We were invited to go camping this weekend with my in-laws Imp and Ed. Ed's cousin lives in Hobart, and he and his family were going to be there too, and were apparently dying to meet us. I was a bit lukewarm about it, because we had various other commitments and wanna-dos, and I like a quiet life. The crunch factor was that Imp and Ed were taking The Tub and would be pottering about in it without Elf if we didn't go.
On Friday night I was invited to Matt's exhibition opening, followed by dinner, but was also expected on the indoor soccer court. The opening missed out, as did any significant planning or packing for a camping trip. Soccer was a dreadful defeat but dinner at Sirens vege restaurant was very nice and relaxing. Matt is another brother-in-law who's PhD in fine arts was the content of the exhibition.
On Saturday morning I was required on a stall at Salamanca Market until 11.30, so Elf mounted the whole packing operation on her own. Imp and Ed were supplying a tent, dinner and most other essentials, so we pretty much threw a bunch of clothes, blankets, the picnic basket and our rubber boat in the car and headed off. After all these delays and impediments, we had a very nice drive down to Fortescue Bay (10km north of Port Arthur, about a 90 minute drive from Hobart). Everyone was all set up when we got there, and had been there for hours.
The gathering turned out to be much bigger than we had thought, and I was totally unprepared for the social challenges involved. It was raining - the established crew were gathered around a fire, sheltered by a large tarp strung amongst the trees. Imp and Ed were very welcoming and shared everything with us, but the rest of the gang were a bit stand-offish and the whole thing was pretty awkward. I ended up sitting in the front porch of 'our' tent feeling a bit glum. We had not brought chairs, and this appeared to be a bit of a gaffe. I certainly did not get the feeling that anyone had been dying to meet me, probably because I was radiating peevish vibes.
The boys, particularly Michael, had no qualms about going to stand by the fire. All the kids were poking different things in to observe the various cracklings, shrinkings and sizzlings. Eventually a sense of responsibility prodded me to go down there and ask if the boys were being OK and everyone assured me they were fine. I had heard from 20 metres away that Michael was holding forth on a few of his favourite subjects. Marcus was gamely running around with the other kids and overcoming his shyness a lot better than I was.
So - the main reason I am relating this whole sorry business is: later in the afternoon when Michael had made himself really comfortable in the best seat by the fire, and was chairing a meeting about either the solar system or mammals, Marcus called out to Elf in a weary voice "Mum, Michael is pretending to be a grown-up".
Everything thawed after a while, but we still spent the evening gathered around separate fires. We four slept badly, our soft townie bodies not coping with leaky airbeds and those flat sleeping mats. Elf actually was so relieved when the sun came up that she relaxed and fell asleep. I can only be sure that I slept at all because I remember dreaming our car had been stolen.
I honestly did have a nice time. I had a couple of sea swims, (earache cold) and we saw a lot of wildlife. At one stage during the night Elf told me there was a possum in the tent which fortunately turned out not to be the case. The possums were a nuisance, but a kind-of-fun furry nuisance. There was a half-tame family of pademelons (small wallabies) there which thrilled the kids.
We had a beach walk this morning and then packed up and came back to where we belong. It was a beautiful place, and we are very keen to visit again, but we will do it with a very small group. Camping and meeting new people are things I am barely competent at - so doing both at once is just stretching me a bit thin.
Showing posts with label camping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label camping. Show all posts
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Camping Log, days 10 & 11
Wed 30 Jan - stayed in Launceston.
