We stopped at Mt. Field National Park on our way back north for some
good, LUSH, jungl-y forest walks and waterfalls (that's a tree trunk they're standing in,) then found the perfect spot
for our final camp: Mole Creek.
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| How cute are these mailboxes lining the dirt roads? |
Despite all the Tasmanian devil crossing signs we saw not one, but two, echidnas cross the road right in front of us. Finally caught the last one in a quick maneuver - see his little behind sticking out of the brush? Shaking like a leaf and terrified (Darren kept saying I was going to get quilled.)
Worried by finding mostly trailer parks, we were thrilled to discover, online once again at dusk, some dude's blog about free camp sites in Tas and secured the last one by the river. The kids were in h-e-a-v-e-n. Unlike our last spot, this was honest to goodness camping. No toilets/sinks/showers/running water- we were stoking fires, filtering stream water and squatting over pits to our hearts' content... ahhh, yes,
to our hearts' content.
Dad was kind of a hero with the tent - let's just say the ground was a tad bit hard (note the curled up stake.) But the sunset we were welcomed with made it all worth it.
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| could they BE any happier? |
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| kids spent the majority of their time in camp building miniature rock/stick compounds by the water complete with entry fees, frisbee swimming pools, and mud spa treatments |
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| while I "supervised" |
The water was perfectly "refreshing" and nothing beats good river walking explorations.
There were lots of fun little daytrips around the area.
Chudleigh's Honey Museum & Factory was well worth the visit - fresh
honey icecreams and novelties, 50+ varieties of honey to taste, working
beehives and more information than you could ever absorb about the
honey-making process itself.
Bees are pretty amazing organisms.
Also loved the Trowunna Wildlife Center with ample hands-on
opportunities. The poor Tasmanian devils are being quickly wiped out by a strain of
facial cancer so these conservation sites are scattered about the
country as a final push to save the species. Really cute until they
start eating and then steer clear~!
(I loved that they even had all their "big things" marked on the road maps for picture ops, like this Big Devil.)
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| Wombats are the new favorite animal - so huge and cuddly soft. |
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| Quolls are a funky Aussie animal we'd never seen before |
Of course we enjoyed some more local cheese, chocolate and produce...
And "Tasmazia" was just awesome - pleasantly surprised that it was actually worth the pricetag. Multiple, challenging mazes (I got lost more than anyone and admit to cheating in desperation) and that purple gorgeousness is a lavender field on the map below.
The mazes had little play/exploration sections, clever quotes, and cute scenes/activities scattered throughout to lessen the maddening anger that comes from wandering endless shrubbery in a lost stupor... The Village of Lower Crackpot was full of strange, creative and amusing little buildings, complete with an actual working post office. Weird sauce, but pretty cool.
Then on to the must-see Cradle Mountain. The landscape changed so dramatically it felt like we were in a different country entirely.
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| Dove Lake at the base of Cradle Mountain |
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| 3rd family picture |
Up close and personal with some wild wombats who are apparently as docile as can be?
Best story of the trip though was when we wrapped it up a day EARLY. We were so far out of touch with life and technology that we showed up at the ferry a day early. Total idiots. So we didn't need to cut out the west coast after all (and our planned day of 4WD to some waterfalls then on to the quaint seaside, new-england-ish town of Strahan.)
Oh well, at that point, the kids were officially done with driving long distances so we cut our losses, secured the hotel for another night and did a day trip back into Launceston for playing and parks and all things fun-for-kids on New Year's Eve (including a $100 splurge to see the newly released "Adventures of Tin-Tin" which was almost worth it actually.)
Their city park has this random but cool monkey exhibit...
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| You know they're serious when you pass double koala crossing signs. |
The Big Platypus and Big Apple...
Spirit of Tasmania ride home was during the day this time, but Dad upgraded to a cabin last minute to catch up on some sleep (for which I seriously ate my words after being initially annoyed - the kids were bouncing off the walls and needed a retreat for the sake of all other passengers.)
I think we watched 3 full movies which made it fly by.
We arrived home around 2am but were still nervous about the "lice scare" so I treated everyone's hair in the car and put them to bed in shower caps. Then shaved Will first thing in the morning and washed everything before bringing it into the house. Geez, lice is the worst.
THEN FINALLY, they were allowed to enjoy "Christmas morning" (10 days late) and were thrilled to see Santa had actually come in our absence.
What a trip. It was awesome and exhausting and we loved
almost every minute of it. If you're still reading these posts, you deserve total props for enduring to the end and now must plan your own trip to Tasmania. :)
xoxo The Mitchells
Our one year Australian Anniversary lands right on Valentine's Day. That's the day we boarded the plane and technically we spent the 15th up in the air, landing in Oz Feb. 16, but we celebrated anyway with a fancy, candlelit dinner. The kids had been missing the whole school tradition of decorating big boxes and handing out cards (V-Day is another holiday Aussies don't celebrate, although one of their teachers did mention it.) And generally I'm not a big fan of the outrageously commercialized season, but I heart-attacked their bedrooms and laid out lots of treats anyway to cheer them up.
Darren and I had just been out to a concert the weekend before (Men At Work lead singer Colin Hay: I Come From a Land Down Under... honestly, the guy was such an entertainer, it was awesome) so the family dinner was just right.
