Day 3 – Alice to Uluru

We (I) planned to leave by 0800 to enable us to get to and explore, Kata Tjuta. It’s a decent drive from Alice to Uluru – approximately 4.5 hrs, thus my early departure plan.

To my complete delight, we were on the road by 0745 and headed through the gap towards Yulara. If you’re getting confused by my terminology, I’ll Anglicise it for you:

Uluru – Ayers Rock

Kata Tjuta – The Olgas

Yulara – Yulara

We made great time, stopping at Erldunda for fuel and the toilets. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know Rod has no sense of smell due to some random football injury that took out his olfactory nerve. You’ll understand then why, he was completely innocent as to the smell he emitted from his slender body before getting back into the car. Hamish and I let loose with both barrels; “you can’t bring that smell in here” and “honestly, what did you eat?” and “how can someone so small make such an overwhelming smell?” It was all in good nature and Rod took it well. But it wasn’t until he tried to wind up the windows that I suggested there was no way on God’s Earth this was going to occur. I will admit, my language was particularly colourful, but not disproportionate to the crime. One poor man walking by, heard this entire repertoire and gave us a look of shock. It’s tough being in our family: survival of the fittest!

Our first stop was Kata Tjuta. I feel this incredible site is underrated, but not by us.

We walked the Walpa Gorge section and were amazed by the sheer presence of the structure: it is the height of Uluru.

We then headed to Ayers Rock Resort, Yulara, to “check in” to our camp site. There were many, many vehicles queued in front of us and to cut a long story short, we waited for close to an hour to “check in” to our powered camp site. It was a little underwhelming, but I kept telling myself it’s just for one night.

Our swags were quickly set up along with our camp chairs and cooking equipment. We travelled light but were happy with our little corner of the campground. We were the only group with swags. This was NOT unnoticed by a man from TAS who enquired how’d we managed the night before with the swags. His entire conversation then turned to a ‘mice issue’ in Erldunda and he was curious how we’d managed them! Bloody Hell! Not being a girl who camps, I toughened up momentarily and told him it didn’t matter, as this was all we had anyway and we’d be fine. Also mentioned if we weren’t I’d knock on their tent.

However, I did get a bit sooky and cleared out the back the 4WD to enable my swag to fit inside. See pics. After quite an amount of honey bourbon, Rod slept without waking, suggesting the comfort of the swag was superior to any camping he’d done before…Swag or bourbon – you be the judge. Hamish ended up climbing in with me in the wee cold hours of the morning.

Day 4 – Uluru to Kings Canyon

We were up early as I’d hired bikes to ride around the Uluru (instead of walking). Preparing breakfast toasties and packing up camping gear in 1 degree is a tough gig (and one of us did it with a decent hangover…).

However, we packed up and got our bikes. Having walked around Uluru a number of times (and now being a self-proclaimed cyclist) I loved the idea of the bikes. The bikes were not like ones we are used to, they’re Cruisers with one gear and back pedal brakes and I kinda felt like I was back in Primary School. Hamish came close to an early melt down (“this is why I hate bikes…”), but I fixed his gear issue and we carried on. I couldn’t help but do a skid every time I stopped – it was fun.

We finished our ride and rewarded ourselves with local gelato before heading back to Yulara for fuel and food before our long drive to Kings Canyon. After a cold and restless night for at least two us, we were tired when we arrived at our basic lodge accommodation hours later. We had our first shower in 36 hours and settled in for a relaxing afternoon. There was music and drinks on offer at the sunset viewing platform; this kind of thing is usually right down our street, but we opted for an early dinner instead. Thankfully we made this decision as the queue was already 20 deep when we arrived at 6pm.

Rod and Hamish entertained themselves with Flip Uno as I patiently waited in the line. I engaged my brightest, chirpiest self at the cash registered, “Hiya, how are you?” to be instantly told “It’s a 45-minute wait!” I’ve obviously lost my touch when it comes to charm…Needless to say we all slept well after a huge day and a half and woke up early to be on the road to complete Kings Canyon rim walk by 0830.

