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Category: Tasmanian Travel

Spirit of Tasmania versus flying: Which do you prefer?

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Right now, as I write this, I’m looking out the window at the Spirit of Tasmania sitting out on the Mersey River. It’s such an awesome sight on a still night.

It’s one of the reasons we first bought his house. You never tire of watching the Spirit sailing in and out of the mouth of the Mersey.

I’m going to be honest and say it’s been a while since we last sailed on the Spirit. Pre kids actually. I remember doing a day sailing over and getting to explore the ship, while on the way back we opted for a night trip with a cabin.

A few years back, just before one of our previous trips to Melbourne, Julian was talking to Ella’s child carer. Ella repeated her usual “yes, we’re going to Melbourne to see Uncle Rick, aren’t we Dad?’’.

“We hear so much about Uncle Rick. Apparently he has a really big boat?’’ the child carer said.

Julian then had to explain that the “big boat’’ is actually the Spirit. The child carer had more than a little chuckle at that.

Due to the boat being so visible, there’s been repeated requests we go to Melbourne on “Uncle Rick’s big boat’’ since instead of the plane.

Watching this video I’m questioning why on earth we don’t go on the Spirit more often. Especially with trying to organise kids. I know they would think it was such an adventure.

Tell me: do you prefer to fly or sail?

DISCLAIMER: I was paid to write this post. All opinions expressed are purely my own.

June 2, 2014
When Cradle Mountain turns on the snow

For two winters now we’ve been promising Ella we’d take her to the snow. And for two winters, someone in the house always seems to get sick. Or it rains. Or someone pops out a baby.

Finally, on the weekend, the rain stopped, the snow settled and no one was sick. So we headed for Cradle Mountain and all that glorious snow.

You should have heard the squeals when they caught sight of it out the window.

Ella asked me whether I was excited about seeing the snow. I wasn’t really.

Mainly because as a kid I spent nearly every weekend during winter at our shack up the Great Lakes, in Tasmania’s Central Highlands. My most vivid memory was of mum having to get out, mid snow storm, and sit on one corner of the boot of the car because the wheel was spinning frantically. We weren’t going anywhere until it touched the ground again.

Of course, as kids, we just wanted to get stuck in the snow so we didn’t have to go to school the next day.

But, while I wasn’t excited about going to the snow, I was excited about seeing the girls experience it for the first time.

There was a bit of snowball throwing.

Ella tasted snow for the first time. And wasn’t impressed.

Julian attempted a snowman – not his finest work.

And Holly tried to feed Molly Golly some snow.

When the wind got up, we knew it was time to go.

Holly had to have one last play in the snow before we went though. She hasn’t stopped talking about it since. While it’s always been Ella who wanted to see the snow, I think it was Holly who enjoyed it the most.

Are your kids snow bunnies or are they yet to experience the white stuff?

August 7, 2013
My Tasmanian Backyard 2013 Calendar and Diary

As a gift for your support throughout last year, I offered the My Tasmanian Backyard 2012 free downloadable calendar. For some bizarre reason, 100 of you downloaded it. Or one of you downloaded it 100 times. One of the two.

So, in light of that, I’m launching the:

My Tasmanian Backyard 2013 free downloadable calendar

Once again, it features family friendly Tasmanian events by month, public holidays, school terms and photography from our family “backyard’’ adventures around Tasmania. It’s ideal to give to family as a gift. Just download it for free here or by clicking the cover image, then print it out.

However, there’s more this year. Yes, brace yourselves.

We’re also launching the:

My Tasmanian Backyard 2013 diary

I’ve been looking at all the bookmaking services for a while. Then Blurb offered me a $50 voucher to create my own book, so I jumped at the chance. I contemplated a photo book, cookbook, wedding book and business books. Then I had a mini meltdown because I couldn’t decide which I wanted to create first.

I thought the diary was too good to pass up and complements the calendar so well. Plus, I’m a huge list person – I even make lists of my lists. So diaries are right up my alley.

