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!

Summer landscapes in Tasmania

Tasmania is amazing.  I am still blown away by the abundance of wildlife and constantly changing weather!  I am presented with fantastic photography opportunities wherever I look.  So far we have traveled from Devonport - Launceston - East coast and the Bay of Fires.  I like Devonport, really like Launceston but LOVE the Bay of Fires.  Apart from the abundance of free camps here there are so many unspoilt beaches and plenty of birds and other animals around.  The weather is great, the temperatures are even better, I can see why all the grey nomads migrate here every year.

Here are a few of my fave landscape images of Tassie so far…

Mersey Bluff Lighthouse, Devonport 

Shelly Beach, Scamander

Swimcart Beach, Bay of Fires

The Gardens, Bay of fires

Bush Rangers & Benalla

Benalla seemed like a great little stop over on the way from Bright to Melbourne and we weren't disappointed.  Benalla is widely regarded as the 'Home of Ned Kelly'  so we had to go and visit the museum which also happens to be the information centre.  We just wouldn't be Kelly's if we didn't!  We also visited nearby Glenrowan where you can see the 'Big Ned Kelly'.

Wanted poster at Benalla Museum - vintage action with vignette added

We were really lucky to be in town the weekend of the "Benalla Festival" with fireworks and live music on Saturday night.  The kids loved it and we had a blast there.   I got to play with some night shots (always a favorite for me) and a few different perspectives.

Bridge at Benalla lit up for festival

Fireworks!

A different focal point made this image interesting I thought