Day 5 – Kings Canyon to Alice

I’ve completed the KC rim walk about 5 other times with various members of my family – the youngest being Jess when she was 5. The oldest being Phillip when he was in his 60’s. It’s challenging to start with, but definitely worth the 400 steep steps at the start. We stopped a few times on the way up (unless you’re an Olympic athlete or robot, you’re going to need to stop) but then cruised for the rest of the hike. All up it’s about 6km and we had a glorious day to match the amazing views. Nothing like it in the rest of the country. Hamish was very brave and lay down to look over the edge on the South Wall (Rod could hardly look at us doing this let alone do it himself). We did the walk in about 2 hours (1-2 hours less than the suggested time) and were all pretty proud with each other. Rod and I especially proud of Hamish; we think he’s great.

I’ve hired a MTB to explore some local trails Wednesday arvo and Thursday morning. Really keen to explore this town on two wheels for the first time. Rod is taking Eli (now Covid free) and Hamish to the Desert Park tomorrow morning and I’ll do a bit of washing and catch up with Michelle and Tracy.

Woke up early with a cracking headache from a winning combo of beer, wine and not enough water…your never really learn do you. I thought Rod was similarly afflicted, however (he tells me) it was his chronic ghost abdo pain that hits randomly and flattens him for a couple of days.

I took a very excited Hamish to the breakfast buffet; his face not masking the joy he was feeling. We walked into the lavish spread; Hamish didn’t even sit at the table we were shown to: “I’m going Mum!” He came back quickly with two mini muffins and a pastry. I suggested having a bit of a look first before grabbing the first attractive thing he sees (there’s a life lesson if ever I’ve read one) but dashed off for a couple of mini sausages. I finally convinced him to make a bit of toast, get a drink…you know, like we’d do at home, but there was so much choice on display it muddled his decision making.

We had a slow relaxing breakfast and headed back to see how Rod was faring. Hamish pulled two additional mini blueberry muffins out of his pocket – you know, like a breakfast chaser, we ate them on the way back to the room. Two bites and they’re gone.

We were surprised to see Rod had dragged his sorry butt out of bed, was dressed and had just enough constitution to go to our first friends catch up for the day. Our beautiful friend Pushpa had a 4 hour stop over in Alice (flying home to Sydney) so we saw her at the café at Araluen. It’s funny how time is both a reality and a tangible concept, but when you haven’t seen good friends for years, time melts away. Lots of hugs, a few teary eyes and that bridge of time vanished.

Much of our day has been spent preparing for the next 3. Tomorrow we leave early for Uluru, we’ll go to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) in the afternoon then set up in our powered campsite. We’ve camping gear and swags for the night, courtesy of Michelle and Stewart. We also have one of their 4WD’s. I forgot Alice is a town with more 4WD’s than people…Monday morning I’ve booked bikes so we can ride around Uluru, then we’ll head to Kings Canyon where we’re staying in a 4-bed room with shared bathroom facilities.

Essentials have been purchased and I’ve just made up an entire loaf of bread into ham and cheese, and chicken and cheese sandwiches. There’s lots of driving the next few days and we have a car fridge, so figured this would save both time and money. Of course, I suggested to Rod he needs to buy some honey bourbon as it’s going to be super cold camping. He couldn’t find the brand he was familiar with: “Just get ANY brand!” I say, the tone of my voice reflecting the exasperation of me having to deal with the worst check out chick in Australia.

Re-reading that paragraph, it looks as though ‘the essentials’ consist ONLY of sandwiches and bourbon, please be assured we have pasta, yoghurt, fruit, cereal, coffee, chocolate and chippies (some of the other essentials!).

I’ve unpacked and repacked our bags for the next 3 days. Our excess luggage is now safely at our friend Suellen’s house, where she’s kindly offered us two of her rooms to stay in when we return late Tuesday afternoon – our Alice friends are friends for life.

