Little Devil Backpackers, Hostel Review, Huonville, Tasmanian

After a few days at The Pickled Frog in Hobart I managed to bag myself a job in Cygnet on a strawberry farm. A quick conversation on the phone to the farmer and I found myself googling “Little Devil Backpackers”, like he had advised. I gave them a quick call to check there was space and then hopped on the bus from the corner of Elizabeth and Brisbane Street to Huonville. The ticket cost me a little over 10 bucks and the driver said he would give me a shout when I needed to get off.

The bus pulled up 40 minutes later next to a big yellow sign advertising the hostel, which was tucked behind a car garage and a pizza takeaway. David, the hostel manager, was there to greet me and show me to my dorm. The hostel is made up of three sections; the camp site, the main hostel, and the shared house. My room was in the shared house, and because the season was drawing to an end there weren't many others in there.

Now, I feel before I go any further I should explain I arrived here at the start of April, just as most of the fruit picking seasons are finishing. Because of this the hostel was not full, but had a group of 30 or so people across the three parts of accommodation. The weather was getting colder, jobs were fewer and earnings were dropping. This is worth keeping in mind as I never experienced queues for the shower or fighting for space in the oven.

The shared house was nice, 4 beds to a room, a large living room with dining areas and a nice kitchen. There was one en suit room and one shower for everyone else. I can imagine that could get busy at the hight of season and the hot water for the house is mainly heated by solar power. The room also had a big wardrobe that we were able to unpack into as we were all going to be there for a while.

The camp site was pretty basic. The main site was in the garden of the shared house and there was a shed for the campers to cook in and store food, as well as having dining areas and some sofas. When I was there is was getting really cold and the campers tended to go through to the hostel on an evening rather than staying in the shed. I'm sure that its nice in summer, but when you could see your own breath as you breath, I found it a little depressing!

The main hostel had the reception desk in and a few computers. The kitchen was pretty basic, it worked well when I was there, but again I can imagine it got pretty busy in summer. There was a great island in the middle of the kitchen that made for a great socialising centre, there was always people sat around here enjoying a drink, preparing food, playing poker or just chatting. Off the kitchen was a living space with some couches, bean bags and a big TV.

The camp site shed didn't have any hot water to wash dishes in and they main hostel and the campers had shared showering facilities where you had to pay to get hot water.

This is a working hostel so everyone there were out on farms through the day. Little Devils provide a small fleet of vehicles made of utes, mini buses and cars to ferry workers to and from farms. These can be used on days off as well, by special arrangement with either Val or David, and at a cost per head.

I really enjoyed staying there for a month, it was great fun and I met loads of lovely people. Would I stay there again? Honestly, don't know. It is nice, lovely even. Full of great people and comfy rooms, the staff were nice and the there was always plenty going on. I suppose the question should really be would I ever want to stay in Huonville again? And the answer to that is no.

Introducing Captain Meow at the Portside Parlour

Last week a group of us gals got together to head down to the PortSide Parlour at Broadway Market. This lovely little basement bar was delightful; being a rum lover my only disappointed was not finding the place sooner!

It’s worth pointing out that as you stroll down Broadway Market hunting for a doorway to a basement bar you will be wandering for a while. There is a lovely looking bar located on the corner of Dericote Street called Off Broadway, go in through there and follow the signs for the toilets, that's where you will find the pirate ship themed bar.

Unfortunately we planned this little trip to the rum bar well in advance, so much so we hadn’t accounted for the tube strikes. Eventually our party arrived and we began our endless assault on the cocktail menu. A Grace Jones followed by a Fishwife Punch, chased with a Prime Minister, each more delicious than the last. My personal favorite was the 1749, served with a little surprise.

The Rum Cocktail Menu

The bar itself is decked out like a pirate ship, with candelabras on the tables and jugs of water, tables so sturdy they would look proud in the captains quarter. Having spent many a party in my later teen years dressed as a pirate this place provoked loads of old memories, most ending rather embarrassingly with me falling over of puking into a bucket! Luckily I have grown to be a much more responsible adult so there was no pirate themed repeat from my past...or rather my last train home was at 9.45.
Due to the tube strikes we had the place to ourselves, which was great for what we wanted, but the lovely bar staff assured us it gets pretty packed out at the weekend!

