TOO MANY COOKS AND NOT ENOUGH GNOMES

Go On - Paint Me - I Dare You!!

Well, good morning world! I write this missive from a cool, breezy and very overcast Swansea. Yes, we have finally left the Eagle’s Nest and made our way east. Before I regale you with tales of Swansea however, I feel it only right that we farewell Kingston – I just know you are all keen to hear the final episode of our stay there.
Our second stint at Kingston covered three pretty easy over weeks – having ticked all of our boxes there we simply wandered around the area enjoying the local atmosphere. One negative come positive was that our satellite system ceased working. DD is not sure what exactly the cause of the demise was. He did have it set up and working well but one of the resident possums knocked the whole thing over (or possibly the wind) and he just could not get it going again. He assumed eventually that as that system was slotted to cease operation this year, it had finally passed its ‘use by date’. Incidentally the only reason we had the system up and running there was so we could watch our beloved footy. Unlike WA, Tassie seems to show very little AFL on free to air telly. We have now missed two of our own games one of which we went down badly in – perhaps it was not a bad thing we couldn’t watch it!
Due to the death of our old system DD decided to purchase a new VAST system – this had been our plan for some time. Enthusiastically we ventured down to Hobart town and purchased a brand new VAST system and equally enthusiastically we drove back up the mountain to install the new system. I was sat at my laptop tapping away and was vaguely aware of DD coming and going, coming – going, coming – going,..................! Daisy was going ballistic as every time DD left the house, she would charge madly down to the other end of the house and then madly back again – one of her many little games. This wonderful activity seemed to go on for a very long time – poor old Daisy must have been exhausted. The gloomy look on DD’s face worsened – when I finally asked the inevitable question, it evolved that the brand new system worked no better than the old one – that is not at all. Oh dear!


Was It Her?

 Back down the mountain we went and the bloke at the shop tested our system and found that it worked perfectly well – we (he) can only conclude that the problem was our location and that the abundance of trees combined with a very large mountain must have blocked the signal. We are yet to test the system here and from the noises DD is making I rather think he is not going to go there. Our wonderful team play this Friday night we think and so the game should be broadcast on free to air – I don’t think the lad is prepared to try again just in case he finds he has lost his touch completely. Poor old DD – he has for some time been the ‘park expert’ on setting up satellite systems – the ‘go to’ bloke for all the other campers – it is not easy now to find that he may have lost his touch.

Guarding the Sat Dish (against possums)

One plus for me was that the VAST shop was directly opposite an art supply shop – marvellous! I went in to have a squiz and came out with a small set of inks – oh the joy! I had to leave my inks at home as they are just too difficult and heavy to carry with us. I immediately sat down to do a couple of quick inks and did produce one that was passable – not my best work, but not too shabby. I donated this one to Lee but sadly forgot to get DD to photograph it so cannot show it to you. The second ink I tried to do, is still in an incomplete state in my folder – the air was at the end simply too cold and wet and the ink just would not dry – no, not even with a hair dryer! I do now have a small supply of inks with me and so perhaps may at some time get the opportunity to finish the second one.
Inking and painting leads me to the gnomes. When Lee was away the first time, I tried to get into my painting and failed miserably – I had my paints out tho’ and was determined to paint something. I noticed that she had a few very sad looking gnomes lazing around the house and asked if I could restore them to their former glory – she was only too happy for me to do a ‘make-over’ on her little folk – ultimately joining the fun herself. We managed to turn a very sad little group into a dazzling bunch of happy characters. We enjoyed the experience so much that we sought out other wee folk to ‘fix’. We found that strangely, sad gnomes were in short supply. Lee’s friend Dave did contribute one very gloomy looking fellow (Doc) who had become separated from his head at some stage – he is now gloriously back intact and sporting brand new clothes. We have now become avid gnome spotters and look for the little men everywhere. We are even considering starting up our own small enterprise doing ‘make-overs’ on gnomes and expect to sport of sign of some sort, asking folk to ‘bring us their little folk’ – you never know, we could be onto something. The really funny thing was that after we had restored all Lee’s gnomes, I saw that at the Chelsea Flower Show this year, the little folk have been allowed back in after a one hundred year banishment. It seems that they were banished due to being considered too tacky – now why on earth would anyone think that? Even more curious was the fact that they had a competition of sorts, revolving around the painting and re-decorating of the gnomes – obviously I am very much in touch with world affairs on some subliminal level to have intuited all of this way down in Tasmania!


Before & During the Makeover



Typical Crows Supporter?!

Now, I’m sure that you would like to know how our heroine (Lee) fared on her trip across the Nullarbor with the daughter and the two ferals. Well, I have to tell you our girl and her girl did amazingly well. Before leaving Perth, they had to arrange for the beautiful daughter, Jeddah or Jeds for short, to leave work, sub-let her unit and get rid of a significant amount of accumulated ‘stuff’. As Jeddah had been unwell they had, initially at least, to take things sort of slowly. Lee is as I may have mentioned, more than slightly manic – this was a good thing this time as she managed to get Jeds organised in very short time indeed. As Jed’s health improved she put her own somewhat manic energy into the project and these two amazing women managed to accomplish all of this within 9 days!! The Real Estate people didn’t make it any easier for them (as is their want) and the antics of a couple of 6 months old kittens who were not supposed to be there made things even more challenging.

Doc (on the right) fully restored with his new mates.

