Port Arthur

Today we drove to the historic township of Port Arthur. It was a very wet and dreary day but that only added to the character.

It has changed a lot since we were last here and especially after the tragedy of April, 1996. However the place still holds all of its history and mystery.

 

Tomorrow we head home for Drouin.

 

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21st July, 2013 - The Foss' 60th Birthday

We spent Sunday lazing around the unit having bacon and eggs before travelling to Richmond, where we took some photos of the bridge and enjoyed lunch in the bakery and we picked up a Black Forrest cake for the Foss' 60th.

I had a magnificent Curried Scallop pie at the bakery.

Then before dinner we headed back to the Squires Bounty for a Hop Thief.

And after our pre dinner drinks we headed to the Ball and Chain for dinner to celebrate the birthday party.

Listen to The Foss' speech.

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Salamanca Market

Saturday morning was spent doing some shopping at Salamanca Market. Alongside the Port Douglas market and Mindil Night market, this would have to be the best I have found in Australia. Plenty of one Tasmanian produce is on display, heaps of clothing and local timber products.

We purchased clothing from steals and Kathmandu before heading to Squires Bounty where I enjoyed The Hop Thief.

In the evening we went to The Shoreline Hotel an watched the Magpies get rolled by a more determined Gold Coast.

 

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The Foss' 60th Birthday

The Foss and Carol elected to take JCAT and JABB (Julia, Amelia, Brett and Brooke) over to Tasmania to celebrate the Foss' 60th Birthday.

 

JCAT flew out of Melbourne with The Foss and Carol at 0700 hrs on Friday and JABB sailed out of Melbourne Thursday night. We then met up at Ashwood Apartments in Bellerive, which are directly behind Bellerive Oval (Blundstone Arena).

 

After we arrived we went for a drive to Kangaroo Point and checked out a battery that was built in the late 1800's to defend Hobart. The kids got a bit spooked when I yelled through one of the tunnels while they were standing at the other end out of my sight. There is a great deal of history down here and plenty for the kids to learn about. Couple of pics from Kangaroo Point.

 

 

In the afternoon we took a walk from the unit around Kangaroo Point dodging the rain and enjoying the views.

 

 

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Hansel and Gretel Production

In the first week of the July School holidays Alyssa took part in the Warragul Youth Theatre Production, Hansel and Gretel. She had rehearsed for nine weeks in order to prepare for this performance. There were two performances daily for the week, excepting Friday when there was only one performance followed by a pyjama party.

 

 

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Easter 2013 - Bindaree Flat

This Easter we decided we would head somewhere new. We love the High Country and after reading many travel threads we decided to head to Bindaree Hut and set up camp.

So Friday morning we left an overcast Drouin and made for Mansfield, where we enjoyed an early lunch in the Bakery in the Main Street.

After lunch we headed up towards the summit of Mt. Buller and then took the Cornhill Track turn off. The track quickly turned from bitumen to rocks and after airing down we drove down the hill towards Howqua Gap Hut and Circuit Road. The track was pretty narrow in places but overall in very good nick. There were a few trees down over the track which had already been cut to allow access, luckily we didn’t meet anyone coming the other way.

Pretty soon we hit Circuit Road, turned right and made our way into Bindaree Flat. Overall travel time including toilet stops and lunch was 5 hours. Bindaree Track had recently been graded and was very smooth going.

The rest of the afternoon was spent collecting firewood and exploring the immediate area.

We woke on Saturday to a beautiful crisp morning and made the decision to head up to Bindaree Falls. The last week had seen plenty of rain in the area, so there was a good flow of water coming over the falls.

From the falls we headed towards Craig’s Hut electing to take The Monument Track, after observing three other vehicles head up as we arrived at the intersection. The track was in very good condition and didn’t call for any low range work.

As we expected Craig’s Hut was busier than Bourke Street at 9:00 am on a weekday. We took heaps of photos and had lunch sitting on the grass, while we enjoyed the views across the range. The kids climbed some snow gums and we took some more photos of the horses that had made the journey up the hill.

From there we headed up to the summit of Mt. Stirling, stopping at GGS Hut along the way. What a view from the front door of the hut.

After making the walk to the summit of Mt. Stirling we headed back down to Howqua Gap Hut and then back into camp.

