Queenscliff 2015 - Day 3

Tony left very early (before 6am) to get the ferry back across to Sorrento and drive up to work - it was sad to say goodbye and have the rest of the holiday without him there, the kids all missed him too. I was the first one up again but didn't want Millie to come out to an empty kitchen if she woke early, so I didn't go out my own today. Mum and Dad got up and went for a walk, and when Millie did wake up she and I went out for a wander. It was quite cold - we actually went back to the house to get pants and a jacket for her, and I was wearing a jacket as well. Such a change compared to 24 hours earlier.

Millie rode her scooter and we went up to the park looking over the tugboats and across to the ferry terminal. We walked down the steps and out onto the tug jetty a little way, and explored the sand for a while, then the cold wind and the bits of rain that were falling on and off sent us back home. We spent the early part of the morning playing Uno Spin and running up and down the verandah with T, having breakfast, reading, doing puzzles. Mum, F and I went down the street and had a coffee, then Mum wandered off to explore more shops and F and I stayed and chatted for a while.

Millie walking down the 100 steps to the beach

It really doesn't look like summer in this shot!

Riding her scooter in the maze, with 'our' house in front of her

The kids had missed out on ice cream the day before (they were going to go after bowls, but the shop was shut by then), so as soon as we could see that it was open the kids and I went over and each bought a choc sprinkle waffle cone with 2 scoops. We walked down to the playground near the ferry terminal and the kids played while they ate their ice creams. When we got back Caitlin and I went next door to the op shop and found a huge pile of clothes for her, and some last minute christmas presents, and a snow cone maker!

In the afternoon I made snow cones for everyone which was a bit exciting. The weather was slowly warming up, so we started to get ready to head back to the beach. Millie really wanted to wear a skirt and I hadn't packed one, so she and Caitlin and I went to the op shop down the far end of the street and she found a beautiful skirt and shirt set. The staff also gave the girls some santa candle holders for free, they were pretty happy. We picked LiAM up on our way back past the house and went down to the beach for more swimming and running and digging in the sand and exploring the rock pools a bit. After our trip to the beach the kids each had a spa bath after negotiating who would go first, 2nd and 3rd (balancing desire to get in and have the spa, with the knowledge that whoever went last would probably get to be in there longer).

For tea we had a couple of family sized gourmet pies which were delicious. Afterwards we played Wits End again, with Mum and Caitlin joining in as well, it was a lot of fun.

Running on the beach

Queenscliff 2015 - Day 2

I was awake earlier than anyone else so I headed down to the beach early - it was already 30 degrees when I left the house just before 7am. The beach was beautiful, and the water not too cold, and I had a wonderful morning swim completely by myself. I swam in the area enclosed by rocks on 2 sides, which I remembered from last year, but I was a little nervous about undertow and there was a strong current pulling to the left (away from the area that went out to deeper water) so I was very careful when I was in there. After I had swum for long enough I thought about going for a walk around the headland, but my knee was still quite sore so I figured I'd be better to take it easy and just head home.

There were a few other people up when I got back, and the girls came out after a while. We had a leisurely morning - F cooked some eggs and ham, people had breakfast when they felt like it, I played Uno Spin with the kids and we all played with T. Mum and Dad decided to go for a walk to the beach and Caitlin went with them so she could have a swim. Once LiAM got out of bed I got all our stuff ready and he and Millie and I headed down as well. We met Mum and Dad coming back, so Caitlin turned around and came back to the beach with us. F and T joined us for a little while also. The tide was much lower than when I'd been there earlier in the morning and there were sections of very shallow water with sandbanks in between them, and still lots of deep enough water to swim in. Caitlin and I swam a lot and LiAM was in and out. Millie mainly played on the sand although came in a few times - not very far on her own, and was happy for me to carry her in a bit deeper.

LiAM and Millie started to build a sandcastle with a moat around it, in between two of the channels of water. I joined in and we made it big enough that when Millie sat behind it we couldn't see her at all from the other side! Caitlin helped as well and it was a huge, fun project. I was lying in the shallow water when we saw the Spirit of Tasmania come past, which we'd been hoping to see. We watched it go out through the heads - and then we were hit with the wave caused by it going past - from where I was lying on the sand it looked huge although it wasn't really. It came up past our sandcastle and destroyed our moat a fair bit, but the castle held! It was quite exciting.

