Here is a short video clip of some of the images we saw on the day driving up Mt Wellington near Hobart in Tasmania. Enjoy!
Tomorrow we will continue with our experience at the top of Mt Wellington.
Did we find snow?
Were we able to use our toboggan, which we brought with us all the way from the Gold Coast in Queensland?
You will have to tune in next time to find out!
So until then, Remember to Enjoy Life and Remember to Create Fun Memories with Your Family!
Leanne Annett <><
On Saturday morning we did not rush off early to explore, rather we relaxed, enjoyed the sunrise and had a laid-back morning.
We headed off mid-morning to pick up a friend who lives in Hobart and then continued on towards Mt Wellington. We had brought a snow toboggan with us from the Gold Coast hoping to find snow so that we could go tobogganing, so we were eager to see if we could indeed find any snow!
As we came up towards the Tasman Hwy Bridge over the Derwent River we could see Mt Wellington in front of us with clouds covering part of the large mountain. This was the first time that we had really seen how big Mt Wellington was and so we enjoyed the experience.
After we crossed the river we proceeded to climb up towards the entry to Mt Wellington. We stopped at one point and were able to get a good view of the Tasman Bridge from a different angle. It certainly stands out from the other buildings and structures in Hobart.
As we climbed higher up the mountain we saw a few places where water was flowing out of the side of the hill. One of these spots looked like a miniature waterfall. Water was just appearing out of the side of the mountain and dripping off the leaves of the plants. It was really beautiful!
We took our time driving up the mountain and made sure that we enjoyed as much as possible along the way. There are several spots to stop on the drive up and, if you have the time, you can enjoy some lovely walks to different sections of the mountain. We only stopped at places on the way up where we could stay close to the car, but on the way back down we did take a walk out to Sphinx rock and were very glad that we did.
There were many trees on our drive up that were wind-blown and all that remained were the dead, grey trunks sticking up out of the ground. The wind gusts can get up around 200km/hour in extreme conditions on Mt Wellington and so the trees certainly do take a beating!
Then higher still we stopped at a gully full of distinctive coloured rocks. What made the picture even more captivating was the fact that at the end of the gully we had a lovely view of Hobart, the Derwent River and the Tasman Hwy and Bridge.
This gorgeous view was framed by a layer of white clouds on the top and the rocks in the gully and trees on the bottom of the picture. It was truly a sight to see!
Next post will just be a short one with a quick video of our drive up Mt Wellington.
Leanne
Last time we wrote about arriving and checking into our unit at the Wyndham Vacation Resort Seven Mile Beach.
After a refreshing night’s sleep, Greg and I woke up quite early and were surprised to see that it was still quite dark at 7 in the morning! We live on the Gold Coast and are used to the sun coming up much earlier than it does in Tassie.
So Greg and I went out onto the balcony upstairs and were very blessed to see a gorgeous sunrise in the sky just above the tree-line.
The sky was full of a lovely range of pink, purple, yellow and orange in this delightful sunrise.
We were so happy to see such a gorgeous scene that we even set the camera up on the table on automatic timer mode and took some pictures of us in our pjs with the beautiful sky behind us! [It is not usual for us to take photos in our pajamas, but we couldn’t resist this time! 🙂 ]
Later in the day, when we walked around the resort grounds we found a plaque in a rock that said that the Wyndham Vacation Resort at Seven Mile Beach was officially opened on 26th November 2009. This means that at the time of our visit in June-July 2011 it is less then two years old.
The gardeners at the resort have put so much effort into the landscape and presentation of the gardens. Literally hundreds of native plants of all colours, sizes and types have been planted around the units and throughout the whole resort grounds.
It is lovely and relaxing just strolling along, enjoying the Tasmanian Native Hens that wander around throughout the day, from dawn to dusk.
I have a special blog post for you next time. I have received a VIP Gourmet invitation to my local Noodle Box at Mermaid Waters to see Adam Liaw from Masterchef giving a cooking demonstration, as Noodle Box officially releases their new Gourmet range.
So get ready for this special article during this coming week!
