Pt 2 - Day 39 Primrose Sands

The sun is shining again!!!!  I think the forecast is about 20C today, not warm, but at least the weather is fine. This morning we enjoy another nice "brunch" at the hotel before we leave.  Reluctant to leave this place as it is so nice and there is so much more to see, but we need to get back down south closer to the airport.  We all climb into our new Pajero, very exciting.  The very back seat doesn't split in half like the Prado but we put Cody back there with some luggage and put the girls on the middle seat with luggage between them!!!  The 200km drive south is just blissful.  Just the sound of a DS in the background, Shannae reading and Tori gazing at the scenery giving us a running commentary of the animals she sees.  Not one argument or one terse word yelled into the back to control the chaos that unfolds as Glen tries to negotiate the hairpin corners and unpredictable terrain.  The Midland Hwy is a nice, straight "normal" highway, and we are lucky enough to have this for about 150km when we have to turn off to head to Sorell.  What a lovely change, I almost dose off in the passenger seat, it is so peaceful!!!!

We are very disappointed that we are now going to miss the east coast.  From all reports this is the nicest part of Tassie, and in hind sight we should have gone up the east coast first, however, we live and learn and this is added to our list of things to come back and do at a later date!!

We have hired a house for the last two nights, located somewhere between the airport and Port Arthur.  Not too many options in the way of hotels, but "Stayz" has a lot of holiday homes for cheaper than a 2 bedroom apartment.  So we arrive in Primrose Sands.  A very picturesque drive to the coast.  The house is someone's holiday home with magnificent views of Norfolk Bay, 3 bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, and a children's rumpus room and laundry down stairs.  Just perfect, as we are due to do some washing.

The kids are very excited and immediately start arguing over who is going to get the bedroom all to themselves, as two will still have to share.  And within about 5 mins of arriving Cody manages to lock the toilet door from the inside, then walk out and shut the door, now no one is able to get in!!!  Fortunately there is also a toilet downstairs, however, the next hour and a half is spent trying to get the door unlocked.  The caretaker arrives to give us a hand, Glen already has the door knob completely dismantled.  They eventually push the knob on the other side all the way through until it lands on the floor and only then are we able to unlock it!!!!!  What a drama!!

So this afternoon we go for a walk down to the beach.  Certainly not swimming weather, but great to get out for some exercise and the kids love exploring the rocks and collecting shells.  When we get home the kids park themselve in front of their big screen downstairs and Glen and I enjoy the view from the balcony and an uninterupted conversation and make plans for tomorrow, Glen's birthday!!!

Pt 2 - Day 38 - Beaconfield and Seahorse Aquarium

 HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY JACKIE!!!!

This morning the sun was shining.  With a forecast of 25C we were very excited to get out our shorts and t-shirts and just wait to feel the warmth for a change.  It was also great to just have breakfast and get in the car to explore, rather than pack our bags and move on again!!!  We still don't have the spare tyre replaced as we haven't found a tyre place with the right tyre yet, but we decide to push on with our plans and continue to make phone calls along the way, otherwise too much of our time here is being wasted.

Today we headed for Beaconsfield, about 22km north of where we were staying.  A beautiful drive up along the Tamar River.  Tasmania is such a picturesque place, I imagine this is what England or Scotland would look like.  The Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre was right in the middle of the town, which we were amazed to see, and the mine that buried Todd and Brandt 6 years ago, is still in operation, which ajoins the information centre.  The museum has obviously been in existence for some time, now with the addition of the rescue operation of these two men, is was just a fantastic exhibit.  It cost us only $30 for the whole family and it was a very informative museum/information centre. The best thing about it is that the children where encouraged to interact with the exhibits throughout the whole building, unlike most museums like this, where we spend most of our time saying "don't touch"!!!