Eventually we headed back to the house - just as Tony arrived at the beach. Caitlin stayed with him for a while. We hung around the house and had lunch, played games and so on. Mum and Fi took Caitlin down the street to look at the op shops and some other interesting shops. Mum and Dad went for a drive to Point Lonsdale, and Tony and I went for a walk down the street, checking out the op shop, one or two of the vintage shops and having a coffee. It was lovely to have the chance to go out alone and wander at our own pace. The weather had changed by now too, no longer hot and sunny, but much cooler and with the threat of rain. The kids had wanted to go back down to the beach but it got quite windy too, not really beach weather. Tony and Dad played a cricket card game for a good chunk of the afternoon.

In the evening Caitlin cooked spaghetti bolognese for everybody, which was delicious. Tony had suggested we go down to the bowling club for barefoot bowls - I felt my knee wasn't up to it, so Mum, Tony and the kids went and played and had a great time. Dad, Fi, James and I started to play a board game called Wit's End - kind of like Trivial Pursuit, but with more brain teasing questions. It was hard, and a lot of fun. After a while Dad, Fi and I went for a walk down to the beach to see the sunset, where we were met by the others after their bowls game. Back at the house LiAM went straight to bed and the rest of us played a few more games, then headed off ourselves.

Sunset

Queenscliff 2015 - Day 1

Once again this year we went to Queenscliff for the weekend before Christmas, with Mum and Dad, and my sister and her family. We stayed in the same house and it was wonderful - LiAM said it felt like we lived there, and I felt like we'd come home. So great to be somewhere familiar that we all loved.

On Friday night (before we left) Caitlin was going to a sleepover and we were all going to see the new Star Wars movie (C at her party, and the rest of us together), so I had planned to be packed for the trip before we left for that at 3pm, so that we could leave early on Saturday morning. Friday was so hot however that I wasn't able to concentrate much on getting ready, and I couldn't get the food ready or clean up the kitchen because it was just too uncomfortable in the kitchen. So I got up early on Saturday to clean up and finish packing, and we didn't end up leaving until about 11. Extreme fire danger also meant that there was a bit of preparation to do around the house and yard before we left, and I dropped off our boxes of precious things to a friend's on the way.

We took 2 cars so that Tony would be able to come back for work on Monday morning. He took the kids and picked Caitlin up from her party on the way, then drove down to Sorrento, where he met his Dad who was driving down to Victoria for Christmas, and had decided to come that way so that he could see us on the way through. Tone and the kids left the car in Sorrento and caught the ferry across  to Queenscliff with his Dad - Millie saw her first dolphin in the wild, and Caitlin saw seals as well. The kids all enjoyed the ferry trip.

I drove around the long way, stopping to buy fresh berries and cherries on the way, and then stopped regularly to check out the fire situation, as there were a few fires around that I wanted to make sure I avoided. I stopped in Point Cook to do some groceries for the trip, and Mum and Dad (who had also left later than planned due to bushfire preparations) were not far behind me so they stopped and joined me for lunch. With all my stopping and starting I didn't get to Queenscliff until about 5, by which time it had started to rain and the temperature dropped around 17 degrees (it had been 40-44 degrees all the way down, it was around 27 when I arrived).

When I got there the kids were playing with their cousin, T, who is nearly 2. He was excited to see me and took me into the kitchen to show me the toaster - toast is his favourite food at the moment. It was so much fun all weekend to listen to him talking and share his excitement about EVERYTHING. Such a fun age.

We had fish and chips for tea while Dad, Tony and Caitlin played a cricket board game we'd bought down. I played Uno Spin with the other kids and we had a relaxing evening. I hurt my knee again while putting the fruit in the fridge, so spent a fair bit of time on the couch with an ice pack. Mum took the kids for a walk and Tony and I sat out on the verandah for a while. We could see the ice cream shop from where we were, with lots of people going in and out and eventually decided we would join the crowd. It was packed, and the ice cream was delicious. The kids were home when we got back, they'd had a paddle in the edge of the ocean, and were happy to just share our ice cream, with the promise that we'd get them some more tomorrow.

