September 28

Monday again! Boy that comes around fast. Attended some work training at Griffith Uni today, most of it was interesting and helpful with only a couple of sessions that were snooze worthy and very difficult to stay awake in. So a good day overall.

Josh attended court this morning and got a fairly good outcome all things considered. Up to him now, but have to say he's grown up and settled a lot over the last year or so. He's worked hard at sorting his life out so hopefully that progress will continue.

Talked with Mum today, received a text message from Murray and an email from Fiona ~ lots of family communication! It seems Murray has been ill again and has had a couple of kidney stones. He's been in lots of pain and will hopefully start to feel better soon. All good with Mum & Dad and Fiona's kids are about to start school holidays. We may catch up with Fiona this weekend in Byron Bay.

Today's pic is one that was taken of Nick & Jess on my birthday.

September 27

Had a big day today. Finished cleaning up all the back area and it looks heaps better now. Did a heap of housework (blech), went to Bunnings to get a few things and spent some time in the garden.

Made a cheesecake for dessert and all the boys, except Dan, came for dinner with their partners and of course, Tiara and Xavier. A good night.

September 26

Didn't do a great deal today, just pottered around the house and did a little shopping to get the things I missed yesterday.

Adam and Toni came over for a visit and I finally found out the name of the singer and the song I've been listening to on the radio that I like. It's Eric Hutchinson singing Rock n Roll.

Another quiet night with a dvd before toddling off to bed. We're like a couple of aged pensioners this weekend!

I couldn't sleep so got up and played around with my watercolours for a while. Bob woke up a little later and we decided to have a midnight snack of McDonald's of all things! Kinda funny when neither of us is a big Maccas fan.

Today's pic is one I took on Wednesday afternoon after work of the dust storm.

September 25

Yayyy, it's Friday! Had a good day at work but gotta say I'm glad it's the end of the week. Got to finish work early, so did the grocery shopping on the way home and picked up some bright yellow crocs that were on sale for $20. We had some Chinese food for dinner tonight and settled in with a movie before having an early kind of night.

September 24

Back in the office today, it's actually been 4 weeks since I spent a full day there. Good to be back. Unfortunately I won't be getting paid for all the time I had off sick as I didn't have enough leave ~ bugger. Explains why my pay seemed a little low! Ah well, you get that.

Not much else to add for today.

September 23

We have babies!!! Two brand spanking new little guinea pigs, safely delivered by their 'middle aged' mama who all the experts say was unlikely to survive the birth. They are ever so cute.

Completed our first aid training today and enjoyed lunch at Montezuma's ~ very delicious.

A massive dust storm rolled in mid morning and was here for most of the day. Apparently 16000 tons of dust was travelling through an hour. Unfortunately I'd left windows open and didn't get onto Sarah until midday to close them, so it was choking at home. All you can see and taste is dust. Yuk!

Went back to my painting class tonight and started a watercolour. Going to try a new medium. So far, so good.

September 22

Finally back to work! Well, not into the office but my co worker and I are on training today and tomorrow to re do our Senior First Aid certificates. Bit of a dry old course but we have a great trainer who manages to make it interesting and fun.

September 21

Doing the catch up thing again! I'll add pics at a later date too.

Was supposed to go back to work today but still feeling rather unwell, so had today off too. Hopefully this virus thingy is just about done! The tiredness that goes with it is something else, so I'm into the vitamin B's.

Watched a couple of movies to while away the time between sleeping. A fairly uneventful day really.

September 20

Had a quiet Sunday. Went to the shops to get stuff for dinner tonight and by the time we were half way around, I was totally exhausted! My energy levels seem to be so low at the moment. Didn't do much over the rest of the day, except lie in the hammock for a few hours.

Lisa and Xavier came over mid afternoon so Lisa could do my hair. Xavier had fun in his walker for a while before getting over tired. Bob walked him until he fell asleep.

Quiet night for dinner tonight, just us and Josh n Sarah as all the others couldn't make it. Maybe next weekend.

Hoping my energy levels are a bit better tomorrow.

September 19

Had a little more energy this morning after a slow start. It's the weekend and Bob is home, so we set about tidying up the area out the back. Looks heaps better now.

Had a reasonably quiet day otherwise, did a little shopping, picked up our holiday pics and watched a couple of dvd's tonight. The Castle (Bob hadn't seen it before) and Chocolat. Thoroughly enjoyed both of them.

September 18

Another day at home today, no energy at all and pretty much spent most of the day in bed. Of course that means there's nothing much to say about today other than I slept and read a book inbetween.