Jeddah’s old 4 door 4wd ute had some work done on it during Lee’s first visit and was now loaded up with all Jed’s ‘stuff’ in preparation for the trip across. The ‘ferals’ were installed on the back seat in a very large share cage and our ladies were ready to rock and roll. They were all set up with camping gear just in case the ute decided to lie down and die somewhere. They managed to leave Perth around midday on the Friday and reached Southern Cross that evening. They stayed at some units behind the pub and found out very early in the piece that these places charge like wounded bulls for tucker. Deciding against eating a $40 steak for tea, they opted to share a garlic bread and some liquid libations and after a lively evening packed it in. The ferals were smuggled in and out of the units (and all the other units on the way across) and the girls hit the road again, early if not bright the next morning. The second night was at Balladonia where they made friends with a bunch of other travellers – by now the ladies had decided this on the road stuff was a bit of fun and were enjoying the experience. We spoke to them on the phone that night and were told that Jeds was off searching for a BBQ on which to cook their snags and that all was reasonably right with the world.
The next night I spoke to a slightly unenthusiastic Lee on the phone – they were at Eucla and as she spoke to me she could see one of the ferals hanging off the top of the curtains in their overnight unit. Hmmm, considering they were (the ferals) incognito this was not necessarily wonderful! At that stage Lee, who suffers from ‘nurses back’ was in some pain and they planned to spend the next day quietly enjoying the pleasures of Eucla before re-commencing their journey one day hence. Needless to say that didn’t happen – it seems the stress of trying to keep the ferals quiet in the unit was just too much to bear. You need to understand here that the two small cats were confined to their cage all and every day and so when they were released in the evenings it was time to play and play they did all bloody night!!! Lee was not getting much sleep – Jeds with the complacency of youth of course, was able to get some shut eye despite the antics of the ferals.
Play time for one of the kittens was somewhat curtailed the next morning when it fell into the toilet!! Jeddah was at the basin, doing her makeup and hair when she heard a strange and panicky sort of noise – one of the kittens, investigating the toilet bowl, as some cats tend to do, had overbalanced and fallen in – unable to get a purchase on the enamel bowl it was frantically doing circles inside the bowl trying to scrabble its way out. A wet and unhappy cat was finally extricated from the loo – for those of you with a lurid turn of mind, yes – the loo had been flushed previously and so it was not as bad as it could have been and no, Jeds did not try to flush the loo with the cat contained therein – I know a few of you blokes particularly would have been hard pressed not to push that button!!
The next night found the girls at Ceduna where they did stay for a couple of nights, attempting to get a bit of a rest. From Ceduna to Gawler they travelled and we finally received an SMS on Thursday at around midday advising us that they were booked on the Spirit that evening and were just leaving Gawler!!! We were somewhat perturbed and confused by this message, but it evolved that there had been a delay in the passage of the SMS which had been sent that morning.
So............it was at around 10.30 the next morning the sound of a motor roaring and horn blasting and the sight of a white and dusty ute racing up the mountain alerted me to the fact that any peace I may have been enjoying was about to be totally shattered! The trip across the Straight had been uneventful, albeit rough with 4 metre swell and Jeds suffering from sea-sickness. It seems a completely unmerciful mother kept directing her attention to the port holes where on level 8, the waves were crashing – unkind I would have thought!
So, mother, daughter and ferals all arrived home in one piece. The trusty ute which I think should be named The White Elephant did them proud. They really only had two problems, the first was of their own creation – they were approached by a trusty caravanner by the name of Eddy somewhere on the crossing – Eddy informed them they were dropping copious quantities of oil – it evolved that they had fallen into the trap, in their enthusiasm not to run out of oil, of over-filling the oil and it was predictably all running out. The wonderful bloke, Eddy, who said he used to be a mechanic, drained the oil for them and they were fine. This was probably their first encounter with one of ‘us’ – it is good to know that this bloke Eddy did the right thing and upheld the honour of all caravanners everywhere.

The only other real problem and it was not a serious one was that they were unable to attach their tarp sufficiently tight enough to stop it from bellowing out behind them in true parachute style. The parachute possibly added to their copious consumption of fuel a little as did the weight of all Jed’s stuff, but all in all it worked quite well.
So they were home! This was my first chance to really meet the beautiful daughter Jeddah – what a stunner; very much like her mother would have been at a similar age I suspect! Imagine a tall willowy blonde with incredible skin, a sparkling and effervescent personality and a slightly ethereal beauty – now you have Jeddah. Within 5 minutes of their arrival a purple car catapulted up the driveway at oh, say the speed of light, and out tumbled the ecstatic boyfriend straight into the outstretched arms of his darling. So sweet! So sweet too, the antics of the Darling Daisy when she spotted not only her mother but her sister getting out of the White Elephant – I missed the moment sadly, but the old girl nearly turned herself inside out getting out of Zed and into Jeddah’s arms.
The ferals were duly installed into Jeddah’s stand alone studio where Bugsy prowled watching them from outside. In fact, Bugs spent a considerable amount of time during the next couple of days, prowling outside of that window, inspecting the two young animals on the other side of the glass. I believe that the ferals have now been released from their captivity and one of them has latched onto poor old Daisy, following her everywhere – I doubt the old girl really wants to be step-mum to a young inquisitive puss, but it sounds like she is going to have no choice.