Until next time, Remember to Enjoy Life and Enjoy Your Family!
Leanne Annett <><
After enjoying our first day of our Family Tasmanian Holiday visiting historic Richmond, we started heading off to check into our accommodation at Wyndham, Worldmark Resort at Seven Mile Beach.
On the way we stopped off at Sorell to grab some groceries for the next few days at Coles and Woolworths. It is great how Woolworths is just across the road from Coles in Cole Street, around the corner from Gordon St, Sorell. So you can have your pick of which supermarket you want to use for your shopping on your holiday.
We then drove from Sorell down the Tasman Hwy and across the Sorell Causeway, through Midway Point, across the second stretch of Sorell Causeway and then down Pittwater Rd towards Seven Mile Beach.
Pittwater Road turns left into Surf Rd, which runs behind the back of the Hobart International Airport. We drove past the Westland Plant Nurseries, past Beaches Restaurant and then came to the entry to Wyndham Resort on the right.
After checking in, we drove to our unit for the next 8 nights. It was a three-bedroom unit, number 36.
We were really impressed with the unit when we arrived and saw the quality of the unit itself and the surrounds. In our 3-bedroom unit we had all three bedrooms on the ground floor.
The main room that Greg and I were sleeping in had a lovely king-sized bed and large ensuite with combined bath and shower.
There was also another bathroom with a shower and bath combined and a separate toilet downstairs. The washing machine and clothes dryer are also easily located in the hallway downstairs.
Upstairs is a third toilet, which is very useful when dining or relaxing on the upper level.
A large dining table with seating for eight, the lounge-room with TV and kitchen are all of high quality.
The veranda on our unit looked out over the trees along the fence line of the resort complex.
It was lovely after our tiring and busy day to be able to kick back and relax in such a well-presented apartment.
We knew then that we were going to have a wonderful time on our Tasmania Family Holiday!
Our next article on the site will look at the gorgeous sunrise that we arose to the first morning in our holiday unit at Wyndham Seven Mile Beach.
Until then, Remember to Enjoy Life and Enjoy a Fun Family Holiday!
Leanne Annett <><
After our afternoon at the Old Hobart Town Model Village learning about life in Hobart during the 1820’s and our time in the Woodcraft Shop next door we drove the short distance through Richmond to the historic Richmond Bridge.
Richmond is only a short drive from Hobart, around 30 minutes in the north-east direction. The countryside is lovely with many wineries along the way.
The bridge is such a beautiful structure. From the grassy bank of the Coal River the year that the foundation stone for the bridge was first laid in 1823 is clearly visible.
It is interesting to me imagining the almost 2 years that it took to build the bridge from 11th December 1823 to the completion of construction in 1825. Imagine all of those convicts bringing the large, heavy sandstone from the quarry at Butchers Hill by hand-drawn carts.
There are tales of the bridge being haunted. For the brave you can even do a ghost tour by lantern light and see if any spooks appear!
Greg and I enjoyed examining the structure of the bridge and walking around and up onto the top of the bridge. Tehillah took some photos of us as we explored.
On the other hand, Tehillah, who loves nature and animals, had a wonderful time feeding and photographing the diverse array of ducks, geese and other birds on the banks of the Coal River and swimming in the river itself.
Not far from the Richmond Bridge is the also historic St John’s Catholic Church, which was built in 1836. This is considered to be one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in Australia.
Right across from the grass banks of the river is the old building of the St John’s School with the date 1925 clearly visible.
I enjoyed our time here. It was almost like I could feel the rich history of the bridge and surrounds.
Fifty years ago my mum visited Richmond and wanted to again see the historic bridge. Unfortunately she was unable to come with us as she has been in hospital for a couple of months now. So we will need to arrange another trip to Tasmania when mum is well and out of hospital again.
In our next blog post we will take a look at our accommodation for our 8 nights in Tassie. We will go to Wyndham Resorts at Seven Mile Beach and have a look at the resort.
Until next time, Remember to Enjoy Life and Enjoy a Fun Holiday with family!
Leanne Annett <><