September 17

Didn't sleep well last night due to coughing half the night, so felt pretty ordinary when I went to work. Was there about half an hour or so when the boss came in, took one look at me and basically asked if I felt as bad as I looked and if so, why was I there.

So it was back home for me. Told them I'd see them tomorrow and was corrected, no, we'll see you when you're better!

Came home and basically flaked for the rest of the day.

September 16

Had an early start on my first day back to work, due to some training on the Gold Coast which made for a long day. Although a couple of hours overtime is always nice. The silly cough I picked up a couple of days ago seems to be in full swing today and I feel rather weary with it. Hopefully tomorrow is better. Decided not to go to painting class as I didn't have the energy.

September 15

Felt really tired all day today, so didn't achieve a great deal. I went and saw my kinesiologist late this morning, so hopefully that helps a bit. Picked up a few seedlings on the way home but didn't end up getting them planted today, so hopefully they'll get in on the weekend.

The skip bin I ordered turned up today, so we've already put some stuff in it. Should help with the decluttering binge I'm on!

Our other package arrived today from Tasmania so I had fun unpacking it. Went for a paddle this afternoon and as usual, thoroughly enjoyed that too.

Adam & Toni came over for dinner tonight. They head off for Parkes on the weekend all being well. Kath also came over for a little visit after dinner.

That's about it for now.

September 14

Bob headed out to do a 2 day course this morning, so it ended up being a reasonably quiet day. I pottered around home, did a little in the garden with Bob's help before he left this morning, and did some general sorting out.

One of the packages we'd sent home from Tasmania arrived today, so it was fun unpacking that. Hopefully the other one will arrive tomorrow.

I went to Bunnings to replace a few plants that died while we were away and also picked up a few more mosaic tiles for a project I've been going to start for a long time. I finally started the project and have laid out the tiles on another piece of board. I think I'm happy with it, so might start doing it seriously tomorrow.

Also took the opportunity of a nice afternoon to go for a paddle ~ it's lovely out on the water. Well that's about it from me for today.

September 13

Woke up early for some reason, so made the most of a beautiful morning and went for a paddle. I always thoroughly enjoy it when I get out there. Bob has had a few problems with the backrest on his kayak popping off all the time, so he's going to glue it on and hopefully that will fix the problem.

Enjoyed a quiet day and spent a lot of time uploading holiday photos for printing. Cripes we had a lot of photos! They come with lots of wonderful memories too.

Jon and Sara-Lee came over this morning so Jon could pick up his fish as he now has his tank set up in the new place. He'd been expecting a care package from his mate in the UK and he'd been around on Friday to see if it had arrived. Anyways, his care package turned up on Saturday morning ~ in the form of his friend himself!! So my son from another mum is back. He was only gone a few months this time.

Our Sunday night dinner was a little quieter than usual, Gav & Lisa and Nick & Jess weren't here as they were all still recovering from Sarah & Chenza's wedding the night before. So it was just the other three boys, two partners plus Pommy Josh for dinner. Everyone was tired which made for an early night afterwards.

September 12

Had a slow start to the day. I read a book from cover to cover before getting up at around 9am, then it was a day of laundry.

Gav & Nick's friends, Sarah and Chenza were married this afternoon, so hope all went well for them on their special day.

We met the people who have moored their boat at our jetty today. We ended up having a lovely evening and dinner with them on the boat. Then it was back inside and an early night.

I've added another Tassie pic for today's photo.

September 11

Friday 11 September

Today is my birthday! Unfortunately our trip is also at an end, the time has just flown. I don’t feel ready to go home and I’d love to go back to Hobart for a while, however, we’re unable to do that. So we head off to Launceston bright and early, leaving Ringarooma at 6.45 am. We put our hire car through a carwash to get rid of the dirt we’d found along the way, then dropped the car off and they dropped us at the airport.

We had quite a smooth flight home which was good as I’m still not fussed on flying. Josh and Sarah came out to pick us up and I think we had the fasted trip home from the airport ever. Josh has found his lead foot it seems!

We had a quiet-ish afternoon then went out for dinner to a lovely Thai restaurant with all the boys and their partners, plus the little ones. Kath also joined us a little later in the evening.

So a good day and a wonderful trip.

September 10

Thursday 10 September

We left Bridport this morning and decided to continue heading east towards Gladstone. Again some beautiful scenery along the way. I love that there are farms with cows and sheep and at the back of the paddock is the sand dunes and the beach. Bit of a dirt road for some of the way but it wasn’t too bad.

From Gladstone we headed down towards a place called Moorina where there was a historic Chinese Cemetery but alas, we were unable to find it. Well we did find a cemetery but we don’t think it was the right one.

