Tasman National Park

The next morning I got up early to watch the sunrise before packing up and heading around the peninsula further. Along the drive we stopped at a home that boasted coffee and scones and we sat in a families beautiful front yard eating scones with cream and jam fresh out of the oven and lovely hot coffee. As we finished our snack the rain clouds blew in and we headed to a cafe to work, charge devices and wait out the rain a bit. By the early afternoon the rain had dulled to a light putter patter and we headed to Tasman NP. 

We originally had want to go here a few days ago, but it had closed for maintenance for two weeks, but we got lucky and it had opened a half week early. Since it was supposed to be closed we ended up being the nearly only people at the entire park outside of the rangers. 

At night we were the only campers in a 60 site which was cool but also a bit eerie. The cast of the lantern we cook by is about a 10 ft radius, and as we were cooking a set of eyes would appear at the edge of the light. A paddymelon checking out our dinner. I never saw it get closer, but every time I’d look in its direction it was closer than the last until it was at our feet and we were pushing it away. 

We have a nightly debate about whether it is cold (it is). In the evenings it ranges in the 40s with a variously strong wind. I sit with gloves, 2 shirts, 2 sweaters, a coat, and 2 pairs of pants, proclaiming the ridiculous cold, while Quentin sits in a jacket and shorts and calls it “fresh”. Unsurprisingly, I’m always the one who finally proclaims it ‘too cold to sit out here any longer’ and goes to my tent. 

The next day we went for a beautiful hike to Huay Cape where we walked along the coastal cliffs. We spent the day looking at all the cool coastal plants and enjoying the views of the sharp red cliffs juxtaposed with the blue oceans. 

The following morning we went for another long hike up the other side of the bay to biovaouc bay. The plants there were quite different than the other side, clearly the soil is more absorbent and less rocky. The path was lined with tall tree ferns and other more lush plants than the southern side of the bay. It was really cool to be able to compare the differences and see all the wildlife. The views of the oceans were stunning as always and it was just a really lovely morning.  

A fun game I’ve been playing for a while now I like to call “lunch roulette”. See, I don’t buy a lot of food that needs refrigeration/cooling, and when I do it’s just one or two things: tofu, salad dressing, hummus, veggies, cheese, etc. and the cost of the food I have at any time tends to cost less than ice… so I just keep it at room temperature and try to guess how many days perishable food can last in my car without refrigeration. It’s a highly questionable game, but so far I’ve been rather successful due to the cold weather. I’m certain I will regret it one day, but it’s working great for now. 

 

Something I've been reflecting a lot about lately is the differences of traveling with another person vs. traveling alone. It's different in a lot of ways, and especially different traveling with a man as opposed to short trips I've done with a woman as my travel partner. When I travel alone I am nearly guaranteed that someone will come up to me and have a chat. During solo travel a day doesn't really go by without me having a long yarn with a stranger about their lives and travels and recommendations. I get approached regularly and often. When I travel with another woman, I tend to get occasional people coming up to us for a chat, less often, but probably half the amount of time. Since traveling with Quentin, it's rare. If I arrive at a campsite first, it almost always happens and I'm in a chat within the hour, but never when we are together. It's a completely different travel experience in terms of interpersonal connections, which at times I find a bit disconcerting, it does make me more aware of how much more approachable I am alone for good or for bad. 

It is nice having a travel companion though, its more motivating to go on long hikes, and it feels safer, I feel more secure staying out later in the evening, shared plans and ideas are really lovely, and shared meals makes it both cheaper and more motivating to make a real dinner.

It's also such a common assumption that because we are traveling together (in separate vehicles) but together, that we are romantic (we aren't). I find that understandable (and not really bothered) when people I know ask, we have a lot of shared interests and are essentially living together, sharing adventures and meals, but I find it very awkward when total strangers make that assumption for us when we mention we are traveling together, but separate. The number of strangers who have made comments about our grand romance after we have just explained that we are just friends traveling together is quite odd. Its an understandable assumption to begin with if you first see us, but I find it quite off-putting when strangers prescribe a future romance. It's the type of opinion people should learn to keep to themselves. The other day on our walk a couple went on an on about how we never know what could happen, which yeah, I guess, but again, a weird thing to tell two people who just told you they are just friends. (rant over lol)