Day 8: We decided the day before that we would pack up and leave Sheepyard Flat and head off with the camper over more 4WD tracks to a little place called Jamieson which was approx 45kms, from there we would travel over Mt Terrible and stay at Warburton approx another 60kms. Al didn't attempt to get in the front, seating Declan in the front seat from the start. The hills today were STEEP!! Al was in the back, eyes shut, and digging her fingers into the door handles thinking that the car would not have the power to get them and the camper up these dirt roads. She would breathe a sigh of relief every time the track flattened out. Of course Housie was giving encouraging words to her and the kids like "Wow can you hear and feel the tyres scrambling for traction" and "Can't wait for the next one, I think it's steeper!!". The trip from Sheepyard Flat to Jamieson with one morning tea break took around 3hrs! A lot longer than anticipated. When we pulled up for lunch at Jamieson, we realised that not all was ok with the camper. The water tank had a leak from two spots and the jockey wheel had both the tyre and the handle ripped off it. Our trip had to now change, so we ditched Mt Terrible and , then headed straight to a caravan park in Ballarat, so that water would not be an issue.
Day 9:We took the kids to Soveriegn Hill in Ballarat in wintery conditions (17degs) to show them the history of the gold mining boom in Australia, within 20 minutes we heard a ruckus from a family (obviously from the wrong side of town) we turned around to find that Housie's cousin Andrew and his wife Larelle were there also with their kids Myles and Lexie . As this wasn't planned we tried to hide behind other people, but they saw us. We then spent the next two days with them. Andrew was always wanting Housie to wear the same clothes as him and be in lots of photos together, like they did when they were younger (25yrs old). Housie being a bloody top bloke got in a few photos with him.
The kids loved Soveriegn Hill making coloured candles, going under ground, hearing stories of gold mining in Ballarat and how they found a huge nugget there. We also found out why Al is always trying to get Housie to wear red clothing. It turns out that Al has a little fetish for the Red Coat soldiers, making everyone in our group get there 30mins early to get the best spot so she could check out the size of their muscuts. And if the career in the railway falls through for Housie, he would be able to feed the family by panning for gold. He was that good, people lined up just to get some expert advice from this natural talent.
Day 10: Back to Soveriegn Hill at 10am, as the kids missed out on a horse and cart ride the day before, tickets bought and first in line, awesome! What we wern't told was that the ride didn't start until 12pm. After the whopping 10min ride it was off to Kryal Castle, the kids were pumped, especially Declan and cousin Myles. Once inside the first thing we had to see was the jousting tournament, which was great. The kids were also impressed with the tools used for torture in the medieval days. The disappointing thing was that one of the main attractions, a massive maze, was out of action for repair. Al and Larelle tried some liquers that were on offer for taste testing, one of the ones they mentioned was midnight sensation, supposed to be an affrodesiac. The only one getting excited was the girl behind the counter thinking she was going to get a sale! During the day we booked our spot on the Spirit of Tasmania for the next day.
Day 11: The plan was to get up early, pack up and get going, so we could look around the city of Ballarat. Slept in! We didn't leave the caravan park untill 11am, so looking around town was cut short. We left Ballarat at 2pm and headed for Melbourne to jump on the ship. When we lined our car up towards the ticket counter, Al was showing signs of nerves as she snapped at Housie for being too relaxed and for telling Declan that if we hear the horn from the ship before we get on then we have missed the boat. As if it was planned the ship blew it's horn and Declan started to get worried. Once on the boat, we checked out our cabin, the kids were that happy with it, they wished that their whole holiday was going back and forth just so they could sleep and eat on the boat.
Day 12: Woke up early and Charli looked out the port hole and said " We haven't left Melbourne yet, cos I can still see the houses". Housie had to explain to the kids that although Tasmanians have a weird accent and two heads, they have been able to build houses here. After breakfast we headed straight towards Stanley, wanting to stay in a camp nearby. The first two we had in mind were full, so we drove past Stanley by about 30 mins to a great camping spot right on the water called Stony Point. The care taker was a 75yr old guy by the name of Buster, who works from the 1st of Nov to the 30th March ( no days off at all) and keeps the place looking great. Housie spent the afternoon finally replacing the jockey wheel and fixing the leak in the water tank.
Day 13: We went out for a drive to Rocky Cape which has a light house and caves that were used by the original custodians of this land, unforunately we are not allowed acces to these caves and had to look at them from afar. Next stop Dip falls and Big tree, pretty much as you would expect a water fall and a huge tree that it 16mtrs in circumference. The afternoon we headed to the Nut at Stanley. The kids enjoyed the chairlift up to the top while Al panicked that the kids would fall out halfway up. Great views from up there over the town of Stanley, the kids were well and truly over walking for that day.
Day 14: Off again, this time to Woolnorth which is the very top North Western Cape of Tasmania, we were met with a gate that could only be accessed by organising a tour ($80 for an adult & $50 a child). We decided that we didn't really need to see it afterall. Heading South to Aurthur River, we stopped in at Marrawah a beaut liitle beachside town, the kids loved finding heaps of starfish that were in all the little rock pools. Once at the town of Arthur River we went to a lookout called the End of the World were the river meets the Ocean. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and talking to other campers before we would head off to our planned next stop at Strahan.
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