From Moorina, it was to a little place called Pyengana where they have a cheese factory. They produce various cheddars and gotta say they were delicious, so of course, we had to get a few to bring home. They compliment the cheese we bought in Burnie you see.

We decided to go to the east coast and see the Bay of Fires, so it was off to St Helens and up to a little place called The Gardens. Absolutely beautiful. The water was a gorgeous clear light jade-ish green and the rocks were covered in bright orange lichen. The photos we took don’t do it justice at all. I could have sat there in awe for hours and found it very hard to leave.

We had some lunch back in at St Helens and then headed back towards Pyengana as it was a back road to Ringarooma. I have to say the road was pretty dodgy. It was a dirt road that seemed ok at first, but as you go further on there were lots of corrugations and potholes of various sizes.

We stopped at a place called Ralph Falls and walked about 10 minutes into the forest until we reached the falls. The falls go down a cliff face and were impressive although nowhere near as pretty as Russell Falls. The walk in and out to the falls was nice though, albeit one that gave you plenty of exercise.

We arrived back at Ringarooma around 4pm-ish and Loraine arrived back from Hobart around 6pm. We were able to spend a little more time with her tonight which was nice. Loraine and her daughter Shannon both gave me a gift for my birthday. Shannon gave me a little cow as a memento of Tasmania and Loraine gave me a beautiful crystal dish. Off to bed and then up early as tomorrow we fly home.

September 9

Wednesday 9 September

It was time to leave the North West today. We set out from Burnie and headed towards Latrobe where we checked out the Anvers Chocolate Factory. We’d been told their chocolates and fudge were some of the best around and we have to say we agree.

From Latrobe, we drove until we found a turn off for a little place called Harford. The road leading to Harford was among some gorgeous countryside and sometimes it looked just like a patchwork quilt.

We drove from Harford to Frankford, then up to Beaconsfield and on to Beauty Point where we stopped at Platypus House and Seahorse World. These places were side by side and both were so very interesting. The platypus is smaller than I’d imagined them to be and the echidnas were a smidgeon bigger. What I didn’t know was that they are from the same family! Both are mammals and are the only mammals that lay eggs yet suckle their young. The echidnas were friendly and curious little characters too.

From there we headed off to Georgetown and Low Head where there was a beautiful view from the lighthouse area. We called Loraine to see if she needed anything only to find she’d gone to hospital to be put on an IV for a while as her blood pressure was quite low and she wasn’t getting enough nutrients.

We decided to keep driving to Bridport and we found a place to stay the night, rather than going to Loraine’s when she was unwell. Bridport is a quiet little place with some beautiful coastline. We had a delicious meal at the place where we’re staying too.

Well that’s it for today. Bob is already asleep and I might turn in soon too.

September 8

Tuesday 8 September

Today we decided to go further along the north west coastline. Along the way we stopped at Wynyard where there were some beautiful views. While there we had a look through a vintage car display at the local information centre. Bob was in 7th heaven and thoroughly enjoyed the display.

From there we headed towards Stanley and The Nut. Wow what an interesting part of the landscape. I quite liked the little town of Stanley, some of the houses were quite old and gorgeous and the place had a nice atmosphere about it.

We decided we’d continue west and aim for the west coast seeing as it was only another hour away. We ended up in a little place called Marrawah where we turned off towards Ann Bay. We found a lookout on the way down to the bay which gave us a great view of the west coast. Now we’ve seen the north, west, south and east coasts of Tasmania!

We came back to Burnie where we took a look through the Creative Paper Mill. They had a fantastic display of paper people but unfortunately, I’d left my camera behind in the car. Bob has some on his phone though, so might be able to upload some of them later. They make paper out of all sorts of stuff from cotton to lavender to wombat and kangaroo poo, to plant material and stuff off the forest floor. Needless to say I ended up with a small stash to bring back home.

We went up the road to the Lactos Cheese Factory and enjoyed some cheese tasting. We’d been told they also make chocolate and strawberry cheese which is imported to Japan, but unfortunately, they stopped making it a little while ago so we weren’t able to try that. Bob bought us some chicken and camembert pies though, so we decided to go into Penguin to have them and enjoy a look about while we were there.

We found the Big Penguin and did the touristy thing of taking pics of ourselves with him. We also found the post office so posted a box of goodies back home while we were there.

Back to Burnie for bit of a rest and then we ventured to another Chinese restaurant. This time we ordered food to take back with us and the food was delicious! A massive improvement on last night’s effort.

