Category Archives: Australia

Postcard from Tasmania: George Town Day 1 (aka The Penguins!)

Our first night in Tasmania was spent in Low Head, just outside of George Town, on the northern coast. While our travel across Bass Straight the night before was relatively calm, the windstorm that developed over our first day on the island made me grateful that we weren’t currently on a ship. I feel queasy just thinking about it.

Our cabin at the Low Head Tourist park was great. It was cozy for the six of us but came with a kitchenette which was perfect for our money and time-saving strategy to eat cereal for breakfast before we headed out each day. As a bonus, the “soccer field” provided an ocean view.

Kei and I decided to take a walk along the rocky beach which, thanks to the gale-force winds, was freezing but still pretty.

After finding some Fish and Chips for dinner (my first of the trip which must be a new record), we eagerly drove a short distance to one of the most anticipated parts of our trip – for me, anyway. A couple of weeks earlier I had booked us all in for a penguin tour and I could not have been more excited. I may not have been the only one…

Our enjoyment was hindered a little by the gale force winds that chilled us all to the bone, but what’s a small breeze when we have penguins to see? The big lesson of the day? The small birds that I had called “Fairy Penguins” my entire life are now known as “Little Penguins”. Political correctness is officially out of control.

I wish I’d taken a photo of the tour group huddled behind one of the bushes that we used as an ineffective wind break but, instead, I decided to capture some of our surroundings as the moon came up and we eagerly waited for our tour to begin.

We were split into three or four large groups who each took their turn sitting in the bleachers and then walking (gently) down onto the beach and through the dunes where the penguins would return to their burrows. Our group started on the bleachers and listened to our guide share a bunch of interesting penguin facts like the fact that they abandon their young after just a few months and then the babies work out how to fish and swim on their own. Seems harsh but it works. We also passed around a little stuffed penguin who, I’m sure, died of natural causes.

It was a lot darker than it looks in these photos.

We waited for what felt like a REALLY long time and were able to walk down to the beach before our patience finally paid off.

The penguins can’t see the yellow light which is great for penguin spotting but gave my color photos an amber glow.

These penguins are very accustomed to seeing people on the beach. The guides explained that they think of us like trees or another part of nature. It doesn’t make them more vulnerable because they retain the same defense mechanism again natural predators. It does mean, however, that we were not allowed to touch them (not that I would want to risk losing a finger). Still, I was surprised at how close we could get without scaring them off. We witnessed two boy penguins fighting over a girl, dedicated Mums regurgitating fish for hungry, demanding babies and a little hanky panky in the bushes. And I don’t think I need to mention how incredibly cute they were.

After a couple of hours, Samuel finally couldn’t take the cold and exhaustion anymore so we bid a farewell to our new penguin friends. And, just like that, my dream of taking my children to see a penguin parade in Australia was complete. The best part is that we didn’t have to fight the crowds at Philip Island for the experience.

Postcard from Tasmania: Launceston and the Cataract Gorge

Thanks to a very early start, our first day in Tasmanai was a long one. We departed Devonport after breakfast and drove to Launceston, which only took an hour or so.

Launceston was just a quick stop on our way to the North Coast so we had just enough time to visit the Cataract Gorge and take a quick walk through the city before continuing our journey.

Apart from a couple of very windy days (which I will go into more in a future post), we were blessed with beautiful weather during our Tasmania adventure. The island is usually a few degrees colder than the mainland which isn’t a bad thing in December, but it can mean more cold, grey days. I think we hit the blue sky jackpot.

We decided to explore Cataract Gorge after reading about it online. It’s a little hidden piece of nature on the outskirts of the city and was definitely worth the visit for the walk through some beautiful gardens and that feeling, again, like we were traveling back in time. It’s not difficult to imagine women at the turn of the century walking through the gardens with their parasols or a band playing a tune in the century-old music pavillion.

The gardens are also well known for their wandering peacocks (pictured) and wallabies (too quick for me).

The suspension bridge is another attraction – and a magnet for pushy photo-hungry tourists. For the record, I am a polite photo-hungry tourist.

