Water water......

Apart from an obsession with Princess Mary of Denmark (who comes from Tasmania and is a Donaldson to boot), the press here is full of news of the floods which have swept through Australia and even affected the north east of Tasmania, particularly Scamander and St Helens. Scamander broke the state record for rainfall in 24 hours last Thursday, and the road to St. Helens was partly washed away. We missed all the excitement as we were further south, but on Saturday we were heading back via Hobart and the obligatory visit to Salamanca Market. Not much was bought there due to the terrible exchange rate. Every time we have two coffees and a piece of cake between us it costs ten pounds or more. It's Scandinavian levels here.

After a night sorting out our things in Scamander and packing a box to send home-mainly family memorabilia but it still weighed more than 12 kgs - we set off to return the hire car, and meet Jean and Vic in Launceston where they had been at a wedding. On Sunday afternoon we headed up to the Cataract Gorge where the river was in full flow. It was quite scary and there had been a rescue the day before where a young couple were stranded by the sudden flash flood, being rescued by helicopter after three hours. We took loads of photos and some video to capture the ferocity of the water. The river by the way is the South Esk. In the middle of Launceston it joins with the North Esk and from then on it's called the Tamar - go figure as they say.

Next day we said our goodbyes and caught the plane to Melbourne. There we met up with Rachel Clarke, Tom's second cousin from Invergordon who has been working in Melbourne for the last four years. The next day was an early start to catch the "Overland", the train to Adelaide. On the way we were able to see some of the flooding which was affecting north west Victoria, though even more was expected later. It was a long journey but very comfortable and not as tiring as flying. We arrived in Adelaide to warm sunny weather - at last!