Missing Jess – partly because we love her and partly because she loves Alice as much as we do. Buying her gifts so she doesn’t miss out completely.

Wish us (me) luck with our camping tomorrow night – overnight temp of 3. Honey bourbon may not be enough to get me through. Oh and we also went to Flynn’s Grave – on the way there Hamish asked “Was Flynn a friend of yours?” Little cutie.

Honestly, if you’re reading this blog, you know Hamish has travelled. He’s seen stuff loads of Aussies will NEVER see both in Australia and overseas. For the past 18 months or so we’ve been hearing the following: “How come I’ve never been to Uluru. It’s not fair! Everyone else has been there!”

It’s been quite a year, has 2022…Rod and I separated at the end of Feb with a determination to be the best parents we can be. This included the lofty goals of shared occasions, no push-pull and a very modern approach to housing. We have definitely managed this so far and to be honest, we’re all getting along better. So we’re walking the talk with a week’s trip to Alice, including Uluru and Kings Canyon.

I first moved here 20 years as a fresh secondary teacher, Rod was an experienced chalkie. We both loved and hated our years here due to many things, but that’s basically another couple of blogs worth of content. Suffice to say once you get some red dirt in your skin, you’re hooked.

I finished work yesterday afternoon. We woke up at 0500 this morning to enable us to get to Melbourne for our 1030 flight. The only thing that kept me from completely losing it over my coffee this morning was a super happy, excited, flappy Hamish. He turned around my tired state: “Can you believe we’re going to Alice today!”

Rod drove and I slept. It was a quick trip to Tulla and we made plenty of time. Having travelled extensively with Hamish since he was 4, it’s sooooo much better now. He can carry his own bag, he can help with other luggage, he can clip in his own seatbelt, he can basically just about do everything an adult can do whilst travelling except pay his own way. He’s like a little broke best friend…

I am the first person to tell anyone how exceptional I am at packing. I am literally the most efficient person when it comes to packing for holidays. I have prided myself in going to Europe with 2 pr of shoes and 1 medium sized suitcase…This has NOT been the case for a week in Alice (and another week in Melbourne and Phillip Island). My case weighed in the heaviest at 15.8kg and did not survive the flight intact. Fortunately my bras and undies were not spilled across the tarmac, but I have replaced my case with a sturdy $20 duffel bag on wheels, from Kmart.

We’re heading to Uluru and Kata Tjuta Sunday, camping the night (which everyone thinks is hilarious (“I can’t believe you’re going to sleep in a sleeping bag!”), then riding bikes around Uluru before we drive to King’s Canyon. We’ll head back to Alice Tuesday arvo and hopefully get to catch up with our besties (who’ve been slidelined due to COVID).

I’ll try and update when I have good wifi.

Quiz night at The Granada Tavern

We’re not a family of snobs and we certainly don’t think we’re better than others, but let’s just say there were many, many mullet haircuts to admire at The Granada. Many. And after observing these for a few hours, you know, not all mullet haircuts are created equal.

We gave Hamish the opportunity to come up with a name for our team. His go-to name for himself in any game is The Enchanter (it’s a MineCraft reference) – he immediately suggested ‘The Enchanters’ as our team name. He then proceeded to change it to ‘Coolio’ based on a Spotify playlist he and Matt put together a few months ago. When the Quiz Master (Steve) came around to take our registration and team name, Hamish changed it to ‘Club Coolio’ – it stuck.

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Hamish also suggested a team chant, with hands in the middle of the table and calling out ‘Club Coolio’ – this also stuck. Fortunately for us, the first points up for grabs were based on the best self-introduction by each team, as judged by Steve. Club Coolio had points on the board before a question was even asked.

There were 8 teams at the start of the quiz, but by the end, only 6 teams remained. Over 4 rounds of random topics, we remained within the top 3 at each score check. It was an extremely close contest with us going into the final round in third place.