Welcoming Committee

The girls arrived Friday and as promised I ‘did’ dinner that night, after filling everyone up on party pies during the afternoon – needless to say in my own inimitable style, I over-fed everyone to some considerable extent. The menu? Marinated Lamb Shoulder served with good old French Onion Potatoes and a Special Stephanie Tossed Salad followed by a rather yummy but super rich Chocolate Brownie style desert with hot chocolate sauce, ice-cream and cream. Hmmm, all very nice but oh boy – way too much. Sometime during the meal, Lee mentioned that she intended to provide dinner the following evening. Great, that should be much better – surely Lee would be much more sensible than yours truly and cut back on the tucker a little. Ummm,..... well first came lunch – we both provided lunch and as the kids decided to bugger off on their own affairs, 3 grown up people who should have known better sat down to eat left over party pies and sausage rolls, hot chips, ham and pickles and soft white buns. Great! Then it was time for tea – Lee went to town and baked a large roast of pork with all the accompaniments and oodles of crunchy crackling. She served the roast with her own signature dish of crispy crunchy baked vegetables (which require seemingly hours of standing over a frypan turning the little darlings) – it was all absolutely delicious of course. Aaron did mention something during the meal about consuming so much the previous evening that his tummy didn’t feel normal until around 4 in the morning and yet here he was again (hogging all the crackling I might add) back on the tooth. We followed this amazing repast with the remainder of the chocolate brownie stuff and yes, we were stuffed – totally. Of course we had to wash it all down with a goodly quantity of good quality white!

Glorious Day From The Mountain

As I waddled out the next morning to share a morning cuppa with Lee – she once again extended the invitation to stay a little longer. I again declined her kind offer, but this time in some desperation. I pointed out to her, that should we stay any longer we would doubtless kill all of us by over provision of food. It was like duelling cooks! There is some compulsion in women of our generation to feed, feed, feed! I think it was the way we were brought up – we were all taught, by our own mothers usually, that one must make sure that everyone is stuffed with food – it was after all supposed to be the way to a man’s heart! We now know in a more enlightened world that it usually ends up instead, in stopping a man’s heart!
So my friends, we are gone from Kingston and their world is slowly returning to normal – mind you I doubt with those two zany females that it will ever really be normal – they would never be sooooo boring. We are back in our van and re-acquainting ourselves with caravan life. It is quite strange, as we have really been out of this lifestyle for around 6 weeks – the longest stretch since we started our first journey some 3 and a half years ago – it actually feels both odd and wonderful. We do enjoy our little space in Jezzy but we have in that short space of time forgotten, albeit temporarily, where things are and how things work. It is a strange and complex dance we do in the van keeping everything in its place whilst maintaining good relations with each other and some vestige of sanity.

Next time I will tell you all about Swansea and surrounds but until then be kind to each other and be proud of who you are – you are unique and wonderful! Steph.

No - I didn't paint this one!

I thought for a change, you might like a recipe or two, the first of these is my Special Salad which consists of nothing more that tossing washed baby cos and baby spinach leaves together with fetta, fried prosciutto, marinated stuffed olives, sun dried tomatoes, Spanish onion sliced ever so thinly and thin slivers of yellow capsicum. You don’t need to dress this salad as the olives and tomatoes do the job for you.

The following desert recipe was sourced from the Woolworths Good Taste magazine and having made it I can vouch for its rich delish taste.

CHOC-CARAMEL BROWNIE PUDDING & HOT FUDGE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

• Melted butter to grease

• 200g pkt dark cooking chocolate, coarsely chopped

• 200g butter, chopped

• 3 eggs

• 2 egg yolks

• 279g (1 ¼ cups) caster sugar

• 115g (3/4 cup plain flour)

• 35g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder, sifted.

• 200g pkt Arnott’s Caramel Crowns (in the chocolate biscuit section)

• Vanilla Ice-cream, to serve

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

200g dark chocolate, finely chopped

250g (1 cup) thickened cream

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160c. Brush a 16 x 26cm base measurement slice pan with melted butter. Line with baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang.

2. Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until melted and smooth. (GIRLS I SIMPLY MELTED THIS IN THE MICROWAVE!) Set aside to cool slightly. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks in a jug until combined. Add to the chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the sugar, flour and cocoa powder.

4. Pour half the mixture into the lined pan. Place the biscuits on top of the mixture, spacing evenly and pressing down slightly into the mixture. Pour over the remaining chocolate mixture and gently spread to cover the biscuits. Smooth the surface.

5. Bake for 40 minutes or until crumbs cling to a skewer inserted into the centre. Set aside to cool slightly.

6. To make the hot fudge sauce, place the chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook stirring for 5 minutes until smooth.

7. Cut brownie into pieces –serve with ice-cream and hot fudge sauce.

FREEZING TIP

To freeze brownies, wrap in 2 layers of plastic wrap. Defrost at room temp and cook in the microwave for 30 secs or until warmed thru’.

FROM THE EAGLE'S NEST

Eagle's Nest

Well, hello – sorry it has been a little while since I talked to you. I’m told that a certain cat and dog stepped in and had a chat since my last blog – seems that really nonplussed many of you – never mind, I’m back in business now.

We are back in Kingston – yes I know this was not the plan, but our hostess Lee had to shoot back to Perth unexpectedly and we volunteered to step once more into the breach. Lee will be driving back, with her daughter and two 6 month old kittens, known broadly as The Ferals – the vehicle of choice is her daughter’s somewhat dubious 4WD ute – she is actually considering camping along the way! We expect to be greeting a dishevelled, disgruntled, disenchanted, distracted woman when she returns.

We did actually get as far north as Swansea and from the little we saw it looks absolutely wonderful. We will be returning there when we leave here so I’ll tell you all about it on our return.

We have completed our list of ‘to-do’s in this region, the last one being our return to Bruny Island – this time driving – I’ll deal with that shortly. The remainder of our stay here will probably be pretty ‘un-blog-worthy’ but we will see what pops up.

