We have spent a few days discovering the award-winning pinot noir, riesling and sparkling wines from the cool-climate vineyards of the Tamar Valley. We followed the Tamar Valley Wine Route northward from Launceston on both banks of the Tamar River and eastward to the vineyards of the Pipers River area. We took many a pause to taste the region’s acclaimed Tasmanian wines and sample the best of fresh local Tasmanian produce in the vineyard restaurants along the way and enjoyed the majestic views over the vineyards and across the Tamar River to the mountains beyond.

After leaving the Tamar Valley yesterday, we drove across the top of Tasmania, visiting Burnie and Penguin on the way, and arriving in Stanley for a few days stay. The countryside, like other states in Australia, varies so much from area to area. The paddocks are rolling green here, a huge contrast to the bush and beach area we enjoy at home.

We have had beautiful sunny days after very cool starts. Today is the first day we are experiencing some cooler winds so may take advantage of this and stay cosy in the van and catch up on some work…. earn a bit of money for a change !!!!

Just a quick post to show you our beautiful view on our way up the Tamar this morning taken at Windermere. The temperature was minus 1. We love everything about the frosts and the fogs, but always rug up including woolly gloves this morning. I am now the proud owner of many boots, gloves and beanies !!!! Mind you, it is now sunny and warmer. Mal is in a T.Shirt !

For those that wish to leave a comment just click on the comment tab below each post and now register. (you should only need to do this once…. it will help me block out the annoying junk comments I receive from those wonderful guys trying to sell watches, Viagra etc…. I don’t think Mal has bought anything yet ???)

We have been camped by the Esk River in Longford for a few days, just south of Launceston. The area is so pretty with the bare deciduous trees, green paddocks and amazing old stone homes everywhere. This morning we had our first frost for our trip, with the temperature  only 1 degrees. Tomorrow is minus 1 so should be interesting. Thank goodness we invested in the new diesel heater for the van, so have been very comfortable, but have to always remember to layer our clothes!! With the frosts, come stunning clear days, so it has been beautiful. Had a delicious lunch at the well known Josef Chromy Vineyard yesterday, after visiting the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania (Mal’s favourite).  We also, amongst many other things, visited the Design Tasmania Centre in Launceston. Murray, look up their website designtasmania.com.au. You would love it. All the stunning furniture is made in Tasmania from beautiful local timber… many of the pieces would look incredible in a home. I will have to start saving.

We left home last Monday in the caravan and after saying “go left or right?”, headed up the east coast stopping the first three nights on the beach at Chain of Lagoons just north of Bicheno. It is a beautiful area….the area where we fell in love with Tassie first. The green paddocks meet the ocean. We lit the campfire every night…. and yes we were warm. The beaches are full of shells, in areas at least 30cm deep. Rosie and Creed, I collected some to add to your collection near the swings, back at our bush block. Your shells are still spread out how you left them, although the possums do mess them up occasionally.

The next spot we camped was on the beach at the Bay of Fires east of St Helens. Incredibly clear blue water and very white sand. Today we visited the Pyengana Dairy Company who have been producing English-style cheddar cheese in the Pyengana Valley for three generations and over one-hundred years. We now have a frig of delicious cheeses including some more of the cheese you and Dennis bought us Di !! After that we headed to the Pub in the Paddock for lunch…. very average lunch but a beautiful valley.

In our last post, we mentioned our visit to the Cadbury Factory in Hobart. I now understand why Mal had such an attachment to the chocolates. There was a large photo of a man by the surname of Fry in the Gallery and I mentioned to Mal that maybe he was a relative of his (his Mum is a Fry). We forgot all about it then, until we were chatting to Mal’s Mum yesterday about Cadburys, and she mentioned that Mal’s Grandfather’s cousin started Fry’s Chocolates in Tassie which was later bought by Cadburys. Small world. Now Mal wants to revisit the factory as a descendant of the original owner….. any excuse.

We have been so busy the past couple of months, both exploring more of Tassie and working on our bush block.

