is a long two-sided wood carving in a fancy log cabin. It depicts the history of this area of Tasmania in various states of completion. Based on the signage and explanation, we got the sense that it was the work of a dedicated and talented curmudgeon. My favorite part was not the wall itself but the wood carvings of other objects that were scattered around the building (see the glove below). Nick’s favorite part was the giant wood burning fireplace. Millie’s favorite part was that she got a lemonade to help her feel better.

We got back in the car and drove the remaining 90 minutes to Queenstown. Queenstown is an old mining town and there isn’t much here. But it was the only available hotel within a very large radius so here we are.

We checked into our hotel and Millie started drawing. We relaxed for an hour or so and then went out for dinner. There are three places open in town, and we chose the cafe at the train station. They had this random assortment of food on the kid’s menu. Kids menus are usually variations of “meat and french fries” so I appreciated this variety served in the style that Millie loves.

After eating we went on a brief walk of Main Street. Everything was closed and deserted.

We came back to the hotel and she spent a full 2 hours drawing elaborate and dramatic scenes that she made up. This is just a small portion of the work she did tonight.

Back on the road again tomorrow.