The wild west

I took the week of my birthday off work. David and I drove via Queenstown to Strahan on the wild west coast of Tasmania, a five hour trip from our place. I had been there once before, at the start of the Tasmanian Leaders program, when it was 30+ degrees for four days straight! This was the first time we've been there together. The highlight was absolutely the Gordon River Cruise. David had booked so long ago that we had the very front seats upstairs. The staff were friendly, the food delicious and it was incredible to see Hells Gates, Sarah Island and a glimpse of the World Heritage Wilderness in Tasmania's south west. I am thankful for those who fought for its existence. We also visited the extensive West Coast Heritage Centre museum in Zeehan and walked to Montezuma Falls and Hogarth Falls, two of the 60 Great Short Walks in Tasmania. A good short break.

Highland Coos

This local business is onto an absolute Instagram winner. Highland Getaway in Tasmania's beautiful Huon Valley has a 40-strong herd of extremely photogenic and fluffy highland cattle. Guests come to stay, take gorgeous photos and post them to Instagram, which is where I first learned about this local business.

This week I joined a networking evening with our local business enterprise centre and had a tour. Julie, with help from her parents who have relocated from Queensland, has created peaceful luxury accommodation surrounded by the rolling green hills of Ranelagh and Glen Huon. You can stay in the cinema suite or the spa suite, both beautifully appointed. Julie also runs farm tours and you can even brush the cows. You can get close to many of them and they are seriously cute! This would be a wonderful place to relax for a few days or spend a week as a base to explore the local area. And their future plans for the property will be worth keeping an eye on.

Project X part II

After listening to ravens roosting in the darkening southern forests with Hrafn: Conversations with Odin (season now extended into October), the next installment of Project X has arrived in the Huon Valley. The Aftermath Dislocation Principle is an artwork in the form of a 40-foot shipping container with eye holes cut into it, providing a glimpse of a town landscape in miniature. I won't describe it further, just get on down to Geeveston any time between now and November and peer inside. While you are there, why not take a look around the town and eat at one of the lovely establishments like the Old Bank of Geeveston, Baker & Co patisserie or The Bears Went Over the Mountain. Or stop in our wonderful village of Franklin on the way home, at Cinnamon and Cherry (now re-opened Friday to Sunday for the warmer months), Aqua Grill or Frank's Cider Bar and Cafe. Seriously, it's been a tougher winter period than usual this year for many local businesses since the bushfires in the region and you'll be made very welcome if you come down and stay!

Happy as a pig in mud at #HVMWF 2019

As a bloke in the queue at the bar said to me when I went to fetch a hot spiced cider, "Gumboot people are happy people!" As nice as it would have been to don tatters, face paint and fancy headpieces (we saw lots of beautiful examples), I was extremely happy with my choice of clothing for the Huon Valley Mid Winter Festival on Friday night. I counted the layers I was was wearing - six in total on my upper half! Plus thermals under my jeans and long socks in my gum boots. And I was warm as toast. There was a serious amount of mud, a little rain and a whole lot of happy punters. As I have said before, these people know how to run an event. There is plenty of seating, lots of toilets, undercover areas, fire pits to warm up by and friendly volunteers with a sense of humour. And that's before the great selection of food and beverages, sculptures and awesome music acts. Despite the testing weather conditions, there were plenty of interstate and international visitors. I had squid from the fire bugs at Tasman Quartermasters, some tasty fries, croquettes from Eten and one of Yeastie Beastie's fabulous doughnuts. With hot spiced Willie Smith's Cider in hand, we ran into a few groups of friends and made it out of the paddock car park without needing to be towed out of the mud. Happy days!