20 May Travels in Tasmania- Week 2
Week 2- First Hosts
Got up at 9:00am to help Georgie, Sam and Jess take all the equine equipment down after Agfest was finished. Then packed up and got in the car with Jess to go to a Mother’s Day lunch in Alveston. I had prawns’ chips and salad and it was so fresh and delicious. Then once we had lunch we got back to Jess and Sam’s house which was located outside Burnie which is a city by the port on the north-west coast of Tasmania. Jess showed me her travelling books in the evening. I was introduced to fruity dream which was a healthier version of fruity ice cream.
Monday 11th May
I had poached eggs and toast for breakfast and read some of my book. I then went for a walk round the property I was staying on, the weather was sunny and warm which was a change from the Scottish climate.
Then when everyone got home from work, Mark gave me a tour of their farm and talked about his fertiliser that he makes which is milk, molasses and a bit of fertiliser fermented to then be spread by his own sprayer attached to the quad. He then showed me their border of the bush on their farm along with their cattle and chickens.
I spent the day with Jess and Mark to go to Stanley which is the second largest town on the North-West Coast. We visited a tourist attraction called The Nut which is high-volcanic plug rising out of the Bass Strait. It was an incredibly steep incline to start with then had a lovely scenic route around afterwards. Unfortunately, no wallabies or wombats were spotted where they are usually sited.
After seeing the beautiful sites of the Stanley, we then had a picnic with a fantastic view. Once back at their home Mark decided to take me on their quad into some of the Bushland, he and his family owned years ago and told me a lot of history surrounding the bush and what is was used for such a fishing and some wild camping.
Wednesday 13th May
This was an early start to the day as I was going to cradle mountain with Hayden and Sarge- the other exchangee from New Zealand.
This was quite a long journey to get to the place. Once we were there, we got a bus to the main tourist attraction route for walking called Dove Lake. The Dove Lake circuit route was about a 2 hour walk and it was absolutely stunning views and definitely something ticked off my bucket list for Tazzie.
After this we then went to the Fourth Pub which was known for its great food and specifically Parmi which is a staple beloved meal in Australia. It is traditional crumbed chicken topped with Napoli sauce, ham and melted cheese. We ended up having a bonus person come for Pub lunch which was Dylan, who was a manager of a nearby Vegetable farm called Harvest Moon. Then after lunch he gave us a tour of the onion, pea, broccoli and bean facilities.
This was very interesting as it showed the process of the onions specifically as they were still being harvested, checked and packaged. It showed the separation process of onions of higher grade and quality compared to the lower grades. There was a consistent flow of onions the workers need to sort and check by eye which is a tough job.
Today I spent the day with Cheyenne another member of the North Morrison Club. We firstly went into Devonport for some nice dressy boots.
Once I had made my purchase, we went to get some breakfast.
After this we headed to a chocolate factory called Anvers. It had a small museum and a shop which you could buy the chocolate they made right there on the site. We then went to Ashgrove which was another factory that made cheese, this was very interesting learning about the process and we were able to see it all in action.
We then went to Deloraine which had a Honey Shop which we could taste test many different varieties of honey. I especially loved the raspberry honey but there were so many varieties of this. Then in the evening I caught up with my hosts and what they had been up to that day.
This day I was spending with Daniel another North Morton member. We spent to the morning travelling through from Burnie to Queenstown and saw the sites and history involving the mining villages.
Then after this had some lunch in Queenstown which had a very interesting cafe covered in everything and anything orange.
Then after this headed back to Daniel’s farm and spent time on a potato harvester which was a new experience. Then after that we got ready for a BBQ some of the North Morton rural youth had organised. It was delicious food and nice to get to know more of the members in this club.
Saturday 16th May
This was a slower and more relaxed day spent around the property such as going for a walk around the farm. Then in the evening we had a roasted lamb dinner which was absolutely delicious.
In the afternoon we visited Wings Wildlife Park which had many different animals to see. I was so happy to have been able to see a Tasmanian devil with my own eyes. It was particularly interesting at this wildlife park as they did a presentation about Tasmania Devils and then feed them. Again, this was a tick on the bucket list. Other animals that included were a Koala, wombats and white-tailed eagles. I was able to experience feeding kangaroos and wallabies first hand this was an incredible once in a lifetime experience. This was such an interesting wildlife park as it was located in Gunn’s Plains which was an area of very fertile land in a valley. Sadly, the weather wasn’t the best so wasn’t able to see the view in all its glory. This was my last evening with this family and it was spent reminiscing over the week that has just passed and packing up for the next week to come.