Homeward Bound!

Lachie's first driving lesson - Pap's hat was possibly
 jolted off during the first gear change!

We left the farm after a frantic morning of unpacking the caravan, packing the Blunderbuss and the Prado and cleaning the faithful old Jayco. She is showing the effects of her fourth lap and Marcus discovered some holes as we were unpacking. Some of our gear fell out through them and it was a wonder we didn't leave a Hansel and Gretel trail all the way home. Lachlan was champing at the bit for his driving lesson as I gave both Jackson and Marcus their first lesson in the ute on the farm when they turned 10 - and "I am 10 and a HALF now!" Luckily Pap was up for the challenge as we were all a tad busy cleaning the caravan.


We hit the road for the final leg of our journey after lunch. The kids have always loved getting to the farm, but have never enjoyed the 2 hour trip. This time, however, was different. "Two hours in the car? That's nothing!" they said with the air of well seasoned travellers! Marcus and I led in the heavily laden Prado and Dave followed in the Blunderbuss with the others, jammed in somehow amongst all the gear. We stopped for our final State border photo, but only Lachlan was able to escape from the Buss for the shot!

Our last border crossing!

We arrived home, gaining an hour in the process as Queensland does not have daylight saving. The kids were beside themselves - Ella bolted in to find Bonnie and Clyde and the others wandered around oohing and aahing over everything! Our fantastic housesitters Robyn and Warwick had worked miracles in our time away and we spent the next couple of hours marvelling at all the things they had managed to fix or improve during their stay here!

We've travelled for seven months and completed over 31 000 kilometres. We've read boxes of books, played lots of music and learnt to live in very confined spaces. We all loved having three generations of family travelling for the last month.

In fact, most of the last seven months we have enjoyed. Although it has to be said that some of it we have endured.

I feel as though I should have some wise words now that we are at the end of it all. Angus asked me the other day if I felt closer to the kids after all the travel and time together. We do, and we think we have made some wonderful family memories which the children will hopefully have with them for the rest of their lives.

And so, finally, on the 15th of January, the "Are we there yet?" question can be answered with a resounding "Yes!".

Thanks for travelling with us.

Heading North and Haymaking

We were all up early on Tuesday morning and started on the long drive to Parkes in NSW. Jackson had muted the GPS on the ferry and we missed our first turn, necessitating a longish drive to get back to the highway. At least we know where Puckapunyal is now! And we can spell it too.

The Goulburn Valley Highway took us through Australia's fruit basket. The kids looked in vain for the Goulburn Valley tinned fruit crop! We joined the Newell Highway and missed our photo opportunity for the "Welcome to NSW" sign as there was no-where to stop. We also nearly missed seeing the rice crops in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area except for a well-timed text from Gran and Pap.

Sherriff Dubya Mallon

We drove and drove and a roadside fruit shop was a welcome stop  just outside Forbes, where the friendly people warned us that the Elvis Festival was on in Parkes and that campgrounds would be booked out. We suddenly decided to stop in Forbes and they kindly rang a campground for us. On the way there, Marcus got to work with a felt pen on the watermelon!

It had been a long couple of days so we decided to hire a cabin for our very last night in campgrounds. The kids were exhausted and butting heads, so takeaway Chinese (from one of Forbes' 5 Chinese Restaurants!) also seemed a good option before we all collapsed.

It didn't take long to reach Parkes the next morning, where we visited the CSIRO Radio Telescope which played an important role in the first landing on the moon (as in the movie The Dish). It has been upgraded several times and is still operational, so we got to see it being repositioned. The theatre there shows 3D movies about space, which the kids really enjoyed; as well as all the information about the telescope and the pulsars it discovers.

The Dish

Enthralled at Traintasia

Jackson had been hoarding a brochure from Traintasia which had been given to him way back in Queensland, so at his behest we stopped there when we got to Dubbo. The model train set up was brilliant and well worth the time. The Blunderbuss ticked over  30 000 kays not long out of Dubbo and Ella was almost hyperventilating with excitement when I turned the page in the map book and announced we were on the same page as Tamborine Mountain! I hope Bonnie and Clyde are ready for some lurve! Our route took us through some beautiful country and a lovely valley filled with corn and sorghum crops led to Tambar Springs, where we had afternoon tea in the home of the Diprotodon, to Marcus's delight. Pap managed to find another tractor to check out!