The two Dunbar boys were getting very nervy as the final questions were answered. Hamish could barely contain his excitement as the scores were read out. We won! *cue Hamish jumping up and down

The other teams were very gracious in their defeat coming over and congratulating us. Steve took our photo for the QuizzaMe FB page and Hamish collected our $50 voucher. Our practically undefeated run of trivia continues.

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MONA

A few months ago, Jess and I decided this was definitely on our ‘to-do’ list whilst in Hobart. Jess booked return trips on the Mona ferry in the POSH pit (drinks, food and away from the riff-raff). Ensuring value for money, we managed two glasses of bubbles during the 25-minute ferry trip. Lovely start to our day.

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Mona is truly an impressive place. The grounds, the scenery, the chickens, the staff, the vibe…it doesn’t matter if you’re into art or not, you just make of the exhibits whatever you like. There’s an app which kinda explains some of the art, but it also doesn’t give you an overall idea of what the art is supposed to mean. Which I suspect is the point. My brain doesn’t particularly work well in this non-structured, loose situation, but I just went with the flow and tried not to over-think what everything meant. The three of us had different favourites:

Me – Blank book library

Matt – Strobe room

Jess – Little girl with cake and knife

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We all agreed the free-range chickens roaming around the outdoor dining space were fab. On the trip home, we braved the cold and went out on the deck. Our sweet treats were devoured pretty quickly and again, we managed two glasses of wine in 25 minutes.

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Mt Wellington & Bowling (written by Rod)

Hamish and I are having a boys’ day out whilst the others head to Mona. We start with a drive up to the summit of Mount Wellington. I have wanted to do this drive for a long time. Mount Wellington is quite unique the way it rises almost directly above Hobart some 1270 metres. The drive starts off pretty cruisy; nice gentle curves and slopes, with plenty of passing room for oncoming cars. After a while it gets scarier, with sheer drop-offs on a narrow, winding, climbing road. I keep an eye on Google Maps, telling me how far to go, as my knuckles turn whiter. As we approach “0 km” I realise that this is only to the boundary of the park. There are at least another 2 kilometres of this road to go. Thankfully there is very little traffic and we arrive safely to see a snow-drizzled summit. It’s cold, but we explore a bit and take in the stunning views in all directions. On the way down, we break the drive with a toilet and coffee/cake stop at “The Springs,” which is about half way down the mountain. It is a stunning day and this is just about the most peaceful and picturesque picnic ground I have ever seen.

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Before too long we head to the local bowling alley, via Subway. After a couple of fairly low scoring games we spend some quality time in the arcade section before waiting 30 minutes for some churros from the café. Unfortunately this means we no longer have time for a visit to ‘Bounce.’ Hamish is a bit disappointed, but we fill in a little time with 2 drives over the Tasman Bridge (there and back) and a walk along the river bank with a brief stop at a playground, before heading back to the docks to collect Belinda.

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Salamanca Market

This morning we headed into the very chilly city to check out the famous Salamanca Markets. We basically snacked our way around the market, devouring such treats as:

• Hot chocolate
• Bao (beef, pork and vego)
• Potatoes on sticks
• Tastes of peanut butter

I bought a few gifts and again, realised what a small world it is when one of the stallholders asked where I was from – actually he asked where the gift was going to end up –  I said Wangaratta, Victoria. He replied with ‘oh Wang! – my Dad used to live there, my brother lives in Myrtleford, I used to live in Bright…’ you know how these conversations go.

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As I write this draft, Rod and Hamish are at Bounce – Hamish has been easy to travel with, providing there are plenty of snacks and activities. Jess and Matt fly home tomorrow afternoon from Launceston and we leave Devonport Monday evening. We’ve packed up a bit this afternoon and I’m about to cook dinner for us all; the fire is going and we’re all pretty relaxed. Might manage one more blog before I call it quits for another year or so. Ciao.

Oh, and there’s been further conversations, over dinner mind you, about stopping at Campbell Town for a final pie from Banjo’s.

