Oatlands: Population 540

At first glance the town of Oatlands can look like a sleepy little place with not much going on.  That is until you find there is a great little camp spot which places you in close walking distance to everything such as:

• Dulverton Lake is full of bird life and stocked with Trout.
• Callington Mill (1836) is a gorgeous working mill where you can take a tour - It has been fully restored after it was gutted by fire in the early 1900s and now makes organic flour the traditional way.
• Visitor and information centre (handy if you want to get some info about the old buildings, there is also a Historical Walk)
• Town and the local IGA.
• TKO Bakery at the Kentish Hotel where you can get the best Scallop Pies ever made.

This is one of Tassie's hidden gems with many convict-built buildings in town and it is just loaded with atmosphere and history.

Gardens & Callington Mill

Callington Mill & other convict built buildings

Inside the Grainary

Lake Dulverton

Kayaking on the Lake

Confused local caterpillar trying to eat Trent's arm hairs

Richmond - Historic Town

I have just post-edited some photos from the historic town of Richmond, Tasmania.  An easy drive from Hobart, this gorgeous little town is full of the most stunning old buildings.  It was really worth seeing. 

"The foundation stone for the Richmond Bridge was laid on 11 December 1823 and construction continued using convict labour until completion in 1825. The bridge was originally named Bigge's Bridge after Royal Commissioner, John Thomas Bigge, who recognised the need for the bridge in 1820.  In 1832 an employee of the Richmond Gaol was murdered at Richmond bridge. George Grover was employed as a gaoler whose duties including flogging the prisoners. He was unpopular due to his ferocity and was pushed off the edge of Richmond Bridge after drunkenly falling asleep. No one was convicted of his murder." - Wikipedia

Richmond bridge

Cute puppy - I couldn't resist

Girls eating their lunch under the bridge

Very old!

So polite - Skysie & Oscar waiting outside the old church

Convicts Kids?

Here I sit in the old tatty 1987 annex of the camper using my iPhone as a modem for internet on my iMac via bluetooth.  It has a very odd feeling about it.

We have just left the town of Nubeena where we were camped nice and close to Port Arthur.  The best thing about staying locally over a couple of days is you get a second day free at Port Arthur so we were able to cover half on the first day and then the rest on day 2.  Included was a boat trip around the islands & out to the sea port, a very informative guided tour, plays depicting the life of a convict and craft for the kids.  My kids got to make their own convict brick and a peg doll each - they were thrilled!  They also have a little hunt where the kids have to find certain animals around the place and tick them off a map.

It gave you an idea of what convict life must have been like and I was mortified to hear that from the age of 7 a child could be tried as an adult and sent to be a convict.  Before laws were put in place if you were from a poor family your child would be sent to work from the age of 5.  My Charli is almost 6!  Of course there were some great photo ops but I mainly did close ups due to the very overcast skies on both days we were there.

My kids doing their best convict poses 

Old fire place

Bumble Bee!

A Pony called Prada...

It looks like we will be saying farewell to Sydney today as we make our way south towards Melbourne so I thought I would put up one last Sydney blog before we hit the road again.  Yesterday we had an interesting day surrounded by horses at a horse show, the kids loved it and we got to meet the cutest pony foal "Prada".  The family were getting ready for their first Pony Showing.

My Kids "Helping" to get Prada ready for showing

Pony cuddles...

Street Photography…?

I seem to have covered a few k's since the last blog & now find myself in Sydney.  Blogging while on the road can be challenging especially when at unpowered sites & free camps!

I decided to try my hand at street photography as the busy streets of Sydney seemed perfect.  I think a smaller camera would have been a better idea as I ended up mostly getting pics of people looking stunned that I may have just taken their pic.  There were a couple of gems in there but overall I think you would at least need a more discreet camera and a lot of practise/patience.

Street Photography pic

Tourist shot of the Opera House

The station

Bluewater

About 30km north of Townsville is a great free camp at Bluewater where we stayed a few nights.  On arriving we were informed by one of our fellow campers that there was a snake guarding the wheelie bin and so of course I had to go and have a look with my camera.  One thing to be careful of when photographing a snake?  Other people who decide it would be a good idea to "Nudge" the snake with their foot while your head is inches away from it.  I kid you not. We also found a pretty Blue-Winged Kookaburra and a bunch of cheeky Possums. 

Mum & Dad arrived for a visit the night after we got there and Mum was a bit nervous to hear of the Snake visiting.  The backpackers who slept overnight in the open swag just metres away obviously weren't too worried though!

Cheeky little Possums trying to get into the annex

The wheelie bins were empty…wonder why?

Close up of Snake - anyone know what type of Snake it is?

Ash taking an "ankle dip"  in the fresh water