The last few weeks have been going quickly, and far more smoothly than our first week in Hobart. As a matter of fact, there has not been too much to blog about. Rob, Maggie and I have settled into a routine, which at this point in our journey, is sweet honey to our souls. Our routine involves work for Rob (hehe), exercise (big wedding day approaching), daily walks for Maggie, homemade dinner and time with friends we've made thus far. We have experienced some bouts of homesickness but the sadness does not last too long and we are happy and grateful still to be here. Rob and I realize that we are counting down the days until we return to the US to see friends and family while celebrating our marriage.
There have been a few 1st's here in Tasmania for the Doyle family that are worthy of mentioning! So let's begin with our sweetheart, Maggie. Two weeks ago, Maggie chased her first potoroo.
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This is a potoroo.
I did not take this picture, I found it on the web. If you come out to Australia, you will not need the world wide web to see one of these mini kangaroos. They are EVERYWHERE after dark, including in front of our house. |
What you can't see very well from the picture is that a potoroo is pretty small, like a bunny. They hop, like a bunny and they have long, thick tails. Potoroos can also escape pretty quickly when being chased, once more - like a bunny. We had been living in Hobart for a good two weeks and I was starting to think all wildlife was staying on the down-low since our arrival. I had heard of these potoroos (and wombats, another small night creature) from locals as well as numerous posted signs warning drivers of hitting the animals at night. Not until one late night, two weeks ago, while Maggie and I were leaving the house to pick Rob up from work that we spotted the potoroo. Our second car is still in the smash repair, and much to Rob's enjoyment, I've been driving him to and from work. Just as Maggie and I approached the car, an ever so slight movement in the dark shadows caught our eyes. I knew it, and Maggie knew it; there was a potoroo to investigate. For those who don't know, Maggie used to love chasing bunnies in Rob's backyard. We call her, our "delicate flower" but rabbits (a few slow and unfortunate ones) would disagree. Maggie has chased plenty of bunnies and birds in her life but it had been a while since our big move. Off she went, like a bolt of lightning. I quickly called her back. She is not yet familiar with our hilly, dimly lit street (with multiple drop offs) and cars often come whipping down the hill with little notice. Maggie did not catch her first potoroo, but if you ask her, she'd tell you that she got very close. Since her first encounter, we can't stop seeing potoroos at night; perhaps our eyes just needed the training to see them. I'll let her have a brief chase but call her back into safety.
Last week Maggie and I had our 1st bushwalk in Tasmania. In Australia, hiking is called bushwalking and there is plenty of trails for us to discover. We actually bushwalked on accident. I have been doing all my exercise at the gym out of convenience and, well, routine. Desiring a good road run, I quickly did a web search for running paths in Hobart. I found a walking path that was advertised as easy and beautiful up in Wellington park, along the eastern slope of Mount Wellington. Maggie and I drove up the side of the mountain and found ourselves at a trail head for a path that was more suited for easy hiking than running. I have always been interested in trail running, so Maggie and I had a go with it. We jogged out and back for a good forty minutes. Upon our return home, Maggie was pretty tired. I'll go back to that trail to hike... but next time I'll find a new place to run...
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| Hiking is one of Maggie's favorite activities |
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| Yeah, enough pictures, lets get going! |
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| Into the woods... |
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| Stop for a sniff, lots to see and smell |
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| I lichen you! Notice the rocks covered with lichen and other moss/fungus. Also notice how the path is more rocky in general. |
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| Me falling, ok- not really but I did trip twice on rocks, branches, objects that suddenly appeared when I wasn't looking. I fell to the ground twice, Maggie quick to the rescue with a few licks on my face. I'd curse, laugh, get back up and continue running. |
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| Stop for a moment and take in the view. We didn't reach the summit on this trail but I bet it is grand. |
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| Maggie leading the way, she didn't fall - not once. |
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| Later that night, one tired dog |
Also within the last two weeks, all three of us had our first taste of goat. Rob's coworker and new friend, Kate (along with her husband, Ian) invited us to their home for dinner. Kate and Ian live on a farm that is located forty minutes away from Hobart. They raise cows, chickens and goats and they have two dogs, as well. We arrived to the farm just at dusk and in time to feed the goats. Maggie was incredibly excited, running around the farm with George and Sam (the dogs). She wasn't too sure what to do with the goats, timidly sniffing them and kept her distance - but had no trouble finding and rolling in chicken poop. Because the moon was full and bright, all of us (dogs included) jumped in the car and drove over to a beach within minutes of the farm. As we walked up and down the beach, the dogs went wild running and jumping in the sand. Luckily, Maggie jumped in the water to wash off her freshly fertilized coat. We returned to the homestead, and were joined by another couple (David & Annette) and had a delicious dinner made by Kate of pulled goat shoulder. Maggie was fed along with George and Sam a dinner that consisted of wet and dry dog food and fresh goat meat. She promptly occupied a dog bed in front of the furnace and napped while we enjoyed ourselves. It was a lovely evening and once more, we had a very tired dog the next day. Maggie would go back anytime.