We loved Low Head Caravan Park, absolute winner. And we loved Low Head. We had been going to morning tea in Launceston at Joe and Jill's, but they had ditch diggers in their backyard pulling up pipes, so we rescheduled that for tomorrow and spent more time at Low Head instead. First to East Beach, a very long surf beach, had a swim there but bad march flies. Lighthouse looking over western end, used to have surf carnivals here in the 50s and 60s. Then back over to the Tamar side of the head, to Lagoon Beach. Saw heaps of baby flathead in the shallows, and crab strolling along. Seen that in rock pools but not on open sand in the shallows. Marcus found a cone shell with its' inhabitant inside - who was patterned just like the shell! Amazing. Drove into Launceston, had a quick sandwich lunch in City Park so as not to arrive at Scott and Lynn's with empty tummies. Boys and Elf went on the "train" - what I would call a moon buggy. Driver said "I've been around this park 74,000 times". I accidentally followed a woman down the street with a steak knife (and nothing else) in my hands. Was going back to the car to get $ for the train, and thought I would make packing up easier by taking something back to the car on that trip - dumb idea. Carried it by the very tip and tried to avoid concealing it or brandishing it - very hard. May have whistled a little. Up to Scott and Lynn's. Isobel (8) and Tom (6) had been on tenterhooks waiting for the boys. Those four disappeared immediately, and the grown-ups had a very nice chat for a couple of hours. Kids and dads took to the pool. Michael was cracking everyone up, loving a new audience for his tricks, esp. ear squeaking. Bel adopts Michael, Marcus tries to impress Bel, Tom tries to impress Marcus and Michael is in awe of all Tom's boysie stuff. BBQ dinner, some wasp problems but excellent. Slept on fold-out couch, just like ours, and inevitably both rolled into the middle. S and L have Vanishing Tasmania by Frank Bolt. I'd love to track down a copy. B & W photos of cottages, ruins, mine workings, huts, farmhouses etc, taken in 1980s.
Thurs 31st of Jan - Wynyard
Up early at Scott and Lynn's, thought I might get a quiet hour with Vanishing Tasmania. Michael joined me in the lounge room. "I am being quiet so I don't wake up the other children". Kids didn't flake until about 11pm - all in Isobel's room. Kids all straight back into it after breakfast. Lovely visit over too soon - had to drag the boys away, due at Joe and Jill's at 10. Van a mess. Stuff just poked in and tossed everywhere. Needs a major clean before we give it back. Good to see Joe, and William (4 months). Jill was out, we saw her briefly just as we were leaving. Joe is doing a history PhD on the Tin Pot Rebellion, Norfolk Island. He is the housedad, Jill is back to nearly full time work this week. An extension is under way out the back, will make their funny old house more liveable. Out of Launceston, stopped at Elizabeth Town Cafe for lunch. Boys asleep, woke up in the carpark and consumed delicacies. On to Turners Beach, Dad looking well, Mum off lunching and organising her exhibition. Made a few calls and found accommodation at Leisureville, Wynyard. A funny old "cabinette", No. 12, $79 for all of us for one night. Cold water tap only in the micro kitchen. Elf really likes Wynyard. Now travelling in our car. Am I allowed to keep writing in the van log book? To Stanley and back to Burnie tomorrow for Mum's exhibition opening.
Camping log, days 7-9
Sunday 27 Jan - still at Weldborough
Lovely quiet night's sleep, muggy, rained briefly. Man from Qld camped near us (with invisible wife and shitsu terrier) sleeps outside every night. He slept through rain. Cooler today, hot down in Launceston according to the radio. After brekkie we drove back up into W'bro pass to do short Myrtle Forest walk, and visit Little Plains lookout. Overcast, not best day for lookouts. Walk was signed with slightly annoying "meet Granma Myrtle" stuff, that we read to the kids. After the lookout I made a special dirt-road request, so we could see the old stamper battery at the Anchor tin mine. The river turned a 20m diameter waterwheel, which powered up to a hundred stampers, used to crush the ore. The crushed ore fell through a grate onto a special table which vibrated the heavier rock apart from the lighter tin. The interpretation boards there are very good. 100 years ago it was a massive well organised site, with a large building that looks about the size of the Derwent Entertainment Centre housing the works. It's gone back to nature very thoroughly since the mine closed. There is a working model of this same waterwheel at the St Helens History room, which is well worth seeing (free). On the way back to W'bro we stopped at Pyengana roadhouse for Pyengana milk. They don't stock it for some obtuse reason, perhaps a clash of personalities with the dairyman. I asked but the roadhouse man was not forthcoming. Back to camp at W'bro Pub, Elf and I were struck by strange desire to go into the pub for coffee and lemonades. They have a few chinese artifacts, v. nice woven coolie hats on wall. They don't do fancy coffee, but are pleased to charge $4 each for a small cup of plunger coffee. Big waste of money as we are on a powered site and can easily make our own. Sigh. Apparently unpowered sites here are free if you have a meal. Some European ladies were huffily leaving this morning after one night as they didn't like the food. We came back from the pub, had sandwiches and played chess, and did have our own coffee. Played soccer on the lovely expanse of grass, then went for a walk down a farm road to the edge of the State Forest. Noodled the day away, good for all of us, and such a nice place. Cool and windy, listened to cricket, while Michael scamped about with sticks most of the afternoon. Early dinner, tomato tuna pasta. Early to bed - first time I've written log by daylight. Boys together in van for the first time. I have arranged a funnel and hose connecting van window to little zip on corner of tent. It works very slightly, but is amusing to us all. Going to pub now for chocolate and payphone change.
