• Launceston TAS

    14 April 2024, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Today we can claim to have visited every state in Australia within the past 12 months! Pretty impressive.

    We disembarked the Spirit of Tasmania in Devonport around 10:30 am and headed south, stopping on route at the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm for the most delicious punnet of fresh raspberries ever. We took only a few hundred metres to completely devour them as we continued down the Midland Highway towards Launceston.

    Here we explored Cataract Gorge, a unique and unexpected urban wilderness wrapped around a dramatic gorge, just a stroll from Launceston’s City Centre. The highlight was the First Basin Chairlift which spans over 457m, including a central span of 308m making it the world’s longest single span chairlift. It was a delightfully slow retro ride with stunning views over the reserve.

    After a few short walks around the grounds we headed for the east coast and our first real destination, Binnalong Bay. The Lazy Waves Beach House will be our home for the next few nights as we explore the Bay of Fires and northwest region of Tasmania. The house is superb, with a generous balcony overlooking the beach - perfect for our first Tasmanian happy hour 🥂
    Baca lagi

  • Spirit of Tasmania

    13 April 2024, Bass Strait ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    After a long wait for delayed boarding we eventually sailed out of Port Phillip Bay in the early hours of Sunday morning. Happily we were able to sneak a cheeky port on the port deck as we left port 🍷😁

    Our cabin was cozy with all five of us in it but much better than the complimentary recliner option. In fact, once in bed it was quite comfy. I could even get accustomed to the quiet hum and vibrations of the ship’s engines while being gently rocked to sleep.

    Big thanks to Helen’s forward thinking and loan of an inflatable hiking mattress, which fit like it was made for the space between the bunks. And bless Lachie for graciously accepting this as his bed for the night xx

    We had a lovely calm voyage and were even welcomed to Tassie this morning by a spectacular full rainbow just outside our porthole window. Let the adventure begin!
    Baca lagi

  • Geelong VIC

    13 April 2024, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    A quick detour leaving Albury this morning to peruse LuftWasser 2024 in the park opposite our morning coffee stop. Advertised as Australia's leading independent Porsche event, the festival showcased cars that are driven not polished. The boys at least were impressed.

    Moving on we caught up with Dan & Helen and arrived promptly in Geelong around mid afternoon excited and ready to board the Spirit of Tasmania, only to find it had been delayed and boarding would not commence until 9:30 pm. Hence we are now intimately acquainted with the Geelong waterfront!

    On the plus side, I did find the best raspberry muffin ever at a cafe on the foreshore and we all enjoyed a yummy dinner at Hecho En Mexico, a happening little place on the beachfront.

    We’re now playing ‘spot the SOT’ as we patiently await its arrival in Corio Bay.
    Baca lagi

  • Albury NSW

    12 April 2024, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    On the road again, heading south. Destination Tasmania. Very excited as none of us have ever been before.

    It’s a different kind of adventure for us this time leaving the caravan behind and taking our chances on a range of motel, short-stay rental and cabin style accommodation.

    It was a slow roadwork riddled start, but once out of Sydney we cruised down the Hume Highway stopping briefly for lunch at Sutton Forest, fuel at Yass, and a quick detour to view the HMAS Otway at Holbrook.

    Tonight we’ve made it to the Albury Manor House in central Albury. Let’s just say it would have been stately in its day 🤣

    Despite the room being twice the size of our caravan we do miss the convenience of having everything on hand - it sure beats unpacking and repacking the car for short overnight stops.

    A quick drive up Monument Hill for a beautiful sunset vista over town before dinner at the Commercial Club - recreating a memory from our 2016 Great Ocean Road trip. The boys were disappointed the all-you-can-eat buffet died out with COVID but were more than happy with their mega schnitzels instead!

    Looking forward to really starting our Tassie odyssey as 'spirited travellers' tomorrow.
    Baca lagi

  • Bermagui

    11 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Finding things to do on another uninspiring beach day… 😬

    After possibly the best fish and chips on the south coast from the Marina at Bermagui, we doubled back to explore the only goldfield in Australia that goes into the sea - Montreal Goldfield, an amazingly intact example of alluvial diggings from the 1880s.

    We joined a guided walk led by volunteers who explained the history and mining of the goldfield area. They also recounted the mysteries and anecdotes of times gone by as we followed boardwalks and paths through the beautiful native forest of tree ferns, eucalypts and orchids - evidently inhabited by a million mozzies!

    Apart from these oversized blood suckers, it was a relatively peaceful experience, a far cry from the gold rush era's chaotic days.
    Baca lagi

  • Whitlams

    10 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    A fun evening spent singing along to our favourite Whitlams songs of old, reliving the best of the ‘90s as they played live to a packed house on the lawn at the Tilba Valley Winery & Ale House.