F, Caitlin, Tony and I played another board game - a wine game that I'd given Tony for christmas last year. It was fun, and the conversations we had were hilarious (mainly due to my tired brain mixing up words). Caitlin and F won, using some clever strategies. Millie fell asleep on my lap and LiAM took himself to bed. Caitlin decided to sleep in the front room by herself so took herself off and read her book until she was tired enough, and Tony and I crashed after a long, hot day.

Queenscliff Trip

On Saturday we headed down to Queenscliff for 3 days away with Mum and Dad, and my sister and her family. On the way we stopped at Tony's cousin's house as we were thinking about buying their camper trailer (they have just upgraded to a caravan). We hadn't seen them for ages (nearly 2 years we think) so it was great to catch up and for the kids to play - LiAM was able to play Skylanders and the girls played on the swings and Millie set up a bit of a tea party for us. We set up the camper trailer and chatted about how and when to use it, and did decide to buy it - very very exciting, I've been wanting one for a few years and I'm thrilled to have one now!

We arrived at the house we were all sharing around 5.30 on Saturday afternoon. The others were already there and settled in. We explored the house and played with the baby and chatted to everyone and felt very relaxed and happy to be away for a few days. We had fish and chips for tea, then Tony and Dad and the kids and I headed down to the beach to see the sunset. Tony had thought we might see the sun set over the ocean because of the angle of the peninsula - and he was right. We arrived just in time to see it hit the ocean horizon and were able to watch it set - beautiful. The kids paddled in the edge of the water then started jumping the little waves, and eventually moved in as far as their knees and slightly bigger waves - they were all saturated and very happy by the time we headed home. The kids started a game of Monopoly back at the house and the adults played Monopoly, did puzzles, read books etc until we all went to bed. The kids and Tony let me sleep in the front room by myself on the sofa bed so that I could have a sleep-in the next morning - very much appreciated.

Sunday was a relaxing day with a leisurely breakfast, and then everyone in and out of the house doing various sight seeing things as the mood struck them. We had trips to the beach, to the shops, to the train station, in basically every combination of kids and adults. Tony and I had some time together browsing the shops, F & J were able to go out for lunch on their own, and the kids went out at various stages with different people, one, two or 3 at a time. Dad and I took the kids on a steam train ride which we all enjoyed immensely. We had a couple of trips to the beach each day - and discovered that at low tide, the beach where we'd watched the sunset turned into a series of rock pools which led to safe, calm water for swimming, and lots of chances to see sea stars, crabs, fish and heaps of plant life. With so many adults around it meant that usually each child could go home or go out when they wanted to, there was generally someone happy to help them out, and others could stay longer or not go out at all and it worked very well.

Monday was similar to the day before, lots of outings and lots of hanging around at the house. There was a great selection of games in the house - Monopoly, Uno Skip, Pictionary, which we played quite a bit. F had also brought along a trivia game which we played on Sunday night.

Tony left early on Monday to head back to work, and it was a bit weird not having him there - I kept waiting for him to wander out into the living area, I missed him quite a lot.

One of the highlights of the house for the kids was the spa bath. After each trip to the beach they returned home and jumped in the spa - a great way to warm up (the weather was a bit chilly at times) and relax and really feel indulged on our holiday.

My highlight of the weekend was an early morning (7am) walk to the beach alone, and a swim in the ocean. The tide was up but knowing where the rock ledges were meant I knew where the water would be safe - the swim bought back many memories of swimming in the ocean early in the morning (for a few years I did it every day). I felt so happy and excited and calm (all at once) in the water, it was an amazing start to the day. I walked home around the beach and headlands where there was only a tiny gap between the rocks and the water (tide was coming in) and got wet once - it felt like an exciting adventure trying to beat the waves around the headland.

On Tuesday morning we all packed up in a leisurely fashion. F & J left around 11am and the rest of us were ready to go around midday. Mum and Dad were coming home with us as Tony had taken their car on Monday. The 6 of us went down to the observation tower near the ferry terminal - LiAM had been keen to go to the top all weekend. The view from the top was fantastic, seeing the headlands on both sides of the bay and out to the ocean, and the bay and shoreline in all directions. From there we went back into town and got a big bag of lollies each from the lolly shop and a gelato from the gelato shop (we'd had an ice cream the day before from the Swedish ice cream shop), then headed towards home.

