Home Sweet Home

And so our adventures (of the camping variety) have come to an end for the time being. We are really happy to be home and enjoy reflecting on the wonderful times we had over the past three months.

At the moment we are busy setting up the house again and making pregnancy related appointments etc among other things.

However this is not the end of the blog. We will continue to from time to time upload photos, and particularly around the end of July, will include all the details of our new arrival!

Can't wait to see you all in person over the next little bit!

Dave, Ingrid and Sara

The rest of the story so far

And so that brings us to our last day in Tasmania. As we were in Devonport we decided to head back over to the Tamar Valley and revisit our favourite fish and chip shop, as well as take do the Beaconsfield Mine museum, which was very interactive and interesting!

We also had a lovely walk around the lovely Cataract George in Launcestion, before heading back to Devonport.

Cataract George

The trip back on the boat, while a lot rougher was fine! No one was sick though Sara did not sleep well at all.

In Melbourne we stayed with Hans and Natasha again, and had a lovely time there! It was really lovely to attend church with them on the Sunday, see Eric in all his cuteness and watch the two kids having fun playing together! We took advantage of a few factory bargains and just chilled out a lot, not to mention the great suduko challenge!

Another highlight was catching up with Veronica and David Kite (nee Beach), and enjoying a lovely meal with them!

Now we are having fun catching up with Erica, Jay and the family here in Mount Beauty. The kids are having a blast playing together, particularly Sara and Gypsy. We will stay here for the weekend before heading for home on Monday! (We will probably take 2 days on the way home!)

Sara and Gypsy making some beats

Until then, I miss you all sooooooooo much!

Ingrid, Dave and Sara

More on our Tasmanian Adventures

From Hobart we traveled to Waterloo, in the Huon Valley, where we stayed with Paul and Samantha Verne (and their children, Evelyn, Samuel, Thomas, Lucy and Grace). This was also a lovely time!Sara enjoyed the attention lavished on her by all the children, although overwhelmed a little at times. While there we did the Tahune Air walk (a walk through the tree tops), had a look at the Hartz national park’s gorgeous and very different alpine scenery and foliage, and took a trip down to Cockle Creek (the most southern part) as well as making time for a couple of other short walks along the way. We also spent time just relaxing and catching up as well as learning more about apples at an orchard nearby. David also took the opportunity to try his hand at wood turning, making a beautiful bowl out of Tasmanian Blackwood!

From here we traveled to Lake St Claire National Park, where we spent a VERY cold night! The next morning we did a lovely walk in the park, which boasts Australia’s deepest lake.

In the afternoon we drove along the very beautiful, but steep road towards Queenstown. Being unimpressed on arrival in Queenstown, we decided to press on towards Strahn, which was just lovely.

The next morning we had a nice drive around Maquarie Heads, before church (at 2pm). On the beach we were sad to see two decomposing whale carcases, but the views of the ocean and cute lighthouses was beautiful!

At church we were welcomed very warmly, by the little Anglican congregation. Sara was a particular hit with all the elderly ladies there! In the evening we attended a play in the town that comically portrayed the true story of a convict escape from Sarah Island. It was excellent; Dave even played a role in it, which he did very well. Sara waved at him from her seat and clapped at his funny hat!

On the Monday morning we got up early and had breakfast out (yum!) before going on a cruise of the harbour. It included a very interesting tour of Sarah Island (old convict prison), a great walk in the rain forest at Heritage Landing where we learnt more about various Tasmanian trees, in particular Huon pine and finished off at a Timber yard, where we learnt more. We also saw and learnt about some Atlantic Salmon fish farms, learnt interesting facts about the harbour and watched a large pod of dolphins, including a baby frolicking together. It was a lovely day!

The next morning we headed north towards Devonport. We took in a look at Wynyard and both Table Cape and Sister’s beach near Rocky Cape.