  • Central Tilba

    10 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today we stepped back in time to explore the quaint village of Central Tilba, with its perfectly preserved colonial heritage buildings and colourful old world shops nestled amongst a forever green landscape.

    We sampled some cheese at the cheese factory and enjoyed some amazing pies from the bakery, before letting the kids loose in the old fashioned lolly shop! 🍬

    We walked away with jumbo bullets, choc covered jelly babies, watermelon bon-bons, coffee creams, gum-balls and the most hideously sour suckers imaginable 😝
    Baca lagi

  • Oyster Farm & Brewery

    9 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    When in Narooma, the oyster capital of the south coast…

    A fancy afternoon at ‘Oyster Farmers Daughter’ - a funky shipping-crate cafe on the shores of Wagonga Inlet offering not only offer a beautiful waterfront location to sit back and enjoy an afternoon socialising, but also some of the best local produce in the region - including the famous Narooma Oysters 🦪

    Followed by a stop at Narooma’s brand new Breakwall Brewery to further unwind with some local beers and cocktails.
    Baca lagi

  • Seals

    8 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    In spite of the weather we ventured down to the harbour to witness the fur seals that reside on the Narooma Bar breakwall, colloquially called Seal Rocks.

    Despite their cute appearance and playful nature, the fur seals are a topic of controversy in the local community, with local fishermen claiming they’re eating too
    much of their fishing stocks.

    Us tourists on the other hand found the wide eyed mammals simply adorable 😊
    Baca lagi

  • Bodalla

    8 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    El Niño letting us down again 😬

    Another uninspiring beach day spent getting our cheese on at the Bodalla Dairy. We tasted several locally produced varieties before walking away with tonight’s happy hour selection - a delicious creamy cheddar and pepperberry cheese.

    On account of the weather we decided lunch in Bodalla’s top rated pub seemed like a good idea, before returning to the Dairy for a round of ice creams and thick shakes. Yummo 😋
    Baca lagi

  • Freshwater Bay

    7 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    After a lazy start to the day we headed down to Narooma Marina for an afternoon on the water, BBQ boat style.

    As the wind came up through the main channel we dropped anchor in the sheltered water of Freshwater Bay where we enjoyed jumping off the back of the boat and indulging in a culinary BBQ feast.

    A nervous moment as we lost connection with Dan’s drone which had flown well out of sight around the end of the bay. The boys were dispatched on the SUP in the faint hope of retrieval should it return to home and land at its original take-off point, now approximately 50m away as we’d drifted with the wind.

    Fortunately connection was restored in the nick of time and we all breathed a sigh of relief as Dan was able to manually land it on the deck of the moving boat! #skills

    Thanks for the overhead shots Dan 😁
    Baca lagi

  • Bar Rock Lookout & Australia Rock

    7 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    Bar Rock lookout captures a spectacular ocean view over the breakwalls and out to Montague Island, and in the opposite direction a lovely outlook over to Bar Beach and the Wagonga Inlet.

    On the southern breakwall is a hole in the rockface known as Australia Rock. When viewed at just the right angle, the hole in the rock bears a resemblance to the shape of the Australian continent (without Tasmania) - so they say (imagination required).

    There are various explanations for how the rock formed into this continental likeness, including that it is simply a natural result of thousands of years of erosion of the ancient chert and shale headland. One of the more interesting tales is that the hole was created inadvertently when a ship was moored to the heads with large chains. In heavy seas the chains wore away the rock to create the familiar shape seen today.
    Baca lagi

  • Dalmeny

    6 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Now this is more like it!

    A beautiful beach day at Dalmeny, complete with fish and chips from the Blue Octopus (a local favourite).

    Anth, Dan, Helen and I enjoyed our obligatory holiday ‘happy hour’ while the kids played an extended version of their beloved Settlers of Catan game. What would we do without it 😁

    We ended the evening with a highly competitive game of Trivial Pursuit - kids vs adults - which the kids will tell you they won convincingly. Either we taught them well or the questions were rigged - nothing to do with the preceding happy hour 🤪
    Baca lagi

  • Narooma

    5 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Another uninspiring beach day spent exploring the town of Narooma itself. We walked the disjointed Main Street acquiring a bunch of ‘classic’ DVDs from Vinnie’s (in anticipation of more unfavourable weather) before stumbling upon a fabulous artisan bakery - Honour Bakery - and the best ever sausage roll with tomato chilli jam sauce 😋

    Lachie was very keen to try his luck fishing, until we realised we brought the rods but not the tackle box 🤦🏽‍♀️

    We therefore spent the rest of afternoon playing games before welcoming Dan, Helen, Claire and Michael to join us for the rest of the holiday. Let the fun begin!
    Baca lagi

  • Happy Birthday Lachlan

    4 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We officially have 3 teenagers in the house!

    Not even an invitation to sleep in stopped the newest 13 year old from waking excitedly with the anticipation of birthday fun. And he certainly was rewarded.