We stopped in Geelong for pizza for lunch and for me to pick up Caitlin's christmas present (a RipStik), and then again at Tony's cousin's to pick up the camper trailer to bring it home - I was a little nervous driving with a (very heavy) trailer in peak traffic, and down the hill at Christmas Hills, but it wasn't too difficult and I made it home happily without incident.

(I have photos to add, once my internet speed is faster and can actually hang in there long enough to get the photos uploaded...)

Houseboat /Wedding Trip Day 1: Home -> Sydney

We were up fairly early to finish getting ready and out of the house before 9am. Running a little later than I would have liked, we then had a slow trip to the airport, and by the time we arrived to drop our car off it was getting pretty tight. I had already checked in (as weird as that seems, checking in before we arrive) and we raced to drop our bags off but everything took longer than expected and bag drop off closed before we had them all in. A Qantas guy came to help us and checked our bags in for us, we got to the gate and they were already boarding - so a crazy rush to get started but we did happily make it on to the plane.

The kids were given little activity packs and there were iPads to watch TV shows on so the kids were quite well occupied, and I took the chance to do some of my own puzzle book. Arriving in Sydney we caught the train to Central Station (I haven't been there for a long time, it was partially very familiar and also different as some things have changed in the intervening years). We had Hungry Jacks for lunch, as everyone was tired and hot and hungry, then caught the Light Rail out to Leichhardt to our friend's P & S where we were staying the first night.

It was a hot walk up from the station to their house, then the kids and I quickly got changed into cooler clothes, had a drink then set off again to catch the bus to my brother's house. Tony went shopping for suitable 'Garden Party' attire for the wedding. The kids tried on their wedding clothes, which all needed slight altering, so C, her sister E, and the kids and I walked up to her tailor. It was the first time I had met E and she was lovely. She has been to Afghanistan so I was looking forward to talking to her about that, which I did, and then the tailor himself was from Kabul so we both chatted to him a bit about life there and here. The kids tried their clothes on again and had them marked for alteration, then back to the flat for a cool drink and a bit of a rest, my brother turned up while we were there.

We caught the bus back to Leichhardt and played in the park for a while, then back to P&S's for Indian takeaway. The kids all played really well (they have a 5yo boy and 3yo girl), playing with a football, on the iPad, making hama bead designs, and watching a Barbie movie. It was great catching up as always.

NSW Trip Day 5 - Dubbo

The kids were very excited that the pool at this caravan park was open (the one in Griffith had been closed for the winter) so after a jump on the jumping pillow they went for a swim. The water had been heated to 20 degrees so it wasn’t freezing and they enjoyed it.

Once dry and dressed we headed out to Western Plains Zoo. The first thing we saw, in the free area where you buy tickets, were ring-tailed lemurs on an island – an excellent start to the day especially for LiAM. From there we drove our car around the zoo, getting out to walk to a few exhibits at a time then driving to the next section. I have always loved this zoo with its large open range type exhibits, and sharing it with the kids was very exciting. (The areas are large for each animal, and set up so that you can’t really see the fences or moats between you and the animals, so it feels almost like you are there with them). We saw black rhino, meerkats (including a baby), wombats (Tony’s favourite), African wild dogs, giraffes, simiangs (they were very entertaining, the baby only moved by somersaulting or spinning, and kept climbing up the rope then jumping on his mum), hippos, bongos, lions, elephants, white rhino, cheetahs, zebras (Millie’s favourite, including a baby having a feed from his mum), tigers, blackbuck (Caitlin’s favourite – a large herd, with a couple of beautiful dark males who stood out against the lighter females), buffalo, bison, onagers, przewalski horses, otters, greater one-horned rhino, dingos, emus, koalas, wallabies, ostriches, various antelope and deer, Galapagos turtles (including a baby, who was surprisingly small, the size of a small puppy maybe), spider monkeys and black and white ruffed lemurs. The highlight for me was definitely the cheetahs – there was a mum with dark stripes down her back and large, dark spots on her sides, and three cubs – they raced around and chased each other and wrestled together and jumped in and out of the tree, it was very exciting and amusing to watch. We made it around the zoo in time for the kids to have a play in the playground and watch the lemurs a bit more, then came back to the cabin, exhausted. LiAM said it was the best zoo day he’s had. The map had a list of 30 featured animals and LiAM was ticking them off as we saw those animals, he was thrilled that we got to them all.