Had a hello type phone call from Daniel ~ it was really nice to hear from him. He’d just called for a chat and to see how our holiday was going.

Now having a quiet night and will probably head off to bed soon.

September 7

Monday 7 September

We enjoyed bit of a sleep in this morning and a slower start. We were going to have a proper catch up with Loraine this morning (when she’s not busy being a publican) but poor girl was up most of the night coughing and was feeling very unwell. So we’ll catch up with her some more when we get back later in the week.

We had bit of a chat with Elizabeth (one of her employee’s) beforehand and she was telling us how Ringarooma has only had 5 fine days during August and that’s all that’s predicted for September as well. Apparently they had 26 inches of rain in August too which is close to their usual annual rainfall. No wonder they are sick of the rain at the moment!

The scenery looked gorgeous this morning when we headed off and the clouds were so low in places that it looked as though you could almost reach up and touch them.
We caught up on some phone calls when we got to Launceston and kept going towards the west. We went through Deloraine and found it to be a nice little place.

From there we stopped in at a raspberry place before we went on to Sheffield, also known as the town of murals. Some of the murals are fantastic. There’s so much detail in them.

There’s an interesting story painted on the side of one of the stores about the founder of Coles supermarkets. A friend of Mr G J Coles owned this particular store called Slaters and one day, Mr Coles asked his friend would he go into business with him and his sons who were starting a store in Melbourne. Mr Slater couldn’t be persuaded and his store still stands in the little town of Sheffield today. Mr. Cole’s new business venture went on to become a national chain of supermarkets that turns over a colossal amount of money each year. I wonder how Mr Slater felt about that decision as Mr Coles business went ahead in leaps and bounds.

After Sheffield we went to Latrobe and had bit of a gander through a place called Reliquaire that had all kinds of dolls, clowns, mannequins, bears of all different types n shapes n breeds that you could imagine. There were ones that looked like old people, some that were of witches, goblins, skeletons, peter rabbit, and other various characters from books. They also had games of all descriptions, science stuff and some specialty foods from the area.

We decided we take a look at the Platypus House either tomorrow or on our way back to Ringarooma as it was getting later in the afternoon.

It didn’t take us long to get to Devonport as it’s only 13 kms from Latrobe, so we had a brief drive around there and when we couldn’t find anything we were looking for easily (and without a map) we decided to leave Devonport for another day too and headed for Burnie.

Burnie is only a half hour drive from Devonport and the highway runs alongside the ocean for much of the way, making it a very pretty drive. We found a place to stay for a couple of nights, downloaded a squillion emails and went out to find some dinner. I kinda felt like Chinese food and we eventually found a Chinese Restaurant.

A little tip ~ if you’re ever in Burnie TAS, do NOT go to Fortuna Garden for a meal. Omg, they had not only the worst Chinese food we’ve ever had, but they were also by far the most expensive. We couldn’t eat it all, so ended up leaving and heading to KFC instead. Ah well, such is life!

September 6

Sunday 6 September

Today is Fathers Day but unfortunately, there is no mobile phone coverage here in Ringarooma so I’m unable to phone Dad or Gav or Nick to wish them Happy Fathers Day. I’ll just have to make a belated call once we get to Launceston.

Loraine was trialing Sunday roast lunches today for the first time. It seemed to work quite well and there were quite a few compliments on how it all went. She also had some live music for the afternoon and that probably helped too.

Bob & I went for bit of a walk in the afternoon but not too far because it was too dang cold outside! We did venture out again in the afternoon to take a peek through the old church across the road. It now holds all types of information about the history of Ringarooma. The old church had a beautiful timber ceiling and gorgeous stained glass windows too. Apparently the church and the house on the same block sold in the last year for $140 000 and the church was then leased for $10 a year!

Loraine is able to close the pub early on a Sunday night, so by 7.30pm everyone was gone and we all sat down to a game of cards, followed by a game of Eightball (kind of like snooker) with the jukebox going for background music. A nice way to end the day and we were up in bed before 9.30pm.

September 5

Saturday 5 September

This week has flown. I think it’s safe to say I’ve fallen in love with Hobart and the surrounding area, so I’m a little sad to be leaving today.

This morning we checked out and went into the Salamanca Markets for a wander about and to get one last Hobart fix before leaving. They’re a lovely market, lots and lots of interesting things to look (and buy!), plenty of fresh and organic foods, and masses of beautiful spring flowers.

We were back on the road again by around 10.30-11am and started heading north to Launceston. Along the way we stopped briefly in Bagdad before heading to Jericho and crossing the Jordan River. Sounds like we’re in another country!! We also went through Cleveland and Perth a bit later on ~ which state are we in again?? 