Mon 28 Jan - at Scottsdale
Writing this lying in tent, so will be brief. Lovely late breakfast in the sun this morning, no-one else around. Left Weldborough around 10.30 and went to Derby. Took photos of Derby football ground and grandstand. Coffee and cake at Berries, run by Anne. Iced layer cake (cream inside) comes with a) whipped cream with streaks of jam? berry coulis? ink?, ii) ice cream and 3) plain poured cream. Not complaining. Anne showed us folders full of info on the area. The old info bureau has been closed, the new one (Called Planet Tin or something very now like that) was meant to be open by now, and they are saying possibly March. Met Sandra who runs Bankhouse - oldest wooden bank building in Australia, now chinese museum/curiosity shop. I recommend Berries and Bankhouse. Sandra was flying the Eureka flag. Marcus asked what it was and I explained - then got talking further to her about it. She is a historian by training, and she agreed with me that Eureka is blown out of proportion in Australian history, as it was a rare armed conflict between whites. More died in Lambing Flats miners riot, but the dead were chinese and aborigines. Must look up numbers later. Derby was a bit of a sad place - I wished we had a bigger budget and could have spent more time and money there. I hope the new museum will revive it. We drove on, and did the Briseis Race walk at Branxholm, a bit disappointing. It was a 38km channel to bring more water from Ringarooma River to the Derby tin mine to power machinery. We drove off from Branxholm with the back of the van open - Elf realised 2km later due to noise of wind. Went back - only one sleeping bag had fallen out as we went over hump in Branx. car park, recovered it. My fault. On to Legerwood, fantastic carvings in the main street. Old memorial trees, planted in 1918 for fallen soldiers from L'wood. Trees were condemned as unsafe in about 2000. Locals decided to save stumps and commission chainsaw portrait sculptures of the men. Very good, and quite moving. Then on to Scottsdale, did shopping while Elf put up the tent again. Staying for free at Northeast Park - cold showers, by noisy highway, but lots of drinkable water. Filled tank first thing. Beaut BBQ area, bird sanctuary and 'flora park' attached. Quite full. Van near us has run generator non-stop for at least five hours. Really bothering me now that everything is quiet. Seem not to have anything in particular electrical running. Infuriating. They have a boat - am learning to be suspicious of boat types. Met Mervyn from Queensland while BBQing dinner - on his 36th trip to Tasmania. "The first one was the year Danny Clark won the Burnie Wheel".
Tue 29 Jan - at Low Head
Atrocious night at Scottsdale. TRUCKS. Log trucks. All night. We had the worst spot in the park, didn't realise. Generetaor finally switched off about 10pm, soon after first trucks came by. Free camping, nice facilities, lovely birdlife, but DO NOT camp at Northeast Park in Scottsdale unless you have industrial earplugs and can get a spot as far as possible from the road. We set a new record, up at 6 and on the road by 8. Straight out of town, decided to skip Bridport, headed for Lilydale. Down very long and steep hill on approach to town. Had coffee and awful vanilla slices there in shop with incredible bare shelves - v. funny. One jar of Vegemite [space] one pack of Brillo pads [space] one tin of Keens curry [space] one bottle of Domestos etc. It's a deep fry bain-marie type place that opens early for truckies, not what we had in mind, but it was only 9 and nothing else open. After that we set off across B and C roads to the Batman Bridge, en route for Beauty Point on the west bank of the Tamar. Bought expensive apricots from a lady who sits there every day. Cherries were $7 per half kilo. To Seahorse World at Beauty Pt. Family ticket was $50. Elf opted out, Michael was free, so I took both boys in while Elf read the paper in strangely overheated cafe. It was very interesting. Michael was playing up at the Touch Tank. I told him he had to sit down and stop touching. Wails. A bit later he sniffed "I am thinking about my behaviour". It can be so funny to detect the imprints of other peoples techniques on your children. A little later he said to Elf "I am thinking