mother and cheetah cubs

mother and baby meerkat

Blackbuck

Once back here the boys swept up the leaves around the cabin so we could stop trekking them all over our floor, and the girls went for another swim which Caitlin found was a perfect antidote to being so tired. I had a bath in the tiny bath in the amenities block which I did find relaxing – I haven’t gotten all of the bindi from my foot yet so I was walking tenderly and my whole body was aching by the end of the day. A relaxing evening in the cabin and then a relatively early night for most of us.

NSW Trip Day 4: Griffith -> Dubbo

Millie and I were up early and went for a walk in the dark around the caravan park. Once everyone was up we got on with packing and cleaning up and were on the road again by 10. We bought some mandarins from a roadside stall, then went and saw the house where Tony and I lived when we were first married, then on to the hospital where Caitlin was born, and took some rainy photos in front of the current construction work going on there. We also checked out the main De Bortoli vineyard where Tone used to work.

On to West Wyalong where we had a very quick play in the park before it started raining heavily. We jumped back in the car and had some sandwiches before continuing on. We reached ‘The Dish’ – the CSIRO radio telescope dish - around 3pm and spent a bit over an hour in the visitors centre and in the grounds. I had never been there (possibly one of the few NEW places I’ll be seeing this trip) and it was impressively large (64m in diameter in fact). The visitors centre had some fun and interesting facts and activities about space and the telescope, and an information scavenger hunt and activity book for the kids. The rain stopped briefly enough for us to get some photos of us in front of the dish too.

Kids in front of The Dish

We drove to Dubbo through a massive lightning storm – very impressive to watch from the flat land we were driving through. The caravan park was a hit with the kids, with a big playground and a jumping pillow. We had Indian Takeaway for tea then I tried to remove the remains of a cats-eye bindi from my foot (I packed the car in bare feet this morning and was very careful on the tiny bit of grass I needed to walk over, but picked this up from a bit of gravel. Ironic that after saying to the kids, a few times, that its more dangerous to be barefoot in Griffith because the bindis are nasty, I was the one who got one! If you've never seen one, look at the pictures in this article)

I was happy with the car trip today – this was our longest driving day (except perhaps for the final 2 days of the trip, depending when we decide to leave Sydney) and it went well. New fancy headphones for each of the kids helped, so they could each play their own devices/listen to their own music if they wanted to, as well as listening to Harry Potter 7 on audio CD and playing games, talking about the scenery, and dividing the trip into 3 sections.

NSW Trip Day 3: Griffith

This morning Tony went for a morning game of golf at Griffith Golf Course, and the kids and I had a quiet morning at the caravan park. We played a few games in the cabin then went exploring, played in the playground, and played tennis on the tennis courts for a while. After Tony got back Millie and I went to the shops – I got some new leggings which I’ve been needing for a while (and the need had become more urgent when I’d put on my last pair without holes this morning – and realized they also had holes in them…) and some food for lunch.