After this we headed up the road a little further to Beauty Point where we were to have a look at the Seahorse Aquarium.  This was just fantastic.  We are a bit "over" aquariums and zoos but we wanted to see this and we are glad we did.  Seahorses are very interesting creatures.  We found out that the male puffs out his belly as much as he can to attract the female, the fatter the belly the more attractive.  Tori pipes up and says "Dad, you should be a seahorse!!!", the others on the tour thought this was most amusing!!!

Pregnant male seahorses.

In the meantime, Glen has been able to get hold of a car hire employee who actually has a brain and who not only understands our situation, but is actually able to do something about it.  He tells us to bring our car straight down to the Launceston branch and he will give us a new car and reimburse us for the additional cost we have incurred by not getting the car we paid for.  Thank goodness for him!!!
So Glen drops the kids and I off at our accommodation and we are able to enjoy some of the facilities at the resort.  We hire a paddle boat and feed the numerous animals here.  Then Glen gets home in time for a game of mini golf on the "best mini-golf course" we have seen so far.  And  not only has he got us a different car, he has got the Pajero we ordered in the first place......yay!!!!

Pt 2 - Day 37 - Cradle Mountain - Tamar valley

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIE!!!

This morning Glen and I just had to go out and enjoy one of the "walks" through the forest.  We chose the shortest one as we were a bit concerned about the children, however, the two little ones were fast asleep and didn't even know we were gone.  What a beautiful place it is up in the moutainous country. Ferns and moss grow everywhere, it is like a fairy's garden.  Everything dripped with moisture but we weren't too conerned about getting wet.  When we got back to the cabin we packed everyhing up ready to move on again.  Once again trying to see as much as we can in the time we have.  But first, we must fuel our withering bodies and provide them with further sustenance for a hard day of sight seeing ahead. And what better way to do this than to enjoy a buffet breaky by a log fire.  Tassie was always going to be a bit of a break from the caravan routines.  A bit more space and an opportunity to do things we don't normally do.  So breakfast was most enjoyable and it was also to be our lunch for the day, so we got our monies worth!!!

We drive further into the national park with everything crossed that we don't get another flat.  We stop at the visitor's centre where we purchase a national parks pass and catch a free shuttle to Dove Lake where we are able to do more walks and view Cradle Mountain.  Well, the rain continues to drizzle and we certainly aren't prepared for any major hikes.  We take the shorter walks which are only about 400 and 600m around the lake.  However, the fog is like pea soup.  We can barely see the water in the lake let alone the beautiful mountain we are told that stands 1530m on the other side of the lake.  We take the locals word for it and head back down to the visitors centre and our car.  What a shame once again the damn weather is not cooperating.  Glen and I add this to our list of places to come back to when the kids are off on their own.

Next we are headed to a place called Tamar Valley, which is just north of Launceston.  There are no direct routes in this place and the roads are as windy as anything, so we have underestimated the time it is going to take to get from A-B in this state.  We have a quick drive through Devonport and are relieved to see a little bit of flatter farming country on the other side.  It is short lived but we enjoy it for the time being.  We start to to reassess our plans to go down the east coast after Tamar Valley.  We have two nights booked here but we planned to stay in two different places for the last two nights on the east coast. But now we are here, we have worked out we are are going to end up spending most of our time in the car due to the time it takes to drive on these roads, which, with the three bears lined up together across the back, is not going to be much fun for anyone in the tiny enclosure of the car!!!!

The car hire saga continues.  On closer inspection, Glen realised that not only do we have a very bald spare on our car, but also two very bald front tyres that should be replaced before we add another 800km to our journey.  Well, many phone calls and wasted time later, getting a replacement for the spare, let alone replacing them all, is proving to be a major drama!!! 

Our accommodation this evening and for tomorrow night as well is in a little swiss village.  We all just love it.  Beautiful grounds for the kids to run around.  Lots of duck, rabbit and swans and heaps of things to keep the children entertained, plus a normal sized kitchen and bathroom.  Just awesome!!

