Van Diemen’s Land
Q. Who would be crazy enough to go to Tasmania in the middle of winter?
A. Us!
Rather than trying to escape the winter chill by heading to some tropical locale, we decided to head to that beautiful little Isle at the bottom of Oz. And we’re so glad we did! What a breath-takingly beautiful place.
We flew into Hobart at the end of June and spent 10 days driving around Tasmania in a rented campervan. It was such a cool way to see the place, allowing us to go at our own pace and spend money on good food and entertainment rather than accommodation.
Going during winter had a couple of advantages: it was the off-peak season so less tourists, we were able to get flights for cheap ($300 for both of us return!), and it gave us a reminder of what Ireland is going to be like! And besides all that, I think it is spectacular at this time of year.
It snowed on Mt Wellington in Hobart, as well as Cradle Mountain in the west (Brooke wasn’t too impressed when I got the campervan stuck in the snow – especially when we started sliding sideways!) – all adding to the feel of adventure.
Though it did rain alot, we didn’t let that stop us from doing all sorts of fun things like catching the old train from Strahan to Queenstown, going on a cruise up the Gordon River, seeing Fairy Penguins in the wild near Devenport, getting up to see the sun rise at Coles Bay, going on a half-day hike in Freycinet National Park, wandering around Port Arthur and OUR ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE THING… doing an eco-cruise around Tasman Island in a 12.5 metre open-air boat which allowed us to get up close to sea caves, seals, albatrosses, penguins and even some Southern Right Whales
After a busy 6 months (nursing and studying for Brooke, full-time ministry for Dave), we really appreciated the chance to relax and recharge the batteries for the rest of the year.
You can look at some of our photos from Tassie HERE
Dave
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hey guys,
love the new layout, well done! What made u change websites (if you don’t mind me asking;)? Whatever it was, you’ve done a great job! Keep it up! Definitely count on me (us) as reader(s)!
I’ll forward all the relevant information to my lovely husband, who’s less drawn to endless procrastination than me… sorry to put your blog into that category, but in my case it’s often true… maybe I can get away with putting it under the heading of ‘wasting time with people’??? Should ask Stuart whether that’s a valid application of his much-treasured phrase…
Anyway, congrats again on being on the move in so many areas of your life – maybe the new-haircut-rule about life-changes has experienced a shift in recent years and is now manifesting in new blog-styles
liebe Grüße,
Claudia
Thanks for the feedback Claudia.
The main reason for the change was I wanted our own domain name and web host, hopefully making it more permanent and in our control (as well as an easier to remember URL).
I was about to respond by suggesting you spend some of procrastination time updating your blog, but you have – good job! I enjoy reading your reflections.
Dave