Once we’d had lunch we set off to Leeton – it was fun driving along familiar roads and seeing new houses or crops in some places, with others looking exactly the same. (One big difference is that it looks like a lot of the rice farmers are now growing cotton). In Leeton we drove to the hospital so LiAM could see where he was born, and then went and played in the playground near the main street. Some of the equipment was the same as we knew it, but they’ve also put in 2 awesome flying foxes – everyone except Millie had a go – it was fast and a bit scary and lots of fun. We got some afternoon tea from Micks Bakehouse and then drove back to Whitton to eat it in the park there. There is a new skatepark, but the rest of the playground is exactly as Caitlin remembers it from when she was tiny. I went down the big slide for old times sake and it was high and scary just like I remembered – glad I wasn’t doing it while balancing a toddler like I used to! Tony had a beer at the pub and chatted to the new owners about the changes in the pub since we left (really only changes in ownership, it looked exactly the same). The kids rode their scooters at the skate park and played with one of the local boys, then we scooted and walked around to our old house. At first glance it looked exactly the same, but they’ve put in a new fence, and air con in the garage, and several sheds in the backyard. There was a guy mowing the back lawn and the kids went and said hello – he was the guy who bought the house from us and we had a bit of a chat about the renovations they’ve done inside as well. We then wandered down to the butcher – as we’d driven into town we’d wondered if the butcher would still be there, and we doubted it as the guy was pretty old when we left – but driving past we could see him sitting in the same chair in the window, reading his paper, as he always was 8-10 years ago. So we bought our dinner from him – and he recognized our faces and wasn’t surprised when we said we used to live there.

LiAM with his impressive chocolate cake

Caitlin on the slide in Whitton

Home to the caravan park and Tony cooked a bbq and we watched tv and chatted until we went to bed.

(I haven't uploaded any photos from my camera yet - will try to do that in the next couple of days so I can add some photos to this post) - I have now done this!

NSW Trip Day 1: home -> Strathmerton

Today was mainly spent getting ready to leave, as well as a bit of socialising. We took Winky the cat to a friend's place where she will be spending her holiday - she seemed a bit overwhelmed by the number of people in a strange environment but I think she will settle in ok. My sister and her husband and baby came up for the afternoon, it was great to see them before we left and have some fun company while I finished packing. The car was all packed by 5pm, them finished cleaning up and was almost ready to go when Tony got home from baseball at 6 - we were on the road by 6.50 which I was happy with. We stopped in Seymour for some very yummy pizza and arrived in Strathmerton around 10pm (about 20km from the NSW border). We're staying in a family room in a motel and the kids are thrilled with the free biscuits and little tubs of milk and the huge shower cubicle. Hoping everyone will be asleep soon so we can get an early start on the way to Griffith

Tasmania Trip: Ferry -> Home

We woke up at 5:30 (this holiday has involved a lot of early mornings) and got dressed and packed then went out to the eatery to have some breakfast. Liam had a lovely feast, the rest of us ate a bit and then the girls and I headed to the gift shop for one last holiday purchase - Millie bought an oven mitt styled as a Tasmanian Devil, which she uses as a puppet - it is very cool.

Then we gathered up our bags and headed down to the car, we were one of the first cars off. We drove off the ramp into a large puddle of water - one of those flash floods we'd heard warning of on the weather the night before. It was just after 6:30 when we came off the boat into a rainy Melbourne morning. We dropped Tony off at his car (he'd left it at a friend's house) and were home by 8am.

It was great to be home, the kids in particular felt very happy to be back even though they'd enjoyed the holiday. It was weird to be here without animals. We spent the morning eating, unpacking a little bit, Tony sorted out the dishwasher which had stopped working just before we left, we cut some wood and stocked our woodpile, watched TV, set up Caitlin's new iPad Mini, and just settled back into home nicely.

In the afternoon our friends came over and bought Stripey back - a very happy reunion for all, and especially for Caitlin and her friend S.

Now to get on with organising Liam's birthday party (Sunday), finish unpacking, sort out the trip photos, and get on with our every day lives.

It was such a wonderful holiday and I'm glad we went in winter this time, it let us have experiences we wouldn't otherwise have had, and places were not as crowded or hectic as they sometimes are in summer.

Over the next couple of days I'll be adding photos to those posts which are currently just text, and the kids want to write a few more blog posts as well - so keep checking back for a few more days.

Tasmania Day 13: Cradle Mountain -> Devonport

Our big day yesterday took its toll on everyone. Caitlin had a very restless night's sleep and woke up with a fever. Millie had fallen asleep without eating dinner, woke up in the middle of the night and had some juice, and woke up in the morning and threw it all up. I was particularly worried because we had to drive out along a very windy road and I thought having 2 sick girls was going to make it much harder.

