Tasmania - Days 9 - 10

Day 9

This morning was cloudy but dry as we set off for small mining town of Beaconsfield.  

Beaconsfield made headlines a few years ago after a mining accident left miners trapped underground  for almost 2 weeks before they were able to be rescued. 

Memories from the past

We followed a historic walk around the town looking at the old buildings and what they are now used for - quite interesting to see many don't look very changed from 100 years ago.

Back in the car and onwards we go .....

Batman Bridge over the Tamar River

Batman Bridge

..... reaching the seaside town of Bridport for lunch.  A quiet little town that apparently comes alive in the summer and is no longer a 'little' town!

Bridport

After travelling through the countryside we reached the very small town of Ledgerwood and its unique tree carvings.

Ledgerwood

ANZAC poppies

The trees are carved in memory of the young men who were lost in World War I.

Each of the trees had two or three of these knitted poppies attached to them and I assume they may have been put there on ANZAC Day last month, as they were not very old.

Our destination tonight was St Helens which seems to have a small fishing fleet.

Day 10

This morning we continued down the coast stopping at Bicheno for lunch.  Afterwards we followed the signs to The Blowhole and quite a pretty coastline.

 Bicheno

A little further along the road we came across the Spikey Bridge, built long ago by convict labor.  There is speculation about the spikes but no one seems quite sure why it was built this way.

Spikey Bridge

Spikey Bridge

After enjoying more countryside, we came to the outskirts of Hobart and made our way to the airport.  We were a little early to check in, but had wanted to return our hire car before dark.  Before we knew it, we were winging our way back home to our family.

I hope you have enjoyed some of the sights of Tasmania.

Happy Travelling!

Tasmania - Days 7 - 8

Day 7 - Cradle Mountain

This morning was overcast and a little damp as we returned to the national park for a couple of easy walks before our 24hr passes expired.  It had been forecast for snow during the night and as we drove into the national park we did see a couple of small patches along the side of the road.

We walked through a rainforest area which was just magical with all its variations of green and then found ourselves at these falls.

Pencil Pine Falls

Wallaby

The boardwalk through the forest

The boardwalk followed and then crossed the fast flowing stream which fed Pencil Pine Falls. We walked through emerald green foliage of the Enchanted Forest, past wombat holes and under pines.  Just as we were finishing our walk, we came face to face with a wombat crossing a little bridge.  He just ambled past us, almost brushing our legs, nibbled on some grass and disappeared under a bush.

 Wombat

Sadly, it was time to leave Cradle Mountain and continue our journey northwards.  Along the road we stopped at a lookout which looked back towards the mountains.  During the night it had indeed snowed as the mountains were snowcapped.

We continued on our way through countryside and forests and found ourselves at the small mining town of  Waratah.  Surprisingly, in the middle of town was a waterfall!

Waratah Falls

More driving along windy roads, spectacular views and a pretty walk along another river.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms

Coast view from Wynyard

Day 8 - Bass Strait

What a wild night!  It rained and blew a gale all night, but thankfully by breakfast the rain cleared although it remained overcast.  We followed the coast from Wynyard to Burnie where we stopped at the Makers Workshop.  Such an interesting place, where different crafts-people were crafting away, including a chap working with leather, a lady felting and another painting little scenes on silk.  I even got to try my hand at paper-making which was quite fascinating.

 Life sized figures created from paper

Bass Strait was grey and uninviting although there were two surfboarders who were obviously enjoying the wild conditions.  The coastline is quite rocky with stony beaches and the road followed it for a distance before turning inland again.  We stopped at Railston (known for topiaries), Sheffield (known for murals), Nook (because it sounded cute) and Nowhere Else (in the middle of nowhere).

Happy Travelling!

Tasmania - Days 5 - 6

Day 5 - Launceston

We woke to blue skies, perfect for wandering around the picturesque Cataract Gorge.

Suspension bridge across the gorge

Cataract Gorge

One of the locals

There are quite a number of peacocks that live in the scrub around the cafe here in the Gorge.  There are signs around "Do not feed the peacocks" but in reality, unless you guard your lunch, they will just help themselves to food straight off the table!

By early afternoon, it was time to leave Cataract Gorge and continue our journey to Cradle Mountain.  Oh, and it started raining again!