Banjo’s Bakery

The morning of our departure, Coles Bay turns it on again with sunny skies and glassy seas. It’s still 4 degrees, but it’s gorgeous. Matt and I agree we’d just love to sit around the house and admire the ocean view for one more day.

The coast road (from memory I think it’s the A3) south of Coles Bay is closed during winter, however, this information is received with joy because it means we have to go back through Campbell Town. And what’s in Campbell Town? Banjo’s Bakery. We are packed and in the car by 10am and a large proportion of our conversation is firmly around who’s going to get what at the bakery. The general consensus to this question is ‘pies’, but what type.

The icy road conditions mean Rod adds an extra two minutes onto our ETA, but I keep this information to myself. The delight as we pull into Campbell Town is not hidden and we pile into the bakery. It’s already loaded with locals, tourists and the ‘Po’ as Hamish calls the police. I’m not really into pies as a meal, but I have the cheese and cauliflower and it’s bloody delish.

• Jess – cheese and cauliflower
• Matt – steak, cheese and bacon
• Hamish – meat
• Rod – steak and mushroom

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These are had with various forms of hot drinks and sweet treats, because we need extra bakery food after eating pies. Back in the car, we head towards Hobart. A planned stop at Banjo’s is discussed for our return trip to Launceston Sunday. Seriously. I am not joking. This place has been a highlight.

Moonah Cottage

We easily find our little cottage in the suburb of Moonah and unpack. I talk up the fact that I’ve never been so excited to see a washing machine, but Rod reminds me I’ve been pretty excited by washing clothes in the past; on holidays, when I’ve been wearing the same tee shirt for three days. With the washing on, we venture out for supplies. Rod cooks us a curry for dinner. He and Matt take it in turns to ‘attend to the fire’ because this is what men do, apparently… * insert eye roll by me and Jess.

Activities for the next few days are loosely planned. It’s a nice evening at home and we all enjoy a bit of down time.

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Mawson’s Hut

We head to Constitution Dock and walk around in the freezing Hobart weather. Some people are dressed for summer, but not us and we’re still cold!

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We have planned to visit the replica of Mawson’s Hut, which is a mini-museum dedicated to Mawson and his explorers and, you guessed it, designed to replicate the Hut which still stands at Cape Denison, Antarctica. It’s quite a tale of adventure and heroics; how these men completed any exploration with their primitive gear is beyond me. As we leave, Rod and Matt ask, ‘what did they even achieve there?’ – tough crowd.

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Maritime Museum – Thursday July 8

Jess and Matt have headed out to lunch at Cascade Brewery and we take Hamish to the Maritime Museum. Ease up on your criticism, it’s Hamish’s choice. He loves a good museum and is interested in lots of things. Maybe this museum doesn’t quite live up to his expectation, but he buys a ‘knot tying kit’ which is yet to be opened. We three have a great seafood lunch and then go for a bit of drive along the coast in a southerly direction. Many of the homes are straight out of Grand Designs (definitely wouldn’t take kids there) and we take in the beautiful views as Hamish entertains us with his singing.

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Tonight Jess has booked us into a trivia competition at the Granada Tavern; she’s checked if it’s kid friendly. It is. Not to brag, but out of all the trivia nights we have attended, we’ve lost one. Rod low-key prides himself on his extensive range of general knowledge, whils the rest of us kinda muddle through. Jess has been part of these winning teams in the past – I hope we don’t let her down. I’ll let you know how we go.  

Launceston to Coles Bay – Monday July 5

We left Launceston and headed toward our beach side accommodation in Coles Bay, which is about 2 hours East-ish of Launceston on the coast. Along the way, we stopped at a very small place, called Campbell Town – with a population of less than 800 people (many of them wearing summer dress). Apparently (so my Dad tells me) it’s famous for things other than Banjo’s Bakery, but that’s where we and 50 other people gathered yesterday for morning tea. 