All in all, I'm pretty disappointed I am unlikely to be heading back there any time soon. Their rum selection was fantastic, the bar staff were warm and friendly and the decor was very, erm, piratey! And, we even got to meet Captain Meow, the ships resident rat catcher!

I doubt he would make a good rat catcher really!

Ps. apologies for the blurriness of the pictures, the cocktails were just too good!

The London Travel Show and Alborz Restaurat Review

At the weekend Graham and I went along to The Adventure Travel Show at Olympia, and what a day it was! Finished off with a meal for two at Alborz Restaurant, my only regret is getting a day ticket and not a full weekend pass!

The whole place was filled with adventure tours to global destinations, travel shops like Nomad and information about global sustainability and environmental responsibility.We spent the day learning about our destinations of choice in SE Asia and left weighed down with travel guides, magazines and leaflets galore to provide yet more inspiration for our plannings.

The most inspirational thing there, however, was not the glossy mags and perfect pictures of tropical paradise hanging at the back of almost every stand. It was the talks. Some of them inspired me to be more careful with recycling and encouraged me to think more about the impact my choices have on the world. Emily Penn, from Pangaea Exploration, gave a wonderful talk about plastic pollution in the ocean - never again shall I be guilty of taking a plastic carrier bag from Sainsbury's!

My favorite talk was certainly that of Leon McCarron, who invited us to join him on his walk through the Empty Quarter. Basically, him and a mate built a cart, dropped it in the middle of the desert and walked to Abu Dhabi. Clearly, there was a little more to it than that. The incredible heat, the endless miles of sand and the ever changing landscape. It was fascinating and really got Graham and I excited about all the possibilities for the road ahead.

At the end of the how, weight down like pack horses, the two of us mooched over the road to the Alborz Restaurant, a charming Persian place, just over the road from the exhibition hall. Here we sat in almost silence, save the odd "check this out" and "WOW! Holy cow lets go here!" as we pointed enthusiastically at pictures in our magazines. The food here was great. Our mixed started was served with fresh flat bread, baked right in front of us, the Kashk O Bademjan was delicious! For main I had the sea bass. It was good, but if I find myself there again I would probably give something else a try. 

It took us 2 hours to get home to our (very far) North London flat, but with our noses in magazines it seemed like nothing! We will certainly be going to some more of the travel shows coming up in London over the coming month!

Hostel Review - YHA Bristol

Last weekend me and a group of friends took the 2 hour train journey from London Paddington to Bristol, if you book in advance it's dirt cheap. Now, I'm no seasoned expert in the world of hostel and budget accommodation (I'm no seasoned expert on any accommodation) but here goes my first review. 
We arrived at Bristol with not much of a clue where to go, when suddenly an amazing idea struck my friend "we aren't in London, that means we won't have to take out a loan to get a taxi!" a couple of quid later we arrived at the YHA Hostel on the water front, and let me tell you, it couldn't be in a nicer part of the city! The place is sat right on the river side and the view is just lovely; boats bobbing on the water and people wandering up the river and popping in and out of the bars and restaurants on the other side of the bridge. 
We were in a group of 6 and booked a double room and a 4 bed dorm. Both were lovely. The double room was pretty big (which was unexpected as they didn't pay too much more for it) and our room for four was a pretty OK size too. Most importantly both rooms came with en suites, which were also clean and lovely.

The staff were all really welcoming, we were checked in and relaxing in our rooms in no time, and there was always someone around if you needed anything...or if like me you were drunk and they needed someone to laugh at, but I'm OK with that.

There were a few common areas around on the ground floor with nice big screens, super comfy sofas, plenty of access to computers and the internet, and a pool table. 

All in all it was a pretty nice place to stay. Clean rooms, good location and friendly staff and a budget price. If I go back to Bristol I know where I'll be staying.

Originally posted 29/12/2012, but because I'm an idiot I deleted it!