WEEK ONE

 DAY ONE- THURSDAY 1st MARCH 2012

We boarded the plane at 1230 pm on March 1^st 2012. The Virgin Blue Australia team provided us with good service and the flight was a little bumpy but overall good. We arrived in Melbourne at 730pm local time. Arriving at Hobart Airport, we descended the stairs adjoined to the airplane door and breathed in the fresh cold air. It was barely eleven degrees as our cheeks and noses turned pink.

Collecting our suitcases and heading towards the Car rental place, we were all buzzing with excitement.  We finally sorted out the paperwork and walked towards our three cars. (Mum dad lee and Alex in Tarago, and the other two in camrys)

We went straight to bed once we were settled into our apartments in Lindisfarne, with a beautiful view of the Tasman Bridge and the city lights.

DAY TWO – FRIDAY

Today we were all a little ‘off with the fairies’ as we had gone to bed at local time 2am and were all exhausted from the day before. We all piled into the cars after a little breakfast and went to the local shopping centre. The boys went to Bunnings and all the ladies (little ones too) went grocery shopping to get whatever we needed for our stay in Lindisfarne (Hobart)

The boys ended up joining us for groceries and we got all the little snacks and special foods for our meals that we planned to make J

After we’d done, we came home for lunch and unpacked groceries, then we all piled back into the cars and drove to the wharf, walked along the pier and chased the seagulls with Alicia, laughed with Sophie and went to ‘Mures’ and tasted the local delicacy, the beautiful fish and some chicken nuggets too. As it was close to dinner, we didn’t eat too much. After this we hopped back into the car and drove around town, looking at all the beautiful churches and their architecture etc. We visited Battery Point also, was beautiful.

DAY THREE- SATURDAY

Today was the day we all truly were looking forward to the most-SALAMANCA MARKETS! The weather was beautifully overcast and the sun made an appearance at some point. There were buskers that lined the streets, from hippies on guitars soulfully singing about love, to the celloists playing the blues and singing about the hard times. There were stalls littered with crocheted beanies, to homemade fudge and honey or jam in jars. Alex and Dad tasted the strong port that left an incredible aftertaste in your mouth once you savoured it for five minutes. We enjoyed pastries from Banjos and the boys dug into their bratwursts. After lunch we had a lovely surprise; Aunty Therese, Uncle Phil and Daniel came down to Hobart to come visit us. So with them in tow, we headed to ‘WurstHaus’ and selected special meats and cheeses.  The rain held out for most of the day, but just as everyone was packing up and getting ready to move out by 3pm, the slight drizzle came.

After this full on day, everyone was completely exhausted and we decided to just have a little drive around town and head back to the apartments. The De Ruiters decided to join us for dinner so we all sat around and laughed and ate cheeses and salmon with crackers and beers and wine.

It was a lovely night and everyone was tired out by the time 9pm came around.

DAY FOUR- SUNDAY

This morning (as its Sunday) we read a sermon all together at 10am in our apartment, and sang a few lovely psalms together while Sophie grinned and Alicia joined in with her humming. After this we had a small drink and all hopped into the cars again and drove to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens to enjoy God’s beautiful creation and serenity. It was absolutely stunning to see the wonders that we have been blessed with and we brought fresh bread, ham and cheeses from a special ‘Wursthaus’ from the markets the day before. The Japanese garden, the water fountains and the natural ‘fern conservatory’ were all breathtaking. There were little cottages that were fitted with sensor lights that highlighted the history of the gardens that were built almost two hundred years ago.

After the botanical gardens, we decided to head back home to change into warmer clothes, we grabbed our jumpers and all hopped back into the cars again. We drove through town and over the bridge again, and headed up towards Mt Wellington. Even driving up the mountain, in the first five minutes, we were all truly amazed by the view. The cottages were placed on the edge of the mountains like they were just precariously sitting there. When we reached half way to the top, we parked and got out of the cars. The view itself was impossible to capture on camera, as we stood there in the cool breeze, watching the rain cloud descend over the right side of the city.

Reaching the top of the mountain, was a momentous occasion for everyone. The wind took everyone’s breath away and we all quickly donned our jumpers and scarves and ran towards the steps that took us toward the lookout and the observatory with the humongous bay windows, showing off a panoramic view of the city and ocean. It was truly amazing

DAY FIVE – MONDAY

Today we woke up nice and early, and got ready for our day out ‘on the road.’ We witnessed God’s marvellous creation as we travelled to the Tasman Arch, devil’s kitchen and onwards toward the funny little area called ‘DooTown’, where each little cottage along the shore was given a funny name with the word ‘Doo’ in it. Some hilarious ones were ‘Doo Tell' and ‘Doo Nuffin'. From here we watched the waves roll in at Eaglehawk Neck, Saw God’s marvellous creation at tessellated pavements, and drank hot coffees as we watched the water cascade off the rocks at the Blowhole.