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Once we arrived in Coles Bay, we still had a bit of time to kill before check-in, so we had lunch at the Tavern and walked on the beach. A few essentials were purchased before we headed to our lovely little home. The views are incredible – the weather yesterday was gorgeous and we even had coffee on the balcony.

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I managed another little walk to find the closest beach to our house (note the steep pathway) which is only a few hundred meters away.

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Somewhere in the house, Hamish found a gun-style, infra-red ‘non-contact’ thermometer which he is using to scan absolutely everything: each of us, cups of coffee, the couch, the laptop, the light, the atmosphere, the sun…I can continuously hear little ‘beep beeps’ around the house as Hamish finds something else to scan.

Last night after Rod’s vegetarian nachos for dinner (we’ve not missed a Mexican Monday in over 12 months) plans were made for today, which included:

Rod and Belinda – Freycinet National Park walk. How far? Not sure.

Jess, Matt and Hamish – Nature World, Bicheno

Freycinet National Park – Tuesday July 6

The ‘children’ drop us off at the start of the walk and we loosely talk about plans to pick us up later at the Freycinet Lodge. I have talked Rod into doing the Wine Glass Bay – Hazards Bay loop which is about 11km.  The attendant at the Information Centre tells us the suggested time for this loop is 5 hours, and I quote, “at a leisurely pace” – she tells us she’s done it in 3 hours before. I love her for this. There is no leisurely pace when I walk anywhere, so I’m very pleased to say we smashed this ‘recommended time’ by 2 hours.

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The weather has potential to be dicey, but is settled for the entire 3 hours. We agree the walk is a perfect mix of: uphill, downhill, steep, flat, steps, sand, beaches, rocks and forest. The views are just gorgeous and make the uphill worth it. I am very pleased to inform you there’s an actual toilet at Wine Glass Bay, which I use, not because I need to, but because I can. We are overtaken by only one (much younger) couple, of which the bloke is kinda jogging. He’s obviously trying to break the 3-hour time too. Along the way, we walk past a few ‘chest-clutchers’ but it appears, thankfully, they are just unfit and not in need of emergency care.

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We arrive back at the carpark, where I tip a bit of sand out of my boots before heading towards the Lodge. It’s only 2.5km, but I sound like a kid on a car trip: “How much further now? Are we nearly there?” The beer at The Lodge is the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted and we both devour a burger and chips and talk about how good we are doing a 5 hour walk in 3. We think we’re super.

Nature World, Bicheno

After dropping us off at the National Park, Jess, Matt and Hamish headed towards Nature World, Bicheno. This conservation park breeds Tassie Devils and rehabilitates wombats; it also has an array of Grey Kangaroos (which can be hand fed), emu’s and ostriches.

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The Tassie Devil feeding frenzy involves the keeper giving them cut up possum to fight over, before giving each of them a piece. One of the female Tassie Devils did zoomies around the enclosure showing off her catch to everyone.

The wombat they saw was only 18 months old and was sleeping in a little cat-style bed; in fact, he was still asleep when the attendant held him. The attendant has to take him home every night to feed him because he’s so young. The Park keeps the wombats until they’re about 3 years old, then they’re rehabilitated to the live back in the wild.

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Little snippets from the day:

• We fed the kangaroo’s, they were cute and friendly
• Hamish was gentle around the animals
• Tassie Devils are much smaller than we expected – they are cat sized (Hamish says they are Jono’s dog-sized, which is a Jack Russel)
• The hardest part of the wombat is its’ bum – why? Because that’s how they protect themselves in their burrows. Head first bum out.

We are headed back to the Lodge for dinner tonight. Tomorrow we leave for Hobart and will be there until Sunday. We’re loving our little tour of Tas and are keen to check out the capital city.

PS Does anyone know what these little critters are? We’ve found them washed up on the beaches here. We thought initially star fish, but I can’t seem to find anything on the internet.

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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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It was never our intention to completely dedicate a day for the James Boags Brewery, but it’s 5pm as I start to draft this, and we’ve done little else.

