Scenic Tasmania

For our final Aussie holiday we headed down to Tasmania and spent some time exploring the Tasman peninsula and the capital city of Hobart.  Tassie has a reputation for being the most natural state in Australia.  It's rugged coastline and convict past didn't disappoint.  Tasmania was gorgeous (But really, isn't all of Australia?  Like this, this and this).

Tourists are discouraged from driving after dark in Tasmania.  It didn't take long to see why. At least 4 dead wombats lined the Arthur highway on the drive from Hobart to Port Arthur.  So much marsupial carnage was difficult to see.  Luckily the kiddos were too busy poking each other in the backseat to notice the roadkill wonderland.

Our first stop was Port Arthur, the site of the convict settlement in the 1800s.  The landscape was beautiful, and the ruins were interesting.  When you see the historic site you just can't help but think about how miserable it must have been to be a convict at Port Arthur.  It was freezing, the wind was whipping and the rain pelted us.  I just kept thinking about how lucky the Sydney convicts were by comparison.

We spent the night in Port Arthur at the Stewarts bay Lodge.  I highly recommend the deluxe cabins there.  The setting and the views were so beautiful.  The cabins were modern and clean and spacious.  And dinner at their Taylors restaurant was the best meal we had in Tassie (Ok- it was the only decent meal we had in Tassie).   I wish we could have stayed more than one night!

After Port Arthur we did some exploring on the Tasman Peninsula.  The coastline is breathtaking.  We visited Devil's Kitchen, The Blowhole, Tesselated Pavement and the Tasman Arch.

We drove through Doo Town (which was so amusing it deserves its own post) and spent the night in a guest bungalow in Marion Bay.  The bungalow had a wall of glass looking out on the gorgeous Tasmanian coast.  It was so picturesque.  Freezing cold and pouring rain, but still picturesque!

Day three brought us to Hobart and the famous Salamanca Markets.  We handed each kid a $20 bill and set the free to shop for souvenirs.  The market was huge, with stalls hawking everything from gorgeous handmade Tassie wood products to cheap "made in China" plastic trucks and fresh produce.  Wanna guess what the little buddy bought?

 

That night our family had a private night tour at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.  We were the only people in the park, with a private guide who took us inside the enclosures.  Nothing quite like tossing a chunk of opossum leg to a hungry Tassie Devil. 

 We also fed this frogmouth and the little potoroos.

 

We all enjoyed getting up close with the animals at the sanctuary.  Although I did freak out a bit when a sugar glider plopped down on the face of my sleeping baby.  That was a little too close for comfort for me!

On our final day in Tasmania we headed up to the top of Mt Wellington where we found SNOW!  We were completely ill prepared but the kids didn't care.  They reveled in throwing snowballs at each other and the Little Princess (the only one with gloves!)  insisted on building a snowman while the rest on the family retreated to the warmth of the car. 

After all that snow play we stopped by the Cascade Brewery.

And then made our way to the MONA.

 

 There were some really cool things at the MONA, like the full size mack truck in a corridor, and the wall of paper panels seen above.  The kids loved the light bulbs that flicker in time with your heartbeat and the architecture of the building with its massive sandstone wall is impressive.  But there were also some really disturbing things at the MONA.  And much of the content is totally inappropriate for kids.  A staff member was stationed outside the most objectionable exhibits so they were easy to avoid.  But when we got out of the lift on level 2 and found ourselves staring at a wall of plaster cast vaginas we realized the MONA might not be the best place for our inquisitive little children.   So we quickly headed back outside to the expansive grounds and watched them run around with these giant bean bags.  (Which I think are intended to be used by adults as they relax and sip wine).

We loved Tasmania.  Even with the road kill, the freezing rain, the creepy art and the lack of decent dining options, it was an amazing holiday.   It was rural and green and rugged and simply stunning.  Tasmania really is like no place else on earth- and I'm so glad I got to see it.

If you made it all the way through this incredibly long post and are still reading, please take a moment and vote for me over at Circle of Moms.  
It only takes 2 clicks and you'll make my day. 

Defying Death on Holiday

Did you know there are a ridiculous number of things in Australia that can kill you?  Six of the ten deadliest snakes in the world are found here.  If the great white sharks don't get you, the box jellyfish might.  Look out for the giant salt water crocs, too.  Even the humble little platypus produces one of the most excruciating venoms known to man.  But perhaps the most frightening of all are the deadly spiders.

The problem with spiders is they can sneak up on you- any time, any place.   No warning, no sounds, no notice. 

