Tassie Trip

Tasmania!

I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Tasmania. I remember checking out a globe in grade school, seeing Tasmania and imagining a totally exotic and primitive place at the other end of the world. A relic of our prehistoric evolutionary process. Well, I wouldn't say exotic but the rest of it was fairly spot on. It was kind of like Idaho.

Hold on to your boot straps people this here post is a long one. We spent 10 days along the southern shore and east coast of Tassie and we documented most of it.

No whining!

This blog is for people who really care about us, so, if you are not man/woman enough to handle the time it takes to give us a little attention... sign off now.

But, you'll be missing out.

Why is this picture included? Right sided steering wheel, peeps. The best part is this is the exact same Rav4 (even the colour [color]) that my mom has back in the states. But this one you drive from the passenger side. And what, you may ask, does it look like to drive on the other side of the road?

Ahhhhhhh! Right?

This is the Hobart Bridge. There are no lane lines because they change the number of lanes that go in either direction depending on the commute time. Brilliant!

And here it is from a different angle. However, you may notice from this picture not much traffic. The running joke for BabyDaddy and I on the trip was "This place would be great if it weren't for all the crowds." When we stepped out of the airport in Tassie you could literally hear the echo of your own footsteps. It sorta felt like the Twilight Zone.

Downtown Horbart had a few more peeps, that's for sure. But not many. We really liked the city, especially Battery Point. Beautiful old buildings and architecture, it looked and felt very European. This particular shot cracked us up because of the TOWERING cruise ship that had come into port. Seriously, look at that beast. It's WAY bigger than the buildings that surround the harbour (harbor).

This is DudeMan being awesome on top of the Queens Domain in Tasmania's Royal Botanic Garden. We really love the RBG in Sydney but the one in Tassie was wonderful in a totally different way. These "back trails" are one example. Plus, beautiful views to the North.

And you have here a picture of general un-posed nutty-ness of our Furious 5. Love Roses' face in this shot, DudeMan's double fisted weaponry and BabyDaddy and DreamBoat pulling up the rear.

Daddy portrait, courtesy of DreamBoat.

DreamBoat sandwich.

A better shot of the view towards the North from the tippy top of Queen's Domain.

Here the kiddos are inside of the Gardens proper. (Like that? >> Huh... huh?)

The growth of these plants was enough to give any botanical enthusiast wet dreams for the rest of their days. I took so many digital macro pictures of the flowers that BabyDaddy thought I had lost it. Don't worry I spared you, they will go in my own little pornographic collection. ;)

Roses under a fairy tale tree.

Ok, so what I was trying to do with this shot is to give you guys some idea of the scale of the trees. That little dude walking along the path is BabyDaddy... not that little of a dude... and look at that tree! The tallest one. That is actually one tree!

DudeMan, just chillin' like a lichen.

This is my crew inside the Conservatory. I can't even begin to tell you how good this room smelled. The lilies and orchids were MASSIVE. I'm talking as big as my hand.

Freaking awesome!

And this is DreamBoat, keepin' it real... pitching a fit.

Another ginormous tree shot. Can you see the two little specks at the bottom left of the tree? Yeah, those are my kids. People from SJ... can you imagine the neighborhood Cyprus trees going gangbusters like this bad mama jama?

A little home southern state love.... sigh...

The boys checking out the French Memorial. This totally unique fountain was made from wood. As the water ran down the slides it made the neatest sounds.

My little cygnet with some baby ducklings.

They call this "cheeky" around these parts.

"Ahhhh! Dudeman catch me before I fall over the edge of this..."

The crew on our super sweet day in the southern most tip of Tasmania. Ida Bay Railway. This, now tourist, railway was built in 1943-1945. Originally used to take people and loot from the Township to the Limestone Quarry in Ida Bay. It runs 14km round trip and follows the Lune River out to the ocean.

Crazy love in the caboose. :)

A rare shot of the pensive, serious side of my DudeMan. If those eyes can melt me the way they do... look out ladies. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I believe this is the Lune River Estuary. There are actually 5 graves here, all from the Tyler family. Mr. Tyler was, of course, a convict. Once he served his time he came to this part of Tassie to make a life for himself in Lumber. He married a lady, also a convict, and they had a family. Two on the headstones left standing were of 2 of their boys. One read "In loving memory of Edwin Henry Tyler who was accidentally killed 27th February 1885 In his 14th year". The other, "In loving memory of Ernest Alfred Tyler who departed this life march 30th 1888 In his 19th year". The 14 year old was killed in an accident at the sawmill and I do not know how the other son died. Both headstones read "Erected by his Brothers". I am not sure if the parents were living at the time of the death of either brother. I included the story because it is amazing to me to see the hardship that people of the past lived with and how sheltered from loss and work we all are in this day and age.