Millie picked up after a while though and ate a huge breakfast. Caitlin was extremely tired and I wasn't really surprised after her big climb yesterday. The kids watched TV while Tony and I packed and cleaned. As the kids were getting in the car to wait for us to finish, a pademelon came and hung around the car which was an exciting end to our time in this caravan park. A currawong also hopped in the open door and started to peck up crumbs - we shooed him off and closed the doors.

As we left we headed down the road towards Cradle Mountain for one last peek, then turned around and set off for Devonport. We had considered doing a few things on the way seeing as we had all day to get there, but with the girls feeling off colour we decided to get there as soon as possible and take it easy for the afternoon. The trip through the bends wasn't too bad - we were well equipped with lollies to suck on, water to drink, windows down when necessary, and Tony took it quite slowly. We stopped for a couple of quick photos of Mt Roland, then up to Devonport.

Our plan was to go back to the playground where we'd played on our first day - when we arrived however it was windy and freezing cold and no one felt like getting out of the car. We ate some lunch in the car overlooking the ocean, then went for some indoor activities - we found a play centre which had indoor rock climbing, a science centre, and a jungle gym play area (also laser tag but we skipped it). Caitlin started with the rock climbing, the women were very impressed with how quickly she picked it up, and she made it nearly to the top on a couple of walls. In the meantime I took Liam and Millie into the science centre, where we played with balls, air, pendulums, bugs, microscopes, a train set, an igloo made from foam blocks, and a few other activities which were all quite entertaining. Then the 5 of us went into the play area where Millie and Liam played happily for about 2 hours, while Caitlin sat exhausted with Tony and I - she had revived for the rock climbing then crashed once it was done. Liam made a friend and it was a lovely relaxing and fun way to spend our last afternoon.

Once they closed (after a couple of games of air hockey on the way out) we went and found a quick snack and got some cash, then off to line up for the boat. We sat in the queue for almost an hour before we were able to drive on to the boat, then up to our cabins and then to the eatery for dinner. The kids knew what to expect this time so picked the food that they wanted to eat and it worked much better than on the way over. The movie tonight wasn't of interest, so we watched The Block and House Rules on a couple of the various TVs around the boat, and Liam and Millie and I played Uno. Liam popped into the gift shop and the lady remembered him from the trip over and asked how his holiday had been. Caitlin crashed early, the kids and I went back to the cabin to read Anne of Green Gables and Liam and Millie played with their animals, when Tony returned I went to bed too and he stayed up (not long) with the others. The trip seemed less rough this time and everyone (even me) got to sleep quite easily.

Tasmania Day 12: Cradle Mountain

Today was a MASSIVE day and another pretty special one.

We’d talked about having breakfast down at Dove Lake in time for sunrise, but everyone was up early enough to have breakfast and get ready before leaving at 7.30. It was foggy at the caravan park and about half way down to the lake we came out of the fog to a clear morning. We excitedly waited for our first view of Cradle Mountain – and except for the very summit on the right hand side it was free of cloud. There were only 2 other cars at the lake before us and it was about 10 minutes until sunrise. I sat down on some rocks at the edge of the lake and watched the tips and then the face of the mountain slowly light up. It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful and as good as I had been imagining it might be. I felt like it didn’t matter what happened for the rest of the day, I was completely happy. The kids played near the edge of the lake and then we sorted out warm gear enough to go for another walk.

Sunrise on Cradle Mountain

Caitlin was great at making sure there were some photos of me in places I enjoyed

Tony had originally hoped that if we had a clear day we might attempt to make it up to Marion’s Lookout, which gives the most magnificent views of the lake, mountain and everything in the whole area. Its quite a climb though and after the Dove Lake Circuit yesterday we thought it would be too much for the kids. Liam  and Millie both get quite tired when walking – Millie can go in the carrier but Liam has fewer options and can become quite discouraged and lose interest in his surroundings. We decided to start with a short walk which could then be extended a few times depending on how everyone was travelling.

Our first destination was Lake Lilla, which sits just near Dove Lake but at a much lower altitude. Millie hopped in the carrier on my back and we set off through more beautiful forest and down along the side of Lake Lilla. When we reached it we found the path went over a cascading waterfall. The kids played on the rocks around the cascades and I even went down onto them so Millie could touch the water. Looking back towards the lake we could still see Cradle Mountain towering above the ridge beyond the lake. In fact I’d been thinking we wouldn’t see the mountain much on this walk but it was hardly ever out of sight.

