Driving back to the airport, it only seems a few days since Rachel picked us up, not 3 weeks. The landscape that seemed so unfamiliar when we arrived, we now know is typical of Tasmania... beautiful green hills, long sandy beaches, tall trees and wooden buildings. I felt sad when the kids left for school,... Continue Reading →
Our last day: The Hartz Mountains
Richard is still on holiday from work today so we went up into the Hartz Mountains. We’d hoped to climb Hartz Peak, which Rachel isn’t keen on because it involves scrambling, but which we would have enjoyed. However, when we got there, the cloud was down and the wind was strong and very cold. There... Continue Reading →
Celebrating Christmas in August!
Lexie misses celebrating Christmas in winter. When the sun is shining in December in Australia, the twinkling of the fairy lights isn’t as obvious, a full roast dinner isn’t as welcome, there’s no point lighting the fire, and sitting inside watching a cheesy Christmas DVD just isn’t the same. Therefore, Richard and Rachel have agreed... Continue Reading →
A family trip to Bruny Island
Unfortunately Lexie was still feeling poorly today, but the rest of us... me, John, Richard, Rachel and Thomas... had a trip to Bruny Island, off the Tasmanian coast near Hobart. We got the car ferry from Kettering, which reminded us of the ferry on Windermere. When we landed towards the north of Bruny after the... Continue Reading →
A big drop: Gordon Dam
I thought I’d had a rubbish night’s sleep in the cabin but Fitbit says I had 7 hours sleep. I initially dozed off but then started hearing noises. I worked out that some were just the wood crackling on the wood burner, and the wood burner cooling, but I was still convinced I could hear... Continue Reading →
A mini adventure in Mt Field National Park
What a fab day! We had two lovely walks in the rain forest and in snow in the mountains. I’ve taken photos of lots of beautiful things... waterfalls, lakes, lichen and fungi, and twinkling stars. Then we stayed in a cabin in the mountains with no electricity or bathroom but a lovely hot woodburner. And... Continue Reading →
Wombat hunting
Because the weather was rubbish, we’d planned an early dinner and an evening in front of the telly... or so I thought. At about 5 o’clock, John suggested we went out at dusk looking for wombats. I wasn’t sure how likely we were to see them in the cold and wet. Wouldn’t they just stay... Continue Reading →
An adventurous morning in Cradle Mountain
We’ve had quite an adventurous morning. It began when we opened the curtains to snow, continued with me being mobbed by 18 rather large Tassie crows, and ended with a very wet walk through a steep and slippery gorge in every type of weather... Snow, sun, rain, sleet and wind! I woke wondering if it... Continue Reading →
Caves, mountains and a pademelon
It rained all night last night, and we set off to Cradle Mountain in drizzle. On the way we stopped to visit Mole Creek Caves... at least the rain wouldn’t matter, deep in the rocks. We chose to visit the Marakoopa Caves and do the Great Cathedral and Glow Worms Tour. The guide led us... Continue Reading →
Hiking in Cataract Gorge
We’ve walked today... lots... along almost every path in and around Cataract Gorge. We must have had plenty of energy after almost 9 hours sleep... amazing for me! In fact, according to my FitBit, I’ve had on average 8 hours 10 mins each night this week! Must have made up for jetlag by now 😊... Continue Reading →