From the Deck

Before I tell you about Bruny – you might like to know a little about where we are now. Lee’s home is in the hills, bush really, (albeit only around 12 ks from Hobart) and is just a hop skip and jump away from Mt Wellington. The so called organ pipes on the mountain are very clearly visible from here – when the mountain is not wearing it’s fluffy ‘ hat’ that is. The house is a 2 story cedar character home – quaint from the outside and multi-levelled on the inside. The home reflects Lee’s personality and is warm, welcoming and somewhat eccentric. Lee and her husband Lloyd have travelled and lived in some exotic worlds and their home reflects their travels with its eclectic collection of curios. We certainly feel very much at home here (probably due to our own eccentricity). Due to the close proximity to the mountain, the weather here is inherently cold. The front deck benefits from the generally somewhat anaemic sunshine in the mornings as it faces east, from somewhere around 1.30 in the afternoon however, the home falls under the shadow of the mountain and temperatures start once again to plummet. I dare say in the summer it is perfect! Having said all that, mind you, today is just a glorious day – sunshine poured in here earlier, but now predictably at 2pm we are in the shadow of the mountain and the temperature is dropping away quite quickly.

'Organ Pipes' From the House

The home does have a wonderful large and very functional Pot Belly Stove (2 in fact) and DD is in his element every day lighting the fire – he is a fire bug from way back. He has had a small problem getting used to the fire and the ‘baffles’ inside the fire-place. Dare I say – in typical ‘man’ style, he completely ignored Lee’s instructions about the fire, believing of course, that a bloke would automatically know far more and far better than a mere woman. Needless to say, the baffles fell down at least 3 times during Lee’s first absence. A fair indication of the baffling problem was the copious mutterings, swearing and banging emanating from the lounge room from time to time. We (he) suffered burnt fingers – trying to replace baffles whilst still hot of course – and a big scar on his forehead where he head-butted the apparatus the other day. Did I ever mention his propensity for self-harm. DD has been sporting a fat lip these last few days from when he tried to bite the washing machine in the caravan – no, don’t ask me why – I’m just a woman and wouldn’t understand!

Being pretty much in the bush, the home is visited by an abundance of wild-life. The odd wallaby, wombat and echidna call in from time to time. A multitude of little pademelons come in daily to see what is to eat, a posse of possums peer thru’ the windows in the evenings, hoping for a hand-out and an abundance of bird-life enlivens the air and the air-waves. In fact, they used to be visited daily by a flock of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos until Lee’s husband took matters into his own hands and during Lee’s absence, installed a fake eagle and a network of wires on the deck to discourage these beautiful but destructive guests. The cockies, were, it seems, eating the decking. Not the first time I have heard of this mischief – obviously it doesn’t pay to encourage these characters.

A Member of the Posse

As you already know, the home also sports a rambunctious young cat and a darling old dog. I won’t bore you with their tales (tails?) again, suffice to say they are a delight and certainly bring back fond memories of sharing our home with our own dear departed critters. The cat’s antics in the morning are absolutely amazing and I do sport a myriad of cuts and scratches due to his very endearing exuberance. DD is not particularly enchanted with the cat’s efforts to wake us at 3am to play – it seems that Bugsy’s favourite tactic is to sit on DD’s head! Can’t understand why he is not thrilled!

The Dog, Daisy is a darling, her biggest thrill (apart from biting the cat) is to go in the car. Anytime we decide to go somewhere, we find Daisy firmly attached to the rear of the car waiting to be lifted into the back. Yes, I did say lifted – she is no small dog either – but she is old and arthritic – so DD, bless him, lifts her in and out of the car. He really is a good boy you know. You may have guessed from Daisy’s blog that she is a TV addict – I have never known another dog be so ‘into’ TV – she watches it avidly and gets particularly excited whenever animals of any kind appear on the screen. It’s quite sad really, she has so many routines that we just don’t understand and we feel like we are letting her down when we don’t perform to her expectations.

We still have a few little things we can do from here, so stand by for a couple of brief stories from the eagle’s nest. In the meantime tho’, we will content ourselves with the Bruny Island adventure – so sit back and enjoy the ride.

BACK TO BRUNY ISLAND

All Aboard!

The day dawned bright, fine and sunny but oh, so very, very chilly. As we left the eyrie we noted the white grass crisply sitting in the hollows and the white roofs of the surrounding homes. I don’t know what the temperature dropped to that morning, but it certainly was frosty. As we drove down to Kettering to board the ferry we could see deep white mists sitting in the valleys – the whole effect was quite stunning, but it meant that mittens and woollies ruled the day. Taking photos out of the moving vehicle was a different sort of pain.

From The Ferry

We opted to take the 9.30 ferry across to the island and arrived in good time at Kettering – there was absolutely no wind that morning and the marina was a picture with the abundance of boats and yachts moored there reflecting perfectly in the still dark waters. The cafe at the marina makes great coffee and we availed ourselves of a cup while we were waiting to board the ferry. There is something intrinsically wonderful about sipping a steaming hot coffee in the cold crisp morning air – especially whilst enjoying the visual pleasures of a picturesque marina. I have noticed that Tasmanian boat owners seem to prefer bright colours for their craft. Perhaps it is due to the predominantly muted hues of the sky and waters – whatever the reason, it makes for a rich and interesting tapestry of colours and shapes on the waterways.

I must be becoming accustomed to boarding these ferries etc as I didn’t so much as blink an eyelid when DD drove Zed onto the ferry – it all felt quite normal and safe. Once on board drivers and their passengers are free to leave their vehicles and wander around. Needless to say, no sooner had we boarded than DD vanished from sight. I finally found him, chatting, blokey style to another fellow – I tried to be the stalwart bride for a while, braving both the freezing air and the oh so scintillating conversation about tyres – but common sense prevailed and after taking the usual abundance of photos, I retired to the warm confines of Zed and spent the remainder of the brief 20 minute ride across in comparative comfort.