Lachie is looking for the horn!

We stopped in many towns to try to buy the Australian Geographic which had just come out. We were finally successful in Gunnedah and the Hermits (and Hermit grandparents) were very excited to find that we made the article! Darwin seems a long time ago now but there we were on the page at the Mindil Markets!

That excitement over, the weary business of reaching my sister's place in Manilla took place and we followed the Black Stump Way with the kids becoming more and more excited at the prospect of seeing their little cousins. It was a very excited reunion that took place late that afternoon. 7 year old Rueben made us all laugh, sounding exactly like his father, when he delivered the verdict on the light not working: "Yep, she's buggered".

Ella being brave!

The corellas, guinea fowl and Angus leaving to rake hay at 6 a.m. ensured an early start to the morning. Ella was keen to feed the pigs until she got up close and personal with them. She stopped in her tracks, terrified: "Mum! Help! They're screaming at me". Of course, the hungry porkers shut up as soon as she tipped in their grain and her heart rate gradually returned to normal. She and Lachie really enjoyed meeting the newly hatched ducklings out of the incubator and Lachie went on to help Cathy feed the silkies and clean all the pens.

Meeting the newly-hatched duckling

Jackson, Marcus, Rueben and Rory were busy building a communal Lego project. Lachlan and Corben had a lovely time making reindeer cakes. While everyone was busy, 18 month old Connor took the opportunity to get into the chook pen, where he had a lovely time cracking eggs. He wandered happily back, coated in egg and explaining "Crackers!" to everyone. He has probably coined his own nickname! Opening the family Christmas presents was the next job and all 8 kids enjoyed that! The accumulated treasures kept them all occupied for the rest of the afternoon until it was time to do the jobs again. Once the kids were asleep, Cathy and I constructed Jackson's Lego birthday cake for his birthday the next day.

Angus, the real Nocturnal Brother, is the only one missing!

Happy 14th Jackson!

Another duckling

We became hay contractors the next morning and all dressed in Angus's 'Nocturnal Brothers' shirts for a team photo before devouring Jackson's Lego birthday cake for morning tea. Pap and Lachie raked the lucerne and after checking the incubators (one silky chicken, another duckling and eighty chickens which should hatch the day after we leave!), we drove out to the property where Angus was making lucerne silage. Pap took over the baling and gave all the grandkids a ride in the tractor while Dave and Cathy went off to drive the haytrucks. Gran and I did babysitting duties until Cathy and Gran took a carload of tired littlies home at about 5 p.m. Lachie decided to go with Pap in the tractor after the baling was finished and they drove the tractor back to Manilla, which took a few hours. Lachie enjoyed tooting the horn at traffic as they drove along! Once Cathy left, I took over driving her truck. Michael, loading the bales into the trucks, awarded me L plates on my first run and I had progressed to green P plates after a few loads!

Fulfilling my truck driving ambitions

King in Grass Castle

Angus piled the heavy bales in the pit with his bobcat and we all had fun using the 2 way radios as we completed the job just before it got dark. Marcus and Jackson stayed to help and Jackson got to drive the bobcat which excited him so much he declared it was his "best birthday ever - by far!" Following Angus home in the truck, hooting along unfamiliar dirt roads in the dark was not much fun - the dust made it impossible to see and we almost collected a cow and calf as we raced to keep up with him - but we did make it home in time for our very belated Christmas celebration at about 10 p.m.

Birthday bobcatting

We had intended to leave early the next morning, but rain was threatening so we decided to stay to help get the next hay baled and picked up. Pap went off to bale the lucerne and got a bit done before the rain started spitting and Angus reckoned the crop too wet to complete. As we were leaving, Corben was helping Angus load the innoculant into the baler so they could bale and store the hay without any spontaneous combustion enlivening their already insanely busy life!

We headed towards the farm and it was an awfully long drive. We stopped at Inverell at the half way point for a quick, but reviving, coffee; stocked up on chips, chocolate and petrol at Glen Innes and motored on with tired, scratchy passengers and a storm brewing both inside and outside the vehicles! We hit incredibly heavy rain at Tenterfield which made the narrow Bruxner Highway with its tight curves a joy to negotiate. It absolutely poured all the way to the farm and we were relieved to finally arrive for a late cup of tea, toast and warm, dry beds where we were lulled to sleep by the green tree frogs!

