Deloraine, what can I say?
7 nights – Apex Park – Deloraine, TAS
It’s bloody beautiful here at Apex Park. We’re settled in near another river (Meander River), which should be called, “Duck, Duck, Goose River”. I could spend all day watching the antic of these feathered friends. There’s an array of different ducks! I’m learning the different breeds – chestnut teal, grey teal, pacific black and a heap of mallards (farm ducks) in all the colours.
There’s a gaggle of geese too! Big Boy, a.k.a. ‘The Goose Lord‘ has been referring to them as “his babies”, greeting them in the morning and feeding them a mix of wild bird seed, dried mealworms, finely chopped apple and oats. They love him too! There’s plenty of Turbo Chooks around again, plus some black water hens, which I’ve found out are called ‘coots’.
We spent a week here, with glorious weather, and very crisp mornings – like 3 degrees celsius. We’ve invested in some UGGs. An absolute necessity in this climate! Although, they are all inevitably getting covered in bird poo!
There are plenty of natural wonders to explore nearby. We’ve been out for a couple of walks. For Mother’s Day, I’d normally say that I’d be happy to do nothing for the day. This year, I was pretty keen to get out for a little explore. After a beautiful cooked brekky from Hubby – and I mean beautiful, as in a work of art! – and some gorgeous, thoughtful presents from the boys, we went out exploring.
There was a walk recommended called ‘Pine Lake Walk‘, only 30 kms from us, and I had read that it was cold, being high country. It was icy cold! But what an incredible piece of natural history! This place was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Incredible plants that have adapted to harsh winds and cold, and Tasmania’s rarest tree, the Pencil Pine, which can live for more than 1200 years, and only grows in the sub-alpine region above 800m. Very interesting the history of the place and its’ links to “Gondwana”, millions of years of evolution. After this, we went up to The Great Lake lookout, where we drank warm tea and coffee from our thermos and had some lunch.
Following this, we saw Liffey Falls and the Big Tree. I swear to God, every time I’ve seen a massive tree here, I’ve been like, “Wow, that’s the biggest tree I’ve ever seen in my life!” Then the next time we go walking, I’m like “Nope, hang on a minute. That’s the biggest tree!”. So, we saw ‘The Big Tree’ and it was a massive! But, now I’m sure there’ll be bigger!
Hubby took the kids out for a few little adventures without me, including Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm, which had a great playground and gardens to explore. Also, the big boys went out to Wild Mersey Mountain Biking only 35 kms to Latrobe and had a brilliant time. Not even any hospital visits, which is always a win!
V8 Supercars – Symmons Plains Raceway – Launceston, TAS
Highlight of the week, was V8 Supercars, which Hubby booked in as soon as he realised it was on whilst we were down here. I’m not much if a Supercars follower, but as always, anything live is always an awesome atmosphere. They put on such a brilliant day, with the kids area set up for all the little ones to enjoy. We upgraded our ticket to include the “Paddock” when we got there, which meant we were able to be right up close, standing above the pit lane and the grid. At the end of the day we just happened to be walking by and they were handing out extra entries for the “grid walk”. Hubby was stoked! I had no idea what it meant. We got to walk out on the racing track as all of the drivers and their vehicles were parked up and being interviewed before the final race. It was really cool. Hubby and 2 of the Wild Rangas got on the TV! It was a brilliant day!
Tasmania, is soo bloody beautiful! The diversity and wildness of the place, and the sheer number of wildlife and animals that we’ve seen, in incredible! And we’re only just getting started! I feel so blessed to be on this trip. We’re all having a brilliant time!
Let us know, what’s your favourite animal encounter that you’ve had while on holidays? Share a picture or tell us a story.
Much love,
MumOf3WRs