This time last year...

This time last year, DH and I were on holidays in Tasmania. It was a really special holiday as we were not only sightseeing but also we took the opportunity to meet up with friends; all former Queenslanders who had moved to Tasmania. One friend lives in Hobart and she and I had been childhood friends as we lived in the same street. We went to their Swiss style home in South Hobart and were treated to a Swiss style meal featuring baked potatoes and melted cheese...yum!

Another friend we visited lives near Launceston at Evandale, a charming town which is described as ‘Georgian’ in the tourist guides. Lynn went to the same primary school as DH and I and she was in the same class as one of DH’s older brothers. Her little sister was one of my classmates. Years later we both worked at the same school; myself as a teacher and she was one of the best teacher aides that I’ve ever worked with. She is also a mad keen knitter! She married a Tasmanian but when she was widowed she came back to Brisbane. She pined for Tassie so ended up going back there to live about 12 years ago. I’d missed her big chuckle (it was infectious...you would laugh too!) and wonderful friendship so it was great to see her again.

Lynn and I at a lookout overlooking the Tamar Valley

We spent a weekend in a motel in Launceston and Lynn took us out sightseeing both days. So we got to see some places that tourists often miss including some beautiful spots in the Tamar Valley as well as the area around Devonport.

Our other friends lived in Burnie and both Andy and Marion had been former workmates of DH in the AEC. They took us to a charming restored pub for a lovely seafood meal and a long evening of ‘catching up’.

Andy and Marion

We went to the usual places on our holiday such as the Cadbury factory, (where I bought a veritable mountain of my fave ‘Turkish delight’ which were seconds and came in large 600gram bags), the Gardening Australia vegie plot in Hobart's Botanical gardens, Port Arthur, Richmond, the Huon Valley, Queenstown, Strahan, ‘The Wilderness Wall’, The Gordon River Cruise (best ever day as we saw whales close to the boat as well as unbelievable country!), Don River Railway, Cradle Mountain National Park, Cataract Gorge. We spent 12 days there and even tho’ Tassie is small, there was still a lot of country we didn’t see.

The motel we stayed in in Launceston was a former bakery. (restored by the Newman family whose son was our Lord mayor until recently)

Part of the huge suite we had in Hobart; this motel had been  a former school!

Our little hire car; my little car, Mitzi, is also a micra

The Botanical Gardens; the famous vegie patch for gardening Australia

Close to where the boat turns around on the Gordon River cruise

Eaglehawk Neck

Whales frolicking near the boat, just before we headed inland up the Gordon River

We stopped briefly in Campbelltown as DH's grandfather was born here; he enlisted in the Tasmanian army to fight in the Boer war

Now if I ever go to Tassie again (and a few people have told me of an event in November which is like a ‘Markets’ crawl’) I have even more people to visit! Through Facebook, a family of ex-pupils have found me and they live in Devonport. Then, in my knitting group, Knit4Charities, I’ve ‘met’ some other Tasmanians. Also, I reckon I’d like to meet a fellow blogger who lives not far from Lynn I think...