Holiday Week

We are still living in holiday mode since we got back from Tassie. Not a day has gone past that we haven't welcomed visitors through the door. Grandpa and the uncles came for a shared birthday dinner of steak, spaghetti  and freshly baked sour dough- Jack's choice.

We enjoyed a day at the pool followed by a day at Questacon. The kids managed to convince me it was a good idea to go on the new twister slide at Big Splash which left me feeling motion sick. The following day I decided I'd try the 360 swing at Questacon which almost gave me a heart attack!

                                                     Click here to watch the whole clip

Stu made a delicious summer dessert and I made my first meringues in the Kitchen aid. The boys tried to conquer the world in Casscone while the kids enjoyed sharing the blu rays that Grandpa bought for the boys.

Happy Birthday Wild William

William turned 3 on Saturday and he had the best birthday he could imagine. He requested a 'horsey party' so I asked the kids to wear their 'Western Gear' and when they arrived they donned a mustache and scarf. 

Stu filled the pool to take the edge off the 37 degree heat and when the kids weren't wet they were on the horses and they all had smiles on their faces.

 Rosie and the 5+ kids had the most success with Bobbing for apples. William enjoyed the 'panning for (chocolate) gold' more than any other.

It took some time for some kids to pluck up the courage to ride but eventually they all did and felt very brave.They all enjoyed giving the horses an apple to munch.

William, you make us laugh every day. You complete our family and we love so much. You've grown so fast and you're Jack's best friend. Happy third birthday!

Things to do while stranded.

 There has been plenty to do while we wait for Arthur Hwy to open. The caravan park has a hot pool, put put golf and a park for the kids. I recently discovered the free WiFi for Nubeena refugees :) There is a wood fire pizza and pasta restaurant but the corner shop is a 20min walk along a busy hwy.

The lady at the desk has been very accommodating and she gave the kids a free game of put put and entry into the hot pool. Stu introduced himself to some other campers who also left their car in Nubeena.

 William had his haircut by the resident hairdresser in the bus that is owned by the newlywed Irish lady who is a self proclaimed 'tart at heart.' She's onto her forth husband and trying to keep up with Liz Taylor but in her words 'they won't friggin leave fast enough.' Her new husband Pete gave me a lift into the corner shop for bread and milk.

The boys have watched movies from the hard drive, caught up on some rest and found a new love of origami.

We caught the Tassie Link bus from right outside the caravan park to Hobart city. It was nice to stroll around and we happened to run into an ex Lyneham teacher who was also stranded with her husband and their 3 young boys.  

 We ate the best Japanese since our America trip and booked a bus tour for tomorrow. Avis decided the road won't be opened for at least a week so kindly refunded us for the days we didn't use the car and waived the retrieval fee after some bad press which was stirred up with some strongly worded emails by Juliette herself.

Eaglehawk Neck Fire

So after a radio call out in sea the boats left at high speed to get into shore. The police were waiting for the boats to arrive at Eaglehawk Neck to escort us to Nubeena refuge. We were the last of about 3000 people to arrive and hear that the road had been cut and homes were burning at Dunalley, a town we had driven through just hours before.

It wasn't long before there was very limited food and water at Nubeena. The toilets became blocked and unusable within about 6 hours. I was shown around the tiny corner store by torch light and could only grab what I could pay for with the $20 note in my pocket. We had packed nothing and the people next to us were a little more prepared as they were camping so they grabbed a few essentials. They lent us a sleeping bag to share and we folded down the seats and slept in the x trail. The boys slept soundly until just past 7am. Most people were up around 5.30 with the sun and rumors were buzzing about the damage that had occurred at Dunalley. The Girl Guides volunteered and handed out tea and cereal. By the time we got to the front of the food line they had roast potatoes and they were quickly running out of food and water. The electricity was cut and not likely to be back for weeks. 

 After speaking to the police it was decided that we had to abandon our hire car and head into Hobart via the emergency ferry that left at 9.30 that morning. It was a stressful 2 hour journey after one person was seasick it set off a chain and Jack joined 20 people vomiting over the back of the boat while William fell asleep.

 The pics below show us waiting for the ferry at Nubeena and the police and Fire Services have been very vague about when we might be able to retrieve our hire car. Unfortunately Hobart is out of hire cars and we are staying in Cambridge which is a $37 taxi ride from Hobart. At least 70 homes, a school and the RSL were lost at Dunalley that day and we are so thankful to get out as fire still threatens the area. Importantly there have been no recorded deaths and we have accommodation in Cambridge until we fly out on Jan 10th.

Port Arthur & Wildlife Adventure Tour

We set off early on Friday morning to Port Arthur which has a large visitors center and each tour operating hourly with 60 + people. We did a 20 minute boat tour and then wandered around the grounds for about an hour before leaving to have a quieter lunch break further up the road.

We joined a Wildlife Adventure Tour which took us about 90minutes out to sea where the sea cliffs are magnificent and the ocean was alive around us with dolphins, seals and a whale right next to the boat. William had a lovely nap as the ocean rocked him to sleep. 

There were 2 boats and we were in the second one. The boats took us right into the caves because although there was a hot wind there was pretty much no swell. It was the hottest day that Tasmania had seen for a few years at least, 42C on shore but as we got further out to sea the arctic wind took it down at least to a comfortable 30C. 

Jack was thrilled to see the dolphins but he thought the seals were a bit smelly. 

Hobart Zoo & Seven Mile Beach

 Zoodoo happens to be less than 10kms away from our accommodation and the boys were excited to finally see a real Tasmanian Devil. Their behaviour was interesting to watch as the fought and screeched and ran around in circles at feeding time. The buss tour was fun and the boys decided against feeding the aggressive emus and camels but enjoyed the experience. 

 On the way to drop Stu off at his second distillery tour we stopped at the famous seven mile beach.

 We went back to seven mile beach when the sun was going down. The picture below shows the smoke above Jack's head which threatened to have us evacuated but it turned out that fire was the least of the trouble that was to follow.

Can you believe we even had time for 18 holes after dinner?

Welcome to Hobart

 

It was an easy trip with 2 x 45minute flights and a 15 minute drive to our accommodation with the hire care waiting for us at the airport. Jack was thrilled to get lunch with a Cadbury chocolate and an activity book on the flight. William was lucky to have a spare seat beside him to make for a comfortable afternoon nap.

 

Hobart welcomed us with a beautiful rainbow and a slightly arctic breeze. We had plenty of time after checking in to visit the harbour for dinner with the Sydney to Hobart Yachts on display. 

 

 

We set off for a day of adventure today and started out feeding the Atlantic salmon and Rainbow trout at Salmon Ponds. Stu enjoyed reading everything in the history of fishing museum while the boys took great delight in watching the trout jump out of the water to catch their food. 

 

 

It was only a short drive to the Mt Field National Park and a 15 minute walk to the magnificent Russell Falls.

The boys were happy to continue to the Horseshoe falls that were another hour down the track but William’s excitement wore off and eventually they both had to be carried to the car for the last 10 minutes or so.

 We stopped for Lunch at the RedLands Estate Whisky Distillery and they waived the $22pp. guided entry fee when the owners discovered we were fellow Canberrans. Jack enjoyed the fresh smoked Salmon and the tasting plate that boasted freshly baked artisan bread and a barley and haloumi salad. William loved running freely around the beautiful gardens and throwing pebbles in the stream. The house looked like a post card, built by convicts and over 200 years old.