We stopped at Ross for some lunch and to enjoy a little time in the historic town, before heading into the next little place called Campbell Town. It has some interesting tiles on the footpaths about some of the convicts and the reasons they were sent to Tasmania.

The countryside is very pretty up through the north, although they have had a lot of rain so it’s also greener than usual. We stopped at a lavender farm ~ I totally forgot that the lavender is out of season and wouldn’t be blooming doh! ~ but it was nice to have a wander inside their shop and see all the things they produce from their lavender.

There’s a little place just before Ringarooma called Legerwood that has some very impressive wood carvings on what I think could be their main street. The carvings all look to be from tree stumps and each branch holds a different carving. They’re quite big and beautiful.

And then we arrived in Ringarooma! It was sooooo good to see Loraine. Boy oh boy has she lost weight. She’s lost another 22 kgs since I saw her last and now 47 kgs in total. She’s enjoying running her little country pub and is slowly but surely building the business up again, but she’s finding it very tiring too. Gotta say it is a tad cool here though!

Tonight was a busy night in the pub as the local football team had come in after winning their game plus the final of the Eightball competition was on. I headed up to bed around midnight but I don’t think the pub closed until around 2am. Makes for a long day.

September 4

Friday 4 September

Where has the time gone! Its flying way too fast. We check out of here tomorrow and it doesn’t really seem like a week since we got here, although that said, we’ve done and seen a lot in the week we’ve been here.

This morning started off with a nice warm bath that Bob ran for me, a little breakfast, then I attended an owner update with the time share mob and Bob went for a sauna and spa.

When all that was out of the way, we headed into Hobart to have a wander about the wharf area. We spent almost 2 hours wandering about and had a look in an Aboriginal Art Museum. There was some beautiful work in there.

My feet were kinda sore for some reason today, so we decided to head back to our resort for a while. However, along the way, we changed our mind and instead decided to keep going and head up to Bicheno. A little nutty considering it was already midday and we were facing a 2.5hr drive each way.

It was definitely worth the effort though. We saw more of the rocks covered in orange lichen near Bicheno’s impressive blowhole. Beautiful scenery! We went on into the little town of Bicheno to get a late lunch and then headed down near the water to enjoy it. We ended up sitting in the car to eat due to a cold wind and numerous seagulls who wanted to share. We were sitting there, I noticed something moving and we realized it was a big seal. So of course we had to go for a walk to see if we could see him a bit more up close and personal like. Alas, he didn’t want to see us up close and personal, so he went for a quick swim in the sea.

We spent probably around 1.5 hrs in Bicheno before heading back to Hobart again. Stopped along the way at a few scenic places for some photos and got back around 6pm. In time to pick up some more oysters .. and yes, they were just as yummy as the last lot.

September 3

Thursday 3 September

Nick’s 25th birthday today, so we gave him a call to wish him happy birthday this morning. It doesn’t seem 25 yrs since he was born though.

Today we decided to head off in the general direction of Port Arthur. There were a few places we wanted to see along the way and I have to say, they didn’t disappoint.

We stopped and admired the view at Eaglehawk Neck and from there went on to the Tasman Arch. It’s a very impressive bit of scenery. We also did bit of a walk around the two little lookouts they had, as well as a little further around to the Devil’s Kitchen.

Back in the car and down the road a little to the Tasman Blowhole. It seemed to be fairly quiet today but I imagine it could be quite impressive if the conditions were right.

The name of the little town where the Tasman Arch, Devil’s Kitchen and the Tasman Blowhole are is called Doo Town and many of the houses are named with the word Doo in them. Some of the names we saw were Doo Good, Doo Little, Rum Doo, Xanadu, Do Me Doo, Do F*&^ All, Dr Doolittle, It’ll Doo For Now, How Doo, Doo Write, To Doo, Doo Me, Much A Doo are the ones that we can think of off the top. There’s also a little road sign on the way into town that says Penguins Crossing.

From there it was down to Port Arthur. There was lots of roadkill on the road, mostly wombats and possums. There were plenty of signs for Tasmanian Devils too and a sanctuary for them that we drove past. The town of Port Arthur is a pretty little place and we decided to go to the historic site to take a few pics. I didn’t feel comfortable going in to wander around the site, so we just went into the gift shop for a browse before leaving again.

We stopped a bit up the road at a restaurant/café in Port Arthur and had the most delicious meal. Bob had some flounder with garlic mushrooms that was served on top of orange slices ~ yummy. I had a marinated chicken breast with rice and satay sauce that was served with salad as well. Very very nice. We also enjoyed a chai latte while we were there.