Almost home!

Stay tuned ...

Bass Strait Claims Victory!

Our alarms rang at 5:30 a.m. and the kids were so excited about the Ferry that they didn't require much prodding to get out of bed. Thanks to the cabin, we had no tent to pack up so we were all ready to depart very quickly after breakfast.

We drove the short distance to board the ferry and then sat immobile in a queue for 2 hours. Pap kept us supplied with CDs to listen to before he boarded with the Prado. We were almost last to embark but eventually drove on and climbed up the stairs to our cabin as the ferry departed at 9:30 a.m. Except that our booking had gone wrong and we didn't have a cabin! Feeling very Love Boat, I went to find the purser and sorted it out - with rough seas predicted, we wanted to have somewhere to lie down!

Jackson at work again!

I'll spare you the gory details, but we hit rough seas (waves of 3-5m) about 3 minutes out of Devonport, and shortly thereafter I was sick, closely followed by Gran! It was enormously cheering to think that we only had 9 hours to go! A few hours in and Gran and I both thought we could understand the passenger who had jumped off the InterIslander Ferry with her suitcase in NZ a few days before. We may have done the same but neither of us could walk to the rail, let alone carry a suitcase! The kids had gone to watch a movie, but a very pale Ella was soon brought back by the boys and plopped onto the bed next to me. The poor little possum didn't move for about 5 hours, except to ask "How much longer?" and to cover her ears at the sound of vomiting. Jackson was next and although he fought it for ages, he succumbed too.

Pap by this stage could take no more in the cabin and he left for the relative peace of the lounge, where he played cards with Marcus. The seas were enough to even make his cast-iron guts feel queasy. They said the waves were spraying up to the top decks as if a fire hose was playing on the window. One guy was talking quietly on his mobile phone when he suddenly yelled "HOLY SHIT! THAT WAS A BIG WAVE!!" as another monster smashed over the deck.

Dave then appeared within the cabin, looking green and lay down for about 5 minutes, until the chorus of vomiting made him decide rather quickly that he could do without the cabin! Pap was starting to worry that he would be the lone driver standing! We had visions of him driving one vehicle along a bit then running back for the other one!

Passing the other ferry in Bass Strait

Marcus and Lachie travelled unscathed and Marcus raced off to take photos when the Spirit of Tasmania 1 passed us. He also rather cruelly photographed us in the cabin. You don't get to see those!

We finally sailed into Port Phillip Bay and calmer waters, arriving in Melbourne about 7:30 p.m. I wobbled down to the garage deck and was incredibly glad to get off in the first wave of vehicles. A very ill Gran and Pap took a while to disembark but we managed to convoy out of Melbourne without too many dramas.

We staggered in to a campground in Kilmore well after 9 and were put into a tiny site which could only fit the caravan. We had noticed a motel across the road, so Gran, Pap, Jackson and Lachie drove off to see if they could find a room there. They didn't, so they had to find another motel. Pap said he nearly kissed the guy when he said they could have a room, despite it being after 10! Meanwhile, I was struggling with the caravan movements - it felt like the ferry again!

Bass Strait was most definitely the victor on this crossing!

Stay tuned ...

Departing Devonport

Pap and a Farmall H

It rained heavily during our last night in Launceston, which meant a very wet packup. Fortunately the rain stopped long enough to achieve same, but it started pelting down again as we hitched up to drive to Devonport. We were fervently hoping that it would be the very last wet morning packup.

We stopped in Westbury to visit the Tractor Museum, arriving before it opened! We filled in time with an early morning tea and returned to see the private collection of tractors, where Pap was thrilled to find his father's first tractor, a Farmall A, as well as the tractor that he spent hours driving from the age of 13. The boys' eyes were gleaming at the thought and I suspect that his tractor will get a workout at the farm when we are there next! The vintage tractor display was comprehensive and we all enjoyed it, especially as the owner wandered around with us explaining details. He and his son had also amassed an incredible collection of model vehicles, which were displayed very well. The kids loved it! We were about to head off when the owner's daughter arrived with morning tea for us all, so we downed another cuppa while chatting with the lovely fellow.