Beauty Spots Aplenty

Finally, my talkative bloke returned, somewhat blue around the gills, and we smoothly disembarked onto Bruny. The first matter to be dealt with, was a stop at Get Shucked. As you might have guessed, they are providers of oysters – not just any oysters, but absolutely delicious large fresh Bruny Island oysters – I would say they were the best I have ever tasted. From Get Shucked, we proceeded to drive thru’ the north part of the island, down over the narrow spit and all the way down to the southern- most tip where the lighthouse is situated.

Along The Way - Sad & Faded Memories Of A Bygone Era

Gulls By The Hundreds

We passed some amazing scenery along the way, one little bay particularly took my fancy and I could well imagine living a secluded beachcomber style of life there. Sadly, DD didn’t seem to share my enthusiasm for dropping out and so we continued southwards. The last time we saw that end of the island was from the jet boat – this was equally impressive from the land. The shore-line speaks quite clearly of grandeur. As I mentioned, there is a light-house on the southern most point of the island – the scenery from there was spectacular.

Stunning Coastal Scenery

The walk up to the lighthouse was testing for my knees. Why, I asked myself for perhaps the hundredth time, didn’t I have my knees fixed before travelling to Tasmania? Well, in truth, had we done that, it would have been another 6 – 12 months before we managed to get away and life being what it is, we didn’t want to take the chance of perhaps missing out on the trip altogether. So I complain loudly instead. Sorry! It is frustrating tho’ – because of the pain, I don’t exercise nearly as much as I should, and because I don’t exercise enough, I continue to increase my girth – because I continue to expand, the pain levels continue to increase exponentially – oh well, we all have our problems and as problems go, I know I could have so much worse. This house does conspire against me tho’ – firstly it is a very steep block and so the entire outdoor area is either steeply inclined or stepped, the decking is up and down stairs, the indoors is two story and split levelled, the couch is one of those oh so comfy soft things structured to be so very low to the ground and almost impossible for someone of my diminished capacity to get in and out of and then there is the bed!!! The bed is a wooden coffin structure with a mattress one size too small – when you wish to arise from the bed, one has to gather quite some momentum in order to avoid getting stuck on the rim and rocking painfully backwards and forwards on ones derriere! A glamorous and sexy look indeed – particularly if one is in a bit of a hurry to go to the ‘powder room’! Oh well, I’m sure it’s all good for me, and Lee did offer different and much more comfortable bedding arrangements, so I really only have myself to blame – but oh, my poor old bones!

Scenes of Granduer

Anyway, back to the southern end of Bruny, as I said, stunning coastline and totally picturesque – we were lucky enough to have a fine and clear day and so the visibility and photos were both very good. From the lighthouse, we travelled back to a lovely little picnic and camping spot and sat down to have a delicious repast of fresh oysters, along with our pre-packed picnic lunch. We were joined by a group of very friendly little birds who all clamoured for a titbit – we were, as usual happy to oblige. Although the picnic site was lovely, the breeze was totally lazy and we were compelled to eat quickly or freeze in the process.

A Little Feathered Friend Joined Us For Lunch

From our lunch site, we headed across to the eastern side of the island and up to the northern-most tip. The scenery continued to impress as we traversed the drier northern part of the island. Three thirty saw us embarking the ferry for the homewards journey. The ferry cost for a vehicle is $30 return trip - money well spent we felt.

A Dryer Climate On The North Of The Island - Still Beauty

Well, you will no doubt be pleased to know, that is it for this time around – so until next time, be kind to each other and good to yourselves. Stephanie

Quite A Climb

Coastal Splendour

KINGSTON CRITTERS

Hello, I’m Daisy Bates. I am a 12 year old black and white Border Collie and I’m beautiful – I am a really good girl, well............I’m usually a really good girl, it’s just that I hate that awful cat and even tho’ I try really hard, sometimes, I just can’t seem to help myself and I just have to have a taste! I try not to..., ah, well that is I try not to bite him when anyone is looking that is.

We, the awful cat and I, have been really missing our mum, Lee – she has gone away – I went in the big silver car with mum and her human friends, Doug and Steph and when we arrived at a big black space with lots of buildings and cars, mum climbed down out of the big silver car and I haven’t seen her since. It has been ages since she left and I have been so sad without her.

Oh, Doug and Steph have been looking after us OK, but it’s just not the same. They don’t seem to understand what I want when I bark at the TV – I just love the TV – I watch it every night and go absolutely ballistic when the DODO advertisements come on. Last night, S&D watched something about crocodiles and I just was so excited I nearly bit the TV – truly! I just jumped up and down yipping at those big crocs, I would love to get my teeth into one of them.

One day, when D&S could see that I was particularly sad and missing my mum, they put my favourite movie on the TV – BABE!!!!!!!!!!!................oh, wow.........that pig really gets me, but really, it’s that big hunk Max that really has me panting – don’t tell anyone tho’.

Thinking of Mum

D&S have tried really hard, they have taken me in the big silver car for some rides, and they talk to me lots and feed me really well. I am not allowed to sleep on their bed tho, and that rotten cat can – I am really peed off about it too, I can tell you. Steph usually lets me jump up on the bed for a little while in the morning so she can pet me and give me cuddles – the cat hates that and scrunches himself up into one corner of the bed and glares at me – one glorious morning just after mum had gone away, I was on the bed and the cat was doing his glare number on me, and before Steph knew what was happening, I lunged across the bed and bit him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Oh, glory, it was wonderful – trouble is, Steph was really cross with me (I didn’t know she liked the cat that much) and growled at me. If there is one thing I hate more than that cat, it is being in trouble – it took me days to get over it – even tho’ Steph was nice to me right away afterwards and gave me loads of pats and everything. After all is said and done, I am a good girl and thrive on praise.