After all this we piled back into the cars, and travelled to Port Arthur for the rest of the day. When we arrived at port Arthur and were given an aces card that led us to a certain convicts history, and a little pass that was a ‘surprise’. We walked along the beautiful paths that were lined with hydrangeas and towering trees and walked through the ruins of old churches with the old chiming bells that still went at every hour. Through the old cottages, with the beautiful high ceilings and old light fixtures and locks on doors, on towards the water. We arrived at the dock and this is what our passes were for, a lovely boat cruise on a large fully enclosed yacht. The boat took us around the island and we were accompanied by a lovely commentator who told us the entire history about the ‘Isle of the Dead’ and the thousands of servants, labourers and their supervisors. The history and the places themselves were absolutely breathtaking, and the day was enjoyed by all.

 The weather cleared nicely and the beautiful Tasmanian sun bore down on our backs and faces. After a long day of walking everywhere, it was time to leave. With burnt noses and shoulders, we headed back to the cafe for a quick bite to eat and on towards our next part of the journey.

On our way home, dad made a little detour and we ended up at a small curve in the road, that once you hopped out of the car, had an incredible view. The mountains that shot straight into the ocean with the waves surging against the jagged edges, was an amazing view. There was a staircase with a sign reading ‘Remarkable Caves’ – 15 mins. We all bundled up into our winter jackets and carried Sophie and Alicia, all excited with trepidation as we walked down the twenty flights of stairs.

Reaching the bottom, we all stood there open mouthed at the amazing view once again. There was a massive opening and water from the ocean gushed through. There were thousands of pebbles and large rocks littering the floor as we stood over the view on a metal grid bridge.

Alex and Chris immediately saw a challenge and climbed over the bridge onto the rocky surface below. They both threw and skimmed rocks into the oncoming water and we all laughed in delight.

After this exhausting day, it was finally time to head home, as it was already after 730 pm! We still had an hour and a half to drive back to Lindisfarne, so we decided to stop for a ‘MaccyD’s Run’ in Sorell before we got back to the units. Once home, everyone helped to clean up and get ready to leave the next morning, on our way to Coles Bay tomorrow! J Goodnight again!

DAY SIX – TUESDAY

Today we packed up nice and early and managed to squeeze everything into the back of the tarago. We got on the road just before 10am, and headed towards our first destination, Ross. It took us a while as we headed through other towns first, on our way there. We stopped at Oatlands,to buy some flour that is made in their mill, with a beautiful landscape of old dilapidated buildings and the big windmill. After Oatlands, we detoured a little so Larissa could visit her favourite little ghost town, where her ‘dream home’ is currently located. The house is a big old beautiful hotel that hasn’t been very cared for, but the owners are never really around, so Larissa and Dad snuck around the back, over the fence and peered through one of the large bay windows. Through this window, you can see the amazing 1950’s themed room, with the large dining table and the old chaise lounge chairs, the chandeliers, candelabras, and many other beautiful things. It was sad having to leave without having a chance to look inside, but one day it might just be owned by a particular Hidding!

 Then onto Ross, which is famous for the amazing food they have in their bakery.

After Ross, we headed through Campbelltown where we bought the groceries we needed for Coles bay as there are limited supplies there. We bought all sorts of fruit and different kinds of vegetables to enjoy over the next few days. As we finally arrived at the bay, we all cheered with excitement and unloaded our belongings into the ‘units’. Sue Des Alicia, Chris Kylie and Sophie were all in their own units, and Mum Dad Alex and Larissa shared a beautiful big log cabin towards the beach. The views are amazing and the weather is beautiful although a little chilly at this time of the night. Can’t wait to crawl under the duvet and fall asleep after a long tiring day of driving and running around everywhere.

Tomorrow we will see what awaits us. Whether that be kayaking, four-wheel driving or snorkelling along the beautiful reef to witness God’s wonderful creation. We have been truly blessed with this trip so far, with the beautifully refreshing weather and the laughter that accompanied it. Our family is truly blessed in abundance with gifts from God and a love that is shared by all. Good night!