This is scary enough when the sneaky arachnid is a (relatively) harmless huntsman.  We've had our share of those to deal with over the past 2 years.  But last week, in the midst of our farmstay holiday, I had an encounter with a real honest to goodness deadly Australian icon- the dreaded Sydney Funnel Web Spider.

I was in the lodge, minding my own business early in the morning.  I opened the curtains near the exterior door and that's when I spotted him.   I ran out to find a broom or something to shoo him away- leaving my frightened four year old whimpering on his bunk (bad mommy)!

My dear friend raced in with some bug spray and zapped him with a 30 second spray that gave her a raging headache for the day but barely stunned the creepy killer.

Finally, we located a broom and I whacked him and brushed him out of the room.  Even after all that, he was still moving around!  In the end, I had to stomp him.  It wasn't pretty- but a mother will do almost anything to save her child.

Everyone got a good look at him and we all agreed it was definitely a funnel web.  Surprisingly, I was too frightened and freaked out to grab my camera and take his picture, but he looked exactly like this:

After the whole incident was over I felt I had made it through some sort of Aussie rite of passage.  I survived an encounter with one of the world's deadliest creatures and went on with enjoying our holiday.  I feel almost as Australian as the crocodile hunter.

Jervis Bay

Last weekend we took a family road trip down the south coast of NSW to a beautiful area known as Jervis Bay.  It's about 200 km (125 miles) from Sydney.  All the brochures state it is an easy 2.5 hour drive.  I guess they mean it is 2.5 hours if you have only adults in the car and you leave at 11:15 am on a Tuesday.  Friday afternoon with three kids makes the trip a lot longer.  About twice as long in fact.  But, after 5 hours in the car, we arrived at this lovely holiday apartment in the town of Vincentia.

There is always a flurry of excitement when we arrive at our destination.  The kids run around, check out their room, open all the cupboards, explore the place and, in general, send me into a panic that something will be broken before we even unload the car. 

Luckily, no knick-knacks were harmed on this holiday!

We were up bright and early Saturday morning and set off to explore the town of Huskisson.  We had an uninspired breakfast at the Husky Bakery- which is only worth mentioning because they had an actual McDonald's playplace in the back of the cafe.


We had just enough time to book a dolphin watch cruise on The Extreme.  We thought the fast 1.5 hour trip would be perfect for the kids.  So we headed to the dock, armed with motion sickness tablets and armbands for the Little Princess.  We were all amazed to see large pods of dolphins jumping and swimming right next to the boat.  Of course, the dolphin watching was overshadowed a bit by the melt down and near panic attack suffered by the Little Princess.  She completely lost the plot (as they say here) and was terrified by the boat ride.  Afterward I asked her if it was all worth it to see the dolphins up close.  Her reply was a resounding, "NO!"  Oh well, I thought it was thrilling.

Jervis Bay is known for it's gorgeous beaches.  Hyams Beach claims to have the whitest sand in the world.  It is nearly pure silica and squeaks when you walk on it. 

The next day we took some time to explore Booderee National Park.  We bushwalked to Green Patch via the Rock Platform and saw lots of Neptune's Necklace in the tide pools.  The views were stunning (Would you expect anything else?  This is Australia!)


We also spent some time at beautiful Murray's Beach.  We saw more dolphins and even a stingray swimming very close to shore.  The water was absolutely crystal clear and still warm even though it is early Autumn.  It was a perfect place to spend the afternoon.  None of us wanted to leave.

But, as the weekend drew to a close we had to load up and head back to Sydney.  I wish we could go back during whale watching season, but I'm afraid that won't happen.  Too many places to see and, sadly, not enough time.

Jenolan Caves

At the end of January we spent a beautiful weekend up at the Jenolan Caves.  It is such an easy and fun getaway from Sydney.  We stayed in the Jenolan Cabins, which were cosy and in such a picturesque spot. 

 Bright red parrots and several wallabies were our neighbors for the weekend.  The kids loved running around the rolling green hillsides.  I was a little nervous about the "eco toilets" but am happy to report that they were not at all unpleasant.  

The only good thing about having a little baby who wakes up before the sun is that you get to see some gorgeous sunrises. 



The landscape in this part of the Blue Mountains is so pretty.

Of course the reason we made the trip was to see the Jenolan Caves.  We took guided tours of two different caves.  The temperature inside was a cool 13 degrees (c).  We weren't prepared for that!  The kids were fascinated by the giant stalactites and stalagmites. 