And on a brighter note... here is Roses and I at the end of what is left of the line. This track was built to go all the way out into the ocean so that the ships that came in to haul the lyme or lumber could be loaded strait from the railway cars.

This shot and the next are of 2 of our beautiful children... and proof that you don't need things like safety gates or sides on train cars. Talk about excessive, who needs em? Just don't put your arm out the car or try to grab onto a tree "cause it will rip your arm right off."

(True safety lecture from the engineer. :)

On the Platypus trail after a dip in the Thermal Pools near Hastings Caves.

And by "thermal" I guess they meant "not freezing, but nearly". Brrrr...

Compare this shot with the one above... Same trail. Man, the brush got thick. Seriously, it was like a wall of grass, that grew to heights way over our heads.

We did go into the caves as well. But somehow you have been spared from viewing those pictures. It was dark, cold, wet... and amazing. The caves themselves were found quite by accident by two men who where falling timber. They were able to keep it a secret for only a short while and when their boss finally found out about them he took the credit and named the caves. You can walk through the caves with a guide. It is still unknown how far down, back, and into the earth they go. There is a main cavern which gets used as an amphitheater by the children's choir at Christmas time. Pretty cool idea if you ask me.

I love this sign.

Just goes to show ya how when you are living in a small town it pays to be multifaceted.

Roses (and DudeMan with a serious chocolate goatee) with a little blueberry crab. No, that is not their scientific name but that is what they looked like so that is what we called them.

Isn't it gorgeous here?

See all the funky little patterns in the sand. Each one of those is a "blueberry crab" home. There were thousands of them.

This is Port Arthur. Waaaay too much history for me to list in a little paragraph. This was a convict prison/town. It started small and grew and grew. There was even a boy's prison across the river, where boys as young as 7 could be held accountable for their crimes (such as stealing bread... or a handkerchief) and sent from England. The place is pretty much in ruins now. The sandstone bricks are being eroded away by time and water. It is an eery place, especially on damp, misty days. But beautiful as well. It's funny how in some places the heaviness of the happenings in the past still sit with a intensity that is almost tangible. Port Author is such a place. You can somehow still feel the lonesome hardship and melancholy that created every inch of this now tourist attraction.

This is me. I am standing inside of what is left of the Port Arthur Church. This place of worship has been quite the chameleon. It has served as a house of God to Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, and many more faiths... And at times, simultaneously. There is something that I really like about the thought of that.

A kookaburra, sitting on a headstone in the grounds of the smallest church I have ever seen, somewhere along Nubeena Road. Of the very few grave sites in this cemetery were two young girls that were victims of the Port Arthur massacre, which is an un-talked about event in these parts. In 1995 a young man went on a killing spree at the historical tourist attraction leaving 35 dead and 21 injured. That event, was not only Australia's deadliest killing spree, but one of the most deadly in the world.

Tasman Arch and Devil's Kitchen.

An amazingly huge arch that the waves have carved out of the sandstone. Didn't expect this one, a total treat to happen upon. Beautiful.

These stinkers wanted to stay in the car and play their Leapsters. Ha.

Sure it's wet and windy but we have love to warm our hearts.

To much?

Deal with it.

xo

Ohhh, the Spiky Bridge. Another, yep you guessed it... historical landmark.

Convict built in 1843.

Legend has it... the spikes were designed to prevent cattle from falling over the sides.

DreamBoat, being dreamy.

In Swansea we stayed in a place that the Aussie's call a Holiday Park...

in the US we call'em Trailer Parks. See the brilliance of that spin?... Marketing.

This is either Honeymoon Bay or Sleepy Bay in Freycinet National Park.

We don't care what they call it, we call it purdy. As in bee-u-tee-ful.

DudeMan, on an adventure.

I mean look at this place. The green, the orange, the blue, the white. Gorgeous. The clouds were trying their best that day to keep everything hidden, but just like any other smokin hot thing in Australia... you just can't cover it up.

I think you would call this clear water.

4 straight days of rain makes for cabin fever and fun times once set free.