about my fish behaviour". We skipped the Platypus House next door to the World. Next stop, Beaconsfield, to the south. Had lunch in the park, and saw the Grubb Shaft Museum adjacent to the current working gold mine. Excellent - $9 adult and $4 children over 4. Boys loved it - lots of touchable stuff. At the end we sat and looked over the current mine's surface activity, centred around main shaft and lift. Saw the famous tag board where Todd and Brant emerged from the lift and tagged out. Red side headed IN · UNDERGROUND and green side headed OUT · SAFE. Felt quite emotional when I described the rescue and final scene to Marcus. A worker came out of the lift with some gear. Sent lift down with some other gear. Tagged out like he probably has thousands of times. We all felt like cheering. Next we drove back over the elegant Batman Bridge, up the East Tamar Hwy to Low Head. A lady camping at Scottsdale recommended Low Head Caravan Park to Elf this morning (at about 5.30 am). Its is fantastic, incredibly clean, only quarter full if that tonight. Great facilities. We put up the tent, swam at a little beach, then went into George Town (large town sth of Low Head) for fish to grill for dinner. G Town is better than it was a few years ago. Low Head is very very nice. After dinner, we drove to the end of the road and walked around the Low Head lighthouse. Elf wants to buy a holiday house here. At one stage when my mobile was actually getting a signal and I was about to call Mum and Dad, Elf said "Tell them we're at Low Point and we're thinking of selling up". I said no, that will give me them 180° the wrong idea. 10pm now - quiet and lovely.
Lovely quiet night's sleep, muggy, rained briefly. Man from Qld camped near us (with invisible wife and shitsu terrier) sleeps outside every night. He slept through rain. Cooler today, hot down in Launceston according to the radio. After brekkie we drove back up into W'bro pass to do short Myrtle Forest walk, and visit Little Plains lookout. Overcast, not best day for lookouts. Walk was signed with slightly annoying "meet Granma Myrtle" stuff, that we read to the kids. After the lookout I made a special dirt-road request, so we could see the old stamper battery at the Anchor tin mine. The river turned a 20m diameter waterwheel, which powered up to a hundred stampers, used to crush the ore. The crushed ore fell through a grate onto a special table which vibrated the heavier rock apart from the lighter tin. The interpretation boards there are very good. 100 years ago it was a massive well organised site, with a large building that looks about the size of the Derwent Entertainment Centre housing the works. It's gone back to nature very thoroughly since the mine closed. There is a working model of this same waterwheel at the St Helens History room, which is well worth seeing (free). On the way back to W'bro we stopped at Pyengana roadhouse for Pyengana milk. They don't stock it for some obtuse reason, perhaps a clash of personalities with the dairyman. I asked but the roadhouse man was not forthcoming. Back to camp at W'bro Pub, Elf and I were struck by strange desire to go into the pub for coffee and lemonades. They have a few chinese artifacts, v. nice woven coolie hats on wall. They don't do fancy coffee, but are pleased to charge $4 each for a small cup of plunger coffee. Big waste of money as we are on a powered site and can easily make our own. Sigh. Apparently unpowered sites here are free if you have a meal. Some European ladies were huffily leaving this morning after one night as they didn't like the food. We came back from the pub, had sandwiches and played chess, and did have our own coffee. Played soccer on the lovely expanse of grass, then went for a walk down a farm road to the edge of the State Forest. Noodled the day away, good for all of us, and such a nice place. Cool and windy, listened to cricket, while Michael scamped about with sticks most of the afternoon. Early dinner, tomato tuna pasta. Early to bed - first time I've written log by daylight. Boys together in van for the first time. I have arranged a funnel and hose connecting van window to little zip on corner of tent. It works very slightly, but is amusing to us all. Going to pub now for chocolate and payphone change.
