Our family Tasmanian holiday is going better than we could have hoped or prayed for! We have been blessed with absolutely gorgeous weather and seen so many lovely places.

This is only a short blog post today as we only have access to the Internet via the free WiFi at Maccas here in Hobart. We will upload some images

We were warned about taking all of our Winter woolies to keep us warm, but overall the weather has been quite mild. I was slightly nervous that we would be cold each day and need to wear our thermal underwear, gloves, beanies and coats each day, but that has not been the case. We have worn our gloves once up on Mt Wellington in the snow. Our beanies have been worn a little on most days, but only for short periods in the wind.

When we arrive home in a week’s time we will be writing and uploading detailed posts of the many fun things we have done and beautiful places that we have visited, but until then here is a short summary of where we have been so far in breathtaking Tassie!

We arrived in Hobart on Friday. After collecting our hire car we made our way to the Historic township of Richmond.

• Here we visited Pooley Wines and enjoyed a delicious cheese and fruit platter.
• We then went to Old Hobart Town in Richmond and had a fun time walking amongst the model of Hobart as it was back in the 1820’s. Andrew Quick and his dad spent almost 3 years creating these intricate models and figurines.
• Lastly we spent a while at the well-known and historic Richmond Bridge.

Saturday we drove up from Seven Mile Beach where we have been staying to Mt Wellington. We were hoping to find snow and be able to use our snow slider, toboggan that we especially brought with us on the plane, but unfortunately, there was not enough snow for tobogganing.

We weren’t disappointed though as we still had a wonderful time. Tehillah made a small snowman around 15 cm tall, which she named Dudley. He was even given a bow-tie.

While on Mt Wellington we walked out to Sphinx Rock and enjoyed taking in the lovely view of Hobart and the Tasman Bridge.

Sunday morning we set off very early and drove south-west of Hobart down to through Dover to the Hastings Cave and Thermal Hot Spring Pool. I have not been in a cave for many years and so it was a great blessing walking through the Newdegate cave with my husband and daughter.

After our relaxing soak in the spring pool we drove to the Tahune Airwalk to stay over night in the Airwalk Lodge.

Monday morning we bought out tickets for the Eagle Hang gliding experience at the Tahune Airwalk. This was absolutely one of the very best experiences that I have ever had in my life! I loved it.

Each of us highly recommend the hand gliding to every one who comes to the region. It is so easy for anyone to to be able to do. All you need to do is to get the harness on, get clipped up to the hang gliding frame and then sit back, relax and enjoy the gorgeous view of the Huon River as you fly above the cold, fast flowing water.

Tuesday we relaxed at the Wyndham resort at Seven Mile Beach just east of Hobart and close to the Hobart airport.

Greg and I had a relaxing walk along Seven Mile Beach, collecting beautiful shells as we went.

After the beach walk Greg and I relaxed in the 34 degree water in the spa at the resort. It was so warm and nice!

Wednesday we set out nice and early and drove to Port Arthur. We stopped on the way to see the amazing Tessellating Pavement. It was truly an awesome thing to see how the beach appears to be paved with all of these neatly placed flat rocks. Well worth the short detour on the way to Port Arthur.

We then went to the Remarkable cave where the light shines through the cave in the shape of the map of Tasmania. Also well worth the visit! The road to the cave is just 400 metres past the entry to the historic Port Arthur site. It is then around a 5 km drive.

After the Remarkable cave the three of us spent the afternoon walking around Port Arthur. We began with our boat harbour cruise. There was so much to see that we only saw about a third of the many different buildings and museums available. We recommend this venue to everyone, but allow at least a day to see everything. The pass that you purchase allows you to come back over 2 consecutive days. So if you can stay in the area and come back a second day then you will certainly be able to take in more of the history.

Thursday, today, we are heading off to the Bruny Island Ferry to spend the day on the highly-recommended Bruny Island.

So that is the summary so far. We arrive back on the Gold Coast next Wednesday and so will have lots of fun and interesting blog posts uploaded after this day.

Until then, Remember to Enjoy Life and Enjoy a Fun Family Tassie Holiday!

Leanne Annett <><

It is now 4.51am on Friday 24th June 2011. I am one very happy traveller! After the stress and anxiety of the past few days we are now making last preparations to head off to Coolangatta Airport to fly down to Hobart.

The volcanic ash cloud has moved away enough now for flights to go in and out of Hobart and Launceston. New Zealand is still grounded for most airlines, but Australia mainland and Tassie are all back to normal.

News reporters are saying that the volcano in Chile may erupt again, but at this point in time all is good for Aussies flying on domestic flights.

Once in Hobart we will meet our daughter, Tehillah, who is flying out of Sydney at 7.25am this morning and arriving at Hobart an hour before us.

We will then grab our hire car from Selective car rentals and set off on our fun family Tasmanian Holiday! The historic township of Richmond will be our first stop.

We are each so excited and will share with you over the coming days and weeks about what we get up to on our travels.

Until next time, Remember to Enjoy Life and Enjoy a Fun Family Holiday!

Leanne Annett <><

It is now only 21 hours until we leave at 6am Friday morning 24th June 2011 to drive to Gold Coast airport to fly to Hobart.

At this point in time we still do not know if we will be flying or joining with the many thousands of other passengers who are stranded, rescheduling or trying to find alternative ways to get to their destination.

So if flights are cancelled we somehow need to rebook for both flights and try to arrive at times that allow us to meet up! Frustrating.

