Category Archives: Tasmania

A Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary Review in Pictures

August 11, 2015 By in Photography, Tasmania Tags: , , , , , , , 8 Comments

A figure patting a kangaroo at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania

I’ve wanted to go to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary for so long!

We had some friends from the UK staying last week and, as is always the way, we seemed to fit in more visits to local attractions in that five days that we had managed in the previous five months. It was lovely being able to share some of my favourite Hobart spots with them – the view from the top of Mount Nelson, fish and chips at Maning Reef, and a lovely sunny walk in the Botanic Gardens – but the highlight for me was a trip out to Bonorong. Here are a few pictures from the day. Continue reading →

Mid Winter

July 22, 2015 By in Family, Tasmania Tags: , , 4 Comments

Hobart winter weather

We’ve just had two weeks of school holidays here. I had thought – given that it’s the middle of winter – it might be one of those breaks where time would drag and boredom would kick in after a day or two, but if anything the opposite was true. The fortnight flew past and when DorkySon went back to school on Monday it seemed far too soon.

He is a boy after my own heart. On the last day of term I asked what he wanted to do for a celebratory treat. He replied that he’d like a visit to the bookshop, then fish and chips and ice cream. So that’s what we did, followed by a beautiful early evening walk along the Hobart waterfront. DorkySon rarely comes out with us in the evenings – he still likes to snuggle into bed before 7 – so it is rare for him to be out in the dark. He loved the lights, and the live music that was being performed in Brooke Street Pier. Continue reading →

Back Online

July 3, 2015 By in Family, Tasmania 4 Comments

Hobart Tasmania

July!

Already!

I’m just back from a month offline. Some part of me must have realised that June was going to be hectic, because it passed in an absolute blur of busy-ness and I honestly didn’t have time to miss social media. I didn’t have time to do much of the reading or walking I was planning on either, although DorkySon and I did walk to school on a couple of cold, crisp mornings that were just beautiful. Continue reading →

A Quick Update

May 6, 2015 By in Family, Tasmania 20 Comments

Marc and Philip

Last week was one of those that I would quite like to forget about, to be honest. I got my speeding penalty letter on Tuesday. It turns out that even when you get a nice policeman and it’s just a caution you still get a $110 fine. On Wednesday I dropped my phone and smashed the screen. “Great,” I said to DorkyDad, “That’s two things… I wonder what the third will be?” I didn’t have to wait long to find out. On Thursday when I was in the shop getting a new phone sorted out it took so long that I came back to the car and found a parking ticket.

Then on Friday came the news that put all of my little grumbles into perspective. Two friends – two of the people I went to Greenland with, nine years ago exactly – had gone missing in the Arctic. Unfortunately, the rescue mission soon turned into a recovery mission. As I write this they have still not been found – I hope for their families’ sake that they are soon. I have had a very sad few days thinking about them, but I’ve also been smiling as I remember some of the incredible experiences we had together. It was a privilege to write a piece about Marc and Philip for the Guardian Environment blog, which you can read here.

The one piece of good news last week was that I have been shortlisted for Best Writer in the BritMums Brilliance in Blogging Awards. I’m not really doing much to deserve that at the moment, but thank you so much – I very much appreciate the support of all my readers. If you’d like to cast your vote to see me in the finals – or any of your other favourite bloggers who are shortlisted – it’ll take you two minutes to do here.

Normal blogging service will hopefully be resumed soon.

No Excuses

April 24, 2015 By in Tasmania 15 Comments

Red road sign STOP

The police are a very visible presence in Tasmania. It is rare that you can make a trip across town without seeing a good few police cars and at least one roadside alcohol test or speed trap going on. They are particularly present around schools at drop-off and pick-up, catching people who aren’t paying attention to the reduced speed limit at those times.

That’s a good thing. It has given us the opportunity to have a lot of discussions with DorkySon in the car about what the police do to support communities, how important it is to drive safely and responsibly, and what the negative effects of alcohol can be on people. When I was pulled over a few months ago as part of a large-scale breath testing initiative DorkySon was in the back of the car and thought it was very exciting indeed. It was over in less than a minute and with a reading of zero I was free to drive on, but he talked about it for weeks afterwards. Continue reading →