Tasmania, Part 2

  The fun continued... I found a hat I like, we met wombats and Tasmanian devils up close and personal, we walked above the forest canopy and explored a wonderful cave system (we thought it was quite beautiful, and we've started to have seen a few!). We dined at the waterfront and saw a tall ship on the dock (not pictured). It was sad to leave and we wished we'd had more time! Oh, and Miranda managed to turn her 14th birthday into a three day event, so it was amply celebrated.

Tasmania Part 1

We found another wonderful vacation destination: Tasmania was Awesome! We hiked into one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Wineglass Bay (background shot). We thought it was pretty fine, but my calves complained for days after the hike over the mountain and then back (following my goat daughter who travels at mach 10). We enjoyed some good food, dinner was cleaned while we waited at the Oyster bar, and it's pretty much the land of roses (the ones in the picture are at our hotel) and wine (which we sampled whenever we could). That was the first day...

Ballarat, take 2

Our friend Pete arrived the day before my parents, so after some jet lag adjustment we did a cruise down the Mornington Peninsula (where my Mom and I found, quite by accident, a quilt shop. Okay, not quite by accident...). We had a lovely day, and then the next day headed up to Ballarat and Soveriegn Hill. We did some competitive gold panning (Doug and I initially tied, but he kept at it and surpassed my find!), some candle dipping, a mine tour, and a lot of walking. We were able to catch the sound and light show in the evening, thanks to the hospitality of our friend Jasmeet. A lovely time was had by all, and we were lucky enough to get some rain, always a good thing in this area of the country.

School outside the home!

The end of January saw visits from our friends from France who are backpacking through Australia (Lydee is helping with dinner). It also saw the end of home schooling, an event which was celebrated by all of us! It's funny though, how with making lunches, taking children to school, coming home to do some housework, picking up children and now dance lessons, I don't seem to have as much time as I envisioned. Ah well, hopefully once the routine (dust) settles I'll find some space for the numerous projects on my list...

Roar n' Snore

January 23rd we headed off to the Melbourne Zoo with 4 girls, two ours, two borrowed (that would be Kiri with the Giraffe and Elyse leading the pack by the pond). It was a lovely time, jam packed with seeing most of the animals in the zoo. We were pleased to meet the wombat, the big cats were all out that night, and the next morning we fed the giraffes and then managed to see the tiger cubs playing. We were all pretty played out after that adventure, but it was a very good time and the food was very good as well. We all agreed that we needed another visit to see what we missed... The sign of a good trip!