Pt 2 - Day 36 - Raspberry Farm / Lemonthyme Lodge

This morning we awoke to yet more rain.  A very drab old morning.  We just hoped the weather was going to clear as we headed north.  We were looking forward to getting out of the city and seeing some of the country side.  Our accommodation tonight was on the edge of the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park.  We decided to get off the beaten track and rather than go on the main highway, we would take the road less travelling and head up Lake Highway.  The rain stopped and started most of the way.  The weather was bitterly cold so there weren't many stops to get out and enjoy the scenery.  The roads are very windy and steep so the 250km we have to do today takes twice as long as it would at home.

All our stomachs were thinking about our main stop for lunch, the Raspberry Farm.  Tasmania is a great place for nice food.  The soil is so rich, there are berry farms, cheese factories, chocolate factories and heaps of wineries.  So for lunch the kids have pancakes with ice-cream and raspberry sauce, made on the premises.  We drink raspberry, hot chocolate and raspberry lemonade and I buy some raspberry jam for our travels.  Just delicious!!!  With everyone very satisfied we move on to the Ashgrove cheese shop for some tasting and to make a few small purchases!!!  Thank goodness for tracksuit pants, that's all I can say!!!

We drive through a small town called Sheffield where someone is walking a llama down the street.  Sheffield boasts 40 murals on the walls of all their buildings.  We view a few from the car and I would love to have had a walk around the streets as it is a relatively small town, but once again the rain prevents that idea from happening. We buy some suuplies for tea so we aren't forced to eat at the expensive lodge restaurant tonight and we head for our log cabin in the woods.

The road meanders deeper and deeper into the forest.  Lots of hairpin corners and amazing views down the side of the road.  We then come to the turn off where we have 8km of gravel to reach our resort. Doesn't sound like far does it???  Well it was one of the longest 8km of my life.  I just thank goodness for the fog/cloud so I couldn't see the bottom of the drops that went down the side of the road which was only one lane wide.  Needless to say I was very pleased when we arrived until I got out to a large hissing noise.  Our back tyre was flat as......and getter flatter by the minute, if that was possible!!!!
 
Anyway, Glen quickly had that sorted, however, we weren't too happy about not having a spare up here.  Our log cabin was just beautiful.  Even though it was raining it was so nice to be in the middle of the dense forest with nothing but the possums and kookaburras.  We should have done one of the many walks that were advertised but with the drizzling rain there was nothing to do but enjoy a nice wine by the fire and enjoy the cabin.  Cody made parachutes to launch from the balconly and we eat soup for tea.  It really does feel like winter here!!!

Pt 2 - Day 35 - Tasmania

A big day today.  Not the best day we have had I might add, but that is how the cookie crumbles some days along the way.  We got up early to get the van dropped off at the repairers.   Fortunately, they had enough room for our car as well, so our storage for the van and car is sorted for our Tassie stint.  We catch a cab to the airport....peak hour, but we still arrive on time, just a little less in our our pocket than we had planned!!!

Our plane is running a bit late but we only leave about half an hour later so that is not too bad.  We are on a brand new plane which is really exciting as all the seats have screens in the back of them so all the children can watch what they want.  Only a 55 min flight which they are a bit disappointed about.  We are joined by the 3 members of Master chief which we didn't really recognise, as we don't watch it, but everyone was a buzz about them being on the plane!!!

It is raining when we touch down, what a surprise!!!  We head to the Thrify counter to pick up our car, only to find that the 7 seater that we had spent a lot of time organising, had been in an accident and the only thing they had available was a dual cab ute.  The bloke behind the counter didn't seem too concerned or apologetic that we were going to have to squeeze the three kids on the back seat and put our luggage on the back in the rain, and to rub salt into the wound, he was still going to charge us the same price!!!!  Well, fortunately, just before things started to get ugly, an x-trail came in unexpectedly, so at least we were able to keep our luggage dry!!!! 