While we were having lunch, we found a brochure for a wooden boat builder in Franklin, so we decided to go take a peek. It was the opposite side of Hobart to where we were, but we figured we still had half the afternoon. We stopped along the way to get some more oysters and dropped them off at our apartment, as it was on the way and before we got back into Hobart.

Quick stop there and then back on the road through, towards Huonville and on to the little town of Franklin where we found the boat builders. It was sooo interesting. They are the only place in Australia that trains people in building wooden boats. It costs students $1200 a month and it takes them approximately 18 months to complete a Diploma in Wooden Boat Building. One of the students we saw was a girl, so good to see the girls interested in such a trade. We saw two boats in the process of construction and saw a couple that were finished ready for sale. There were also some out the back near the jetty that belong to other people. Gorgeous! And ever so tempting.

On the way back home, we stopped in Huonville and picked up some meat at a local butcher, He was quite a character and was telling us that the walk to Wineglass Bay was hard work, especially the return and that his wife fainted the last time they went.

Back home again to enjoy our oysters that I made Kilpatrick. Absolutely delicious. Oh my gosh, they are so so good.

September 2

Wednesday 2 September

Today was a drive and enjoy the scenery day. We set off through Lauderdale and down to Clifton Beach which is a beautiful quiet and almost secluded little area. The beach went from one outcrop of rocks to another and the rocky areas were filled with beautiful shells.

From there we ventured further around past South Arm and into Opossum Bay. This area was gorgeous. Stunning views with a handful of homes right on the waterfront and built into the hill. Again, just a little quiet sleepy little area but very beautiful. I seem to say that word a lot ~ beautiful, but sometimes there are not enough other words to describe it.

We stopped at a lookout at South Arm on the way back where there were views of the ocean, mountains, an island and some light houses.

From there we headed back to Richmond. We decided we wanted to go back on a weekday when more of the place was open and it was definitely worth the effort. It’s a great little area and is rich in history. We saw a model of Hobart in the 1820’s which was really interesting. About half a dozen of the buildings still stand today. So much work has gone into the model, it’s very well done.

We went through a shop that had everything made from timber, some gorgeous stuff in there. Richmond has a number of gorgeous old buildings. On the way out of Richmond, there is a place called Puddleduck Winery. I love the colours they’ve used in their little shop (purple & lime green) and their background is great. Just a little winery that was started off part time after work hours by a couple and it was 6 yrs before it was producing wine. They still hadn’t found a name for their winery and were sitting near their pond sipping some of their unnamed wine one afternoon watching the ducks play in the water. It was while they were watching the ducks that his wife came up with the name Puddleduck, so they emailed a friend with the name and by morning she’d come up with a logo for them. So a few years on, their business has grown but it’s still a very small winery and they only sell from their little shop. We bought a bottle of Sav Blanc for Loraine and a bottle of grape juice for us.

While we were there, the guy mentioned that the road up to the top of Mt Wellington was open so we decided to go back up for a look see. Talk about amazing. And cold!! They’ve had some good snowfall up there and the view was spectacular. We had fun playing in the snow and Bob made a little snowman to sit near the windscreen of our car. He almost made it right back down the mountain too.

Back into town, a quick stop at the internet café to download emails onto the laptop and grab a couple of things we needed for dinner, then back to our apartment. Another good day.

September 1

Tuesday 1 September

Today was a great day. We started off with a long walk on the beach and headed to the spot where the planes go straight over as they come into land. The runway is just the other side of the beach ~ there’s beach, a road, then the runway. So 8.10am saw us lying back against the sand dunes taking pics of the underbelly of a Virgin Blue plane and 8.15 am, doing the same with a Jetstar plane. Fun!!

We decided to head off to the west today and we saw some absolutely beautiful scenery along the way. We were able to get some gorgeous pics of snow on top of the mountain too.

We stopped at a little place called New Norfolk and had a look through a little craft shop where I bought some beaded bracelets and Bob bought me a pendant. The lady there told us about a place now named Willow Court but it used to be the old asylum that was built many years ago. She was saying eventually some of the convicts that were sent out went mad, so they had to build somewhere to house them. Governor Phillip had a house there and liked everything built symmetrically. There were lots of windows across the front of his building and he had the inmates paint venetians and other things onto the windows. We drove down to take a look and most of the buildings are fenced off now, although one is used as a community centre. Windows are broken and it looks as though it’s a place with a very sad and somewhat disturbing past.

