Today was our first full day in Hobart. We left our accommodation and drove to the Cadbury Factory but decided that we didn’t want to pay the $7.50 entrance fee just to enter the shop (we didn’t have time to stick around and do the tour). After that we drove to Mount Wellington, which was shrouded in cloud. We drove to the summit and spent a few minutes up in the clouds – very cold and wet… we didn’t see much, either  

Our next stop was the Cascade Brewery and I spent a while walking around the gardens. Some of the flowers they had were quite beautiful – the honey bees here are huge and much fatter than the ones at home. I want to plant some of the plants in my garden at home… the colours were stunning.

After the Brewery, we drove to Hobart and into the commercial district for lunch at Constitution Dock. I don’t eat fish, so I ate plain potato wedges with sour cream. We separated after that; Dad went to take photos, my sister went shopping on her own and mum and I went together.

Tonight we went out to dinner at the Casino. We went to a buffet restaurant. It was nice – very small but the food was lovely and the service was quite good too. Now we are back watching the football – go Port Adelaide!

***

Today we travelled from Strahan to Cradle Mountain. The drive was lovely. We stopped at Montezuma Falls but didn’t walk the full 3 hour walk as it was already lunchtime – instead we found the running water as shown in the pictures below. After the waterfall we stopped for lunch, arriving at Cradle Mountain about half-past two. After we had checked into our accommodation, we drove to the transit terminal and took the shuttle to Dove Lake.

We took the path to the boatshed first and took some photos, then we backtracked and walked to Glacier Rock (the large rock in the second to last photograph). After we’d finished, it was almost 5, so we caught the bus back to the terminal. We went to the tavern for dinner (I had schnitzel and it was delicious) and then came back to our cabin.

Tomorrow we drive back to Hobart… looking forward to taking some photographs on the way.

***

Reflection, Strahan

***

Boat, Strahan

***

Cape Sorell Lighthouse

***

Rushing Water near Montezuma Falls

***

Toadstool

***

Cradle Mountain National Park

***

Cradle Mountain National Park

***

Boatshed, Dove Lake

***

Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain

***

Glacier Rock, Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain National Park

***

Dove Lake & Cradle Mountain

***

Clouds over Cradle Mountain

Today my family and I went on a boat cruise from Strahan to the Gordon River and return. We drove down to the docks and left the car, before boarding the boat about 8:30am. The water was very still and calm… perfect for photos.

After leaving the dock, we cruised toward Hell’s Gate and out to the ocean. On the way, I went out onto the deck of the boat – it was very cold out there and I quickly went back in to put my denim jacket and some gloves on. The next photo is one of the lighthouses just before Hell’s Gate.

We sailed out past the breakwater to the sea (the water was smooth enough for the boat to bob, but not so much I felt seasick or anything), we then turned and went back toward Sarah Island, where we disembarked for an island to take a tour. I originally wasn’t keen on doing the tour but I ended up enjoying it.

After Sarah Island, we turned toward the Gordon River. Lunch was served on the way there – it was a buffet and I ate mainly salad, with some cheese and a bread roll. Following lunch, we stopped for a heritage walk through the temperate rainforest beside the river. The walk was quite interesting – there was a fallen Huon Pine that is older than Christianity… I believe the guide said it around was well over 2000 years old.

Back in Strahan we disembarked at the sawmill and had a look around there. I was looking for some stand out, interesting shots and I loved the macro shot that this rope provided. The photo of the boat is the one we took today, the Eagle. The last photo in the next set is a large Huon Pine log that is 800-900 years old and was felled in the Dennison River in the early 1960’s.

After we had finished in Strahan, we drove to Ocean Beach for a walk along the sand, It was lovely there, with ocean spray and mist covering the beach – very magical. When I peered through the spray, I saw a lighthouse. It was close to sunset… what an end to a beautiful day.

Tomorrow we drive to Cradle Mountain.

It is almost midnight here in Australia on the last day of 2008, so I thought I’d spend the last post of the year (and my 100th post overall!) writing about my goals for the year ahead. I have had a great year in 2008 – I have now taught for almost two years, won a permanent job, worked hard, spent time with my friends and family and worked hard to improve all aspects of my life – even during the tough times.

* * *

Goal #1:

Lose weight.

Ideally, I would like to lose 30kg overall and I know that this isn’t going to happen overnight. I am going to keep track of this on my blog in a weight loss diary. I am going to begin by slowly changing some of my eating habits so that I have the best chance of success. I am going to only allow myself to drink soft drinks when I am out and I am going to try to let myself only have junk food on weekends and public holidays, while also shrinking my portion sizes. In terms of exercise, I am going to walk, use my Wii Fit and bike ride to begin with. Once I have shed some kilos I want to start jogging. I also want to start horse riding lessons again, hopefully by mid year.

* * *

Goal #2:

Writing

I want to work harder on improving my writing in 2009. I challenged myself to NaNoWriMo for the first time this year and in April 2009 I am considering doing Script Frenzy as well. I want to finish my current draft of SR, do possibly one more draft to polish it and then think about sending it off to a publisher. One of my friends thinks it is probably ready now but there are some things at the start I want to go back and fix. I want to work more on one or two of my fantasy novels as well. I would like to publish a serial novel online – possibly my 2008 NaNo novel.

* * *

Goal 3:

Enjoy life more.

I want to be more positive, inspire others and get the most out of every day. I want to be there for my friends and family, help those around me because by helping them, I’ll help myself. I want to laugh more often – laughter is like inner jogging!

Good night. See you next year!