So we head off from the airport not too impressed.  Three kids lined up together along the back seat.  Not quite the way we had planned to see Tassie, it is going to be a disaster!!!!  We eventually find our hotel, another minus one star!!!!, it is clean enough which is our main priority, but I wasn't too keen on spending a lot when we weren't going to be there too long.  We drop off our luggage and get back in the car.

We head off to the  "Cadbury factory", hoping to change the mood of the day a bit.  Now this is something the whole family is excited about.  We are all handed a huge family block of chocolate each and the kids are given strict instructions from the lady, that they don't need to share any of it with anyone.  Their eyes are like saucers as we wonder through the shop.  We go to the "tour", which as Cody tells me, isn't really a tour, as all they do is put us all in a room and give us a talk and show us a DVD on the process from beginning to end.  It is very interesting and informative and we did enjoy it, but the next part of the "tour" took you through the shop and that was it!!!  And, I left my camera in the car, so sorry!!!  No chocolate photos!!!

Afterwards, we go for a drive down to the water front in Hobart which is very nice but we are less than prepared for the near freezing temperatures.  We head back to our humble abode for a basic dinner and an early night as we are all pretty tired after today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!!!

Pt 2 - Day 34 - Glenrowan / Melbourne

This morning we head back to Melbourne where we are dropping the van to get the awning repaired and jumping on a plane tomorrow to go over to Tasmania.  We have about a 200km drive today, but it is fairly easy going as we are back on the Hume.

First stop is Glenrowan. Glenrowan's claim to fame is this is where Ned Kelly was captured.  The town is small but the whole place revolves around Ned.  "Ned's burgers" "The Kelly gang cafe" and every second shop is filled with Ned Kelly tea towels, coasters, lighters, who name it, you can buy it with Ned Kelly on it!!!

We had a look at a replica of his house which had a lot of furniture in it that was the Kelly families.  It was very interesting but the kids wanted to know,  "If he was a criminal, why was he so famous???"  A bit hard to explain, "the underdog, police corruption and social prejudice" but we do our best.

We then head on to Melbourne where we call into the caravan repairer so he can have a look at the van.  Just around the corner we have booked into a caravan park that takes mainly long term vans.  We have a plane to catch the next morning and have to be at the airport by 9am, so we need to drop the van off and catch a cab before then, so being close the the repairer is a priority.

Well, the caravan park is probably the most dodgy of them all.  Our site is about 3 m too short!!!, but the owner and his wife are very friendly and helpful.  Most of the permanant vans are very old and look like they haven't been moved for years.  Shady characters roam the park and we aren't game to let the children walk to the toilets by themselves!!!!  The shower doors don't lock, so it is a quick one for me tonight.  I make a dash down to the shops for something for tea and some last minute things for Glen's birthday which he is celebrating in Tassie.  An early night tonight as we have an early start!!!!

Pt 2 - Day 33 - Wangaratta

Today we had to be in Wangaratta by lunch time as we had the car booked in for a service.  We only had 120km to go but we wanted to stop in at Beechworth and have a look at the town where Ned Kelly went to trial and was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang.  The buildings in Beechworth are so old and even the roads still have cobble stones in them.  They have many of the old signs on the shops that have been restored and this town looks quite funny with modern day cars on its streets.  It looks like there should be horse and carts everywhere.  There are statues of Ned Kelly everywhere and the children manage to sniff out an awesome lolly shop.  A walk down the street and a couple of coffees to go and we are on our way again.

This afternoon is "so boring".  I wash nearly everything we own, including sheets.  It warms up to about 33 today which is great for getting clothes dry.  I spend about 2 hours on the computer doing farm work while Glen takes the kids to the pool.  We then proceed to make some bookings for Tasmania while the kids sit outside the van asking when they can go back to the pool!!!!  We leave for Tassie on Friday so we are getting everything clean ready to pack, emptying the fridge out and generally getting organised to be away from the van for a week.