Mon 28 Jan - at Scottsdale
Writing this lying in tent, so will be brief. Lovely late breakfast in the sun this morning, no-one else around. Left Weldborough around 10.30 and went to Derby. Took photos of Derby football ground and grandstand. Coffee and cake at Berries, run by Anne. Iced layer cake (cream inside) comes with a) whipped cream with streaks of jam? berry coulis? ink?, ii) ice cream and 3) plain poured cream. Not complaining. Anne showed us folders full of info on the area. The old info bureau has been closed, the new one (Called Planet Tin or something very now like that) was meant to be open by now, and they are saying possibly March. Met Sandra who runs Bankhouse - oldest wooden bank building in Australia, now chinese museum/curiosity shop. I recommend Berries and Bankhouse. Sandra was flying the Eureka flag. Marcus asked what it was and I explained - then got talking further to her about it. She is a historian by training, and she agreed with me that Eureka is blown out of proportion in Australian history, as it was a rare armed conflict between whites. More died in Lambing Flats miners riot, but the dead were chinese and aborigines. Must look up numbers later. Derby was a bit of a sad place - I wished we had a bigger budget and could have spent more time and money there. I hope the new museum will revive it. We drove on, and did the Briseis Race walk at Branxholm, a bit disappointing. It was a 38km channel to bring more water from Ringarooma River to the Derby tin mine to power machinery. We drove off from Branxholm with the back of the van open - Elf realised 2km later due to noise of wind. Went back - only one sleeping bag had fallen out as we went over hump in Branx. car park, recovered it. My fault. On to Legerwood, fantastic carvings in the main street. Old memorial trees, planted in 1918 for fallen soldiers from L'wood. Trees were condemned as unsafe in about 2000. Locals decided to save stumps and commission chainsaw portrait sculptures of the men. Very good, and quite moving. Then on to Scottsdale, did shopping while Elf put up the tent again. Staying for free at Northeast Park - cold showers, by noisy highway, but lots of drinkable water. Filled tank first thing. Beaut BBQ area, bird sanctuary and 'flora park' attached. Quite full. Van near us has run generator non-stop for at least five hours. Really bothering me now that everything is quiet. Seem not to have anything in particular electrical running. Infuriating. They have a boat - am learning to be suspicious of boat types. Met Mervyn from Queensland while BBQing dinner - on his 36th trip to Tasmania. "The first one was the year Danny Clark won the Burnie Wheel".
Tue 29 Jan - at Low Head
Atrocious night at Scottsdale. TRUCKS. Log trucks. All night. We had the worst spot in the park, didn't realise. Generetaor finally switched off about 10pm, soon after first trucks came by. Free camping, nice facilities, lovely birdlife, but DO NOT camp at Northeast Park in Scottsdale unless you have industrial earplugs and can get a spot as far as possible from the road. We set a new record, up at 6 and on the road by 8. Straight out of town, decided to skip Bridport, headed for Lilydale. Down very long and steep hill on approach to town. Had coffee and awful vanilla slices there in shop with incredible bare shelves - v. funny. One jar of Vegemite [space] one pack of Brillo pads [space] one tin of Keens curry [space] one bottle of Domestos etc. It's a deep fry bain-marie type place that opens early for truckies, not what we had in mind, but it was only 9 and nothing else open. After that we set off across B and C roads to the Batman Bridge, en route for Beauty Point on the west bank of the Tamar. Bought expensive apricots from a lady who sits there every day. Cherries were $7 per half kilo. To Seahorse World at Beauty Pt. Family ticket was $50. Elf opted out, Michael was free, so I took both boys in while Elf read the paper in strangely overheated cafe. It was very interesting. Michael was playing up at the Touch Tank. I told him he had to sit down and stop touching. Wails. A bit later he sniffed "I am thinking about my behaviour". It can be so funny to detect the imprints of other peoples techniques on your children. A little later he said to Elf "I am thinking about my fish behaviour". We skipped the Platypus House next door to the World. Next stop, Beaconsfield, to the south. Had lunch in the park, and saw the Grubb Shaft Museum adjacent to the current working gold mine. Excellent - $9 adult and $4 children over 4. Boys loved it - lots of touchable stuff. At the end we sat and looked over the current mine's surface activity, centred around main shaft and lift. Saw the famous tag board where Todd and Brant emerged from the lift and tagged out. Red side headed IN · UNDERGROUND and green side headed OUT · SAFE. Felt quite emotional when I described the rescue and final scene to Marcus. A worker came out of the lift with some gear. Sent lift down with some other gear. Tagged out like he probably has thousands of times. We all felt like cheering. Next we drove back over the elegant Batman Bridge, up the East Tamar Hwy to Low Head. A lady camping at Scottsdale recommended Low Head Caravan Park to Elf this morning (at about 5.30 am). Its is fantastic, incredibly clean, only quarter full if that tonight. Great facilities. We put up the tent, swam at a little beach, then went into George Town (large town sth of Low Head) for fish to grill for dinner. G Town is better than it was a few years ago. Low Head is very very nice. After dinner, we drove to the end of the road and walked around the Low Head lighthouse. Elf wants to buy a holiday house here. At one stage when my mobile was actually getting a signal and I was about to call Mum and Dad, Elf said "Tell them we're at Low Point and we're thinking of selling up". I said no, that will give me them 180° the wrong idea. 10pm now - quiet and lovely.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Camping log, days 4-6