From New Norfolk, we went to the Salmon Ponds that are in a little place called Plenty. They have a trout farm there and have a beautiful setting with ponds that hold rainbow trout, tiger trout, brown trout, brook trout, albino rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon. A few of the trout enjoyed the food we gave them but we didn’t see much of the others. We enjoyed a most delicious banana and maple syrup pancake there too.

The Derwent River runs behind the trout farm and on through the town of Plenty. It was in flood and the water was very fast flowing. We took a couple of pics along the way.

We continued on towards Mt Field National Park where we did a rainforest walk up to Russell Falls. The rainforest and falls are a real treat ~ the scenery is just so beautiful that you are in awe the whole time you’re there. The other walks were all closed due to heavy rainfall and fallen trees on the walking tracks, so we will have to come back another time on another trip to Tasmania. It was a little hard to leave this beautiful place.

So we headed off on our trip back to Hobart and this time took a couple of pics for Nick of a place called Bushy Park. The scenery was just as enjoyable on the way back. And so ended another gorgeous and full day.

August 31

Monday 31 August

We decided to go for a walk on the beach this morning, but we’d only just got there when it started to sprinkle. We could see storm clouds coming but thought we’d take our chances anyway. In the few minutes we were there, we saw two planes coming in so tomorrow morning, we’re going to head up to the beach and sit under the flight path. The planes come in quite low as the runway is just past the sand dunes.

Came back to our apartment, had some breakfast and a shower before heading off for Mt Wellington. We could see snow on the top of the mountain and were hopeful of seeing some more. Unfortunately the road was closed further up due to snow and they were soon going to be closing the rest of the road. We did manage to get some pics though.

We decided to go back down the mountain towards a place called Huonville where there are lots of wineries and orchards. We hadn’t got too far when we came across some cars blocking the road. Initially we thought there had been a road accident, but nope, just a tree fallen across the road. We waited for it to be cleared and were then on our way again.

We stopped briefly at Huonville and decided to keep going towards a little place called Cygnet. Lots of daffodils in flower and a quaint little town right on the water. From Cygnet we headed towards Woodbridge and along the way found a place called Hartz View Vineyard. The woman working there was absolutely delightful and explained so much of the area’s history. There were some heritage listed fruit pickers’ huts at the vineyard which held an interesting history too. We tasted some delicious fortified fruit wines and finished with some apple mead. Of course, we walked out with a little stash. Not bad for non drinkers! We also came away with some of the most delicious dukkah I’ve ever tasted.

Back on the road again towards Woodbridge and Kettering where we found a fabulous butcher who we purchased some more oysters from and some crumbed lamb cutlets which I haven’t seen in years.

Kept driving and found ourselves in a little place called Margate where they have an old train that is made into various types of stores. We checked out the sweets store and had a scrumptious lunch in the pancake carriage.

From there it was back to Hobart, a quick stop in a shopping centre where I found an awesome purple felt hat on sale and we picked up a couple of dvd’s to enjoy while the weather was miserable, then back home to our apartment. The weather has been quite cool all day, lots of rain, some snow, plenty of wind and generally very very cold.

August 30

Sunday 30 August

Today we left early(ish) and headed for Richmond where we walked across the oldest bridge in Australia. Lots of friendly ducks near the bridge, the trees were in blossom and there were old English daisies, alyssum & grape hyacinths growing wild. Beautiful!

From Richmond, we headed towards Ross which is a convict town but on the way we found Oatlands. There were some cleverly designed shrubs in the shape of a cow, a man on a ride on mower with his dog & cat, and a 2 seater lounge. Also in Oatlands was an old flour mill which looked a bit like a Dutch windmill. The buildings are all made from old stone and the daffodils were starting to flower.

Ross is another historic town with beautiful old buildings. We had a wander through the wood shop and into the wool shed. We had lunch in front of an old stone church and soaked up the atmosphere.

From Ross we decided to head towards the east coast in the hope we might be able to catch a glimpse of Wineglass Bay. It’s a part of the Freycinet National Park however and you have to pay fees to enter, so seeing as it was mid afternoon, we decided to leave it for maybe another day. Instead we went to Cole Bay where we saw rocks with orange lichen, so we assume they must make up the bottom end of the Bay of Fires. The scenery was gorgeous.

After leaving Cole Bay we found a place that sold fresh shucked oysters on an honesty system! We enjoyed them Kilpatrick for dinner and they were absolutely delicious. We headed back through Swansea and on the other side of Swansea saw the Spiky Bridge which was built by convicts.

The scenery along the east coast is beautiful and I imagine it’s somewhat like I imagine Ireland to be. We came through Sorrell where there is a long bridge across the water to Midway Point and then another stretch of water with a bridge to get to the next part which is near our turnoff to Seven Mile Beach.