The mural at Marble World

It was still drizzling as we left Westbury and we drove through some gorgeous country on the way to Devonport. We took a slight detour to see Sheffield, famous for its murals. Just before Sheffield we were amazed at the topiary at Railton. Topiary everything - house numbers, dogs, dragons, horses, fishermen and even topiary soldiers at the War Memorial. We almost didn't see Sheffield's murals as the kids disappeared into Marble World ... a shop containing every kind of marble you could imagine and then some! After each purchasing a small bag of marbles, we had a squizz at the murals painted on every surface around the town before heading on to Devonport.

The ferry arriving next to our campground

We arrived at our campsite, where we set up the caravan for Gran and Pap and enjoyed the thrill of real beds in a cabin as we left the wet tent in the Buss. The kids enjoyed the novelty of  having a TV, but soon turned it off when it became apparent that as usual, there was nothing worth watching! They played marbles and collected pebbles on the beach before we saw the Spirit of Tasmania coming in to dock a few hundred metres from our campground.  They also saw a couple walking a pig, which amused them no end.

Alarms set, we all headed off to bed to try to get some sleep before the ferry crossing.

Stay tuned ...

Last stop! Launceston

The 3 wannabe windmills

We started northwards on Tuesday morning and detoured in to Oatlands, as we were interested in the Georgian windmill operating there. It was partially restored as a Bicentennial gift and an English Millwright has just refitted the mill workings so it grinds flour again. Our tour guide was an ex-breakfast radio announcer and was incredibly good value! He took us to the top floor and explained the process of milling to us as we moved down to the ground floor. We tasted the fresh flour on the way down. Normally I don't think any of us would enjoy tasting flour, but as Marcus said, the flour was a proper and complete food group! The Miller was so passionate about his product that he wouldn't let us buy the flour we had selected, giving us instead the "perfect" flour for Gran's proposed scones!

Launceston wasn't much further and we stopped in at the first van park we found, where we set up under a lovely, shady tree. Gran and I managed to hang out two loads of washing in complete darkness before bed.

A 1948 Holden similar to the one Jessie and Arthur bought
when Gran was little

I was awoken very early on Wednesday morning by thunder and fat rain drops hitting the canvas, so I bolted up to rescue our mainly dry washing. The storm passed quickly and we headed into town to visit the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania, which the boys in particular enjoyed. Gran found her parent's first car and Dave found his grandparent's car (which was requisitioned by the War Effort) as well as the BSA Bantam motorbike his Dad rode whilst at university.

The kids got a model car each and Ella's Beetle, Marcus's Morris Minor, Lachie's Corvette and Jackson's Volkswagon had a race outside the museum. There was a dispute over line honours due to the race photographer standing on the wrong angle, but Marcus feels that he took the chequered flag!

Heading into the straight in the Launceston 500

Literally across the street was City Park and we enjoyed watching the Japanese Macaque monkeys. Lachie commented upon how like people they were. I had to agree - I'm certain I saw Jackson sorting through his Lego!

The suspension bridge over Cataract Gorge.
It has been washed away in a flood at least once!

Cataract Gorge is a remarkable forest area right in the middle of the city and we took a chairlift over the gorge, returning along the short track over the suspension bridge. The van park was three minutes from there, so we drove back for lunch. Pap elected to have a rest while the rest of us returned to the gorge. Dave and the kids enjoyed a swim in the huge, natural pool complete with floating logs to play on, while Gran and I walked the zigzag track up the gorge to King's Bridge and back along the other side on the beautiful Cataract Walk.

A tour along the Tamar Valley occupied us all day on Thursday. The Tamar Valley Wetlands provided a long boardwalk over the swamp which we wandered along whilst admiring the birdlife. We carried on a few more kilometres to Grindewald, billed as a Swiss Village, but disappointing after the fantastic, authentic German village of Hahndorf. It was very touristy and we only stayed long enough to swill our coffee. While doing so, we were approached by a family of ex-Tamborinites who have moved here. I had taught their daughter music and she recognised Mr. Church! The best thing about Grindewald was the cherry orchard just outside with farm gate sales. We munched happily on cherries as we continued up the Tamar.