While you can make a book for as little as $2.95, I will caution you about adding colour, because it can increase the price of your book. The type of paper, size of the book and number of pages will also dictate how much your book will cost to make. Of course, using all black and white in your book can be effective too. The beauty of Blurb for me was how incredibly easy it was to use – and that you can have a book in your hand within a couple of weeks.

The Backyard diary features weekly parenting quotes for inspiration, a full week to a double page and colour photography of Tasmanian family friendly locations. You can buy it in three formats – soft cover, hard cover with dust jacket, and hardcover with Imagewrap. I wish I could give this one away free, but unfortunately there is a cost if you’d like one. I’ve kept it down as much as possible – and it is a beautiful diary. Of course! You can buy a copy here.

Guess what my family are getting for Christmas?

Do you live by an old-fashioned diary or are you more up with it than me and prefer the electronic versions?

December 12, 2012
My Tasmanian Backyard: Horizon Deluxe Apartments Stanley

We set off from home last Saturday – without our two motor mouths. “It just doesn’t feel right without them,’’ The Bloke in the Shed said as we hit the highway for Stanley, in Tasmania’s far North West. That’s what happens when you spend three looooong years without having a night away together. After the constant sickness in our household over the past two months, we were well and truly ready for a break though.

We stayed at the Stanley Seaview Inn in June with the girls and got a chance to take in Highfield House, Stanley Seaquarium and climbing The Nut. This time, we were treated at the sublime Horizon Deluxe Apartments and didn’t go anywhere. Seriously why would you?

It’s hard to describe how incredible this place is.

The view:

The accommodation

That spa – in all its glorious forms

While you may have acknowledged the spa needs to be full before turning on the jets, it doesn’t then pay to start playing around with the buttons (“ooh, look, it has a radio in the spa’’) and accidentally push the “jets’’ button, sending water flying throughout the entire apartment. He then had the cheek to ask if he could listen to the footy on the radio while we were soaking and sipping our champagne. Seriously!

We ordered dinner from its sister restaurant The Nut View Restaurant, which was sublime. And then had another spa.

We slipped into the fluffy dressing gowns and watched Spud the movie (review to come) with surround sound and sunk into the gloriously comfy lounge. We’d brought our own movie, not realising there was a selection already there, along with CDs.
In the morning, when everything was quiet, city slicker Julian heard a noise. He jumped. “What’s that?’’. Me: “Ah, it’s called a cow’’.

It was enough to prompt him to get out of bed and cook me a full breakfast, with the kitchen bountiful with eggs, bacon, sausages, breads, cereals, orange juice and there was even a Nespresso machine. Although, we didn’t attempt that.

While I headed for the rain shower to freshen up before our trip home,

Julian spent his time basking in the sun on the front patio, taking in that glorious view – after packing the dishwasher.

The apartment, with all its five-star mod cons and perfectly styled decor, was pure luxury. The service was real country style, with nothing too much trouble. It’s hard to fault, to be honest. We would recommend it to anyone who needs to escape and be pampered for a little while. It would be ideal for a honeymoon, anniversary or just a reward for being a good parent. And we all need those.

To learn more about Horizon Deluxe Apartments at Stanley in Tasmania, visit the site.

When was the last time you went away with your partner? What about even a date night?

DISCLOSRE: We received a complimentary night at Horizon Deluxe Apartments. We were not paid for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

August 20, 2012
Aussie Giveaway Linkup #62: The away edition

The Bloke in The Shed and I spent last night at Horizon Deluxe Apartments at Stanley in Tasmania’s far north west – our first night away in three years.

That’s not me, by the way. Those photos are to come…

This post has been written prior to us going away, because I wasn’t allowed to take a laptop or iPad with me. So I’m just assuming we had a long, hot bath, snuggled up to watch the sun set and dined on dishes featuring local produce from the exquisite restaurant down the road.

While we were ooing and ahhing over the website photos the other night, Julian piped up with: “On Sunday, I’ll cook you breakfast in bed and we’ll take our time packing everything up to leave.’’

Sounded heavenly.

Then:

“Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I’ve signed us up to a big community walk on the way home that I’m meant to be part of.’’
Ahhh….. right!