Got back to our unit and thoroughly enjoyed our oysters before remembering seeing something about Hot August Jazz in Hobart tonight. Bob got onto reception to ask and yep, sure enough there is jazz playing in North Hobart until midnight. So we headed in there, found an Asian/Indian restaurant where we enjoyed some satay chicken, curry puffs and dahl. Delicious! Wandered back up the street to where we heard a band playing earlier and went into this little pub which had a whole jazz band of about 20 people playing! Turned out to be the Hobart City Swing Band and they were fantastic. The girl they had singing had a great voice and turned out to be a great dancer too. We watched a few couples dancing to the music, not much space at all for dancing, it only really fitted 3 couples and they still ran into each other, but awesome to watch.

A fantastic day!

Hmm for some reason I can't add photos now, so they will have to be added later on.

August 29

Saturday 29 August

Today is the day! The start of our holiday is finally here. We were putting our bags in the car when the zip on Bob’s suitcase broke. Better now than later, so a very quick bag swap and off we went. Josh drove us out to the airport to get some driving practice and he’s going to look after my car while we’re away. As usual I was ridiculously nervous about flying, but all was just fine and we actually had quite a good flight. The flight crew on Virgin Blue are quite amusing and during their safety spiel when they were instructing us how to use our oxygen masks in the event of an emergency, said that we were to fit our own before fitting our husbands. Hehe. On our arrival their announcement said ‘welcome to Hobart - it’s freezing and only 6 degree’s’. So yes, it was a little cool but not overly cold. We picked up our hire car and headed into Hobart city to find the Salamanca Markets. We managed to find them and enjoyed bit of a wander while we picked up some fruit n veggies for the week. Love the look of Hobart even though it’s raining and very overcast. We also picked up some yummy cheese and enjoyed a delicious meal of steak and veggies with mushroom gravy. Our room is lovely and as usual, the resort is well out of the city as they tend to be with Wyndham. Looking forward to doing some exploring over the next few days.

22-28 August

Very behind in my postings once again. The week before our holidays was busy and I didn't spend much time on the computer so now we have a massive catch up. I'm going to put all that first week into one post, then our holidays on individual posts. I'll just add one pic for this post though.

Saturday 22 August

We planned to get up early this morning and paddle out to see the film set, but when we got to where we were going to paddle out from, the weather was yuck and the water was too choppy so we gave it a miss. Did a little shopping today and some chores that I wanted to get done before going on holidays. Bob did a massage this morning and in the afternoon we went for bit of a paddle. Adam & Toni came over to visit a bit later before I was called into work for a little while. We had a quiet evening afterwards and watched the movie Rails & Ties which was really good.


Sunday 23 August

Bob painted the wall in Jon’s old room this morning. It’s still green just much less brutal than it was before. It actually looks nice now and lightens the room a lot. Bob had a couple of massages to do mid morning, so after he left, I moved my table and art gear back inside and into Jon’s old room which is now my art room. I went out to get a few things that I forgot yesterday at the shops and dropped in to see how Jon’s settling in to his new digs. Bob & I went out for another paddle this afternoon and then enjoyed a quiet dinner with just two of the boys & their girlfriends.


Monday 24 August

Monday comes way too fast. Another busy day at work ~ not much else happening today other than work work work.


Tuesday 25 August

I had an early start at work this morning which meant an early finish, so I went and visited my friend Kath for a while before heading off to my pottery class. Glazed a couple of pieces and then headed home, so it was an earlier night than usual.


Wednesday 26 August

Jon has apparently got two piercings in his bottom lip. Can’t say I’m overly impressed but I guess it’s his body. I see it as body mutilation where as he sees it as body art. Feeling like I’m coming down with a cold today and had a yuck day as in I haven’t been able to keep anything down today. I went to my art class which was fun as always and learnt a few more tricks of the trade.
Thursday 27 August

Today would have been my grandmother’s 99th birthday had she still been with us. Felt like crap today and ended up having the day off work. This silly cold has gotten a good hold of me. Just what I need when we’re two days from going on holidays. We had dinner at Nick n Jess’s place tonight, so was nice not to have to cook.


Friday 28 August

Still feeling crap so ended up having another day off which is a pain in the butt because I don’t have the leave available. The only upside is that it gave me a little more time to get packed and organized for our trip. Bob had today off work, so was able to help me out. We decided to go for a little paddle in the afternoon because I felt like some fresh air and sunshine. Adam & Toni also came round to say their goodbye’s before leaving for Parkes. They will have left by the time we get home.