Thurs 24th - Coles Bay, inside Freycinet NP Can't find log book, have written this on back of Marcus' Kelly Sports certificate. Slept very snug with Marcus in the van. Wind died down justafter bedtime. Beaut sunset. This morning met Louise Browne, old Burnie schoolfriend. Family next to us includes a teenage girl in a wheelchair - brain injury perhaps. Together with the Muslims its like Camping Diversity Week. I saw the damage to the Maui van from Mayfield - its going to cost them their deposit. Michael's birthday today, he's been very grumpy about it. 4 presents: spinning top from Marki and Baba, special BLUE Lightning McQueen car from film Cars (he's usually red, but this one is from the dream sequence where he is imagining he is saving Earth from spark plug monster aliens- you know). Colouring book from my Mum and Dad and little pull-back cars from Marcus. We packed tent and van up and went down to cafe for cake (2 vanilla slices shoved together). Went inside out of wind to blow out candles. Babycinos $3.50! For a cup of milk froth! To FNP visitors centre - very nice, calm. Booked into a powered site, and went off to do Cape Tourville, and Sleepy Bay walks. SB walk ends at Little Gravelly Beach - gravel like a handful of Atlantic salmon risotto. Next, to Honeymoon Bay for a swim - very lovely, good for kids. Visit there ended by Michael toilet emergency. Back to campsite, it was rock hard. Couldn't get a tent peg in for love or money. Asked some other tenters how they had put up theirs. A man called Paul was lending everyone his drill and bucket of long wood screws. Once we were set up, we drove a short distance to Richardsons Beach where a P&W ranger named Alex gave a talk on shorebirds. He was a herpetologist, and had to look up a lot of bird stuff in a handy book he had brought along. Back to camp again, no power! I drove to town for fish and chips and to ring Dad on payphone. Got the answer after lots of guessing games with - it was a cutout switch inside the clothes cupboard we had tripped by accident. Didn't have quite enough F & C so bulked it up with more spaghetti. Michael is making up DVD titles. "Have you seen the film Little Tiger 2, Return to the Snow?" Discovered you can send short SMSs from payphone by toilet block, so I sent a few cryptic messages before bed.
Fri 25th - St Helens, Big 4 Caravan Pk Today not such a success. Feeling better now - pleasant cool evening, showered and kids and Elf off watching DVD in Recreation Room. Last night I had Michael in the van. Elf prefers tent but didn't sleep wll due to rock-hard ground. Borrowed drill again to remove screws. Others agreed it was a pretty dud campground in that regard. Apparently when it is wet it turns to soup - which explains groundsheet texture imprinted in what is apparently granite. Morning swim at Richardsons Beach. Cold but clear and delightful. Am swimming all over Tasmania in my underpants. No-one has seemed to care. We heard of cold showers at Vis. Centre but no sign of them. Drove to Iluka CP where an elderly German couple were enjoying use of the rubber doormat we had left behind the previous morning.They relinquished it but said it was a very good doormat. Continued out of Coles Bay and up to Bicheno. Sealife Centre sounded good, an aquarium and with a touching tank. Cost $20 the family, all in one room. OK but not really value. We couldnt resist the seafood restaurant attached. Deep fried lunch for 4, another $76. And that was Bicheno. Drove off stuffed and drowsy. [Found out later that the little aquarium in a tin shed on the edge of a cliff is much better. We stopped there briefly while looking for the big one. They said they gave up on the touch tank concept when they got sick of removing all the dead critters.] We met Susan and Rick from South Hobart by the road sth of St Helens - their youngest had been carsick. Heading for Cosy Corner, nth of St Helens. I did something to my back while packing up this morning - possible pinched nerve. Then Elf had a sudden twinge under her rib when hoisting herself into the drivers seat. She put frozen peas on it and it came rightish after a few minutes. Coastline up to Scamander is just amazing. You have to laugh at the miles and miles of absolutely perfect deserted beaches. Into St Helens about 3.30, went to look at Big 4 Caravan Pk. $28 for site plus $8 each for boys - pricey. Big camp, lots of amenities. Showed DVD in games room tonight. Tuna and salad for dinner, all very tired. Marcus has cold sores erupting all over his face. I tried to put up the tent myself. 2 long poles and 1 short one, I had a short/long mixed up. Keep tripping over. Spilled Cold Power through van. Lots of little things going wrong.
