Penny Royal

As promised, we dedicated today to kid-friendly activities. Well, kind of, at least until lunch time…We started the day off at a tourist attraction called Penny Royal. There’s probably some historical background surrounding this place, but we went there for 3 reasons only:

• Cliff Walk
• Zip Line
• Quick Jump

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If you’re reading this, there’s a fair chance you know our family (or at least one of us) pretty well and at this stage are thinking, “That’s an unusual activity for these guys…” And you’re right. This is not our usual, but in Hamish’s words, “No-one had to wear the chicken hat!”

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We arrived at Penny Royal where Rod did the good Dad thing and paid for us all to participate in these death-enticing activities. We were kitted up in harnesses and safety helmets, had lessons about using carabineers and I quickly got over the fact my booty was accentuated by the thigh straps. At this point, there’s not much time to think about what you’re about to do, except lament about what you haven’t had time to do: go to the toilet. Nevermind.

We walked up many flights of steps to the first adventure: zip line (we’re currently discussing how high and long this was) the first of two zip lines was approximately 20m high x 100m long. Matt was first, followed by Hamish, Jess, Rod and myself. Everyone was very brave, especially Rod who has a fear of heights. From here, we clipped onto the cliff walk section, where we walked along the cliff line, 20 – 40m high on a rope-ladder situation. This was OK, but a bit wobbly, made worse by the 12 year old kid behind me, jumping up and down…dude, could you not?

For the next section, we completed a steeper, shorter zip line. Being pros by this stage, there was no need for encouragement or clapping – but I did anyway, watching my darling babies fling themselves across the sky.

Once the second zip line was completed, we walked back up the multiple flights of stairs to our final challenge: the quick jump. We feel like the name says it all: there’s a cliff, you jump and it’s quick. You’re clipped into a short bungee cord by the waist (not the feet) and just basically jump off the platform. I don’t want to brag, but the attendant said I was the most graceful he’d ever seen. I’m sure that’s true. Again, well done to Rod who seems to have overcome his fear of heights.

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Winery 1 – Marion’s Vineyard

After some discussion about which winery we’d visit first (we were looking at a list of 24) we decided to drive along the Tamar Estuary to Marion’s Vineyard which boasts views so good we’re unlikely to want to leave. After looking at their website, Matt tells us it’s the home of Farmer Nick from ‘Farmer wants a Wife’ – although it seems very much run by an elderly Greek lady. The rest of the family tell me, there was some conversation along the lines of “where’s Nick, he could come and help…” looking for a wife apparently.

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Jess, Matt and Rod tasted wines and chose some produce for our lunch, whilst Hamish and I played Cinqo in the warmish café. Interestingly, one of the staff has recently moved to the Tamar Valley from Milawa where she was a cheese maker at Milawa Cheese Factory. Small world huh. Being the almost perfect wife, I put my hand up today to be the dedicated driver today *insert beam of light from above shining on my halo

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Winery 2 – Goaty Hill

More than anything else, the name alone enticed us to the next winery. Rod, Jess and Matt are now suggesting it was the photo’s on the website. However, it’s a small detail. The three wine tasters in the family sat inside whilst Hamish and I walked around the vineyard and talked about the best part of our day. By all accounts, the wines were ‘winetastic’ (Jess) ‘better than the first place’ (Matt), *shrugs (Rod). However, wines were purchased and we are all enjoying them as I write this.

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Tomorrow we leave our very comfortable house in Launceston and head to Coles Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula for two nights. Not sure about the consistency of the internet, but we’ll try to continue updating the blog. Otherwise, I’ll update from Hobart. Ciao.

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