Rob has been working a lot - mornings, afternoons and night shifts since we arrived to Hobart. He finally had a few days off this past weekend and we decided to get out of town for two nights. We rented a vacation home in Swansea, Tasmania. Swansea is located near the Freycinet peninsula which is home to Wineglass Bay, many wineries and the Freycinet National Park. We loaded up the car, Maggie packed her favorite bed, and drove up the countryside. We took the coastal route back home a few days later but purposely drove in the country to take in the wide open spaces. It was a beautiful and peaceful drive.
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| Rainbows are always magical |
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| There are sheep blending in within the hills |
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| Beautiful day |
We arrived early in the afternoon, warming the house with a wood-fired furnace and space heaters. Just one day prior, Saturday, marked the first day of winter in Tasmania (much to our despair!). It was sunny and cool outside but the closed-up house had a chill that needed a fire to warm it up.
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| Rob starting the fire while I, um, watched. |
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| The seaside house we rented |
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| Looking right off of the back deck |
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| Looking left off the back deck |
There were a few homes near this house but for the most part, the area was far from town, wild with animal and plant life, quiet and private. We headed out for a long walk along the beach. Then at dusk we settled in at home for the night. The owner had a pretty impressive section of DVDs which we used both nights.
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| Those are the Hazard Mountains in view |
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| Not another dog or person was seen on our walk |
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| Front seat to the fire |
We planned on hiking or fishing while in Freycinet and had done some research on these activities before arriving. We didn't realize how much we'd be restricted having Maggie with us. Dogs are not allowed in the national forest; there are signs posted that dogs are not even allowed in cars, driving through the forest. Coles conservation area (bordering the national park) is dog friendly, however when we called the visitor center, there are only two walking paths that we could take with Maggie. One of which was Moulting Lagoon. So, even though we were all packed and ready to do a day hike, (I'm always prepared with my 10 essentials) we ended up leisurely walking around the lagoon.
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| Moulting Lagoon with the Hazard Mountains in the background |
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| The tide going out and coming back in |
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| Maggie loves the beach |
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| Patches along the lagoon encrusted with shells |
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| Maggie carries her own hydration pack |
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| My mate, partner and cobber |
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| Where the sea enters into the lagoon |
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| Maggie and I |
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| Our lunch spot |
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| We didn't bring our fishing gear to the lagoon but there was a dock and a helpful fish measuring ruler |
After we returned home and cleaned up from the day, Rob and I decided to have dinner in town. We headed out of the house, only to find that our car had a flat tire. Rob changed the tire (my hero!) while I, um, watched.
This is where I'll mention how much wildlife (or wild-death) we saw this past weekend. While driving in the country and even around our house, we saw a lot of dead wallabies on the side of the road. Rob assured me that the wallabies were just taking a ne-ne (nap) on the road but I don't believe him. That night while driving to dinner, we did see a live wallaby, a bush-tailed possum, a hedge hog, a wombat and an some unknown animal (climbing up a tree as we entered our driveway). We also saw a lot of birds, feeding off the carcasses. Circle of life, my friends, circle of life.
Before returning home, Rob and I visited three wineries along the Freycinet coast. Being the off-season, we were lucky that three "cellar doors" were open on Tuesday to offer us a tasting. We stocked up on some wine and headed home, well rested.
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| First stop, Freycinet Vineyards |
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| Devil's Corner vineyard |
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| Overlooking Devil's Corner vineyard |
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| Rob looking over the wine list at Spring Vale vineyard |
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| As we left Spring Vale vineyard, we had to wait for cows to move off the road. They were quite frightened by our car, trotting at full speed to clear the way. |
Finally, we are pleased to announce the arrival of "The Groomsman". Rob and Greg picked up their single malt whisky from the Lark Distillery! As I mentioned in a previous post, two years ago Rob and Greg took part in a four day single malt whisky tour which resulted in their own barrel of whisky. We tapped and tasted the barrel a few weeks prior, selected a proof (strength), then chose the size and shape of bottles for bottling. All we need are labels from the Lark Distillery but that does not stop us from have a nip of scotch every couple of nights or so...
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| Alicia leaning in for a close up |
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| The Groomsman |
Just in case there is not a post from now until the wedding, I will have pictures and updates as soon as we are organized again at home (Hobart). Cheers for now!
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| Potoroo (near) Catcher |
