Hobart.  Thorsdag 29/3.   Latitude 42.88.

What a difference an ocean voyage  of 400 of kms can make.

After a quite rough but otherwise uneventful crossing we arrived in Hobart to find that Autumn is in full swing.

We picked the Rydges Hotel from Bookings. everything because it had a microwave.

What a gem!!!.

Yesterday the view from our bedroom window was across the rubble and rubbish strewn across the building site in our neighbours rear yard. This evening we gaze across the North Hobart Oval ( around which Ron Clarke set a world record for the six mile race in the 1960’s according to one eye witness a young Alex Tar) ccross the skyline to Constitution Dock and down the Derwent towards Storm Bay.

The original site was a school built in the early 1900’s and much has been retained for use as the bar, dinning room and reception area. Ilze and I eschewed its delights and retired early after a Woolworths Greek salad and a couple of Angus/Pepper pies.

We went to the event registration at the nearby Queens Domain and blundered around the warm-up courses which consisted of a permanent control course with such points of interest as “50cm” boulder in the long grass and “concrete pole lying down.” But it was worth it just for the catch ups. Christine Palmer with a squadron of French dragoons in tow.  (actually it is just Didier, a helicopter tech from the French Antarctic division) and Stephane and the crew from New Caledonia that we last saw at the World Masters in New Zealand. Everyone just seem a year older and a little slower except in my division.

The game starts in earnest to-morrow and we have microwave boxed Green Thai noodles to look forward to for dinner.

Cant find a toaster though, can you microwave crumpets?

Pete.