Tag Archives: Tasmania

Spring 2025: 10 Good Things

December 7, 2025 By in Family Tags: , , , , 10 Comments

Hobart in spring. A person with an umbrella walks under pink blossom covered treesBack in August, I wrote a post setting out my plan for how to use this blog over the next year or two. In the absence of other things to write about, I’ll aim for a seasonal post celebrating ten good things that have happened in our lives.

Spring has been very busy for all of us, with some lows as well as some highs – but the point of this series is to focus on the highs, so let’s do that.

1. Visitors from Scotland: in September my dad and stepmum made the long, long journey over from Scotland to visit us. They’d visited once before just after we moved, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting a repeat trip knowing how big the undertaking is. So it was a lovely surprise when they said they were coming again!

Determined to make the most of it, we packed more into 18 days than we’d usually do in a year – meals out, walks, museums, vineyards, beaches, wildlife, and of course every kind of weather – often in the space of a few hours. Continue reading →

DorkySon Takes Flight

June 14, 2024 By in Family Tags: , , , , 5 Comments

A teenage boy sits at the controls of a Cessna above Tasmania

DorkySon is learning to fly.

I don’t mean in the metaphorical sense that people so often use to describe teenagers – becoming more independent, testing boundaries, working towards personal dreams – although I suppose these things are also true.

I mean that every second Saturday, weather permitting, we drive him to a small aerodrome a few kilometres east of Hobart, where he sits at the controls of a Cessna 172 and learns how to keep it in the air.

Continue reading →

The Dorky Family goes a-travelling: Part 1

October 8, 2023 By in Family, Travel Tags: , , , , , , 3 Comments

September has long been one of my favourite months.

When we lived in the northern hemisphere it was the most beautiful threshold between summer and autumn, full of soft light and turning leaves. Now in the south, it marks the beginning of spring. The windy season, for sure, but also the start of longer, lighter days, and those occasional moments when the sun is warm enough to bare our pale arms to the air again.

It also seems to be a month of big events, running on a six-year cycle. In September 2001, I started at Edinburgh University. In September 2007, DorkyDad and I got married. In September 2013, we moved to Tasmania. In September 2019… well nothing major happened, but perhaps that was the universe giving me a break knowing what was to come the following year.

Anyway, that history means that September is always full of anniversaries and ‘remember when…’ conversations.

I am a nostalgic little creature. Always looking for patterns and coincidences. When I realised that the date we were due to fly out of Tasmania for our recent UK visit was ten years to the day since we had flown out of Heathrow to move here, I was delighted. Not only that, but the weekend we were due to spend in Edinburgh marked 22 years exactly since I first arrived at Pollock Halls as a Fresher.

All in all, it felt like the signs boded well for a good trip back to Scotland.

Continue reading →

Wings, wine and wildlife: Par Avion’s Maria Island Experience

February 16, 2023 By in Family, Tasmania Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

An aerial view of a beach, ocean and forest on the Freycinet Peninsula

Each summer, we try to leave one really special activity right until the end of the holidays. A final hurrah before we all fully sink ourselves back into work and school.

Last year, it was the Par Avion Southwest Wilderness Experience, which DorkySon wrote about so well on his Hobart Aviation Fan blog. This year we treated ourselves to another Par Avion flight: this time up to Maria Island on Tasmania’s East Coast. Continue reading →

New year, new year: so good we’re starting it twice.

January 28, 2023 By in Family Tags: , , , , 4 Comments

A pastel coloured image showing the date 2023

I’ve read so many social media posts from UK friends this month commenting on what a hard time they’re having starting the new year. Rather than leaving them refreshed, revitalised, and ready for 2023, the Christmas break has left them wanting to snuggle back under the duvet until spring. 

On this side of the world, we are having the opposite problem. It’s not the cold and the dark that’s making it a challenge to feel enthusiastic about work. It’s the delights and distractions of summer. The combination of sunshine and school holidays – which last until the second week of February – is not the most productive environment for two work-from-homers. 

Just before Christmas, I turned on my out-of-office, noting that I’d be back at my desk from January 16th onwards. That’s the longest official break I’ve ever given myself as a freelancer. But when that Monday rolled around, it still didn’t feel like it had been enough. I was still enjoying daily naps on the sofa with the dog. Still taking walks, reading books, and decluttering cupboards… and not feeling even a little bit of drive to start responding to client emails.  Continue reading →