Summer Holidays

Had a fabulous camping trip around Tasmania this month. The weather was variable but it was at home too so no real problem there! We spent three days at the Cygnet Folk Festival soaking up the music vibe and generally enjoying some sunny weather and friendly Tassie hospitality. The town of Cygnet really embraces this festival and there were lots of great food venues open all weekend which meant that the little main street was the beating heart of the festival from which the music radiated.....as it were.


We cruised up the Gordon River which is truly beautiful and lush - the region gets 3 metres of rain a year!! The cruise included a stop on Sarah Island, which was a convict settlement, complete with ruins and sad convict vibes. Tas has a rich convict history, though the indigenous people don't crack much of a mention in relation to either Sarah Island or Port Arthur, which seemed like an odd omission to me considering that so much has been done to caretake the island's history.

Selfie taken from the bow of the 'Eagle' cruising up the Gordon River

Here's Danz in one of the cells from the prison ruins on Sarah island.....now, where will we put the couch?

Lots of wild and wonderful coastline in Tas. We loved 'Pirate Bay'. The sight of this place on a misty day made me feel like shouting 'Aha me hearties!' and laying about with my cutlass.

Pirate Bay

Another highlight was walking around Lake Dove in the shadow of Cradle Mountain. We were astonished at the diverse variety of flora to be found in a relatively small area (the walk is 6 km). It was a shining wonderful day.

Cradle Mountain from some spot around Lake Dove!

How's this for a scenic snap?

Of course I worked on my Shur'tugal socks whenever the chance arose. This is the first pair of socks I have knitted and I am looking forward to the opportunity to pair my own hand knits with my Docs. Bring on stylish winter feet!

Self, knitting furiously at the Bay of Fires

This pic reminds me that I was wearing Daniel's 'Thugs' on my feet and later on went for a walk on the beach. While staring romantically out to sea at the surging waves I was caught unawares by one of them and a thug was sucked off my foot! It was quite scary and I scrabbled quickly to higher sand only to see the poor piece of footwear heading out to Antarctica, or maybe over to New Zealand. 

The weather was not often conducive to sitting around sketching but I managed a few quick dabbles. Here is the bodhran player from 'Whistleblower', he was really good.

Back home now and enjoying shmoozing around and getting into the 'relaxation at home' vibe. Must make the most of it as it is back to school next week!!