Look out for the crazy Americans!!

AND PURPLE!! I was having a seriously hard time dealing with all the colours (colors). I mean, it's like God had gotten a new paint set and was just tryin' hues out for the fun of it.

We all had so much fun. Bouldering around, adventure hikes... we let the kids lead, BabyDaddy and I followed along happily.

And one more, just because it was that lovely.

How did this hole get into this rock? Why ask questions, let's just conquer it.

Right, Dudeman?

All my eggs in one basket.

Handsomeness.

The view from inside our hide away.

And the heavens opened.

The clouds had pretty much dominated the day. We really wanted to get to Wineglass Bay, actually I had planned the trip around that as one of our major stops... but the fog was so low they had even closed the trail out to it. :( As a last stop we went to the Cape Tourville Lighthouse. It was so cloudy that we could hear the ocean crashing around us but we could not see it. Oh well, it was a fun day anyway... So, we headed back to the car. Wait... What... I see blue sky. Quick everyone back to the top.

Holy holiness. In a blink the sky opened up to reveal this. Not bad... not bad at all.

And what are we looking at... that curve in the far off hills. That, my friends, is Wineglass Bay.

I was a happy girl.

Thanks God.

Fives.

This makes me happy too. xo

Nine mile beach. Nine miles... us... and about 4 other people. Awesome.

BabyDaddy and Roses in the waves.

I did get in (I share the boy's phobia of jellies) and I saw 2 rays. BabyDaddy didn't, and I still don't think he believes me. My defense: I was wearing polarized lenses and he wasn't.

Another awesome thing we "happened upon" (it was a theme for the trip). This wildlife park, which I can not remember the name of and was for sale... just in case you are in the market... was probably the best we have been too. Freakiest part... the big, open top, enclosures that house dozens of Red Bellied Black Snakes. Thats right, you can just peek right in over the top of the chest high walls. Hi there.

Ahhhhhh!

Some super cool guy that offered DudeMan a ride on his Harley. DM was awestruck by his cool bike but didn't dare to take it for a full go. We settled for a sit on/posed pic.

I'm sure he will get there, I am in no rush.

Dudes. Hiking to the Bay of Fires.

Our climber boy.

It was a very windy day, but warm.

Perfect for kicking the shoes of and jumping around some rocks.

Game face in paradise.

More with the colours (colors)! Crazy. You would think that this place was named Bay of Fires because of the fiery orange lichen that lines the rocks, however the story goes that it got the name from Aboriginal campfires that could be seen along this beach by people who were in ships out at sea.

You don't often think of rolling hills along with white sandy beaches... but it happens.

This places exists.

And again with the crazy crowds.

This little spot was our gold mine find. Amazingly this place is not on any tourist map... there are not signs that lead you too it... and most locals don't know about it.

We just "happened upon" this little ocean pool. It was probably 20 feet across and I have no idea how deep. Crystal clear... and just begging to be jumped in.

"So we stripped and did two."

I will pay a million dollars to whoever can figure out where I got that line.

Hint: my favorite children's book.

BabyDaddy and I jumped in from the highest mound of rock and didn't even come close to touching the bottom. Roses and DudeMan ended up joining the fun... She on purpose. He, not so on purpose.

They really are just like puppies.

Last day on the beach in Tassie. We pulled off the road to find yet another lonely strip just begging to be frolicked in.

Dude beach hut.

Little Miss Sunshine.

The sound that the waves made as they washed over hundreds of thousands of tiny shells was amazing. Probably the only sound on the face of the planet more soothing than rain on the roof.

We had to pull over to watch this guy and his 5 sheep dogs move this herd of sheep. Ok, so the dude just whistled a lot from the cab of his truck. The dogs, on the other hand, were totally cool to watch.

Last stop. This was the last picture taken on our trip to Tasmania. What a fun 10 days. Lots of miles covered, barf bags filled, sun block used, 6 hotels, 2 bee stings, mozzie bites (mosquito bites) so bad we had to stop at a chemist (pharmacy) to get antihistamine meds, lots of rain, too many meat pies, beautiful days on the beach, visits with critters, trip to the cadbury chocolate factory, and some seriously amazing memories to take from it all.

Blessed. That is what we are... Blessed.

And... this posting has taken me over a month to get out, which is pathetic... so I will do my very darndest to NEVER do one this long again.

Hope you had fun. We sure did.