TASMANIA 2. Friends in Melbourne.

Our first visit was to Susan and Brian in Frankston where we had a relaxed dinner and a long chat. They have a very colourful cottage garden which Susan admits is mostly Brian's baby. They are able to grow a lot of plants that don't thrive in our area on the Central Coast where it is more humid and hotter and their garden rambles all round the house, surrounding it so you see plants from every window. Lovely!

After breakfast and farewells we drove to Rowville to Keith and Maree. That afternoon, Bill and Robyn from Wollongong arrived. At night we ate outstanding Indian and Malay food at a restaurant we'd been to before which is set up like an Asian Makan with a selection of different foods from different stalls. Very delicious! The next day we all headed up to the Dandenong Ranges to Rickett's Sanctuary. It is a unique place, once home to an artistic visionary, where his ceramic works are blended with trees and rocks to express the absolute need to care for and live in harmony with the environment as the Aboriginal people did. The Sanctuary remains as a testament to his passion and is a beautifully, leafy place.

 

 

As usual, Keith and Glenn played ' working on the van' and installed a new hand pump while Robin and I went for a walk through the park. It was a very hot day.

It was a lovely 'catch-up' with good friends and we always try to meet if we are within 'cooee'! We left then for the port to catch 'The Spirit of Tasmania' for our overnight passage.

 

TASMANIA TRIP 2014 -1

Jan 4.

We left home after a busy few days packing the van and a mad scramble to finish a quilt for exhibition (providing it is accepted). Thank you lovely friend Kay for taking it from there! We prepared the house and garden for our house exchange guests Chris and Ralf, and were delighted to meet them both when they arrived. We felt like they were friends already after spending a month in their home in Mallorca, and having so many email conversations with them. We were happy to leave our house with them.

Our first stop was a visit to Glenn's mum Laurel for lunch which we had together with sister Denise. From there we headed to friends in Sydney, Suzie and Rob and had dinner with Lori and Terry as well. It was a late night but a terrific catch-up with treasured old friends. Next day we had a leisurely breakfast, a swim with their grand kids, lunch and eventually hit the road and headed south. Tonight we are camped under a tree just north of Goulburn, with three Japanese students from Melbourne for company.

The countryside Is desperately dry and dams and creeks are very low. There are also great tracts of burnt land along the highway. Despite all that, the kookaburras were laughing just after sunset!

In Goulburn we stopped for a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs at The Roses Cafe which looks out onto the graceful park on the Main Street. We wandered through, smelling the roses before driving on to Gundagai. We had coffee there with friend Rob from my art school days. She has the most gorgeous cottage on the hill with a lovely garden.

At the end of the day we parked in the Chiltern rest area south of the border in Victoria in the Mount Pilot National park. It is a day only place but we stayed the night with a lot of other vans, as suitable places were few and far between. We ate dinner with two other couples who were travelling together and going to... you guessed it ... Tasmania! One of the girls came from the area of the Phillipines ravaged by the Typhoon.......and still doesn't know of the fate of cousins. No doubt we will cross paths again in Tassie.

After breakfast we walked a short track in the national park in an area heavily mined last century and saw six abandoned shafts leading into gold mines. There was also a large, wary goanna which took to the nearest tree as we approached. It's a joy to be walking in the bush again.

 

Crossed Didda-Didda Creek. We have some curious names for creeks in this country.

Jan. 7

We drove south and detoured to the historic town of Glenrowan in Ned Kelly country. There are museums and monuments to the Kelly gang at every turn and a local shop has 'Ned's Pies'! The Main Street has a huge Ned Kelly statue and the local pub has bushranger sculptures on the balcony pointing pistols at passers-by.

 

The town also has a shop in the main street called '10 to 4 Gallery' which has outstanding works by ten local artists. They encompass felting, weaving, knitting, cards, crochet, woodwork, jewellery, paintings and other works, all of which were of excellent quality and originality. Don't miss it if you visit the town. It's exceptional.

We spent the night in Seymour on the banks of the Goulburn River in the same caravan park we were in years ago when we paddled in the National Dragon's Abreast Regatta. It was Easter, freezing, and our sweep fell into the water before the start of the race. She must have been frozen after a soaking in the very cold water but insisted on climbing aboard and sweeping the boat for the race. We admired her grit to such an extent that we paddled like mad and won the race. Great memories! Seymour also has some good wines.

 

 

Victoria and Albert museum London. June 2013

The museum is a huge place full of treasures and "ooohhs and ahhhhhs" of disbelief and amazement. Of course we saw only a smidgen of the exhibitions as we spent time lunching and afternoon tea.. Ing! Then of course there was the shop full of exquisite goodies and fine handcrafted products. Glenn told me to point out the things I really liked and then he went back in and bought me all of them (almost) for my birthday two days later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We met our friend Barbara at the museum and had the day together. We had lunch in the cafeteria, said to be the most elegant dining area in London.

 

The exhibition of glassware was totally amazing and the piece below was made by Dale Chihuly, the same glassmaker who was commissioned to do a series of works for Floriade in Canberra when I went about 20 years ago with Suzie Cliff, Paula and a few others.

 

 

This work was called "Guts". .. How beautiful it is and how aptly named!!

 

More ancient treasures!

 

These were in the cafeteria and were about the size of a large grapefruit. Edible.

 

We said goodbye to Barbara at the end of the day and we went our separate ways after a great day.Baraba had two weeks in London and we were at the end of two weeks and were off to Bedford and the narrowboat adventure.

Bus trip home in peak traffic. There were at least seven buses one behind the other .. A very tight fit at times when there were diversions down one way streets due to construction works. Good view from the top deck though and the bus dropped us at the end of our street in Queens park which was convenient.

 

Crouchers Farm Crowhurst Sussex

We caught the train to Crowhurst on the Hastings Line from London, to visit long-time friends Diane and Alan who live in their wonderful 14th. century home Crouchers Farm. (Diane is twin sister of our friend Terry Minton of Lorraine and Terry fame!). After coffee and a long chat Diane, Glenn and I headed out the back gate at the bottom of the garden for a long walk with the dogs. The fields of Rape were an intense yellow, contrasting with the rich green spring grasses on the hills and the dogs chased each other through the fields and the streams while Diane explained what we were seeing.

We love their beautiful garden, lush and green with the early spring flowers adding bright colour. There is vegie garden, a swing for the children and a traditional herb garden. There are lots of birds and, alas, the badgers which dig up the lawn. Two cats and two dogs complete the picture!

 

On the second day we drove to Beechy Head on the southern coast of England to the vertical white cliffs of chalk and flint which plunge dramatically down to the sea below. Alan is part of a community suicide watch team which patrols this section of cliff which, sadly, is popular with people planning to jump to their death.

The views along the coast are stunning and expand inland as far as the eye can see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This recently erected memorial marks the coast of England seen last by the British airmen as they flew over on bombing raids during World War 11.

 

Pevensey Castle.

 

 

A beer at the local pub ..'The Plough'.

We had a great few days catching up with Diane and Alan, son Jonathon and grand kids Tudor and Kitty and meeting some of their friends. They have an interesting life and are always generous and entertaining hosts and we love to see them.

On our last day we lounged around in the sun, enjoying the tranquility of this place. After lunch Diane drove us to London and dropped us at the tube station nearest her son Mathew's house and we made our way back to our house exchange in Queens Park.