The Edge of the World

In 2006, Coral Waight set out in her little hatchback to begin the first of four road trips around the island of Tasmania, south of where she lives in Melbourne, Australia.

She planned to the nth degree, but nothing could have prepared her for getting stuck on the side of a mountain in the dark, her petrol tank on empty. Nothing prepared her for being on her own in a caravan park in the middle of a violent storm, or forgetting she gets sea-sick and spending a boat cruise around Tasman Island with her head in a bucket.

The wild, untamed west coast contrasted with the ethereal beauty of Great Oyster Bay and the fishing villages of the east. The giant ferns and trees of the rainforests nurtured and replenished her spirit, and the history, white and indigenous, filtered through everything.

"Told with gentle humour and keen observation, not only of the landscape but the people who live there, this book will make readers want to visit Tasmania for themselves, all the while getting to know and like a woman who's unfailing good humour shines through the adventures she encounters." Elizabeth Kemp - Writers Victoria

"An inspirational story, told with empathy and unfailing good humour." Dr. Glenice Whitting - Author and Creative Writing Tutor.

Auteur

Coral Waight started travelling alone at the age of sixty. She began by crossing Bass Strait, south of where she lives in Melbourne, Australia, to explore the island state of Tasmania. After four road trips around the forests, caves and coastlines of her beloved 'Tassie', she ventured further afield, across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, with its fiords, glaciers, volcanic valleys and its 'Lord of the Rings' trail. With these experiences under her belt, she took the leap to the other side of the world. England provided Dickens, the Brontes and Shakespeare; medieval cities and West End theatres; a malevolent rental car, indecipherable road signs and menacing roundabouts. Her 'Planning to the Nth' series describes the challenges, pitfalls - and joys - of a woman, 'of an age', discovering the world - at last. Coral can be found at www.facebook.com/coral.waight or her travel blog coralwaightravel.com