Sat 26th Australia Day - Weldborough Noisy night at St Helens. I went off to ring Lynn and Scott, who we are going to stay with in Launceston on the 30th. Also rang Nick and Anna, good to just have a chat. When i got back Elf was in a foul mood due to noisy foul-mouthed group of about 10 adults in a cabin very close to our site. I asked them to be quiet and they were, for a while. Couldnt hear them in the van but Elf could in the tent. Very comfy night's sleep. Couldnt get myself out of bed until 7. We ate and got going pretty quickly. Big 4 were apologetic about noisy people, they are annual regulars and they always get complaints. We drove up through town, Regatta on today, so quite busy. Stopped at St H. History Room - nice little museum, free entry. A bit of a spat with the Grubb Shaft Mining Mus. at Beaconsfield, judging by some of the photo captions. Bought cherries and pickled onions at market. Drove to Binalong Bay, 1st half of road atrocious, 2nd half excellent. Amazing colours, sea so blue blue-green. Not a bright day but white sand still impossibly glare-y. Boys and I paddled. Marcus caught waves, waves caught Michael. From B. Bay up into hills, through Goshen, to Pyengana. Cheese factory now has v. nice cafe with tastings, and a playground. Their milk is superb, had top class iced coffee, iced choc and milkshakes. V. impressive. Lost Marcus' cold sore stuff, so back to St Helens to buy more, and some dinner makings. Had lunch at St Columba's Falls carpark, then walked to very beautiful falls. Interesting epiphytes - trees growing out of manferns. Recent bushfires between St H and Pyengana. Back to Pyengana to take photos of cows, then up through Weldborough Pass to Weldborough town. Farm country between St H and W'brough is as beautiful as I have seen in Australia. Not massively green at present, sprinklers on - little household ones, looked like. Old shingle-roof barns and sheds, rolling hills, freisian cows etc. Weldborough pub campground has no drinkable water, but its $22 for a powered site, no extra for kids, lots of green space and so quiet. We love it and we're going to stay another night. Some short walks and lots of rest tomorrow, its going to be 28°. A much better day today. Scrambled eggs for dinner.
Fri 25th - St Helens, Big 4 Caravan Pk Today not such a success. Feeling better now - pleasant cool evening, showered and kids and Elf off watching DVD in Recreation Room. Last night I had Michael in the van. Elf prefers tent but didn't sleep wll due to rock-hard ground. Borrowed drill again to remove screws. Others agreed it was a pretty dud campground in that regard. Apparently when it is wet it turns to soup - which explains groundsheet texture imprinted in what is apparently granite. Morning swim at Richardsons Beach. Cold but clear and delightful. Am swimming all over Tasmania in my underpants. No-one has seemed to care. We heard of cold showers at Vis. Centre but no sign of them. Drove to Iluka CP where an elderly German couple were enjoying use of the rubber doormat we had left behind the previous morning.They relinquished it but said it was a very good doormat. Continued out of Coles Bay and up to Bicheno. Sealife Centre sounded good, an aquarium and with a touching tank. Cost $20 the family, all in one room. OK but not really value. We couldnt resist the seafood restaurant attached. Deep fried lunch for 4, another $76. And that was Bicheno. Drove off stuffed and drowsy. [Found out later that the little aquarium in a tin shed on the edge of a cliff is much better. We stopped there briefly while looking for the big one. They said they gave up on the touch tank concept when they got sick of removing all the dead critters.] We met Susan and Rick from South Hobart by the road sth of St Helens - their youngest had been carsick. Heading for Cosy Corner, nth of St Helens. I did something to my back while packing up this morning - possible pinched nerve. Then Elf had a sudden twinge under her rib when hoisting herself into the drivers seat. She put frozen peas on it and it came rightish after a few minutes. Coastline up to Scamander is just amazing. You have to laugh at the miles and miles of absolutely perfect deserted beaches. Into St Helens about 3.30, went to look at Big 4 Caravan Pk. $28 for site plus $8 each for boys - pricey. Big camp, lots of amenities. Showed DVD in games room tonight. Tuna and salad for dinner, all very tired. Marcus has cold sores erupting all over his face. I tried to put up the tent myself. 2 long poles and 1 short one, I had a short/long mixed up. Keep tripping over. Spilled Cold Power through van. Lots of little things going wrong.
