It’s lovely here. I had imagined the island to be quite a distance from the mainland but it’s only separated by a small bridge. Nevertheless, you do feel like you’re on an island and in a somewhat special place. It’s clean and neat and the locals are friendly. We stayed a couple of days, checking out the beaches, watching the little penguins return to their burrows, visiting the Rhyll trout & bush tucker farm (we really like the little North Eastern village of Rhyll) and hanging out in laid-back Cowes. Property is temptingly cheap on the island. I spotted a gorgeous three-bedroom townhouse for less than the one-bedroom shoeboxes that we were looking at in Melbourne last year. Having said that, for now we are more than happy with the prime real estate that is our ... read more

The return journey over the Bass Strait wasn’t quite as pleasant as the journey out. Although it was still reasonably calm, it definitely got a little rocky at times and I didn’t feel so good… The music entertainment was also terrible this time, but we whiled away the time by watching a movie, doing magazine puzzles and gorging on the lunch buffet! I met a gorgeous couple – Lindi and Tommo from Bridgetown in WA – who were just a pleasure to chat with. Very beautiful and inspirational people. It was very exciting when we began seeing land and then spotted the Melbourne skyline! It felt funny getting off the boat, knowing that this is our Australian home town, but not having a home here anymore. But is was exciting too. First off, we visited our ... read more

It was wonderful going to sleep to, and walking up to, the sound of the ocean. The Bay of Fires really is a gorgeous spot and, along with the Tasman Peninsula, the highlight of our Tassie trip so far. We purposely didn’t take any photos here as it would just be impossible to capture such beauty in a still shot. I’m reminded that you don’t need much at all to be content and at peace. And I’d have loved for some of our friends to be here too, to share this special place and time with us. Only having two days left in Tassie, we headed West to Launceston. First off, on our way to Cataract Gorge we couldn’t believe how steep the roads are in Launceston. San Francisco eat your heart out! The gorge has ... read more

With the help of our new “Camps” book, we had found ourselves a lovely free spot at River & Rocks Campground. It was chockablock with other friendly campers and as natural as you can get – complete with stinky long drop toilet! Seriously, though, it had a great atmosphere and we got chatting to some lovely people. After we had our home-cooked gourmet pasta dinner, it rained through the night and we awoke to a just as wet morning. Ha, I knew those gumboots would come in handy for soggy campsites! After breakfast, we drove to Freycinet National Park and managed to catch a good break in the rain when did the hike up to the Wineglass Bay lookout. It was certainly a steep climb, that’s for sure, but totally worth it when we got a ... read more

We decided to go our separate ways this morning, so whilst I visited the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Dean did a tour of the Cascade Brewery. Established in 1832, the Cascade Brewery is Australia’s oldest brewery. Dean managed to get the last remaining spot on the tour and learn all about the growing and preparation of the hops. They produce 10 different types of beer, some of which are for consumption only within Tasmania. They are actually able produce 800 bottles of beer in one hour! Of course, the best part of the tour was the drinks at the end! MONA was just amazing. The brainchild of Tasmanian professional gambler and art collector David Walsh, it opened just outside of Hobart one year ago. It has a very modern, upmarket and tailored feel ... read more