Having fun at Sister's Beach

We had planned to stay in a little (free) campsite in a town outside of Devonport, but after we eventually got ourselves un-lost, we decided not to stay there as we could see some sort of fire in the forest all around. We decided to head for a caravan park on the map, in another town, which turn out to be very out of the way, on our arrival there we were told that unfortunately they only did cabin accommodation over the non-peak season. Arghhh! By this time it was about 6.30 and very dark out and Sara was getting hungry and grumpy. We ended up having a quick meal at McDonald's, before pulling into a local caravan park, where we could finally set up and head for bed. Our last night in Tasmania - What a drama!

Well I am really sorry but I have to go now, so I will leave you there!

Love you lots and will see you all really soon!

Dave, Ingrid and Sara

Updating on our time in Tasmania

Well here we are back on the mainland, staying a few days in Melbourne with Hans and Natasha again.

So now I suppose it is time to catch up on all that we have been up to since we last really filled you in.

Gimme a Hug!

Now where were we? Oh yes in Coles Bay and about to head off to Swansea for church...

Well on the Sunday we drove down to Swansea, but unfortunaly missed church as the service there was at 9. We decided to hold our own time of worship non-the-less, at a pretty church (that didn't look like it was used anymore) in Cranbrook we had seen on the way. This was a special time for us! After 'church' we went to a nearby berry farm where we enjoyed the most decidant and delicious desserts. We also had a look around in Swansea. that evening we had a drink at the Freycinet lodge, where Sara enjoyed a frothy babycino (mostly all over her face) and we didn't have the camera! Arghhh!

Cherry Tree hill

On our last day in Coles bay everyone except for Ingrid took on the mountinous challenge of climbing Mt. Amos. The veiw was worth all the hard work! Ingrid had relaxing morning in and very much enjoyed the serenity! In the afternoon Ingrid and David had look around sleepybay!

We then travelled down to Port Arthur, checking out the beautiful and very old township of Ross on the way and also a quick look around at Richmond. It was nice to be ‘at home’ again in the camper trailer which we hadn’t stayed in for nearly 2 weeks. Ingrid noticed it was a little harder to get up on the bed though.

The next day we all were disappointed with the VERY wet weather! We ventured out to a Wildlife park to see Tasmanian Devil and other animals. The downpour became so great we settled for hot chocolates in the café and decided to come back later. In the afternoon the weather was much nicer as we checked out the quirky sayings on ‘Doo town’ posted on each house and the blowhole there. We also had a look around in Nubeena and finished the devil park.
On the Thursday we spent the day exploring the historic site of Port Arthur, where the convict settlement had been. This was a very intriguing look into a part of our history that we hadn’t known that much about before. The ruins and buildings were amazing as was the historic information that went with them. At the end of the day we were all exhausted though, but managed to find the energy to go out for a yummy meal!

On our last day with Sue and Andrew, Ingrid was unfortunately unwell (we think it was gastro, but at first thought oh no morning sickness again!!) We had a look at the natural formations near Eaglehawk Neck, the Devil’s Kitchen and the Tessellated Pavement before we bade our farewells. In the afternoon we travelled out to Fortiscue Bay in the National Park there and had a little look around there.

We really enjoyed our time with the Ellis family, taking in gorgeous Tasmania together, catching up, watching our children play together and lots of yummy meals together! We parciulary enjoyed Sara's affection for Nathaniel, and Nathaniel's affection for Dave's beard! It was amazing to see how big the little man had grown over the months since we were in Adelaide and all the exciting new things he was doing!

Nathaniel and Dave horsing around

As we travelled back to Hobart the next day, we stopped a Sorell Fruit farm, where we picked our own Raspberries (yum!), had another look around Richmond and took in the view from the look out at Mt Rummy. In Hobart we again stayed with the Thompson family, attending church with them on the Sunday. In the afternoon we decided to head out to Russel falls at Mt. Field. Alex came along and Dave and Alex enjoyed a vigorous autumn leaf battle after the gorgeous walk.

Ingrid and Chrystal

The next morning Ingrid got up early for a lovely girly breakfast with Chrystal, before she went to work! We then packed up and travelled down into the Huon Valley, where we stayed with Paul and Sam Verne and kids in Waterloo.

Well I think that is enough for this blog, I will update the last week in Tasmania in the next few days!

Look forward to seeing you all again soon!

Dave, Ingrid and Sara