DAY SEVEN – WEDNESDAY

This morning we woke up a little later then usual, as we were all exhausted from the previous couple days of travelling and lots of exercise. We all made bacon and eggs or ‘protein pancakes’ and enjoyed the company we shared together. We read and prayed and sang for morning devotions and then the boys went for a walk to find out some activities we could do while the mums put the little ones down for their nap.

The boys came back soon after, with excited expressions. Our next activity was planned...4wding on quad bikes (what we call fourwheelers) and a dune buggy! We all rugged up, with jeans, two jumpers, socks and shoes. Kylie and Larissa wore head scarves and tights underneath our jeans, to keep nice and toasty haha. All six of us piled into the tarago and we set off down the road towards ‘Freycinet    4WD Adventures.’ We all arrived prepared with plastic ponchos and water bottles, very eager to get started. We met our ‘leader’ Ben, a British man who told us all about how the quads worked with the gears and certain manoeuvres to overcome the ditches and the big bumps in the road. Chris, Kylie and Des each had their own quad bike, and Dad, Alex and Larissa shared the dune buggy. Chris rode the Yamaha Grizzly 350cc which had a tonne more power and bigger wheels with impressive traction. The Polaris buggy we rode in was a small vehicle with a little roll cage too, it looked a little daunting but we seriously had the time of our lives.  Riding over ditches and tree roots and massive potholes, we bounced around in our ‘motorbike helmets’ and goggles and were screaming with laughter as we got sprayed in mud from the massive puddles. Alex filming on his ‘gopro’ camera, we caught many good fishtails as Chris spun around, the tour guide Ben constantly watching our every move. We had a very good time, and we will be talking about this experience for a very long time!

We arrived back at the units absolutely caked in mud and we could literally taste the dust in our mouths and feeling it on our hands and our jeans were so dirty, we just stripped off the outer layers and loaded it into the washing machines in the Laundromat.

After this, we were all exhausted after everyone cleaned up, so we decided to rest for a while before dinner. Some went for a walk, others stayed at the units and read and around 530 pm we started preparing the food for a barbeque. While the girls played on the playground with ‘Uncle Chris’, the other boys cooked up Bratwurst Sausages, large steaks and fried ‘bintje’ potatoes. Dad made a beautiful homemade mushroom sauce with fresh cream and beautiful mushrooms from the markets.

After dinner and cleanup, we all piled into the cars and headed off down the road to the Freycinet Lookout. We drove up the Cliffside and ‘The hazards’ stuck out beautifully, as the grey haze descended over the mountaintops and we jumped out of the cars, we walked up the pathway and looked out over the ocean with the jagged mountain edges into the water.

Looking back over this day, it was truly exhilarating and we all realise how truly blessed we are that we haven’t even been here for a week and already are having the time of our lives. Tomorrow we are off to St Helens, and will be driving through Bicheno, Swansea and Binalong Bay J Goodnight!

DAY 8 – THURSDAY

Today we packed the car quickly and started off the morning together before we got on the road by 9am, which believe me, is a mission and a half. Everything packed to go, thermoses in hand and smiles upon our faces, we got on the road for our next destination; St Helens.

On our way, we stopped in Bicheno to have morning tea at the lovely little bakery and to peruse all the souvenirs at the ‘Log Cabin’ store, and the clothes at the multiple surf shops. After this we drove through the mountains, up through the winding roads to ‘Elephant Pass’ to the pancake parlour for lunch. The pancakes were amazing, ranging from Savoury egg cheese and ham pancakes *WOW* to the ‘Banberry’ which included fresh blueberries and strawberries, wrapped in a beautiful rich pancake and layered in ice-cream and cream. Everyone could practically roll home!

After this we drove through the little town of St Marys with all the beautiful little cottages and a river running randomly through each backyard. Down St Mary’s pass, we drove onto Scamander and on through to St Helen’s. We arrived around 2pm just in time for check-in, at Queechy Cottages. We have a beautiful view of the harbour and although the rain dimmed the sun a little, the bay was covered in a white mist that seemed to relax everyone. The rain hasn’t let up since, but the fresh air and everyone’s smiling faces show that it doesn’t matter.

For dinner, all the ‘boys’ headed down to the wharf to grab us some dinner. The dinner we had was incredible, Fish and Chips is too simple to explain what we ate. We had Striped Trumpeter, Crumbed Flathead and Battered Flake. To drink we had our infamous Cascade Sodas. It was truly delicious and we have truly enjoyed our short time in this little town. Tomorrow we are on our way to Launceston to see our wonderful family and friends, for a longer period of time; six nights! J