I am really sorry I bit the cat!

After a couple of days, I was right as rain again but then I blotted my copybook again. You see, I have this little thing I do. Every evening when I see Steph preparing our meals, I rush into the bedroom and bite the cat – just to let him know that tea is ready you understand. I have to bite him ‘cause he is usually sound asleep and barking loudly in the house is frowned on – how else am I supposed to wake him? He doesn’t seem to mind, in fact, I think he would be upset if I missed waking him up and he missed out on his food.

Yesterday I had a big win – the cat was on the bed as usual and I was up there for my early morning cuddle – now I knew I wasn’t allowed to bite the bugger (‘scuse me) and Steph seemed to know what was on my mind cause she kept reminding me that I wasn’t allowed to “bite the cat”. Sod it! Then I had an epiphany (at least that’s what Steph called it) – the cat was at the end of the bed, I had to get off the bed somehow, why not walk all over the cat? Brilliant! What made it so very wonderful was that the bed is one of those old fashioned types with a timber frame – the cat was right at the end of the mattress and as I put my considerable weight down on his middle bits, he all but disappeared down the crack. You should have seen the look of panic on his face – it was priceless – it would even have been worth being growled at a little. Would you believe it tho’, when I glanced back to see if I was in trouble, Steph was laughing so hard she nearly fell out of the bed. Perhaps she doesn’t love that cat so much after all.

Me on the Bed, Cat on theFloor - Excellent!

I hope mum comes home soon – I am always allowed to sleep on her bed, even tho’ I have to climb a whole lot of stairs to get to her bedroom and my old bones don’t enjoy the climb much anymore. Of course, the cat gets to sleep with her too, but a girl has to put up with some strange bed-mates at times if she wants her comforts.

Nice to have had this chat with you – Daisy (or as Steph calls me, Crazy Daisy Bates).



Nice to Meet You - bye for now.


********************************************************************************

********************************************************************************

Has that dog gone yet? Great, Hi’ya, I’m Bugsy Malone, a superb and magnificent Maine Coon cat – don’t know if you have heard about my type of cat, but we come from the United States of America – heard someone say that we are the best thing to come out of the States yet! I’m only two years old and until around 4 months ago I was a ‘kennel cat’. I have only been living with Lee for a short time and until I came to live here, I had never been outdoors. I am told that although I am quite large for a house cat, I won’t reach my full size until I am around 5 years old – by then I will be much larger than the average moggie and will have a magnificent and long ‘ruff’ to match the rest of my long and shaggy coat.

So, Lee has gone and left Daisy and me with these strangers, Steph & Doug – well that’s OK, they treat me pretty well – oh, OK they spoil me rotten and what’s wrong with that?

Yes, I am allowed to sleep on their bed and that noisy dog is not – that’s exactly how it should be – I am going to tell Lee when she gets back from wherever she has gone – that dog belongs on the floor! Last night, just to really pee the dog off, I jumped off the bed for just a little while and moved into her bed on the floor while she slept on the cold timber. A cat has to do these things every so often just to show who is really boss. Of course, after her little trick this morning, she will have to put up with a few more of my lessons before she is off the hook.

She really does make my heart pump – I have to be on the watch out for her all the time – I just never know when she is going to rush up sink those big white teeth into me. As for this morning, well, I thought my last days had come. There I was, staying out of her stupid way, shouldn’t have been on the bed in the first place, when suddenly she gave me a really crafty look. I thought I was pretty right, cause I had heard Steph tell her she wasn’t allowed to bite me – cool! So what was in that empty head? Far out!!! She just plain ole’ walked all over me – she is no light-weight either. Her back foot sunk right into my flank and pushed me right down into the very small space between the mattress and the end of the bed – not only did it really hurt, but it frightened the shi – sorry, the heck out of me! She had the audacity to try and pretend she didn’t do it on purpose too. What really hurt tho’ was that Steph, who I was sure adored me, laughed like mad – bloody woman. Showed her this morning, had a big swipe at her hand and made a very satisfactory scratch on her, just to remind her that I am a cat and of course, not to be laughed at under any circumstances.

Bed Games are the Best!

Steph is cool, she makes me these really great toys and then every morning she plays with me for at least a half hour – on the bed of course. The dog hates it! I just love it. I’m sorry that I have accidentally hurt Steph a few times, I get so carried away chasing the bird/toy that I forget to pull up and pull in – sometimes I get her instead of the toy. She seems to handle it OK – she’s pretty cool. She understands about cats – reckons she has had a few in her life but now loves the birds too much to have another cat – go figure!? She seems pretty besotted with me at the moment tho. I chase these toys of hers and love to rush across the bed tumbling off one side to leap back ferociously and scramble across and fall off the other side before leaping back and doing aerial acrobatics catching the toy. I have an amazing workout which Steph says is the idea, as I am too tired to chase the wrens and pademelons for a little while afterwards and am pretty content just to eat and sleep for most of the day. The only problem I have with Steph is that she will not play my games in the middle of the night. It’s just so frustrating, I have tried just about everything to get her interested – like sitting pretty much on her head, pulling her hair and poking! Poking is the best fun – I just find a spot where I can get my very large paws under the blankets and start poking – it works best when I find a bit of exposed skin and keep just the tip of a claw out – to make sure she wakes up. For some reason, it doesn’t seem to work very well – in fact, she seems to get a tad upset – no figuring some people.

