The Tassie Adventure begins

A baby bandicoot near our camp site

After our picnic breakfast on Tuesday morning, we carried on along the A2 to Penguin, where, not surprisingly, we hoped to see some penguins. The friendly fellow at the Visitor Information Centre advised us to head further west, so we carried on to Burnie and then Somerset, where we found a van park that looked good. As we were setting up, the owner came over to ask if the kids had seen a baby bandicoot, so we all trooped over to see it. It obligingly said G'day before scurrying away.

We had a quiet afternoon - everyone was tired - and the girls went out to replenish our supplies. We stopped at the information centre to find out about the penguin viewing and met a local felt artist who was working there. She made a fantastic felt hat while we watched and explained the process to us. The boys had a great time playing pool all afternoon. We left camp at dusk, just before 9 p.m., to go to the Penguin Centre. Volunteers told us about the Little Penguins and we saw 8 chicks in the nests, awaiting their parents and the arrival of their dinner. The viewing platform was utterly freezing - we waited for the arrival of the penguins for a while until we decided to head home before hypothermia set in! We were talking in the car about coming back - well rugged up - another evening, when Pap said "I've had about enough of penguins. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. They all dress the same." which gave the kids the giggles all the way home!

Little Penguins peeping out of their nest

Table Cape Lighthouse

On Wednesday morning we decided to head out westwards on a day trip to explore the North-western corner of Tassie. We drove out to Table Cape and walked through to the lighthouse, admiring the tulip and poppy farms. The soil here is the most fertile in Tasmania and they grow 50% of the world's legal medicinal poppies. Boat Harbour Beach was nearby and we enjoyed a quick stop there, where the kids explored the rock pools and Lachie found a lovely blue tongue lizard.

The rest of the drive took us through fertile farmland, with huge dairy herds and lots of haymaking in progress until we started seeing temperate rainforest and arrived at Dismal Swamp in The Tarkine Forest in time for lunch.  Dismal Swamp is a natural blackwood forest sinkhole, believed to be the only one in the world. Formed over thousands of years by dissolving dolomite, the 40 metre deep sinkhole is a unique forest habitat supporting a range of plant and animal species. Also unique is the manner of entering the sinkhole ... you take a 110m slide down into the forest. Gran joined us in sliding but Pap decided he'd seen enough forest from the top and went to read his book.

Dave about to plunge down the slide

Jackson roaring down the slide at top speed!

One of the sculptures at Dismal Swamp

Ella said she had tears in her eyes as she slid down but didn't make a squeak. The boys let out whoops of excitement, Gran was pretty quiet and I screamed all the way down. Twice. The walk at the bottom of the sinkhole was a maze of pathways and hidden artworks from local artists and was very enjoyable.

We detoured in to the beautiful town of Stanley on the way home. The village was a picturesque fishing town anchored in the 1800s with beautiful timber homes and gardens lining the streets. Very little had changed in the Main Street since then. The jetty was full of colourful crayfishing boats and Ella was thrilled to find a boat named Ella. We trundled home and everyone was happy to head off to bed!

Two Ellas in purple

Dave and I took advantage of the Gran and Pap babysitting service on Thursday morning and went in to Burnie to do our Christmas shopping. Although we wrote to Santa before leaving home, advising him not to bring anything big for Christmas, I think the kids would be very disappointed with him if nothing was forthcoming! It was our first "time out" away from the kids in almost 6 months! Shopping complete, we realised we had a dilemma on the way home: Where the hell were we going to put the loot? We ended up asking for help from the park owners, who happily let us stash a couple of bags in their home! Reading, playing pool, music and beachcombing occupied everyone for the rest of the day.

Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain

A day trip to Cradle Mountain was planned for Friday morning. We almost didn't go as it was raining as we left Somerset, but as we drove through forest and plantation areas the rain cleared. It was fantastic weather when we reached the park. It snowed there last week, and the rangers said they'd put the brilliant weather on just for us! The walk around Dove Lake was as stunning as the photos in the brochures. I was absolutely thrilled to return to Cradle Mountain, twenty plus years after I completed the 80 km Overland track. I looked up at Cradle Mountain and wondered how on earth I got up there with a 23 kilo pack.

A snow gum provides pause in the walk

Pap had a rest with his book after lunch and we returned to walk two more short walks. The Pencil Pines forest and waterfall track was hauntingly beautiful and the Enchanted Walk had the kids in paroxysms of delight as they found several large wombat holes. Ella, as animated as we've ever seen her, came running up to Marcus: "Sparks! QUICK! Wombat poo!" Both of them cite the wombat as their favourite animal, so that explains their excitement over excreta! We hardly dared tell them that we saw two dead wombats on the side of the road, but it was slightly compensated by a very much alive echidna waddling across the grass at Cradle Mountain, and we saw another crossing the road on the way home.

Marcus - or perhaps Lachlan - took this photo

We are travelling in the Prado for day trips - the eight of us fit in as well as a school of sardines at a sharks' convention. This sometimes makes for a volatile trip home when the kids are tired, but it was a fairly quiet car load as we returned to Somerset after all that exercise.

On the beach opposite our van park,
with Table Cape in the distance.

We have spent Christmas Eve getting last minute supplies in town, rock-hopping on the beach (while Dave did some surreptitious wrapping!), dodging showers, reading and playing pool. I beat Lachie, Lachie beat Gran, and Dave, Pap and the boys had so many games we've lost track of the tallies! We also managed to enjoy some Tasmanian wine and cheese this evening. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

As I write, the sky is cloudy and the light is fading, but the clouds are still catching the last rays of the sun and glowing an orangey-pink colour. There are carrots out for the reindeer (but Ella is worried about the resident rabbits gaining the upper hand) and there is a mince pie out for Santa. Jackson is reading in the Blunderbuss, which is his night-time domain; Ella and Marcus are giggling in the tent and Lachie is in the caravan with Gran and Pap. We expect Santa to arrive any time soon so we should really all be in bed!

Wishing you a wonderful, safe and joyous Christmas.
May the gods of overindulgence smile fondly upon you all.

Stay tuned ...