Blisters on my feet was not how I anticipated ending our relaxing weekend away.

What do you think of Horizon Deluxe Apartments? Who could use a night away right about now?

Please, before linking up, if you could note the new rules. Due to the name of the linky being Aussie Giveaway Linkup, it’s important that the links are BY Aussie blogs and the giveaways for Australians.

If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:
1. Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately. If you need to delete it, hover over your link, wait until the red “x’’ appears and click.
2. Giveaways must be open to Australian residents and by Australian-based bloggers or businesses.
3. Grab the button below to add to your post.
4. A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.
5. Start entering the giveaways! Entry is at your own risk. We do not take responsibility for unfulfilled prizes or a blogger/business not abiding by their own terms and conditions.

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August 12, 2012
{My Tasmanian Backyard}: Stanley Seaview Inn accommodation review
One week ago today MasterChef brought one of Tasmanian’s most quaint little towns into the spotlight – Stanley. Not to make you jealous or anything – *ahem* – but the area boasts some of the finest food, including grass fed beef, Rock Lobster Crayfish, Green Lip Abalone and dairy produce. I’m not sure that it’s known for its onion rings though. Nice try, MasterChef.

The first thing you notice when you drive into Stanley is this thing:

It’s the Stanley Nut, which I spoke about yesterday. It was what we awoke to each morning looking out the window from the Stanley Seaview Inn accommodation.

The accommodation was neat, tidy and certainly suited our needs

– until Julian spilt an entire glass of red wine all over the white doona. Seriously. Can’t take him anywhere. When Ella blew four light globes in one hit, the service was prompt and friendly. That’s all most of us want really. (And yes, Julian and Ella really do take after one another).

Here is a peek inside:

There are varying rooms on offer, from family rooms, self-contained apartments and spa suites. Thankfully, for a change, there were no arguments about Ella wanting the biggest bed. Instead, it was all about whether she could sleep on the top bunk – but I was not prepared for a trip to the hospital.

The highlights of the Seaview Inn are:
- That view. I just can’t rave about it enough.
- There is also a webcam at the front office, where friends can visit the site and view live images of you waving back at them with The Nut in the background.
- There is free wifi, which is always a bonus when Facebook is in need of some attention. Because obviously there’s not enough people already posting on it. You can even rent a laptop.
- It has a small children’s playground. Which came with its own ready-made children, courtesy of the owners.
- The service. So many places we’ve stayed at have been let down by the odd Fawlty Towers-style moment. Here, expect that country-style service where you feel like more than just another customer. I think the Basil character was played by my husband.
There’s one thing I want to rave about though – it’s The Nut View Restaurant (check out the seafood platter. Wow!). Easily THE best part of our stay – and it was all pretty good to be honest. The menu features an array of Tasmanian produce and the quality of the food was sublime.

We were given a window seat overlooking the Nut and right next to the crackling fire – which was needed, I tell you. Julian’s grass fed beef and my Atlantic salmon were cooked to perfection. Cravat-wearing Matt Preston would have given it a 10/10 for sure. It was restaurant quality food at pub sizes. The girls were equally impressed with their chicken strips and pasta – along with the toys, colouring-in books and pencils that kept them from screaming the place down.

For us, we would probably go a two-bedroom apartment next time we stay, just for the space and the opportunity to have a kitchen. That’s not to say the one-bedroom was small by any measure. It was only an additional $25 too. The prices of the accommodation were certainly one thing we were impressed with.

If you are heading to Tasmania’s North West and you’re looking for somewhere to stay that is child-friendly, then I’d recommend staying with Clint and his staff. With a young family of his own, he certainly knew how to cater for all our needs.

What’s the best meal you’ve had?

To view more photos, visit my Stanley page on Facebook. This post is part of the My Tasmanian Backyard series.

DISCLOSURE: Our trip to Stanley was organised by Cradle Coast Tourism. We were given acommodation and tickets to the Sequarium and Highfield House. We were not paid to write this post. All opinions expressed are our own.
June 14, 2012