I am not allowed out at night and have to be indoors by 4pm every afternoon. That is so I cannot chase the pademelons. Every so often one of the silly things is still wandering around during the day – I just love stalking them – hope to hell I never catch one tho’ – absolutely no idea what I would do with it!

Silly Pademelon

I mean seriously, what would I do with it?

Did I tell you I had a really bad accident just before Lee left? No? Oh, it was shocking. Lee has a great big fire thing in the lounge room – I am a bit nervous around it as I had never seen a fire until just a little while ago. This night, I was walking around the rock wall behind the fire thing and I could feel that there was a lot of warm air coming from the fire. What, I thought, to myself, must it feel like to sit on top of that thing – surely it would be really warm and comfortable on a cold night. Well, I wondered and as I wondered I kept walking around the top of the wall, and then suddenly, before anyone realised what I was doing, I jumped down from the wall, onto the top of the fire thing!!

OOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!! Have you ever seen a cat break the speed barrier? Well those people watching me that night have – I reckon my front paws hit that stove top for about one zillionth of a second – my back feet didn’t touch it at all – not sure how I managed that! When I hit the floor, I just kept on running and skidding on all the mats for a few minutes – I was in soooo much pain. I had burnt the pretty pink pads on my front paws – not too badly mind you, I was so quick, but bad enough to give me some grief for a few days. Steph was really kind and looked after me very well – basically tho’, being a cat I pretty much looked after myself. Steph wouldn’t let me out for a few days afterwards and now I am all good again and my pads are back to being their pink selves. Do you know, I don’t go anywhere near that fire thing anymore – I have a nice thick coat and I can cope without the fire thank you very much.

Hate The Fire, but Hate That Dog More

I guess I am looking forward to mum coming home, but I’m pretty happy with these people too – they have this great big white tin box that they climb into – I just love it, there is a bed in there too and you can lay on the bed and look out the windows and watch the birds – it’s brilliant. I have heard Steph say that they will have to shut me indoors when they leave just so I don’t stow away and go with them on their travels.

Well, it’s bin nice talking to you folks, but I can see that my tea is going to be ready soon and I have to reach a high place before that pesky dog comes along to give me my nightly reminder – why does she have to do that? Bloody annoying I can tell you. Bugsy Malone (alias Thugsy)

See ya' round

HAPPY, COLD, TRAMPING AND HOVERING



Happy Anniversary Darling!


HAPPY ANNIVERSARY


Just before I get into this new lot of blogs, a quick one to say that we celebrated our first anniversary on the 1st May – like the wedding it was a very low key celebration as we tend to remember the 21st Oct (the day we reconnected ) as our main annual ‘togetherness’ celebration. We were still at New Norfolk and decided to go up to Salmon Ponds for lunch. We discovered that to just go through the gates they wanted $8 and then they wanted you to purchase bags of fish food for another $2 each. If you wanted to eat there, they were happy to serve you pancakes. The woman we spoke to, on the front desk, was I’m sorry to say, one of those rare Tasmanians who had zero personality. She was unfriendly and curt. Needless to say, we did not stay for lunch. The place was quite pretty and presented some lovely photo opportunities; one of which caught the lad out in a very peculiar light indeed. What do you think?

We took a quick stroll around the ponds and then drove back into New Norfolk and had a pleasant and well priced lunch at the local pub. As I said, it was not glamorous but it was fine. A very pleasant experience made perfect by the perfect husband. Steph.

Stunning Archway

COLD AT COCKLE CREEK

Almost the Edge of the World

Well, it’s happened – yesterday DD informed me that he thinks he is “all Tasmania’d out”! Mind you the poor lad had a flu jab the day before and was feeling just a tad offish – you know these men! Perhaps we are not fed up with the place yet, but we are probably starting to become just ever so slightly accustomed to the incredible beauty here and some of the ‘wow’ factor is wearing off.

Personally, I am still loving the place even tho’ I have discovered that I am not quite so in love with cold weather as I had thought. There is cold and there is cold – Heaven knows what it will be like in the actual winter time. I think this is at the back of DD’s mind too. People have been telling us, and it is confirmed on the Weather each night, that Launceston is colder than Hobart and there has been talk of black ice on the roads. I think our lad is quite rightly concerned about towing the van in those sorts of conditions. Of course, when it comes down to it, if there is black ice due to extreme cold, then we will be staying put until it is safe.

We are right in the middle of our house sitting stint and very much enjoying being here in a real house with a real fire and with real pets – all quite surreal for us after 3 ½ years living in the caravan. Neither of us feels that we are ready to do this full time yet however, and will be pleased at the end of the day to hit the road once again.

Lonely Beach At Cockle Creek

Not Snow, it just Felt Like It.

While here in Kingston we are well situated to explore the Huon Valley and surrounds. We have been as far south and west as roads in Tassie allow and have visited the end of the earth – a tiny little hamlet called Cockle Creek, population 3! This is as far south as you can travel in Australia by road. The day we elected to go for this 100k plus drive was not the best weather-wise but the scenery along the way was nonetheless still stunning. Due to the poor weather we didn’t stop along the way to do a great deal of exploring – we had thought to take the little train trip along the way at Ida Bay but it was not operating that day. We are going to strike this more and more it seems as tourism operators in Tasmania often determine that their season is over at the end of April and either close their doors or dramatically reduce services until later in the year. Perhaps it is time to head north.

We drove south through Dover, Strathblane, Southport and Lune River. Most of these places were minuscule but picturesque. Dover was a slightly larger settlement and just picture postcard perfect. Despite the beauty there is not a great deal of reason to go all the way down to Cockle Creek except to say that you have done the trip. We are glad we went.

