Daily Archives: December 21, 2010

After a reasonable nights sleep it just remains to greet the dawn at Port Melbourne, drive home for breakfast and collapse after another successful family holiday.

Our last day in Tasmania so what should we do?

Head off to Elephant Pass for pancakes of course!

Various other options and plans were discussed but mainly we just headed back to Devonport and saw what we saw on the way. A short stop to wander the beaches north of Bicheno and marvel at how whit the sand was and how remote it all seemed. Winding our way up to Elephant Pass for the well promoted pancakes which were worth it. Then slipped down a back lane, or maybe a goat track, to look at a local craftshop.

We tried to visit some old growth forests near Avennue River and Mathinna Falls but the roads looked better on the maps and we mainly found rutted tracks, plantations and clear fell sites. Pretty depressing really.

Eventually back on the main roads we zoomed – sort off- towards Devonport, stopping briefing at Ashgrove Dairy to stock up on some lovely Tasmanian cheeses. Unfortunately the chocolate shop was shut.

The its back into the queues and onto the Spirit of Tasmania for our return trip.

What else to do on the east coast but walk in Freycinet National Park, through the saddle to Wineglass Bay. The natives are so friendly the sand so white, the water so clear, the climb so steeep!

After puffing our way back up from Wineglass Bay we ambled home for a rest and relax before doing a night tour of the local penguin colony. The girls were impressed at being able to see the penguins up close and personal, sometimes very personal as they seemed to not worry about us peeking into their boxes or waddling along next to you on the tracks, but they do smell.

Wake up to a sunny day in Richmond but can still see the snow on Mt Wellington.

As today is going to be a travel day we start by pottering around Richmond looking at all the historical buildings. Girls are a bit reluctant and Siobhan is mortified we might go near the school especially as it is a school day in Tasmania. Still we visit the Catholic church, the old gaol, walk down by the bridge and view the golly shop. We even manage to time our visit to the bakery for branch to avoid most of another torrential down pour. Despited stated reluctance the girls seem to quite enjoy the whole outing.

Having toured around and bought more sugar at the lolly shop we headed off to our last stop over at Bicheno on the east coast. The trip across and up alternated between boring and scenic. On arrival, again in the rain, we found ourselves in a nice cabin with excellent facilities. Kiara found her self drawn to the lake and managed to convince Cath to supervise her as she tried out kayaking with some success! Cath and I then managed to escape for awhile with a walk along the foreshore rocks to view the blow hole and the famous red rocks of the east coast.

A bit of shopping at the local gave us sustenance as we planned our next day. I hoped for a decent walk at Freycinet and Cath eyed of the local penguin tour.

Having settled in at Richmond we planned a tourist adventure around Hobart in and out of the rain.

First stop the Cadbury’s factory “tour”, very scripted basically a cruise around the shop with a little demo and video in the theatrette. Not much of a tour of the factory but plenty of free chocolate and cheap chocolate. We come away laden with calories and sugar. The kids loved it.

On to the Cascade Brewery with lunch in the car. Far more of a traditional factory tour including the safety instruction, yellow vests and safety goggles. Got to peek here and there, some interesting stories and free samples after. Who knew there could be so many varieties of beer. Also the bottle line was amazing with dancing lines of bottles snaking around the place. Nice little cafe where you can get your tastings and a bowl of chips as the rain sleeted down.

With a break in the weather we wind our way up Mt Wellington. Don’t get near the top as the snow starts to fall and we decide we needed to escape the car. Have a great time running around in the snow, throwing snow balls and trying to make snow men, until Siobhan realises canvas shoes aren’t good in the snow and her feet are freezing. Head back down the hill to chilly Hobart and Salamanca Place. (Sure I saw the ranger closing gates as we drove down)

Wander through the wind and rain of the docks looking at interesting craft shops and argue over what to do about dinner. Finally decide we are all too cold to think rationally and drive back to Richmond for takeaway and getting warm in front of the TV.