Months ago, when Jess and I were loosely discussing what we might like to do during our Tasmania trip, our conversation quickly turned to beer tasting. I searched up Boags and Cascade and mentioned these to Jess. We decided both might be a little excessive, but Boags was on our list of ‘to – do’ whilst in Launceston. Jess booked the tour for a 1pm start.

Whilst it’s very easy to travel with Hamish these days, we try to include as many child-friendly activities as we can manage. Today was supposed to be a museum/planetarium morning (kid-friendly) followed by the Boags tour and tasting (adult-friendly). After a late start, the museum idea was scrapped by Hamish initially, (content to hang around the house with his favourite people in his PJ’s) and then by the rest of us as time slipped away.

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Anticipating the state of us after a brewery tour, I decided to head to Woolworths to organise an easy dinner, you know, just incase we weren’t up to cooking. I mentioned yesterday Rod has been unwell: whilst this is no good for Rod, this turned out to be fortunate for Jess, Matt and I as we now had a dedicated driver.

The actual tour itself was 90 minutes of pure enthusiasm, history and information provided by our guide, Phil, whom has worked at Boags for 12 years: he is a keen fan of the amber liquid. His knowledge of the process of brewing beer and the history of the Boags empire was passed onto us in such detail, I for one, can hardly remember anything! I suspect Hamish thinks I drink beer 24/7 – as Phil passed on little gems of information, Hamish would say, “Mum, did you hear that?” or, “Oh, that sounds like you Mum!”

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Due to depth and detail of the tour, I have asked each of us to provide their top take-home message or theme from today:

Me

Beer is best tasted (or is that tastes best) before breakfast (it’s all about the senses!)

Launceston is the 3^rd oldest city in Australia

Something about barley and the colour of the beer

Rod

Can’t believe that every drop of Boags is brewed in one large room of a relatively small brewery

All beers are either lagers or ales

There were many James Boags

Hamish

My juice at the end was good

The lunch at the end was good

The machines were interesting

Jess

The cows get to eat the leftover warm sweet mash, and apparently, they quite enjoy it

Matt

We skulled 3 beers very quickly

Boags brews XXXX Gold

Launceston provided us with chilly temperatures to enjoy our alfresco post-tour, post-tasting lunch. We’ve now retired to our respective rooms for a bit of afternoon down-time, full of food and beer. I’m planning to whip up some Apple-Pie martini’s later, lovely for the cool weather.

Tomorrow is our last day in Launceston and it’ll be a kid-friendly day before we pack up for the next leg of our journey to the Freycinet Peninsula.

When’s the last time you shared a room overnight with your youngest child? I’m going to hazard a guess and say it’s probably been some time. Well not for me.

Last night, Hamish and I left Rod to watch some AFL in the lounge of the Spirit of Tasmania (aka, we gave him some me time…) whilst I facilitated bed time for Hamish. On a boat. In a bunk bed. A day before he sees his big sister. In a 3m x 5m room. Whatever is going through your head right now, probably reflects the night. Lots of chat, lots of wriggling around, lots of giggles. I mean, it’s not all bad. I’m pleased to inform you there was no sea-sickness (due to an over-prepared Nurse/Mum).

Being the ever so slightly immature adult I am, I chose to sleep up the top bunk too, which Hamish saw as an opportunity to, and I quote, talk about the “…big questions in life…” Oh God.

Question 1. “Why aren’t there 4 primary colours?”

Not so bad. Thankfully the other life questions can wait a few years.

That boat arrives ridiculously early! Hamish and I have already discussed our breakfast plans. We have seen there’s breakfast being served before disembarking. We delight in a French breakfast of croissants dipped in our hot chocolates. Rod, not a breakfast person, chooses to sleep in an extra 10 minutes. Food V’s Sleep – you be the judge.