The very windy but spectacular clifftop view at West Head Lookout

We had lunch at Beauty Point (which may have been beautiful before woodchipping and port industries claimed its foreshore) and continued up to the top of the estuary at Green's Beach, where we thought we would have a swim. It was very cold and windy, so after a short walk along the beach we took a detour to West Head Lookout in Narawntapu National Park, which was definitely the highlight of the day. Apart from the fabulous, freshly picked cherries! Crossing the Tamar River at Batman Bridge (the kids were happy with that name!) we drove down the East Tamar Highway and back to Launceston.

Trying to keep warm in Drizabones!

Friday was a fantastic day from start to finish. The sky was an amazing blue and it was a delightful drive out to Ben Lomond National Park. Pap was watching the temperature gauge with some dismay as we climbed up the mountain, losing degrees as quickly as we gained altitude. It was 9 degrees when we arrived at the ski village (but much colder if you counted the wind chill factor) and we were very pleased to find an indoor shelter to have our morning tea. Pap was so pleased that he was contemplating a thank you letter to National Parks and Wildlife for providing the life-saving structure!

Not a lot warmer inside!

Pap retired to the Prado to compose his letter, read his book and listen to the cricket as we headed off into the rocks to climb to a peak and admire the view. It was well worth the scramble up the rocks. You could see Bass Strait from up there.

One of the high points on Ben Lomond

Heading off the mountain, we took the scary gravel road through the 6 hairpin bends which none of us wish to ever drive in winter with ice and snow! This road is certainly not for the faint-hearted! By way of compensation, the scenery is utterly superb and the views magnificent; but the driver does not get to enjoy them as they concentrate on the tight bends and the loose gravel.

This photo needs to be 3D to display
the full horror of this road

It took another 40 minutes or so of gravel roads to join the A3 west of Scottsdale. We were all starving, so stopped in the middle of the forest to eat our lunch on a handy fallen log which was surrounded by dead possums, although we didn't realise that until halfway through lunch. We had just got back onto the road when the forest abruptly gave way to farmland and the most amazing view was to be had with handy picnic tables as well at Sideling Lookout.

Sideling Lookout - I think the kids were celebrating
no-one being carsick on the windy journey

 From Scottsdale we took another scenic route to the Bridestowe Lavender Farm. The lavender harvest was in full swing and we all enjoyed following the process from tractor and harvester, unloading with the gantries, the oil distillery and drying sheds through to eating lavender scones and icecream in the cafe!

Ella wore the right colour!

Couldn't resist tapdancing!

Our last day in Launceston began this morning with bacon and eggs and a later than usual start as we were all a bit weary. We drove into town to look at some of the outstanding Georgian and Victorian architecture and we found the famous Old Umbrella Shop, which is a National Trust building and is still functioning as it was in the 1860s. I was very happy to find a replacement for my music umbrella which was lost some time ago.

The National Trust was founded in Tasmania
 in 1960 to save this historic building.

Hitting the highway for more history, we headed south to visit Franklin House.

It was threatened with demolition in 1960, but a group of determined people formed The National Trust to purchase, restore and furnish this house, built in 1838. We thoroughly enjoyed wandering through all the rooms, the adjoining kitchen, schoolroom and stables. Ella was very excited to discover some "glasses" for horses in the stable. Pap explained what a bit was to her! The gardens were fantastic, particularly the kitchen garden which has inspired us to get ours going again when we get home.

After a picnic in the beautiful grounds of Franklin House, we drove a little further south where we had to choose between visiting Clarendon House, Woolmer Estate or Brickenden Estate. Brickenden won and we were transported back in time to the 1800s on a farm which is now farmed by the seventh generation. Ella and Lachie had a lovely time feeding all the chicks and ducklings while we walked around the many buildings and sheds which were all convict built.

Brickendon's Pillar Granary - constructed on staddle stones
to keep vermin out and to circulate air to prevent mould in the grain.

A quick look at the Homestead and gardens finished our tour of Brickendon and we drove back to Launceston with rapidly deteriorating behaviour in the back seat. An early night was called for as we have yet to drive to Devonport and sail across Bass Strait.

Stay tuned ...