Day 6 - Cradle Mountain

Rain!  No surprises there.  After breakfast we wandered over to the gift shop and gallery filling in time and hoping the rain would clear.  Sure enough, it did and we headed off to the national park.

Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake

As the rain had stopped, we started the 2 - 3 hour walk around Dove Lake.  

Looking back towards the Boat House

Due to quite a bit of rain, the level of the lake had risen and the boardwalk in the photo was almost underwater.  The track just here was quite wet and I managed to put a foot wrong and ended up with a very soggy shoe!

This was a very pretty groundcover which looked like delicate lace.

There were numerous waterfalls cascading from the mountains due to the amount of rain.

 About a third of the way around the lake, the rain started again.  I soon discovered that my spray jacket was NOT waterproof and by the time we got back to the carpark, I was soaked to the skin and rather cold.  However, regardless of the weather, the walk around the lake is well worth it.  We waited for the shuttle bus and hopped out at Ronny Creek so we could have a look at Waldheim Chalet which was quite interesting.  We were so wet by then, a bit more rain wasn't going to make much difference.  We then waited for another shuttle back to the ranger's station, and drove back to the hotel for dry clothes and to warm up.

Come back tomorrow, but be sure to check the weather forecast first!   LOL!!!

Happy Travelling!

Tasmania - Days 3 - 4

Day 3 - Port Arthur

Beautiful weather to wander and explore the ruins of Port Arthur.  After a guided walk, we then boarded the boat over to Point Puer where the young boys were housed, supposedly to keep them away from the bad influences of the criminal men.  Corruption was everywhere though, and children as young as 7 or 8 were transported for stealing bread or less.  Sadly it was a very hard existence for many.

Ruins

Kitchen store room on Point Puer

The Doctor's House

Travelling Bells

After dinner, we joined a candlelight ghost tour of the settlement.  We didn't see any ghosts, however it was a perfectly clear night and the milky way was magnificent!

Day 4 - Port Arthur to Launceston

In complete contrast to last night, this morning was pouring rain, so we left Port Arthur to explore further afield.

The Blowhole

Tasman Arch

Devil's Kitchen

Tessalated Pavement

Richmond Gaol

Cell in the women's section

Tough times - glad I wasn't Emma!

We arrived in Launceston after dark, found a hotel and settled in for a good night's sleep.

Happy Travelling!

Tasmania - Days 1 - 2

On the 27th April, my DH and I flew to Hobart for 10 days exploring the beautiful state of Tasmania.

Day 1 - Bruny Island

We took a cruise along the coastline of Bruny Island down into the Great Southern Ocean where we saw seals sunning themselves on some rocks called the Friars.

Coastline of Bruny Island

Coastline of Bruny Island

Seals sunning themselves at the Friars

Day 2 - Hobart

We set off on foot exploring this lovely city with its heritage buildings followed by a cruise along the Derwent River

Sculpture in Salamanca Square

Arthur Circus

Tasman Bridge over Derwent River

War Memorial

Next instalment - Port Arthur

Happy Travelling!

Being happy ...

Each month Craft Stamper magazine has a challenge

and this month the theme is 

'Anything Goes'

so I thought I would enter Winston as he is looking very dapper.

I firstly stamped him directly onto white card and again another two times onto more white card. The images were coloured with prismacolor pencils and fussy cut, firstly around the whole jacket and the bow tie, with a second fussy cut around the lapels, sleeves and bow tie.

Winston was coloured prior to the layers being adhered using dimensionals.

I thought the quote suited Winston quite well.  

Stamps 

Dylusions - The Fancy Four

- The Rights Words

Challenge

Craftstamper - Take-it-Make-it-Challenge

Happy Crafting!

Look what the postie delivered!

I should go on holidays more often .....

We arrived home on Saturday night after a lovely 10 days exploring Tasmania, and look what was waiting for me ...

my Stampotique order;

an ATC swap;

current edition of Craft Stamper magazine;

a letter from my English pen-friend along with freebies from magazines she had purchased.

Wow!  I should go away more often LOL!

I'll be back with more crafty goodness again soon.  

I just have to catch up with boring household stuff first - oh well, that's what happens when you escape from reality!

Happy Crafting!