Sat 26th Australia Day - Weldborough Noisy night at St Helens. I went off to ring Lynn and Scott, who we are going to stay with in Launceston on the 30th. Also rang Nick and Anna, good to just have a chat. When i got back Elf was in a foul mood due to noisy foul-mouthed group of about 10 adults in a cabin very close to our site. I asked them to be quiet and they were, for a while. Couldnt hear them in the van but Elf could in the tent. Very comfy night's sleep. Couldnt get myself out of bed until 7. We ate and got going pretty quickly. Big 4 were apologetic about noisy people, they are annual regulars and they always get complaints. We drove up through town, Regatta on today, so quite busy. Stopped at St H. History Room - nice little museum, free entry. A bit of a spat with the Grubb Shaft Mining Mus. at Beaconsfield, judging by some of the photo captions. Bought cherries and pickled onions at market. Drove to Binalong Bay, 1st half of road atrocious, 2nd half excellent. Amazing colours, sea so blue blue-green. Not a bright day but white sand still impossibly glare-y. Boys and I paddled. Marcus caught waves, waves caught Michael. From B. Bay up into hills, through Goshen, to Pyengana. Cheese factory now has v. nice cafe with tastings, and a playground. Their milk is superb, had top class iced coffee, iced choc and milkshakes. V. impressive. Lost Marcus' cold sore stuff, so back to St Helens to buy more, and some dinner makings. Had lunch at St Columba's Falls carpark, then walked to very beautiful falls. Interesting epiphytes - trees growing out of manferns. Recent bushfires between St H and Pyengana. Back to Pyengana to take photos of cows, then up through Weldborough Pass to Weldborough town. Farm country between St H and W'brough is as beautiful as I have seen in Australia. Not massively green at present, sprinklers on - little household ones, looked like. Old shingle-roof barns and sheds, rolling hills, freisian cows etc. Weldborough pub campground has no drinkable water, but its $22 for a powered site, no extra for kids, lots of green space and so quiet. We love it and we're going to stay another night. Some short walks and lots of rest tomorrow, its going to be 28°. A much better day today. Scrambled eggs for dinner.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Preparing to camp
We are going away camping on Monday, for two weeks. It will be an interesting experience - hopefully fun. I am driving the Subie up to mum and dad's on Saturday morning, where I will leave it, and return to Hobart in their campervan. Elf and the boys and I will then set off up the east coast, to arrive back at Turners Beach tired but happy on or before the 1st of February. Mum will be having an exhibition opening in Burnie that night, so it will be nice to attend that.
I am not a camping type, and neither is Elf. I can not tie knots, or make fire by rubbing sticks. I like to look things up on the internet. (Actually, I think I will print out every kind of knot I might need and take hard copies with me). The boys will miss their DVDs and their friends next door. Elf and I will miss our lovely new house. But we hope that the peace, quiet, scenery and friends we catch up with on the way will make up for it.
I will probably not be able to blog along the way, but I will try to make notes and sketches that I can turn to when we resume normal services.
I am not a camping type, and neither is Elf. I can not tie knots, or make fire by rubbing sticks. I like to look things up on the internet. (Actually, I think I will print out every kind of knot I might need and take hard copies with me). The boys will miss their DVDs and their friends next door. Elf and I will miss our lovely new house. But we hope that the peace, quiet, scenery and friends we catch up with on the way will make up for it.
I will probably not be able to blog along the way, but I will try to make notes and sketches that I can turn to when we resume normal services.
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