Category Archives: Photography

Postcard from Tasmania: The Road to Port Arthur (Aka: Just what is a tesselated pavement?)

After our amazing visit to Freycinet National Park, the Griswolds hit the road again for the next part of our journey to the southern part of the island. Our destination this time was the Port Arthur Historical Site but, as with most journeys, getting there was half the fun.

We left Swansea as the sun glittered on the surface of the Great Oyster Bay and waved goodbye to the Freycinet Peninsula on the other side.

On our way out of town, we stopped at a memorial to the Resolution, a ship that wrecked in 1850, taking the lives of 6 children. It’s a sad story and a reminder of how treacherous life was for those early settlers. A search on Wikipedia brings up a very long list of shipping tragedies in Tasmania’s short history.

A few kilometers further down the road, we stopped again to take a look at Spikey Bridge. It was built by convicts in 1843 and no one knows exactly why they opted for the spikey design. Was it to stop Cattle falling over the edge? Or just some creative license? All I know is that we spent a long time looking at a bridge, so well done to the convicts for building something that can capture the imagine of two young boys more than 150 years after it was built.

As we traveled further south, we passed one historical building after another and, sometimes to the dismay of my children, found ourselves stopping for a quick photograph or the chance to explore a part of history.

This tiny little community church had gravestones that were more 150 years old.

After a quick stop for lunch in Bicheno (meat pies, yum!), we hit the road again, passing through some areas that were devastated by bushfires a few years ago – a very good reminder that, despite it’s beauty, the Aussie landscape can be incredibly harsh.

Dad told us that our next stop would be the Tesselated Pavement at Eaglehawk Neck. Um, what? A pavement? Really? As much as he tried to explain it, we didn’t understand how a pavement could be interesting. But, as we drove up, we discovered that it was interesting enough to be designated as a State Reserve.

And here’s why…

The “paving” carved out in the rock in near-perfectly symmetrical squares was all created by nature. It truly is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen.

We walked down to explore more closely and discovered rock pools filled with ocean creatures of all shapes, sizes and colors.

While I think we could have easily spent many more hours investigating the tide pools, it was important that we made it to our Port Arthur before it got too late. So, we said a fond farewell to this wonder of nature and drove toward our final destination for the day.

On the walk back up to the car, I took a few photographs of the gum trees against the brilliant blue sky because, when I think of Australia, that’s often the image that comes to mind and it was the perfect opportunity to capture it forever.

Next up: looking for the ghosts of Port Arthur.

Postcard from Tasmania: Swansea

On our way down to Swansea, we stopped for a quick dinner at the Brewhaus Cafe at the White Sands Estate. The food was pretty good and the service was slow, but it was the dinnertime view that really impressed us.

Yes, the restaurant looks empty but, in fairness, we arrived at about 5:30pm.

We stayed at the Swansea Motor Inn for the next couple of nights which was affordable and basic, but clean and comfortable enough for sleeping. It served as our base for a trip to the Freycinet National Park the following day and, located next to the beach, was a nice location for a scenic walk home from the local pub where had dinner on the second night.

But, you don’t really stay in Swansea to see Swansea (although it’s a nice location). The real attraction is the National Park and you’ll see why when I come back to share photos of that adventure in my next post.

Postcard from Tasmania: Fields of Lavender at Bridestowe Estate

The next stop on our road trip from Tasmania’s North Coast to Swansea, was the Bridestowe Estate Lavender Farm. What a beautiful place – and a popular one. We barely made it there ahead of a few tourist buses and managed to grab a quick bite to eat in the understaffed cafe. The food was nothing fancy, but we didn’t stop here for the food…

It was a photographer’s dream.

I think I should start a new photo series titled “Grandparents in Still Life”…

We had just enough time to grab some lavender ice cream before hitting the road once more. Samuel gave it two thumbs up. No artificial colors here.

If you’re ever in the neighborhood, I recommend a stop at the Bridestowe Lavender farm. Go for the views and stay for the purple ice cream.

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.

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.