Richmond, Hobart and Port Arthur

A Hobartian told us at Queenstown that we would have trouble getting a site near Hobart due to the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the Taste of Tassie festival and a couple of other events, including a big music festival. We started to make phone calls the morning we were due to leave and were soon wondering where on earth we were going to stay as all options in Hobart were full. I managed to find a site in Richmond (to the north-east) and so we drove off to find Richmond.

Ella's "it's a good one!" photo

The first stop of the day was to walk in to the lovely Nelson Falls in a shady valley filled with lichens, moss and ferns. Gran and Marcus zoomed around identifying all the ferns while we rubbed our hands together to keep warm! Our route took us through the Franklin-Gordon headwaters and past Lake St Clair at Derwent Bridge. A picnic lunch on the Nive river was a pleasant stop and we read up on the hydro-electricity schemes in the area. Much of the work was done after the second world war with the influx of Europeans who could work in the cold, wet conditions. One incident amused us all: most of the work was done by hand, but a bulldozer was brought in towards the end. A work party was sent to clear its path before it arrived!

We carried on towards Hobart and exited the wilderness very suddenly, driving on through farmland, historic buildings and crops. Richmond far surpassed our expectations when we arrived there - it is a fabulous town full of Georgian architecture and convict built structures. We set up and got an early night, as we were itching to start exploring Richmond.

The Lilliputian models of Old Hobart Town

An option for controlling teenagers?

Richmond is home to an amazing 1:16 scale model of Old Hobart Town c. 1820. We thought this would be an excellent introduction to Hobart for the kids and spent a fascinating morning there, feeling like giants! We duly admired some of the beautiful Georgian buildings in town and the Anglican Church before heading to Richmond Gaol, which pre-dates Port Arthur. Ella was disgusted at the straw palliasse on the floor which the convicts slept on, and couldn't believe they had to put up with an "itchy" blanket as well! The kids were all keen to try on the leg irons but not at all keen to remain in them!

Richmond Bridge

Richmond Bridge is the oldest bridge in Australia with the foundation stone laid in 1825 so we stopped there for a wander along the river before heading back to camp for cricket, reading, Lego and an early night. Gran and Pap did not get such an early night because Marcus decided to read them a bedtime story - which involved Jackson and lots of laughter!

We were up early on Friday morning to drive out to Port Arthur, which we were all looking forward to. As we were about to cross the Denison Canal there was great excitement in the Prado as the bridge rotated and opened to allow a boat through. The next narrow isthmus at Eaglehawk Neck was the site of the infamous Dog Line where 15 vicious mutts were chained to stop convicts from escaping. The sculptures there are sometimes adorned with roadkill we were told!

A friendly welcome at Eaglehawk Neck

A 45 minute introductory walking tour oriented us to the site at Port Arthur and we also enjoyed a cruise around the harbour on the ferry. We circled the tiny Isle of the Dead, where 1100 souls are buried (presumably on top of one another!) and sailed past Point Puer, listening to stories of inmates from the Boy's Prison there. Boys as young as 9 were incarcerated there, although they were offered a rudimentary education and learnt a trade if they were well behaved. Dave and I thought it a shame that it was in ruins - we could name 3 candidates to stay there!

The iconic Penitentiary ruins

The evil overseer and the hapless shingle carrier

The Port Arthur History Plays were running on the day we were there, so we watched all three plays with interest. The NIDA influence was obvious - one of the actors was a NIDA graduate - but all the actors were excellent and they really brought the stories of the Port Arthur characters to life. In between the plays we zipped around the site and explored as much as possible of the Separate Prison, the Penitentiary, the barracks, the churches and the commandant's cottage; and Pap had a little rest under a tree while he sat texting. The site closed before we had seen nearly enough ... we were all fascinated with the place. I visited Port Arthur years ago and couldn't believe how much better the site was interpreted now.

We stopped at the Dunalley canal bridge as Pap had spied a Fish and Chips sign and had a fantastic and very cheap meal there. The owners were quite keen to be rid of us so they could shut up shop, and delivered the meal with a smile and a "Hoover that up - you've got 15 minutes until we lock the doors". Needless to say the Church boys were up to the challenge!

Hot Hermits about to expire on Hobart's only sunny day!
Unfortunately, the 1930s hats do not stop sunburn.