We promised ourselves we would do as much in the first year on our improvements and that would be it. Overall we are sticking to this plan, as 12 months will be up living in Tassie on the 21st June. The only change to the home to be done in the future will be the addition of a wine cellar !

We head off in the caravan around Tasmania for a couple of months on the 5th June for June and July, then home again for August and part of September, before flying to Italy and France for 2 months. Between now and 5th June, I head over to Perth to babysit the grandkids, Rosie and Creed, while Bec and Steve head to Byron Bay for a wedding.

Mal has been busy helping Kathy and Michael, one of our sons and daughter-in-law, and also now our nearest neighbours (1 km away), with some home improvements. He enjoys helping out and seems to have great creative ideas for a draftsman !!!

Below are some pics taken over the past couple of months….

Today we had a most amazing trip given to Mal for his 60th birthday from our son Michael and partner Kathy.

We took an unforgettable tour, exploring the incredibly remote waterways and wilderness of Bathurst Harbour and the South West World Heritage Wilderness only accessible by plane or boat. No roads or cars !!! Our aircraft flew into this remote area via the South West Coast. Departing Cambridge airport, we made our way down the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, over Bruny Island, past the mouth of the Huon River and on to Recherche Bay. Recherche Bay is located on the extreme south-eastern corner of Tasmania and was a landing place of the d’Entrecasteaux exhibition to find missing explorer La Perouse. It is named after the Recherche, one of the expedition’s ships.We entered the South West World Heritage Area at South East Cape, Tasmania’s most southern point, and made our way west, on to Melaleuca.

After landing at Melaleuca, we boarded one of their boats, for a boat trip on Melaleuca Inlet and into Bathurst Harbour, from where we were able to witness the wilderness from a viewpoint that you are unable to appreciate by air or by foot.

We then reboarded our aircraft, and returned to Cambridge Airport, via the spectacular Eastern Arthurs and Federation Peak, down the Huon Valley and over Hobart City. The plane flew through a bit of turbulence dropping about 10 meters (??) suddenly a number of times. I felt like I needed a nip of the Lark Whisky given to Mal from Bec and Steve for his birthday !!!!

The pilot even flew us right over our new home at Sandford.

It was incredible. Certainly an experience of a lifetime !!!!

Mal enjoyed his 60th birthday and a wonderful few days at a beautiful retreat near Cradle Mountain and the Western Tiers in north west Tasmania.

Eagle Nest Retreat was amazing. A luxury accommodation  getaway including massage and a private chef and inside and outside spas!!!! We experienced exquisite landscape and sensational mountain views from a stunning contemporary Retreat, which is close to Cradle Mountain’s pristine wilderness and was exclusively ours. Eagle Nest Retreat overlooks Mount Roland.

On the night of his birthday we were spoilt with a delicious meal cooked in our retreat by chef Nick Sallese. Nick trained locally as a qualified Pastry Chef and has worked at establishments such as the Myer Patisserie floor in Perth, Western Australia, the Golden Tulip Bakery and Patisserie in Sandy Bay, Tasmania and at Klaas Bakehouse in Devonport. Nick has a strong Italian heritage and his cooking reflect his Mediterranean roots. Nick has travelled to his family’s province of Tuscany to learn traditional family recipes and authentic Italian cooking techniques. Nick is also very interested in wine, beers and liqueurs and has started producing his own Limoncello (Italian Lemon Based Liquor ) to his father’s recipe which we really enjoyed to finish our meal.

We have had a wonderful week enjoying the “Taste Festival” a 7 day annual food and wine event in Hobart, and of course watching the yachts coming in for the Sydney to Hobart race. Mal has had a full does of boats (he is in his element) seeing the winner (Wild Oats XI) come in from the rocks just near our home at 6.30am, checking all the boats in Constitution Dock every day and even watching them come across Storm Bay from the comfort of our home !!!! We have loved it all.

