We had a practice session which was a surprise for Dad... We had spent the past day learning the first verse of the Man from Ironbark... Uncle Nobby had given the kids homework before we left for our trip - to learn the words to the Banjo Paterson poem - so we were on a mission, Richard was due back from Perth around midday.
Before long his taxi drove into the park and the Captain or the Principal was home to squeals of delight... The kids then lined up, as rehearsed, and recited verse ONE, it was faultless... Only another SEVEN verses to learn ;-)
Richard was shattered after spending 3 and a half days away trying to work and catch up with everyone, so we left him to sleep while the kids and I braved the laundry again!
We managed to get the washing done, this time without incident - In between our neighbours Lloyd and Gazza offering to come to the laundry with me for moral support... Funny!!!!
By about 1:30 Richard was alive and we decided to do the trek up to Mount Wellington, the highest point in Tasmania...
The road was long and winding but the views were spectacular and by the time we had reached the top, we were over 1100 metres above sea level.
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| The view of Hobart from Mount Wellington |
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| All of us at the top of Mount Wellington |
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| The view of Mount Wellington from our caravan park |
It was late afternoon when we got back to the caravan park so the kids played cricket with Richard, Lloyd and Gazza.
The boys next door then picked Richard's brain on caravans.
It seems they were keen to do free camping but had no idea how to use their van outside the confines of a caravan park.
So Richard ran them through their caravan .
These guys were lovely - I can only describe them best as the male versions of Kath & Kim.
After an hour or so of Richard going through the van with them and a few drinks - we decided it was time for dinner and bed.
It seemed Gazza had other ideas, he went to the pub only to be returned by staff members from the pub around midnight, a little worse for wear.
Richard & I have already written the first episode of Lloyd & Gazza's caravaning adventures.
It would definitely be a hit sitcom.
Monday morning the 19th of March was pack up time and to be honest, I was glad to be leaving Hobart. After packing up we said our farewells to Lloyd & Gazza.
Gazza took a photo of us saying he will never forget us. I think we left a lasting impression! Gazza had earlier left to find a doctor, after suffering from stomach pains... Our diagnosis, other than the night before - was he'd strained a muscle from playing cricket with Jack and Harry a couple of days earlier - but he wasn't so sure.
Another run through of their van by Richard and we were on our way... I have a feeling we'll bump into those fellas again.
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| Gazza & Lloyd |
Our first stop was around the corner at Mona, the Museum of Old and New Art, I thought it criminal to be so close and not visit.
The museum which also incorporates a vineyard, restaurant and Accommodation was built by an eccentric man with Aspergers who earns his money by gambling around the world... This museum has attracted international acclaim and after visiting, we can understand why. It was awesome!
Among the displays, a machine based on the human digestive system, it is fed scraps and within hours, you guessed it... It shits!! Smell and all... Ponky but amazing!
And then there was the water feature wall that dropped words....
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| Richard and the kids at the entrance to MONA |
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| The poo machine - stinky!! |
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| The water wall of words...Gold!! |
We then headed towards Richmond again for lunch, before making our way up the north coast of Tasmania. Destination... Freycinet National Park. Along the way we passed through a town that had a wood carving that caught our attention.
It was at the front of an historic church - the carving - Jesus and St John the Baptist....
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| Amazing wood carving, Orford |
We found a free camp in Friendly Bay. It was a little windy but gorgeous..
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| Friendly Beaches |
And who was there to meet us? None other than our friendly wallaby relativies...
While Richard and I taste tested some Mona Pinot, the kids decided they would make dinner... Chicken and salad... It was well done and with no mess... Again, amazing!
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| Dinner, made by the Junior Chefs |
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| Richard & Sonia, taste testing the Pinot |
Tuesday morning the 20th of March, was an early beach walk before we packed up and headed deeper into the National Park. Wineglass Bay Lookout, a 2 1/2 km walk, was just beautiful!
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| Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park |
A quick cuppa in Coles Bay and we headed north towards St Mary's up a long & winding track and over and between mountains, it was a gorgeous drive.
Tuesday night we set up camp in Griffiths Camp Grounds, beside the Esk River, renowned for its trout! The boys tried their luck at fishing, but nothing!
The camp site is also not far from the Evercreech Forest Reserve, home to the tallest white gums in the world, so we were at the ready for the start of a new day of adventures.
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| The boys trout fishing |
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| Nina takes a dip |
Wednesday morning the 21st of March, we packed up and headed towards the Forest Reserve.
I thought it ironic that along the way we passed hectares of forests being logged as we headed towards a forest reserve.
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| Logging in motion |
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| More logging |
When we got there it wasn't what we expected, I was thinking Valley of the Giants but the famous white gum area is survived only by 4 massive white gums Or White Knights, as they are called - at over 90 metres - they survived simply because back in the 40s & 50s when the area was being logged, they were too big to chop down. They are believed to be around 300 years old.
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| The kids sitting in front of a waterfall |
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| One of the four white knights |
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| Hugging a white knight |
When we got back in the car after bush walking - Nina had a leech attached to her pants... Yuk... You should have seen how quickly our clothes started coming off checking each other, luckily we were alone in the reserve!!!
We then continued on to St Helen's, on the east coast of Tasmania... Our tie to St Helen's is that Richard and I met a man by the name of Rocky and his wife who own a fishing charter on one of our trips to Bali about 6 years ago, in the pool bar at the Padma in Bali. Randomly - we rang him yesterday to see if he remembered us... A little vague at first, but after a couple of minutes he remembered the car salesman and the newsreader from Perth.
We're planning to charter his boat for the day on Friday or Saturday depending on the weather.
Tonight, as we drove into St Helen's we met another set of caravan neighbours from Hobart, they're a Mandurah couple, Graham and Jill.
While Richard was away in Perth, Graham took it upon himself to keep an eye on us.. Jill is the registrar at All Saints in Rossmoyne, where the kids are booked in for high school, all too uncanny!
Today, while we were checking out free camps around St Helen's, they called us up on the CB ... We've ended up spending the night with them, shooting the breeze.. They're a lovely couple.
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