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We are instructed to be in our car at 0640 ready to disembark. Tassie has tight COVID-safe protocols, but we quickly make it to our lovely digs in West Launceston. After a bit of unpacking and catching up with Jess and Matt, the 5 of us decide to head out for brunch. I feel we’ve kinda taken our foot off the brake in regards to planning; we’re still in Australia, still driving on the ‘correct’ side of the road, English speakers abound. As a result, parking suddenly becomes an issue, can’t find a café, no one has a plan, I’m trying to remain calm…

After brunch we decide to head to Cataract Gorge where we hang out for the next hour or so walking around, playing on swings and going on the chair lift. Interestingly, whilst on the chair lift, Jess and I both have similar thoughts of, “If I fell now (over the water), I’d probably be OK.”

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We head home and drop off the boys whilst Jess and I go shopping for provisions. Incidentally, the food bill = the alcohol bill. The Dan Murphy here is very busy in comparison to Wangaratta, but obviously attracts the best type of customer. Staff member to customer: “Mate, where did you stash that bottle of vodka?”

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Once back at our house, I suggest we make a plan for the next couple of days. Rod’s feeling a bit dreadful (tired?) so the rest of us take Hamish to an adventure playground, which I have to say, is pretty cool. We all play on the equipment and Jess decides it would be a good place for her to practice her roller-skating.

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Cocktails and baked garlic cauliflower (with teriyaki mushrooms and eggplant, cous-cous and sweet potato) have encouraged most of us an early night is in order.

So, here’s the thing. Approximately 16 months ago, our family trip to Tasmania was completely canned by that other C word we’ve come to dislike. Yes, Covid plunged the state of Victoria into the first of a number of lockdowns and we, like the rest of the state, stayed home for our Easter break.

Mid – year saw our family holiday to the Grampians halted by the commencement of a nearly 4 month long lock down in our state. When this lockdown occurred (we happened to be staying with Jess and Matt in Box Hill), those in metro Melbourne were bound to a 5km radius. I attempted to offload food, wine and other goodies we had packed for our trip, but it was pretty heartbreaking to leave them behind.  I’ll never forget the words Jess spoke as we said goodbye: “Gee Mum, there’s worse things than being in lockdown with Matt” – naaaw, young love.

This year, I started bravely discussing yet another idea for the five of us to get away to Tasmania. I booked a house in Launceston – nothing happened. Cautiously I booked the boat – nothing. Jess booked flights – nothing. I booked a house in Coles Bay – nothing. Booked our final accommodation in Hobart then…another lockdown. * insert famous Duffy eye roll*

This lockdown didn’t last long – 1 week for rural Vic and 2 weeks for metro. But EVERYWHERE shut their borders to Victorians, including Tasmania. It wasn’t until after the long weekend, Tasmania opened their borders to all Victorians, which meant the five of us were eligible to travel. *insert relieved sigh*

Unfortunately, that was the start of the lockdowns in the rest of the Australia. With an eye on the news and a plan B (Jessica’s suggestion = Victorian ski fields) we have held our collective breaths every day this week.

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So it is with great achievement, that I write this blog from the relative comfort of the Spirit of Tasmania. We have, in fact, just left Port Melbourne. The two members of my family are doing their favourite things: Rod is sitting across from me, having finished a half bottle of wine and Hamish is playing the onboard Xbox. Jess and Matt have caught a direct flight from Melbourne to Launceston. We’ve booked a house through Air BnB and they’re checking into this tonight.

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I know this blog doesn’t quite fit the profile of the others I’ve written for our last two lengthy overseas travel adventures, but hey, it’s 2021, the world has changed; technically, we ARE going overseas and this might be the only ‘overseas’ we manage for quite some time.

If you’ve followed our travel stories before, they are usually full of driving mishaps, navigation errors and multi-faceted communication issues. Who knows what Tasmania has in store for us? I remember a few years ago making a big call along the lines of, “I’ve been on a North Sea Ferry crossing, I’ll never have to go on a ferry again!” But here I am, about to get an excited 10 year old settled for the night. Wish me luck.

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