Lake Lilla with Marions Lookout (the highest peak in this photo) and Cradle Mountain in the background

Everyone was feeling pretty good so we continued on to Wombat Pool, up a very long stretch of stairs. At the top of the stairs we had a view of the two lakes, looking like Dove Lake was hovering above the other, it was quite incredible. Down the other side of the ridge to Wombat Pool, where the kids climbed a tree and we had a bit of a snack.  Liam had had enough by this stage while Caitlin, Tony and I felt like we could go further. We decided that Tony and Caitlin would keep going and at least reach Wombat Peak, further if they felt like it, and I’d take the other two back to Dove Lake and we’d play at the Boat Shed until the others returned.

Dove Lake with Lake Lilla below it

Tony, Liam and Caitlin at Wombat Pool

We split up our supplies and went in our two different directions. As we climbed up from the pool we saw Tony and Caitlin climbing on the other side and reaching a couple of fantastic lookouts. We slowly made our way back, investigating trees and rocks and views as we went. When we reached the Boat Shed we could see people way up on top of Marions Lookout and wondered if the others had made it that far. Liam and Millie played in the edge of the lake and the rocks on the shore and explored around the Boat Shed and I took photos of the reflections in the lake and chatted to other walkers and we all played hide-and-seek.

Liam jumping off a rock on the track to Lake Lilla

Boat Shed and Cradle Mountain

Liam and Millie at the Boat Shed

After about 45 minutes, Tony and Caitlin arrived from the opposite direction than I’d been expecting. They had climbed up to Marions Lookout and come down the steeper path to join on to the Dove Lake Circuit. They were both pretty pumped and I was so excited that they’d made it! Caitlin had been wishing that we could get right over to Cradle Mountain and this was a satisfying enough substitute.

We went back around to the path down from the carpark (which was now full of cars) and I took more photos, we played along the edge of the lake there, Caitlin, Liam and I trekked along the shore to some rocks I’d been wanting to take photos of (it was a muddy track and we nearly got our boots stuck) then we set up on a big rock just of the path to have some lunch. While we were hanging out there in the sun the clouds finally lifted completely off the summit of Cradle Mountain and we had a completely clear view of it. With Dove Lake reflecting the blue sky it was one of the most beautiful and inspiring views I’ve seen. We took a long time over lunch, Tony and I could have sat there all day enjoying the view. It was a very peaceful and restful hour or so.

Lunch at Dove Lake with view of Cradle Mountain

Finally a view of the mountain with no clouds on the peak

Eventually we left Dove Lake (around 1.30pm) and drove back to the Interpretation Centre, which had information and displays on the geography, history, plant and animal life of the Cradle Mountain area. We played and read and watched a video and pored over the 3D map of the area. Once we’d had our fill of the Centre, we headed out to do the Enchanted Forest walk – a short walk either side of a river, with waterfalls, mossy trees and logs, fungi. There were 3 man made tunnels for the kids to climb through, which were painted inside with scenes of animals and plants of the area, along with the names of all the animals.

The Enchanted Forest

From here we quickly popped down to Pencil Pines Falls which was a 1 minute walk from the carpark. They were pretty and a nice finish to our walk. By this stage the kids (Caitlin in particular) were completely exhausted. I dropped everyone back at the cabin and then went back out to do a little bit of gift shopping – and saw 2 more wombats on the way.

At 5pm we headed out again to go to the Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary just down the road, to see a night time feeding. The guy doing the presentation really knew his stuff about Tasmanian Devils – it was different to other animal tours I’ve done, he wasn’t all bubbly and entertaining, he was there to share information about Tasmanian Devils and the risks to their survival. I learnt heaps. We were able to pat a Devil, and then watch them feeding in groups which was much more exciting than the individual Devil we’d seen fed earlier in our trip. We also saw quolls being fed – I think quolls are my new favourite animal.

3 Tasmanian Devils feeding

We arrived back at the cabin and watched TV, ate a very late dinner, and went to bed as soon as we could!