 

The Jenolan Caves were magical and we had such a great weekend up there.  Looking forward to many more weekend getaways during our final months in Australia.  So much gorgeous country to see here.

Jewel Bugs

While hunting for spiders in the garden today, the kids discovered these:

Anyone know what they are?

The little buddy proclaimed they were "blue back spiders".  I think these little beetles look like jewels.  Such amazing colours!  I've never seen anything like them before.

NZ Highlights

We had such a lovely holiday in New Zealand.  Here are a few of our favourite things.

 Getting blown away in Auckland.

 The amazing view of Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables from our villa at the Heritage Queenstown.

 Seeing real kiwis at the wildlife sanctuary.

 Riding the gondola up over Queenstown.

 The Luge runs at the top of the gondola.

 TSS Earnslaw to the Walter Peak high country farm.

 Panning for gold in Arrowtown.

Beautiful, beautiful Queenstown. 

Bird War

I am declaring an all out war on Mynah birds. They don't belong here. They are chasing all the beautiful native Australian birds away and they are covering my balcony with poo at an alarming pace. So far I've limited my attacks to spraying them with water bottles and sending my three year old out to scare them off with his ferocious roar. But I'm getting ready to take things to another level. Consider this a warning- you awful Mynah birds.

Hello Hamo

Last week we spent 5 glorious days on Hamilton Island in tropical North Queensland. Hamilton Island is part of the chain known as the Whitsunday Islands. With Hawaii like weather, proximity to The Great Barrier Reef, amazing white sand beaches and stunning views, it is a tropical paradise and the perfect place for a family holiday.

We stayed in a private apartment on the resort side of the island overlooking Catseye Beach. The best thing about the apartment was that it came complete with its own golf buggy- the primary mode of transportation on the island. We drove the buggy everywhere- just because it was so much fun. My dare devil husband even thrilled the kiddos with a few buggy "donuts" in the car park. I was particularly happy that I didn't have to trudge up all the island's hills in my enlarged condition. Waddling from the buggy to the pool was enough for me!


While there we took a full day boat tour with H2OSportz called the Triple Treat. It really was a treat for the whole family. We boarded their boat, The Reef Spirit, and set out for a fun filled day. Our first stop was at the coral reef for snorkeling. We saw many colourful fish and of course all variety of beautiful coral. A few lucky people even spotted some sea turtles. The Little Princess was a pro at snorkeling, staying in the water the whole time. The Little Buddy got geared up and floated around a little with Dad before heading back to the boat with me. He looked so cute in that wetsuit- I can just picture him 10 years from now heading out to surf in a similar get up.


Our second stop was at the unbelievable Whitehaven Beach. The sand on this beach is 95% pure silica and stretches for over 5 km. The sand was so fine it felt like flour and actually squeaked when we walked on it. The kids had fun digging around and the Little Buddy had a chance to show off his newly acquired cricket skills.





Our third "treat" of the day was a stop at Tongue Bay and a short bushwalk to the lookout over Hill Inlet. Our guide was quite knowledgeable and pointed out many interesting things along the way, including the green ants which she encouraged us to taste stating that their "bums" taste like honey and lime. We passed on the ant bums, and headed to the lookout point where we were amazed at the gorgeous sand formations and the crystal blue water at Hill Inlet.


The rest of our trip was spent lounging around at the pool and enjoying the tropical weather. We rented little catamarans one day and spent some time touring the island in our buggy. One morning the kids went to the Clownfish Club (which they LOVED) and my sweetheart and I took a scenic seaplane ride over the Great Barrier Reef. Seeing the reef from the air was breathtaking! You really get a different perspective when you see it from above. My favorite bit was Heart Reef, the most photographed part of the Great Barrier Reef. Isn't it lovely? We also cruised over Hayman Island, Hamilton Island, Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet. The views from the air were absolutely stunning and I am so glad we did the air tour.




We also had some wildlife encounters while on the island. The rainbow lorikeets and cockatoos were everywhere- and pretty persistent when it came to snatching food. I nearly had a heart attack when a beautiful little lorikeet landed on my knee one evening. (I hate birds!). Why is it that animals always flock to the one person in the group who does not want to be near them? We also had several visits from creepy little opossums each evening. They were definitely used to seeing people and got a little too close for my comfort!


Like all good vacations, the end came too soon. We were all sad to say goodbye to the beautiful weather and the relaxing atmosphere. Too bad we couldn't bring some of that Queensland sunshine back with us. It's been raining buckets in Sydney!