Reflections on the Huon

TRAMPING AT TAHUNE

Mysterious

One of the ‘must do’ things we wanted to do whilst at Kingston, was the Tahune Air Walk – this is, for the West Aussies, much like the Valley of the Giants out of Denmark, except on a much larger scale. A massive steel structure spans immense areas allowing you to walk amongst the tree tops. The area is essentially the eastern most point of the western wilderness and the forest is temperate rain forest. The most prominent trees there are the enormous Stringy Barks which reach up into the rarefied air trying to touch the very Heavens. The day we were there, despite a good forecast, the weather proved dank, damp and misty –not uncommon at this time of the year it seems. The mist, we now know, often does not clear there until around midday. Due to the eerie vapours wafting and drifting around us, it appeared that the trees succeeded that day, in actually touching those moisture laden skies.

The drive there was quite something, back into rain forest again, steep winding roads and visibility almost zero thanks to the heavy mists clinging to the deep valleys. The whole effect was quite surreal and not a little scary, particularly when we came grill to grill with a large timber truck travelling very fast, the opposite way, in the middle of the narrow road! We barely had time to scuttle across to the gravel to allow him passage. I did wish I had managed to get a photo of him so that I could report his very dangerous driving, but it was all over before I had time to think. I do tend to become incensed with stupid and irresponsible drivers like this who not only endanger their own lives, but take it upon themselves to risk the lives of strangers as well. Oh well.

How Many More Steps

When we arrived we had a chat to the super friendly lass behind the counter and she advised there were two avenues open to us – we could either drive the car up to the entrance to the air-walk (a good option for a fat old woman with a crook knee) or we could take the 120 or so steps up to the entrance. Now, I’m sure you all understand stupid pride – I couldn’t suggest the car ride as that would be wimpy – I rely on my knight in tarnished armour to recommend that sort of gentle option for his faded rose, BUT NO!!!!!!!!!! “Oh, I think we should walk it” he says grandly. Oh great, now I have no option but to agree, or look a wimp. So off we trudged. 120 steps, at least............. By the time I had hit say no 10 I knew it was going to hurt really badly. By no 20, I wanted to hurt him really badly. By no 50 I was worrying about whether or not my will was in order – by the time we reached the summit I had it sussed. The rotter wants me dead................I was on to his dastardly plan – trouble is I thought he was going to succeed. In the end, I am of course, very pleased that we walked, the bush was exceptional and we saw so much that we would otherwise have missed. It was my plan, after all to do these walks while we are here, but what I hadn’t planned was to put on even more fat layers and become even less fit. Oh reality really hurts when you come face to face with it. There was no hiding from the facts on that climb.

Touching The Skies

Anyway, I digress – once on the actual walk we strolled along (if one can stroll on a steel and wire structure high above the trees – one that shudders and shakes with every step taken) through the canopy. The walk is quite a long one and on a sunny day I believe the views are exceptional – we do have photos of their photos! We were not sorry about the mist however as it created a special ambiance of mystery and dark beauty. The effects would have fitted very well into any Harry Potter story.

A Precarious Pathway

After the air walk we took the Huon Pine walk (I was not going to give in) and that was particularly pretty and informative. We had of course already heard a great deal about the Huon Pine trees, but it was still interesting and very well signed along the way.

We stopped for a really good coffee and a shared piece of cake after our walk (we had earned it, we had earned it!) Needless to say by the time we left, the sun was out and the mist has burnt off – Que!!

Almost There

We drove back to Kingston pleased with our adventure and happy to recommend the experience to others. I will personally always love the Tingle Trees at home the best as they are just so wonderful, as are our native Karri, but these giants are also wonderful and well worth your attention.


Amongst the Tree Tops



HOVERING AT THE HUON



Glorious

 When we travelled out to do the Air Walk and to Cockle Creek we had to drive through the amazing Huon Valley. I have to say that so far, this is my favourite part of Tasmania. DD keeps telling me how much like England it is, and whilst I have no personal point of comparison, certainly it lives up to my story book image of Britain. Tiny villages set into lush green pastures, and nestled up against the banks of the incredibly beautiful Huon River. At this time of the year, the fields are hazed with gold and glorious luminescent crimson. Alpacas, woolly sheep and black and white Saddle Back cattle graze placidly along the way.


Still Glorious


The Huon River has to be the most picturesque I have ever seen. The ever present Button Grass stains the water to a golden honey colour and the dark waters present perfect reflecting conditions. Whole mountains reflect in their entirety along with trees, houses and boats. Boats! Tasmania apart from being an island has an absolute abundance of waterways – doubtless due to this, boats, particularly yachts and sailing boats abound. The photo-opportunities along the way for sailing boats perfectly reflected in the silky still waters were endless.

What Can I Say

We took advantage of a Huon River Cruise  (Franklin Eco Tours) – a delightful experience – 2 hours spent drinking good brewed coffee, nibbling elegant culinary treats and soaking in the abundant beauty of the river and surrounds. My camera was quite worn out! The boat cruise cost $65 and was perhaps a tad overpriced but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would certainly recommend it to other like minded beauty hounds. For those interested, the boat leaves daily at 2.00 pm from the pretty little village of Franklin. If I were to live in Tassie, I would want to live in Franklin. The town is historically significant and is just soooooooo very pretty. It is everything I could possible want and almost every home has water views. Hmmm, now how do I convince DD – the prices are right there as well, properties starting in the low $200,000s. In WA you would be looking at somewhere around a cool mill just for the land!

Words Superfluous

Oh well, I can dream – I doubt I will be able to convince the lad to move this far south. Until next time, hold on to your dreams – Stephanie.