Sue and Chris compete in the Bicheno Ocean Swim

Sue and Chris provide this update on their travels through Tasmania. “First of all, what a wonderful achievement by Laura yesterday!! She is amazing and we are very proud of her for continuing with determination to accomplish this goal following so many setbacks and disappointments. How wonderful!

In the meantime, we are continuing to enjoy our slow meander through Tasmania. We are currently near Port Arthur, after having slowly made our way down the scenic east coast. A few highlights have been seeing my middle son finish his first Marathon in Hobart, spending a day on Maria Island and learning about the convict probation station here in the 1840s, exploring beautiful Wineglass Bay and Freycinet National Park and riding our bikes around some beaut locations and rail trails. A surprise gem of a town was Oatlands, where every building in the Main Street is built of stone, making the whole town look like it’s straight out of a movie set. They also had a beaut Pancake and Crepe Cafe, definitely worth the drive!!

Another highlight was swimming in the Bicheno “Devil of a Swim” ocean swim, an annual event hosted by Shane Gould who is a long term resident of Bicheno. Chris and I entered in the 2km event, finishing second and third, ahem, last haha! In a funny twist I actually won my division of “skins”, as I was the only swimmer not wearing a wetsuit. Honestly, these Tasmanians! The water temperature was 18 degrees, absolutely no need for a wetsuit, so I wonder what on earth they wear in winter?? (I wore a wetsuit, Chris).

The event was really well run, and included a 5km swim, a 2km, a 1km and a 400m kids dash. 142 entrants all up, with 52 doing the 5km swim. Shane was a terrific MC, and even gave a shout out to Mollymook Ocean Swimmers when I told her that our group holds similar traditions surrounding birthday cakes brought by the birthday-ee with the occasional whisky as well. Like us, the Bicheno swim group ranges from 20-30 down to 2 when the weather is rank! It was a great day, but made me feel a little homesick for our special group at Mollymook. We miss you all.

Okay, that’s all for now. A big hello to everyone, and special congratulations to Laura! Much love, Sue and Chris”

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