We woke during the night to the sound of light rain on the Tropical Roof and it continued on and off into Sunday morning.

On Sunday we decided to head up to Bluff and Lovicks Hut. We followed 16 Mile Jeep Track out to Pikes Flat and had a look at the camping spots there. It was a lot wetter than Bindaree and had some very boggy sections which I elected not to take on, out of fear of getting bogged.

From Pikes we headed back out onto 16 Mile Jeep Track. Before long we were stopped by a bloke in 200 Series Landcruiser who advised us that someone was stuck on the track not far ahead. He had a quick look at our Prado, from the driver’s seat and advised me against going any further because of the wet clay and the fact we only have All Terrains.

I decided to push on but his comments had done nothing to ease Clare's mind about the conditions we might face up ahead. Before we knew it, we were engaging low range and battling a short steep section of clay, plenty of right foot and some side to side movement of the steering wheel and up and over we went. Clare was sh.ting herself as can be seen and heard in this video but the kids thought it was great.  

We then continued on without incident up to Bluff Hut, where we stopped, had a snack and took some photos of the amazing view. From Bluff Hut we continued on to Lovicks Hut which had been taken over for the weekend by a group of campers. I don’t mind people using a hut in a time of need but setting up your $300 swags and dome tents across the entire floor area of the hut for the weekend is a bit much.

After sticking our heads inside (very briefly) we headed back to Bindaree, letting low range first do its thing over the clay. Clare was very happy to get past that section of track.

Monday morning was a slow pack up before ambling our way back home to Drouin after a great weekend.

Christmas Holiday At Kangaroo Valley

Stopping for a toilet break.

At 3am on Boxing Day we set off on our journey to the Kangaroo Valley, a majestic camping ground near the town of Nowra. The children were dragged out of bed (much to Alyssa's disgust) and told to get in the car.

One Direction.

Luckily Alyssa was saved from the evil clutches of boredom by One Direction (the famous British/Irish boy band that she adores).

 While she stayed awake listening to beautiful music, Trent and Clare tried to get some sleep. We stopped at 7:00 to eat at McDonald's. Jason, Clare and Trent stuffed themselves with Hot Cakes and Hash-Browns while Alyssa drank a DELICIOUS Ice-Coffee. After that quick stop they were back on the road, Alyssa read her Harry Styles magazine (a magazine dedicated to a One Direction member) while Trent drew some pictures of his favourite pass time, Minecraft. We reached the camp at 1:45 in the afternoon and the adults forced the children to do manual labour (a.k.a help set up camp). 

The next day we went canoeing in the MASSIVE river that was across the road from our camp site. 

Alyssa, Trent and Clare standing near the canoe by the river.

Ron and Annalise were on there way down to Melbourne and stopped off a few nights to catch up for Christmas. We went out for lunch at the local Hotel and spent a bit of time together at the caravan park they were staying in.

The children were awaiting the arrival of our camping partners the Bassett's. When they finally arrived on Saturday afternoon the kids were overjoyed, and eager to spend time with the Bassett children Cassandra and Nathan. 

Stephanie and Nathan Bassett in one of the green kayaks. 

The next day we went on a canoe ride with the Bassett's (who had brought along two little green one person kayaks). 

The next nine days were VERY eventful, we played on rope swings, Warren Basset got a little too confident and ripped his foot apart. Jason also got confident and tore a stomach muscle.

The Fritzlaff's caught some fish, much to Trent and Jason's delight. 

On New Years Eve the kids amused themselves with glow sticks whil the adults enjoyed a few light refreshments.

We found and explored some beautiful rock pools in the Upper Kangaroo Valley.

Three days before the day we were planing to leave it got so hot that the fire danger reached catastrophic and we were forced to leave. 

Alyssa's thoughts on the trip:

"The rope swing gave me wedgies!" ; )

"It got extremely hot!"  

"We got kicked out three days before our planed departure date due to fire danger!"

"I listened to One Direction in the car while Trent slept!"

"I saw a Corey Feldman look alike!"

Trent's thoughts on the trip:

"I loooovvveeeeddd the rope swing."

"I loved catching fish with the fishing rods!"

"I absolutely loved tipping the canoe!"   

"I liked making the Lego." 

"I loved finding the water pistols in the bin."

Written by Alyssa Jade Fritzlaff : ) 

Edited by Jason Fritzlaff :(