It was a little chilly for a swim, but this has got to be one of the most picturesque pool locations I’ve ever experience.

After walking to the bottom of the gorge, we caught the chairlift back to the top and, I won’t lie, it was a little unsettling. Although I’m sure the ride is completely safe, the 1960’s design made me keep a tighter grip on my youngest child that I had anticipated. The bar across the seat didn’t seem enough to hold him in securely and, while I put on a brave face to avoid feeding into his new fear of heights, I didn’t quite have the ability to pull out the camera. I was even afraid that I’d lose my cellphone over the side if I attempted a chairlift selfie. So, alas, I wasn’t able to capture the view of the Gorge from above or the elusive wallaby who watched as we sailed overhead.

Our quick walk around the Gorge was followed by a quick walk through the city where we took photos next to a coat of arms that features an extinct Tiger…

… and then found some extinct tigers to sit on…

… and took silly pictures next to giant birds.

Not much to see here – just a still-life portrait that makes me giggle.

We enjoyed looking at both the old and classic parts of Launceston…

…as well as the new and funky.

And, before long, it was time to hop back in the car again and head for our first night’s stay in Georgetown on the Northern Coast. I don’t want to get you too excited but, PENGUINS! Next time.

Postcard from Tasmania: Port Melbourne to Devonport

A few days after Christmas we packed up Mum and Dad’s new SUV and piled in for the 3 hour drive to Port Melbourne before boarding the Spirit of Tasmania. We arrived early to allow enough time to grab some dinner, which was important given we were sharing the journey with two small boys who need to have blood sugar levels maintained at all times – especially when asked to wait quietly in a car for 90 minutes before we were allowed to drive on to the ship. We finally boarded and, after parking our car in the bowels of the vessel, walked the 5 flights of stairs up to our teeny tiny little cabin.

 

I’m surprised I didn’t take any photos of the cabin with my big camera but, luckily (or unfortunately), Kei managed to snap this gem on our way back that shows how we squeezed into the cozy living quarters.

A couple of tips for traveling on The Spirit of Tasmania:

  1. Pack an overnight bag and make it easy to access because they don’t mess around when they’re trying to move you from your car to your cabin. The cars are parked very tightly and there’s not much room to maneuver when everyone is trying to get to their cabin at the same time.
  2. Pack some medication to avoid sea sickness – even if you don’t think you’ll need it. We were blessed with two very smooth crossings but I was still surprised by the movement of the ship as we exited Port Philip Bay at around 11pm. At first I could hear the water sloshing in the toilet and then the movement became enough for me to reach for another pill. Thankfully, the kids slept through the worst of it.
  3. Be prepared to be woken at 5am by a loud speaker announcement. Although we were due to disembark at 6am, the process actually begins much earlier and I felt rushed to gather our stuff together. It didn’t help that Thomas slept through the announcement and all the activity. Poor kid didn’t even have time to brush his teeth.

We were blessed with great weather during most of our trip and the departure from Port Melbourne was no exception as, although it was a little chilly, we were able to witness an incredible sunset over the bay.

(Very) early the next morning, we drove off the ship on a mission to find breakfast in Devonport. Devonport, like most of Tasmania, often gives you the feeling of being transported back in time thanks to the prevalence Victorian architecture and the absence of modern buildings in some parts of the state.

We had breakfast next door to these beautiful terraces.

After breakfast we drove about an hour to Launceston where we enjoyed the first day of our Tasmanian adventure. But that’s for another post… I’ll be back with more stories from Tasmania soon.

Christmas Down Under

I know, I know… it’s been almost three months since Christmas but things have been a little nuts around here. The good news is the search for a full time job is well underway and, in the meantime, I managed to land some work through my brand new LLC, Lyrebird Images. Well, the Lyrebird Images part has been around for a while but today I made it official. AND we bought a new camera.

Next on the agenda? Business Cards.

But back to the purpose of my post. Christmas in Australia. It was warm, it was family-filled and it was fun.

