Where are we Wednesday? #5

Seaport Marina, Launceston, Tasmania

Oops, a little late since it's now Friday, but we're still in Launceston. Enjoying exploring the city & surrounds. Photo is of a great house in the suburb of Trevallyn where we went walking on Wednesday. Very reminiscent of Wellington, NZ. 

Lilydale falls

Exploring around and about Launceston. Lots to be posted, but thought I'd put up a couple of photos of our outing this afternoon.

Freshwater Point

Anchored last night on the edge of the river just 6.5 miles from Launceston. Nice quiet night with the current slipping silently by at up to 2 knots.

Beautiful still morning this morning and, with the flat river landscape and "low sky" this reminded me of Holland.

This mornings early morning row yielded these photos - I've long been impressed how well Android manages to "just" stick together panoramas. If you've ever tried doing this yourself using Photoshop you will appreciate how complicated it is to a) correct the distortion of each frame and b) blend the changing brightness/exposure at joins. Somehow Android does this on the fly - even when the camera is held by someone standing rather unsteadily in an inflatible rubber dinghy...

"Alice"

Devils Elbow

We've started our trip upstream. An hour and a half sail upstream of Beauty Point, past the port and the woodchip piles, we find ourselves anchored in the promising - sounding "Devils Elbow". Absolutely beautiful. 

Passing Port Dalrymple. I'm guessing this is a woodchip berth...

Family enjoying the trip up the river

Anchored at Devils Elbow

We walked for an hour yesterday afternoon and visited "Goaty Hill" vineyard, who do some (expensive) wines exactly the way we like them and a very nice cheese platter. We were dropped back to the boat by one of the vineyard owners!

A cricket we found on the way to the vineyard.

At Goaty Hill Vineyard.

Today looks like it will be another cracker. We need to wait a couple of hours to catch the tide upstream through "whirlpool reach" and another couple of hours to our next anchorage. Hopefully in Launceston on Sunday.

From anchor in Devils Elbow, looking down Whirlpool Reach under Batman Bridge

Dawn

Not a bad spot to be buried. Above Devils Elbow looking back down Moriarty Reach.

Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are.

Giles

Foraging for breakfast at Beauty Point

Went foraging for berries for breakfast &  got apples, fig & banana passionfruit too.

On return to Meander we realised Evelyn & Arthur had got bored of waiting for our return & had left on their own adventure. Oops! Located shortly thereafter in the yacht club watching TV... Phew!

Now breakfast awaits before sailing/motoring off to a delightful sounding anchorage Devil's Elbow. Apparently walking distance from a vineyard 

Where are we Wednesday? #4

Dark Hollow / George Town / Beauty Point, River Tamar, Tasmania.

Had  a great week exploring the west arm of the river anchoring in Dark Hollow & Soldiers Point. Great BBQ & exploring by dingy.

Visited George Town today to check out the Bass & Flinders Centre. Very impressed with the replica of Norfolk only about the size of Meander but with far less of the comforts of home! Even more impressive was the feat of the original crew. 10 sailors on a boat the size of ours, no electronics, no weather forecasts, just paper charts & experience. Very cool to have sailed across Bass Strait named after the man who proved Van Diemans Land was not joined to NSW and to be exploring the river they explored too! Did begin to feel a bit old though as Bass died at 32 & Flinders 40. They achieved so much in their lives.

Also used the opportunity to stock up the food supplies. Got to love a town that actually encourages you to borrow the trolley to bring your shopping to your yacht. Guess we may not have been the first. Treated ourselves to ice-cream today.... 2 boxes of cornettos (4 in a box)  for $10 and no freezer... Maths in action. 8÷5=1 each with 3 left over.  The solution - the fastest 3 got seconds, but had to share 

The Plan

Well, "plan" is definitely an overstatement. The Idea would be more accurate.

The Idea was that we should take some time out of our busy lives to spend some time together, as a family. Lauren can add her perspective, but from my point of view, in this day and age it is so easy to loose sight of a family that active steps need to be taken to restore a more healthy balance.

I'm sure you know the story: A typical day...
 - Up for morning madness. Hysterics about what to wear or eat, or why someone is wearing their food. Lunches to make, homework to find (hopefully), bikes to get ready. Bags to pack. Logistics to plan...
 - Leave the house (late) between 8 and 8:30am just as the madness reaches fever pitch to head for the relative sanity of work.
 - Work. I have a great job, and I enjoy it, but it takes mental energy (and biking 17km there and 17km back again takes physical energy). If I'm lucky I'm at work by 9am, and frequently I'm not lucky. This means that I don't leave work before 6pm. Often closer to 7pm.
 - Home between 7 and 8pm. Kids in their death-throws or already asleep. Lauren knackered by the evening ruckus. Me knackered.
 - Re-heat dinner. Conversation consists of "what shall we watch?".
 - Fall asleep on the couch watching TV.
 - Rinse and repeat.

In the weekends it is a variation involving kids birthday parties or play-dates and me with yacht racing (or, more recently, boat maintenance). Same outcome generally in terms of family life.

Is it a wonder you occasionally wake up wondering who you are and who are all these strangers in the house? Sad, sad, sad and in need of intervention.