We hoped to busk in Salamanca Markets on Saturday (New Year's Eve), despite the luke-warm reception Dave got on the phone to the market organiser. We drove into Hobart and found ourselves in a long traffic jam where everyone was trying to get into the parking building. After a long while we got close enough to see that we wouldn't fit anyway - 2.2 m height restriction. None of us were keen on a repeat of Adelaide, where we had to lug all our gear uphill for blocks before we got to the pitch. Luck was with us and we got an outside park just before Gran, Pap and Lachie took the next spot in the parking building. The market guys were very helpful and we soon had our costumes on and took our instruments a small distance downhill and onto a lovely grass patch which was one of the main entry points. Gran and Pap enjoyed watching the kids busk and we did two, short, sets as the sun was beating down and frying us. It was the hottest day we've had for weeks. Amazingly, Marcus spotted one of his class-mates from school who was on holidays in Hobart with his family. Micah took some photos to prove that he'd seen us! We spent the rest of the afternoon watching some other buskers and wandering through the huge markets.

We had a double celebration on New Year's Eve as it was Mum and Dad's 45th wedding anniversary. As we had celebrated their 25th in Queenstown, NZ, we suggested a trip back to Queenstown, Tas, but the thought of all that driving to a rough mining town was not terribly appealing! Another miracle was forthcoming from the broken oven (although we did scare ourselves with a minor gas explosion!) and we had a very pleasant evening.

Morris, having a good ol' scratch

After a sleep in on New Year's Day, we left Gran and Pap reading their books and visited Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, a community run service, where injured and orphaned wild animals are cared for. The kids were desperate to see a wombat and we lucked in. The first animal we met was Morris, the two year old wombat, rescued as a baby from his dead mother's pouch on the roadside. The guide explained many interesting details about wombats to us, while Morris made a nest in his lap and wombled around the enclosure. We didn't know that wombats do square poos!

Devils fighting over food.
We see similar behaviours on a daily basis

The next enclosure held Tasmanian Devils and they are very entertaining little creatures. 80% of the wild population is infected with an aggressive facial tumour, so many places are breeding an emergency Devil population, as they are here. Apparently the baby devils are called imps before progressing to joeys as they get older. We saw a few imps feasting on day old chickens and the older ones tucked into some rabbit. They have incredibly strong jaws and eat their prey fur, bones and all.


We have all seen koalas before, but the male koala brought out for us was the most animated koala we've ever seen. First, he tried to escape by swinging himself around and climbing down the branch. His next bid for freedom was executed in a similar manner and he was again returned to the viewing branch. His third attempt got him into the guide's arms until the guide got tired and placed the koala back on the branch. The koala's attitude the fourth time was do or die: he launched himself into the air at Lachlan and landed at his feet before trying to scamper away! As koalas spend 20 hours sleeping, 3:55 hours eating and 5 minutes moving, we were pretty lucky to see all that activity!

Let me go! I can smell freedom!

We spent time feeding the kangaroos and checking out the other rescued animals. If possible, the animals are returned to the wild, although some have been too badly injured so they are kept at the Sanctuary. It was a fabulous few hours and we all thought it a highlight.
We decided a tour of the city on the Red Double Decker Bus would satisfy everyone on Monday morning. We caught the first bus for the day and spent an interesting hour and a half driving around some of Hobart's attractions. After viewing the attractions from the bus, we voted to head to the Museum to see the Antartica displays and have lunch at the Taste festival on the waterfront. The museum was full of interesting Antartica expedition history and equipment. The kids particularly enjoyed the sound bites from the Aurora Icebreaker as she churned through the ice. I was enjoying it too until Tasmania's - and possibly the world's - most talkative security guard cornered me for a chat for an hour. I just couldn't get away from him, even when I hid behind an exhibit when someone came and asked him a question!

Ella with something cute and fluffy? Hard to believe,
I know.

The Taste of Tasmania Festival provided us with an absolutely fantastic lunch, but it was the dessert platter which caught Lachlan's eye!

It was quite difficult to stop all those spoons
so I could have time to take a photo!

A long way down

A drive up to the top of Mt Wellington completed a very full day and was unfortunately undertaken on very full stomachs!On a fine, clear day you can see one third of the island from up there. Although it was hazy while we were there, the views were still comprehensive!