Jetstar and Qantas have just announced on the 8.30am news that they are grounding all flights today 23rd June 2011 to and from Tasmania, so this will affect Hobart and Launceston flights.

I am still packing and finalizing everything and at the same time checking @JetstarNews tweets on Twitter to see the latest updates so that we can better plan for trip that is hopefully starting tomorrow!

We did look into the option of hiring a car and driving down to Sydney to collect our daughter. Then driving to Melbourne and catching the Spirit of Tasmania over to Devonport. I was horrified to find out that even if the 3 of us sat in a deck recliner that we would be looking at around $600 for this trip without the cost to hire the car! So No that is not an option.

My husband, Greg, has just suggested finding a private charter flight that would fly us from Melbourne to Hobart. I personally cannot believe that this could be done for under $500, but I could be wrong. Greg is going to research and let me know what he finds out.

We will keep you updated as we find out more about our flights and trip to Tasmania.

Until then, Remember to Enjoy Life and Enjoy a Family Holiday!

Leanne Annett <><

In 4 days from now we should be on our flight half way to Hobart from the Gold Coast, but will this persistent Volcanic Ash Cloud cause problems with our flight? We pray that it won’t!

As we continue to prepare and plan for our 8 day family holiday in Tasmania, only four days away, we are also struggling with the fear that our trip may be postponed or delayed due to the volcanic ash that is continuing to interfere with more flights across parts of Australia.

Already Adelaide flights have been cancelled. So all flights in and out of Adelaide will not be running today, 21st June 2011.

Now the airlines have announced that Sydney Airport will close all flights from 3pm today. Some International flights leaving Sydney today have been brought forward slightly so that they can take off before the airport is closed at 3pm.

Canberra Airport is also having all flights cancelled from 12 noon today.

So once again many thousands of passengers are going to sitting around airports wondering when they will be able to board their flights!

As the airlines struggle to catch up on the thousands of stranded passengers from last week’s cancellations, they now have to also add in these new passengers who will be unable to fly today!

I can only imagine how the airline’s phones must be running off-the-hook as anxious passengers try to determine if their flight is going to fly as scheduled or how they can re-book or receive a refund! It must be crazy.

We continue to monitor the Twitter feed for Jetstar to see any new updates.

So at this point in time we can only sit, wait and pray that by Friday morning at 6am when we are driving to the airport that everything will be clear and we will be able to take off and land safely in Hobart as planned and begin our fun family holiday in Tasmania!

We will keep you updated as to what is happening with our flight.

Until then, Remember to Enjoy Life and Enjoy a Family Holiday!

Leanne Annett <><

Our plans are coming together for our family trip to Tasmania, which is now less than a week away.

We arrive Friday around 10.30am. So after we get our luggage we will then go and collect our hire car from Selective Car Rentals at Hobart Airport. Since we cannot check into the Wyndham Resort at Seven Mile Beach until 4pm, we thought that we would have a drive up through the Historic township of Richmond.

We want to especially see the famous historic Richmond Bridge and stop for some classic photos. All we need is a nice clear day so that we can capture the reflection of the bridge in the water.

Old Hobart Town is also in Richmond so we may go and check that out. This attraction includes models of how life used to be in the Hobart area back in the 1820’s. Old Hobart Town has won multiple awards for this unique tourist destination.

In the afternoon we will stop in Sorrell to do some grocery shopping, which we will take back to the resort. After checking in at 4pm we hope to unload the car and then have a relaxed stroll around the grounds of the resort.

Saturday we plan on staying in the Hobart area. Weather permitting we want to go up Mt Wellington and enjoy the view of the surrounds. On a clear day, fantastic views of Hobart and the Derwent River can be taken in.

On Sunday morning bright and early we will set off on a two-day trip. Our first stop will be the Hastings Caves. We will do the cave tour at 11am. We are looking forward to seeing the cave, as it has been many years since we have seen the insides of any cave.

We plan on having a relaxing lunch and afternoon sitting in the Hastings Thermal Spring pool. It will be nice to just sit back and relax for a few hours.

Later in the afternoon, we will drive to the Tahune Airwalk to stay overnight in the Airwalk Lodge. We will have Internet at the Lodge and so hope to publish a post or two while there.

Monday morning we check out of the lodge at 10am and then have a guided tour booked for 10.30am on the Tahune Airwalk. We are looking forward to just taking in the beauty of the Tasmanian forests and bush as we walk high above it all on the man-made walkway at the tops of the trees.

After the Airwalk, we are hoping to each have 2 rides on the Eagle Hang Gliding also at Tahune Airwalk. This would be the ride of a lifetime as none of the three of us have ever been hang gliding and are not likely to in the future! So we will see what happens and share it with you later on.

Monday afternoon we will then enjoy the hour and a half drive back to Hobart. I am sure that we will stop along the way to take photos and video and to absorb the natural beauty that we see along the road.

We should arrive back to the resort at Seven Mile Beach around dinnertime and can then relax before continuing our fun holiday on Tuesday morning.

There are no set plans yet for the second half of our holiday in Tassie, but there are still plenty of things on our list and so there is no doubt that it is sure to be a fun and exciting time.

These last few days before we fly to Hobart are going to be busy, so this may be the last post before we write from the Tahune Airwalk Lodge on Sunday evening.

Until then, remember to Enjoy Life and Enjoy a Tasmanian Holiday!

Leanne Annett <><