Melaleuca

We were sitting around on Sunday morning when Tim got a call from work, there was a plane stuck down in Melaleuca with a flat tyre and they wanted him to fly down to fix it. Fortunately for us there was room on the plane for all of us! Melaleuca is in the far south west of Tassie and the only way in is by plane, boat or a nine day walk. It is extremely remote and we were very grateful to get opportunity to go down there. Rex was pretty keen to spot a Tassie Tiger as word has it if there are any still around, this is where they would be. We didn't find any Tassie Tigers, but had a run in with a big Tiger Snake... thank god for the boardwalk! The weather was beautiful and the flights there and back were awesome and to be able to visit somewhere so remote and untouched was just breathtaking.

Around Hobart

So we have settled in Seven Mile Beach, twenty kilometres from Hobart, for eight weeks while we both do some work. This gives us an opportunity to really see Hobart and its surrounds. We have done day trips to Richmond, the Museum and the Botanical Gardens so far. Richmond is just gorgeous boasting Australia's oldest bridge and the kids loved the Museum and Gardens.

Bruny Island

We dragged ourselves from the beauty of Cockle Creek so we could squeeze in Bruny Island before Tim started work in Hobart. The island is beautiful with gorgeous beaches and lots of wildlife. We were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins jumping somersaults as well as a seal, a copperhead snake and many possums. The possums didn't deter Tim and the kids trying locally made possum & wallaby salami, the local wine and cheese were more to my taste though.

Cockle Creek

The drive down the Huon Valley to Cockle Creek was just beautiful and Cockle Creek gorgeous! We had heard a lot about it and weren't disappointed. The sand was so incredibly white, the water so aqua blue and the tidal creek crystal clear, Tassie just keeps getting better! We spent four very relaxing days fishing, walking and catching crabs. The area has an interesting history and were all amazed to read we were closer to Antarctica than Cairns, South Cape being the most southern point of Australia (not including Macquarie Island) we could reach without walking for a couple of days.

Hobart

Reluctantly we left the tranquility of Mt Field and headed to Hobart Town. We decided to stay twenty kilometres out of Hobart at Seven Mile Beach because most of the parks in Hobart weren't that appealing and Seven Mile Beach is beautiful. We spent four days exploring the city, including Salamanca Markets and the waterside area, the Cadbury Factory and the outstanding MONA (Museum of Old and New Art). The MONA really blew our minds, it is such an incredible building and an amazing collection of artworks ranging from incredible to bizarre.
There was no way we were going to see everything we wanted to so decided to come back to Hobart and do some work after the Huon Valley, Cockle Creek and Bruny Island.

Mt Field National Park

Due to the Australia Day long weekend we decided to spend four or five days here, it was the perfect spot. The National Park is beautiful and the Tyenna River running past the campsite was a great place to play and try and spot a platypus. The national park was running ranger tours due to the school holidays, which were fantastic. We learnt all about platypus and how to spot them, unfortunately we just didn't spot one!
We did quite a few walks while here and saw some gorgeous waterfalls as well as some huge swap gums. We also discovered that there were some more large swamp gums not far from there that had been recently included in the existing World Heritage Area. These gums were even more amazing and some were nearly 300 or so years old and over 87 metres tall.
Tim had some time to do some running repairs on the camper and was able to sort out an ongoing problem we had with the breaks. Luckily while doing this he found one of the wheel bearings needed replacing avoiding any problems we might have had on the road.

Strathgordon and Lake Pedder

Strathgordon was a town that was built for workers while the dam was being built, and there isn't really a town there anymore but it was still worth a look around. The area around Lake Pedder is just beautiful and the dam itself was definitely worth a look. It is so tall and to be able to walk across it was pretty cool!