We could easily have filled another couple of days in Hobart, but we packed up on Tuesday morning and left the caravan and Buss while we drove back to visit the Cadbury factory. The "tour" was disappointing as we didn't get near the factory, but the DVD and talk were interesting. Somehow we got carried away in the chocolate shop there and ended up with bags of rapidly melting chocolate in the hot car!

No, Lachie, we won't eat it to stop it melting!

A quick drive back to Richmond saw us hitching up the caravan ready to depart for Launceston. Our trip is rapidly coming to an end and we realised that we were basically starting the long drive north to get home.

Stay tuned ...

Queenstown

More miners than Queens here, let me tell you!

After a faster than expected packup in Somerset on Boxing Day (after 6 days there we had strewn stuff everywhere!), we hit the road heading southwest for our West Coast Wilderness adventures.

Lachie couldn't resist wetting his line
in the Murchison Dam

We drove through some very rugged country and turned off to visit the Murchison Dam just outside Tullah, where Lachie couldn't resist the fishing lure while we had morning tea. He didn't catch anything but nor did he fall over the edge of the dam so it wasn't a completely disastrous expedition.

We drove through lots more gorges and wild forests - Tasmania does wilderness very well! - before the bare, rocky hills around Queenstown came into view. We were worried about getting a site for a couple of nights, but the park was absolutely empty and we managed to set up before a late lunch in the rain.

It was very cold so we occupied ourselves inside for a while. Pap drove the Prado over to the TV room where he and Dave watched the cricket and Lachie followed them when he caught a whiff of a pool table. The others were still absorbed in the Christmas Lego.

Ella, Lachie, Gran and I went for a walk in the evening when the rain had cleared. The late afternoon sun on the surrounding hills was lovely and we paused to take some photos. Some bloke took exception to us stopping outside his castle (read tiny fettler's cottage surrounded by rubbish and dead car bodies) and gave us some very graphic suggestions on how to fill our time in Queenstown. We declined his kind offers and hurried back to camp, suddenly realising that it was a dodgy looking area and no-one else seemed to be around.

The hills around Queenstown, laid bare by 100 years of copper mining

Taking on 1500 litres of water at Lynchford ready for the
climb up the rack and pinion section of the track

We were booked on the West Coast Wilderness Railway the next morning, an amazing steam and diesel locomotive rack and pinion journey through the steepest and wildest country to have track laid in Australia. At one stage in the journey the gradient is 1:14, which is the steepest in the Southern Hemisphere. The Church Engineering Department were in heaven at the first station where the engineer explained the workings of every lever and gauge to them. The excellent tour guide gave us non-stop commentary about the railway and the area, which was really interesting. Some of the passengers tried gold panning at Lynchford, but even the thought of a gold nugget could not induce us to put our hands into the water. It was utterly freezing! We could not imagine how the navvies lived long enough to build a railway in this wilderness.

Tree Ferns at Rinadeena Saddle

The train made another stop at Rinadeena Saddle Station where we admired the King Billy Pine trees and tasted Leatherwood honey. The Leatherwood trees were in bloom and easily recognisable in the gorges. The railway line followed the King River Gorge from this point and we had fabulous views of the gorge and the river.  At Dubbil Barril Station we changed trains and the kids were fascinated watching the engines turned by manpower on the turntable. After lunch, the Diesel locomotive took us through the rest of the gorge, across quarter-mile bridge and down towards MacQuarie Harbour.

King Billy Pine and Leatherwood
honey

At the end of the line we arrived at Strahan (pronounced Strawn, we discovered!) and had an hour and a half sightseeing in the lovely village.

Strahan scenery

We took a tour of the Murchison's Huon Pine sawmill, being run by the fourth generation. A reclaimed huon pine log was being sawn on 100 year old equipment which was rather interesting. The boys found that they had to have a piece of huon pine and spent ages choosing an offcut from the $1 box. Marcus thinks he will make a boat with his, although we think it will make a far better chock for the caravan! The timber workshop next door was full of timber carvings, furniture and artefacts and did not have a $1 box! The bus arrived at 4 p.m. and we took an hour to drive the 35 kms through the tight curves to Queenstown.

It cooled down again quickly in the valley and we were all pretty pleased to be zipped up in warm sleeping bags. Pap thought it was so cold that he expected to find a glacier creeping down the hills but we were a couple of million years too late for that experience!

Stay tuned ...