    We got in early before we left home with his signature teenage gift of a Trek Roscoe 7 bike. Then this morning he received a further bounty 🤩

    Being an uninspiring beach day we explored around Narooma and Dalmeny before somehow finding our way to the new Narooma Mountain Bike Trails. Something tells me we’ll be back… 🤦🏽‍♀️

    As the sun attempted an appearance we headed to the beach, only to very quickly conclude that wetsuits are most definitely warranted (another reason we usually head north). The pool on the other hand was entirely pleasant.

    We ended the day with a special birthday dinner at the Narooma Hotel with its ‘million dollar view‘ over the Wagonga Inlet and Bar Beach.
    Baca lagi

  • Let the holidays begin

    3 Januari 2024, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    A very long 377 km to Narooma, mostly spent navigating the 15 km or so from Lake Conjola to Ulladulla - a serpentine of crawling traffic reminding us why we usually head north! The stunning scenery a saving grace as the sun made a brief appearance.

    The fabulous Discovery Park Narooma Beach will be our base for the next week or so as we explore this part of the south coast.
    Baca lagi

  • Bonny Hills

    7 Oktober 2023, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    It’s official, I think we’ve found the best ‘glampsite’ in Australia at BIG4 Bonny Hills. Complete with our very own double sized astro turf site, ensuite, spacious private deck, fully stocked outdoor kitchen (including complimentary tea, coffee, milk and biscuits), TV with Netflix, dining table etc. It’s awesome!

    Plus the park is pretty fabulous too - with heated pool, waterslide, splash park, coffee cart, games room, jump pad, putt putt golf and plenty of shade - all right beside a beautiful beach, with a great surf club and a general store/takeaway food just opposite. We’ll be back for sure!
    Baca lagi

  • Currumbin & Coolangatta

    6 Oktober 2023, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Our final day on the Gold Coast spent exploring the southern beaches towards the NSW border.

    First stop, coffee at Elephant Rock with its spectacular views back over the Surfers Paradise skyline and south towards Coolangatta.

    At the Coolangatta beachfront we spotted a bike shop advertising ‘Fat Boys’ for hire. They had our names all over them! An hour later we had cruised the length of the coast from Coolangatta to Currumbin and back. Anthony and Ryan scored the turbo charged models while Josh, Lachie and I got the driving Miss Daisy versions 🤣

    A fun day ending with a swim back at the caravan park, and a lazy cook ourselves dinner.
    Baca lagi

  • Sea World

    5 Oktober 2023, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Saving the best for last… Day three of Village Roadshow Theme Park madness: Sea World!

    We all agreed Sea World was the best of the three parks, with rides that were genuinely fun and plenty of other entertaining attractions. We especially loved the Affinity Dolphin show and Seal Guardians presentation. Our favourite rides were the Jet Ski Rescue, Storm Coaster and Leviathan 😁

    We celebrated the successful completion of our three park ‘Escape Pass’ with a seafood platter on the Surfer’s Paradise beachfront 😋
    Baca lagi

  • Wet ‘N Wild

    4 Oktober 2023, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Day two of Village Roadshow Theme Park madness: Wet ‘N Wild! (mixing it up on account of the weather 🌦️)

    Very different to yesterday, with respectable queue lengths - we conquered 4 rides in our first hour! I may even have been convinced I had fun at a theme park 🤣

    Hoping the weather holds out for SeaWorld tomorrow 🤞🏼
    Baca lagi

  • Movie World

    3 Oktober 2023, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    After years of casually responding “one day” we’re finally making good on a long awaited (never forgotten) promise to the boys - Gold Coast Theme Parks! 🤦🏽‍♀️

    Day one of Village Roadshow madness: Movie World. Despite the lengthy queues, the boys bravely conquered ALL the major attractions and managed to come away smiling (I might have chickened-out on more than a few). Their favourites included the Joker (DC Hyper-coaster), Superman and Green Lantern rides.

    Not sure crowds or adrenaline rides are my thing, but looking forward to SeaWorld tomorrow all the same. I think penguins and polar bears might be more my style 😁
    Baca lagi

  • Brisbane

    2 Oktober 2023, Australia ⋅ 🌩️ 20 °C

    Today we explored Brisbane, including South Bank with its markets and lagoon pool, a ferry cruise along the river and under the iconic Story Bridge, and of course an obligatory drive by the mighty Gabba and Suncorp Stadiums 🤦🏽‍♀️Baca lagi

  • Surfers Paradise & Broadwater

    1 Oktober 2023, Australia ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    A lazy Queensland day spent by the beach and exploring along the coast towards Broadwater where we met up with friends for happy hour and a BBQ to watch the NRL Grand Final.

    Once again our record of jinxing the local team prevails - go Panthers! A mighty come-from-behind three-peat.

    Poor Brisbane, losers in both the AFL and NRL 😂
    Baca lagi

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