Thursday, September 17, 2009

What I did on my holidays.....

We're back. The washing is done, the sheets are flapping in the breeze out on the clothesline and spring has finally happened properly. In fact, although it rained all day yesterday, it is beautiful today and was every day we were away too. Well done to the weather gods.

We started out by having 2 days in Hobart, where I managed to catch up with the amazingly talented Ms Frog Ponds Rock. Pop over and visit her blog - she is a great potter and an amazing photographer. It was just lovely to finally meet her (and swap recipes and hit the spice shop!)

We also caught up with the Knightly Knitter and her family, where she prepared an incredible meal while also demonstrating superwoman capabilities by simultaneously cooking, wrangling children, talking about knitting, knitting and refereeing several disagreements amongst the junior set - and keeping the dogs outside.

Off to Port Arthur for 2 days and, truth to tell, I was a little worried, having not been back there since the events of 1996, but it retains the same sense of peace and tranquility I always remember. I was afraid it may have become something else.

Despite its dark history, I have always loved Port Arthur. I think it is beautiful. It is hard to believe it was a brutal prison for so long, housing convicts who had committed crimes after their transportation to Van Dieman's Land.

Probably the nicest thing about our stay down there was the fact that the place where we stayed was right across the road from the back gate to the site. Once we had paid the entry fee, we were given a key and could come and go as we pleased.


It was our domain. This meant that I could sorta run in the world heritage nominated area in the morning and be the only person in there, with all this beauty all to myself.

Then we headed up the East Coast and stayed at Coles Bay. We did some of the short walks and generally hung about.


The kids did some kids stuff (including mugging for the camera) and we all generally recharged our batteries.

We built sandcastles here.
And despite the Accountant suffering a major gout attack on the first day (which meant I had no time to knit in the car because I had to drive, and this threw my plans out dreadfully!), I finally finished the Cotty socks I started at Bendigo. Here they are, in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock, mediumweight in Koi Koi. Love them.
Now, I have to start looking forward to the next road trip!

12 comments:

Leonie said...

Sounds like you had a lovely time. We embark upon school holidays today so the next two weeks are bound to be fun over here!

Tanya said...

What a lovely holiday you've had. Great photos. And you still sound "up" from the holiday - even doing all the washing wasn't enough to bring you down. That's great. I always feel like I've never been away once I've dealt with the aftermath.

frog ponds rock... said...

It was lovely to meet you as well. though I must have been a tad over excited because I forgot to buy any spices lol. take care, Kim xox

Geek Knitter said...

What a lovely trip.. and those socks are spectacular!

Alwen said...

It's always nice when the weather gods are kind to your holiday. Lovely blue skies all around!

MadMad said...

What beautiful pics, Tink! I had to keep passing the laptop back and forth to my husband (part of my plan to get him to agree to an Aussie vacation some day...) because they were so gorgeous! And the one of the kids is the cutest of all. That Princess is gonna break some hearts, isn't she?

Donna Lee said...

Wow, that water is so blue! Sounds like an energizing vacation. And the kids are great Muggers!

Amy Lane said...

*Ahhhhh* The lovely pictures--and the happy children. Battery recharging is VERY very high on my 'love to hear it' list...

Anonymous said...

Here was I worried by your cyber silence and lack of posts, and instead there you were having a lovely time (excepting for the Accountant's troubles for which I send sympathy).
Tasmania is such a picturesque place. Ashamed to say that in 56 1/2 years I've never been there. It IS on our list.
Clever sock knitter you! I still haven't ventured there except for one Antarctic-expeditioner-type handspun sock I knitted hubby years ago, and never knitted the other one. I keep being inspired by blogger friends such as yourself.

Five Ferns Fibreholic said...

After seeing those pictures, now I really must visit Taz next timeI go to Aus.

Rose Red said...

I love Port Arthur - it is hard to believe such a beautiful place has such an awful history (past and recent). Coles Bay is lovely too - what a great holiday, all without (really) leaving home!!

Michelle said...

Miss Ceri, I give you an A+ for your holiday report!

Glad you had a lovely restful time.