There are few places on earth where a morning of opening Christmas gifts can be followed by a run down the slip-n-slide and I was so excited to be able to share this with my children. Sure, snow and ice can make for a pretty and cozy Christmas, but my childhood will always be filled with the memories of playing outside, cold drinks and icy poles on the veranda and cooking a hot dinner even when the temperature sometimes tops 40 degrees celsius (104F).

Of course, there cannot be presents without first leaving out the traditional beer and biscuits for Santa and some carrots for the reindeer. I just love all the fake smiles in this photo. It cracks me up every single time. Oh, and it should be noted that they’re wearing their new Christmas Eve pajamas.

On Christmas morning we opened stockings and tried to avoid stepping on the soccer cards that had mysteriously multiplied like gremlins.

And then “Santa” came out to open the presents under the tree and it might have been the best moment of the morning.

Negotiating the gift-giving strategy.

Uncle Jono received a new umbrella that came all the way from America with a side of campy photo opportunity.

The best part about the gift giving were the accompanying hugs.

And the candy canes that Santa left in our stockings.

This is, by far, my favorite photo of the day. Who else can boast a Clarke Griswold photobomb?

The boys received more than a few Aussie soccer-related items.

And Ben received this headband…

Mum received three bottles of Clinique lotion. She asked for it and we all delivered!

And then everyone checked out their loot and read the instructions…

…Until it was finally time to carve the roast beast.

A wonderful, hot and sunny Christmas Day to remember.

Wordless Wednesday: Keeping Classically Cool with the Slip-n-Slide

It seems ridiculous to be posting photos of slip-n-slides while a good portion of the Unites States is buried by snow. But, in fairness, these photos were taken only about 6 weeks ago and are a good reminder that the world has another hemisphere.

One thing I realized about the slip-n-slide is that it’s not like riding a bike – you CAN forget how to do it. After we’d finally worked out where to set it up (NOT on a downward slope), I tried once or twice with limited results and gratitude that no one else was holding a camera at the time. Thankfully Uncle Jono arrived a couple of days later to show us how it’s done. I’m not sure Charlie quite caught on but, clearly, it didn’t matter. Fun isn’t about doing it right.

Crazy Weeks and Hungry Hippos

It was just a week ago that I posted about wanting to post here more often and then, well, last week happened and it all went out the window. I spent the week up in Seattle working long days (and nights) and then we hosted a Super Bowl party on Sunday which meant the weekend leading up to it included a much-needed house cleaning. In short, the blog moved down the list of priorities but I am determined to get back on the train so I thought I’d drop by today to share just one photo and quick story from our Aussie adventure.

And the moral of this story is that you will not realize how noisy a game of Hungry Hippos can be until you give it to three rambunctious cousins. Just one of the many “quiet” moments of bonding between these monkeys.

It was a lot of fun to see how they interacted now that Charlie is old enough to communicate with the boys. Samuel enjoyed this brief period of not being the youngest, despite the fact that he and Charlie are the same size “and I’m three years older, Mum!” Thomas was there to impart some older brother wisdom on the young cousin who will soon become one himself. Charlie was just content to follow them both around and hand out icy poles (popsicles) on demand.

The best part about this whole reunion was that, as soon as they saw each other, it was as if they had not been a day apart – and the weeks of built-up excitement about seeing their cousin paid off in spades.

See? Just like peas in a pod, er, hammock.

Welcome to 2015 and Happy Australia Day

Well, it seems my short unintended blog break turned into a loooong break. The craziness of work before a month-long trip to Australia left me with little time or energy to post my thoughts and photographs. And, now that I’m home and trying to get back into the swing of real life, it seems an appropriate time to resurrect this little piece of the internet.

It’s also Australia Day so it seems the perfect time to begin reflecting on a much-needed holiday back to my family and my home. A holiday that included playtime with cousins, conversations with siblings, a side trip to Tasmania, travel on almost every possible form of transportation (trams, trains, buses, cars, planes, boats and even a chairlift), catch ups with old friends and a second summer.

Now that the tan has faded, I’m looking forward to reliving some of the memories here. For today, though, I simply want to wish all my Aussie friends and family a very Happy Australia Day.