The day we left for a long holiday in July 2019

We finished packing the caravan, checked everything again and hoping to luck we didn't leave anything behind.
Time to leave for the ship to sail from Devonport, Tasmania to Melbourne, Victoria and we arrived in Devonport 2 hours before sailing.
The first photo is the first view of The Spirit of Tasmania as we wait in line to get checked in.

2nd photo shows going into the ship and you can see on the left of the motorhome the cars parked in the hull.

The next two were taking from the 7th deck of the view of Devonport, then our inside cabin.
We always sail at night then in the early morning we can be on our way up the highway.
This sail we were 2nd of the ship.

The last 3 photos we are on our way up the highway in Melbourne, Victoria.

Well of course you can't go by car across the sea - but that's how Google maps shows it!

Spirit of Tasmania

Now home after 4 months being away and this time I'm telling a little information about the ship or ferry that takes us to mainland Australia and returns to Tasmania..
There are two ships and they usually cross in the night.

The Spirit of Tasmania 1 and 11 are the ships that ferry passengers, freight and vehicles across Bass Strait.  Bass Strait is between the north of the Island of Tasmania, Australia and the State of Victoria of which Melbourne is it's capital.
The channel's width is approximately 300 km (190 mi) and it's depth is 60-70m (200 ft) 500km (310 mi) long.
The time from Devonport in Tasmania to Melbourne in Victoria is 9 to 11 hours.
We sailed at 19.30 arrived in Melbourne at 06.30.

Photos taken from inside our vehicle boarding the ship.

Home!

After 4. 1/2 months we arrived home safely via the Spirit of Tasmania with an excellent smooth sailing across Bass Strait.
Had a couple of things go wrong on the holiday, leaking sink in the bathroom, and a flat tyre on the caravan the latter happening just two days before sailing.

Family of 5 are still in our house so things are rather cramped.

Took the photos with my phone below of the Port of Melbourne as we waited to board the ship.
Melbourne, Victoria.

The sand was very clean and silky.

A cruise ship and the red ship is the Spirit of Tasmania.

A few High Risers.

Driving onto the ship.

Part of the dinning room on board.

The Spirit of Tasmania

The Spirit of Tasmania is the Ferry that takes Tasmanians across Bass Strait to Melbourne in Victoria. If taking your own car this is the way to go.

Not often am I in the right place at the right time to capture the Ferry coming up the Mersey River in Devonport, Tasmania, I was the other evening.

The Ferry.

We arrived at the Ferry Terminal 1 and a 1/2 hours before sailing. First we had to go through Quarantine which only took a minute. Questions such as...Fire Arms, Gas Cylinders, Guns and things like that.  The Gas cylinders are taken if you have one, your name put on it, collected when coming off the ship in Melbourne in the State of Victoria where the ship berths. Caravan owners are usually the ones with gass cylinders.

We had dinner on board in the dinning room. After dinner to one of the lounges to talk more, then off to the shop and look at the Souvenirs, then to the cabin.

The sailing was very smooth for such shallow water across Bass Strait to the Port of Melbourne.
We were awoken at 5.50am, had a sandwich and water in the cabin for breakfast, no time for the dinning room.  We were called to our cars at 6.30am with a very short wait before driving off the ferry and on our merry way up over the Gateway Bridge and along the Highway inland.

The Spirit of Tasmania at Devonport.

At last!

It's holiday time once again and finally after 5 attempts this year, my husband and I are travelling to the Sunshine Coast of Australia for 6 weeks.
This will be the first holiday that I haven't had to phone either of my late parents each day whilst away, or wondering how they are getting on.
Our youngest son, his wife and their 3 little children will continue to live in our house until we return.  Hopefully I will be able to visit blogs and post to mine whilst on holiday, I will enjoy doing it.

The mileage for the trip one way is about 2,450km (1,522m).  Of course if we divert it's longer and more mileage.
We go across from Devonport to Melbourne via the Spirit of Tasmania (the ferry), this trip on the sea takes approximately 10 or 11 hours. We eat on board, go to our cabin and sleep as it's a night sailing.  We stay at Motels which are lovely and clean, most being modern. We eat all our meals out and are both tired come bedtime.  Then up early the next morning for a days drive again until we arrive. 


This photo would have been taken when I was about 4 or 5 years of age. My mother used to make most of my clothes right up to when I was 16.

From Melbourne, Australia to the Home Port of Devonport, Tasmania!

Travelling on board the Passenger Ferry The Spirit of Tasmania is part of our journey and holiday to Mainland Australia and beyond.
Information to a link [here] to how large or small the ferry is, how long it takes to cross Bass Strait and so on.

It's a very comfortable cabin with a good bunk, so therefore we both have a good sleep woken only by the female on the intercom waking everyone in each cabin approximately 3/4 of an hour before having to be in our cars ready to disembark.  We have a shower and eat breakfast later in the morning at a Road House along the way.

The seabed it about 50 meters deep so therefore it's considered a rough stretch across Bass Strait. Of the 22 times we have been across we have never experienced that thus far, always the first time though.

The wait in the queue to drive on board is rather long. However, before the queue it's finding somewhere to park that can be and is mostly a problem.  We stop at a Service Centre way up the highway, then travel down over the Westgate Bridge to the Port of Melbourne arriving just in time for the 'queue'.

One of the two Ferries in Melbourne. Part of St. Kilda beach which goes to the left of the photo a very long way down.

The cars go right back to the back pier and turn around up along the side of the Ferry in 3 rows. All cars enter the bow and go out the stern.  When in Devonport, Tasmania it's the opposite.

A Melbourne sightseeing bus comes around the pier as some of us wait in the parking area which isn't cheap either.

Part of the waterfront Apartments overlooking a small area of St. Kilda Beach.

The Gateway Bridge taken through the windscreen of our vehicle.

One of the Service Centres we park at some distance up the Highway.

The centre offers McDonald's, Subway and Petrol, showers and loos.

So what do we do whilst waiting here for several hours - surf the net in our car and talk to each other.