We are now heading into a busy few weeks with all the kids, Michael, Rebecca, Guy and Murray, visiting at some stage with partners and grand kids, Rosie and Creed. Murray and Showte are here with us at the moment.

l

Yesterday we headed over to Richmond and joined a crowd to watch the Annual Duck Race held at Puddleduck Vineyard. ( It was a cancer fundraiser and Mal and I had a duck each ). We packed a picnic including cheeses from Wicket Cheese Factory down the road. Wicked Cheese is a boutique cheesemaker, based in Richmond, Tasmania.

Wicked Cheese has emerged, in a few short years, to gain recognition as one of the most impressive, high quality, hand-made cheese ranges in Australia. Wicked Cheese Triple Cream Brie was awarded the Supreme Cheese Champion Trophy at the 2008 Royal Melbourne Show, and Wicked Cheese Brie was awarded the trophy for Best White Mould Cheese at the 2010 Australian Grand Dairy Awards.

Puddleduck Vineyard is a small family owned 4 hectare vineyard in the Coal River Valley near Hobart. The beautiful Coal River Valley is a 20 minute scenic drive from Hobart’s CBD on the way to the Historic town of ​Richmond, and about 25 minutes from home. We did not win the duck race but enjoyed a great day.

 

 

We have been busy continuing our home improvements, both inside and out. The land is still in the slight clearing process. I think we may have removed the possum’s tree, as they have taken up residence in our new insulation. Mal is going to build a couple of possum houses to try to remedy this problem. We enjoyed a visit from Michael and Kathy. The weekend flew way too quickly. We spent the first day of their visit (also Kathy’s birthday) at the Salamanca Markets and then on to Meadowbank Estate for a birthday lunch. Later that night we lit up the new pizza oven for a home made wood-fired pizza. All good !!!!

We also took a drive down to Cygnet a couple of weeks ago to spend the day with our friend Tanya, who lives in a little cottage perched on a hill. I forgot the camera. Darn.

Yesterday, Mal and I enjoyed a day out visiting a Classic Car Show in Bellerive, then heading out to Richmond to visit some wineries and lunch. All within 25 minutes from home. We are very lucky !!!

Friday night saw 150 women from the South Arm and Sandford area get together to raise funds for breast cancer. Typical of a small community, the event was not advertised, and sold out 2 weeks before the night. It is a close community here and fundraisers and other events are supported well.

Well it has been a particularly difficult week for us, as we lost our old dog Mutley. Old age caught up with him, but thankfully he has had a wonderful 3 months exploring our 10 acres of bush. We are grateful he has not had too much old age pain or problems, just the usual arthritis. He was starting to have trouble with the stairs. We loved him so much but his time was up.

To take our mind off missing Mutley we spent some time on the weekend exploring the New Norfolk area.

New Norfolk has one of Australia’s few traditional village squares and is the centre of the hop-growing area.

What’s special about New Norfolk?

• Several old oast houses (kilns) along the roadside.
• A growing hub for ‘antique hunters.’…. no we did not buy anything. We can’t fit what we own in our home as it is, so it stops us spending !!!! Mal would not even let me LOOK.
• Stunning river views

New Norfolk has a rich hop-growing past and you will see several old oast houses (kilns) along the roadside. They aren’t used today but their elegant shapes give the Valley a deep sense of its history and some have been lovingly converted into homes, restaurants and art galleries. Hops are still grown in New Norfolk for beer making.

New Norfolk is 30 minutes from Hobart, however, it’s inland position on the river means it is prone to frosts and fog during the winter. If you visit, remember to bring a warm jacket.

 

We have just enjoyed a visit from our very good friends, Mike and Kim Ridley and son Zac all the way from Tamworth. It was a mixture of both pleasure and WORK !!!!

Mike supplied and installed our new air conditioning in our home. We have really appreciated their help. We also took a drive over to Swansea and Coles Bay and enjoyed the views looking towards Maria Island. Also, on Saturday, we all headed off to Salamanca Markets and lunch at the Irish Pub.