So, many would argue that what is required is a slight adjustment, a tweek to the routine here, a re-prioritisation there and some sustainable compromise could be reached. Perhaps. And maybe one day it will be.

However The Idea is different. The Idea is turn this all on its head. The Idea is to let's try putting family first for a year, all of us, and see what we can make of it. Who are we now? And what do we like doing together? Hopefully it isn't too late to find out what each of us is about and perhaps try doing some of that positive role-modelling, value instilling, stuff as well. That would be a fine thing.

OK, so one year full time won't magically make up for years of neglect, however hopefully it will be a damn good start. Something to build on. A way to figure out what really is important to us as a family, and how to build that in to our more sustainable lives. That is the hope.

The rest is details.

1.  I managed to accumulate some leave and long service leave at work (and have a very understanding employer who will let me go for a year).
2. We have a boat (a yacht) which could just about accomodate us for a year and is capable of moving from one beautiful spot to another.
3. We have a house we can rent out to help deal with the mortgage.
4. We have children at an understanding primary school which sees the big picture. They are at a good age to go and learn something of the wider world (oh yeah, and Lauren is a school teacher, so has the skills to help keep them up with their peers in the key standard curriculum areas).

Now, apply just a little logic, and you soon end up with a plan which involves taking the family, getting on the boat in the Victorian summer and migrating up the East coast of Australia with the comfortable weather, and migrating back again in time for the following summer.

There you are, The Idea just became The Plan. That is just about all there is to it. Clearly there remain important details to be filled out, but as we get to those, we'll let you know...

Just practicing!

Beaconsfield Mine

Yesterday we used our 3 in 1 pass for the Seahorse Aquarium, Platypus House & Beaconsfield Mine to visit the mine.

We went into an old telephone box and rung a wooden wall telephone. But you couldn't hear the person on the wooden wall telephone because it was broken. We also sent a real message by morse code and telegram!

Me using the wooden wall telephone.

Sending telegrams by morse code. We sent one to Emma and Leo.

We did mining for soft toys. Unfortunately we didn't get to keep them once we had found them.

We learnt about gold mining and the disaster in 2006 (the year I was born!).

We learnt about the history of the Tamar River Valley. I added to a rag rug that was in a house that the early settlers lived. I wrapped up an apple in an apple shed and I practised my copperplate handwriting with a nib pen at an old school desk. It was interesting.

Old one-room school house.

We tried goldpanning and I found some gold!

Me and Daddy gold panning.

Then we climbed up the Headframe. We had to tag on first and tag off last. Just like the real miners.

Tagging on.

Arthur, Daddy and I got dressed up like miners. Their gear felt really heavy.

Dressed up like a miner.

Daddy was impressed by the waterwheel, he thought it was really powerful and made a LOUD banging noise!

The water wheel.

If you come to Tasmania I think you should visit the mine. It was really interesting. We spent the whole day there. Luckily they let us out to have some lunch!

If you would like to find out more go to www.beaconsfieldheritage.com.au

By Evelyn

The Royal Botanical Gardens, Geelong

We went to the Botanical Gardens in Geelong.

They had heaps of plants.

They had some cacti like the ones you see in the desert.

I threw some stones into a lake.

We saw a Mad Hatter having a tea party in a glass house.

We saw some animals in the trees.

By Arthur

Lots of big ferns!

A huge and very spiky tree.

Like a piece of desert with cacti.

Green bananas!

Colourful flowers.

Bronze cranes standing on turtles.

Giant spider!!!

Hybiscus flowers.

Sunflower about to open.

EV smells (the flowers).

Old hut under a HUGE tree.

Platapus House

On wednesday we went to the platypus house. We got to see real platypus .Then we walked in a room where there were three ecidnas. They sat at our feet and sucked at bowls of slop. They had long tongues. I loved the tour.

Platypus skeleton

Platypus swimming

Some things we learned were:

Platypus

EV and Arthur keeping and eye on the platypus

1. They have milk pads instead of nipples.
2. Girls spurs are not poisonous.
3. They go on the land.
4. The dads can kills their children if they don't leave home at the right time.
5. When they are old enough child platypus can swim and hunt without their mothers teaching them.
6. Bubbles come out of their tails when they dive because of the layers of air in their tail.

Echidna eating out of a cup

Echidnas

1. Tassie ones are furrier than those found on the mainland.
2. They have long tongues.
3. They can die of shock.
4. They can lose their spikes.
5. They can eat out of cups with their long tongues.
6. People try to dig them out in their yard so most rescued echidnas have their snouts chopped off. DO NOT TRY TO DIG UP ECHIDNAS.

Stuffed echidna

If you are intresterd in finding out more go to  platypushouse.com.au

BY KATHERINE

A day on West Arm

Moored at the public pontoon at Beauty Point.

We came ashore to have lunch with Lauren's uncles Andrew and Keith and partner Margaret.

Heading back down West Arm. No wind.

Need I say anything? 

We ran aground (gently) twice on the way done the unmarked channel to Soldiers Point but the bottom was soft, we did it slowly, and the tide was rising, so we could back off again without stress.

The BBQ area at the far end of the arm is definitely well worth it. Think we'll probably stay a couple of days.

Tomorrow we hope  to take the dinghy around the corner and visit the remains of York Town,  the third oldest settlement in Australia after Sydney and Hobart.