On my travels recently...

Fogbank across the eastern suburbs of Launceston

Autumn...

These are just a few of the photos I've taken recently on my travels around the north of the State.

Reflections taken at 41 deg South - Salmon & Ginseng Farm

Garden Colour...

Fresh Tassie Salmon...

Waterbirds on the North Esk River on a cool Autumn morning...













Baby Kitty keeping her toes warm...

Agfest 2011

The first weekend in May is one of my favourites!



I look forward to Agfest every year and this year I spent the day with Sacha and Jared. Agfest is one of the best agricultural Field Days in Australia - so much to see and lots of delicious food to sample.

After stopping for an Anvers Hot Chocolate to warm ourselves we usually head for the craft sheds first, especially since the Olliebollen van is parked right outside - Yum!

Sacha was keen to meet Frank and Nikki - our Tassie BettaMILK ambassadors.

These two are very friendly and lots of
fun! They had a
long line of people
keen to meet them
for a photo and a
signed poster.









We're "Tassie As..."











The weather was just perfect - no wind and warm enough to peel off a few layers of clothes towards lunchtime. We made the perfect choice for lunch this year - fresh battered flathead, calamari and hot chips, along with a bowl of delicious tempura mushrooms washed down with a bottle of ginger beer - extra zing of course!!!




After lunch Jared stopped to look at his dream machine - a BMW touring bike - a steal at a mere $27,000!

Dreaming...








Along the way we stopped to watch the 4 wheel drive demo down on the corner of Sixth and North Street.

Big Boys and their Toys...


Its a long day with so much to see and do and lots of walking down the avenues and streets. After a final stop at the craft sheds to purchase some yummy fudge and nougat, 2 bags of fresh Tasmanian apples and a mother's day present for my mum it was time to head back to the car.

However, I think everyone else had the same idea as us because we sat in an endless line of traffic for 45 minutes waiting to get out onto the highway for the 15 minute trip back to town.

Roll on Agfest 2012 when we will do this all over again!!!

Destination: East Coast

Time for a Road Trip!

On a sunny, Autumn day last week I decided to take Rachael & Hannah on a road trip to the amazing north-east coast of Tassie to soak up some sun on some of our best beaches. This area is known as the Bay of Fires and the entire coast is covered in pure white, sandy beaches and beautiful granite outcrops! We arrived at Binalong Bay just after lunch and spent some time taking photos.

Rachael spent some time playing with the settings on her new camera.

Two different views of Binalong Bay.

After spending some time on the beach at Binalong Bay we headed a few kilometres north to a place called Cosy Corner. I could see immediately why so many people love camping in this area!
What a stunning location!

There's nothing like walking on sand that squeaks! The sand all along this coastline is pristine - pure white, powdered quartz crystals.




We walked along the beach and climbed (very carefully, in my case) up over the granite boulders to get a better view of the coastline.

Hannah took some time to enjoy the views.








I enjoyed the opportunity to take photos of the girls with my camera.

I even found a seagull that was happy to pose for me...

After spending time at Cosy Corner it was time to head back to the car for the drive home.

We headed north away from the coast and into the heart of the north-east where we stopped at the famous Pyengana Cheese factory before driving a further 7 km inland to the beautiful St. Columba Falls.

I was surprised to see that the Falls are now visible from the road!

We walked through the stunning myrtle forest to view the Falls from the viewing platform.

The forest was dark in the late afternoon, but still very beautiful. The girls were on the lookout for leeches so we didn't stand in one spot for too long.

We had a long drive ahead of us to get home. We drove through the historic tin mining towns of Weldborough (I'd forgotten about the very windy Welborough Pass), Derby & Branxholm heading for Scottsdale - the largest town in the north-east. By the time we arrived at the infamous "sidling" (14 km of mountainous hairpin bends) it was dark. The sidling lived up to its reputation when I had to stop for Hannah to lose her lunch on the side of the road.

It was a long day but worth the effort to see this stunning and untouched part of Tasmania.