Category Archives: Australia

Bayviews

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We don’t usually do anything special to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but last Wednesday we broke from tradition and dined at our favourite restaurant. We were surprised to see a new addition on the way from the car park, a very impressive sand sculpture.

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Bayviews Restaurant is so named for obvious reasons.

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Every seat in the house has a wonderful vista of Bass Strait, beautiful in any weather.

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We opened proceedings with a glass of exquisite Josef Chromy Pinot Gris

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and were soon presented with a tasty pre-dinner morsel of beef fillet with carrot and cumin purée.

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Dogs are prohibited on Burnie’s West Beach but we were entertained by an ambitious young fellow walking a rather uncooperative shopping trolley.

The palate cleanser of Pink Grapefruit sorbet was dispatched too quickly to photograph, you’ll just have to imagine it.

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The main event was superb. I had slow cooked lamb shoulder on butternut pumpkin gnocchi, mushrooms, shallots with a salad of baby cress, toasted walnut, sheep’s fetta and 8 year old balsamic vinegar.

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Michael chose from the specials board, pan fried Tasmanian scallops with housemade fettucine tossed through lemon beurre blanc sauce with cherry tomatoes and fresh dill.

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A glass of d’Arenberg The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon complemented the flavours perfectly.

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It was very relaxing watching the gulls mingling on the shore below and their indifference to the appearance of a pied oystercatcher.

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For dessert, Michael once again chose from the specials, lemon curd tart with crisp meringue, local currants, raspberry coulis and honey & vanilla bean ice cream.

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I couldn’t decide what to have, so I had them all!

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The dessert tasting platter had smaller versions of Snickers semifreddo, chocolate mousse, caramel sauce, almond crumble, peanut praline & dark chocolate;

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salted caramel tart layered with caramel sauce, banana chip praline, fresh banana & chantilly cream served with salted caramel ice cream;

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basil crème brulee, Tamar Valley yoghurt, sable biscuit, fresh berries, passionfruit & lemongrass sorbet.

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A big thank you to my husband for gallantly assisting with the devoration of my dessert. Sunset is past our bedtime these days but the shadows were lengthening as we made our way home.

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I think we may have just created a new anniversary tradition.

Emu Valley

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I am ashamed to say, I have lived near Burnie for nearly eight years and knew of the existence of the Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden but only recently had the pleasure of spending a peaceful afternoon there. The 11ha site is a natural amphitheatre, sloping down to a large basin fed by natural springs that form a series of lakes.

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The scrub and blackberry infested hillside has been transformed over the past 35 years, mostly by volunteers, and is now classified as a plant museum. There are over 22,000 plants to admire

in this lovely, tranquil setting.

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The garden is set out in a series of “countries” from which the wild rhododendrons originate, I shan’t try to name them all.

There were other interesting features to be found as we meandered along the paths. Just past the Chinese Pavilion

we caught a glimpse of the Japanese bridge through the cherry blossom.

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Our walk continued past the Japanese ceremonial tea-house

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and across the covered bridge.

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The adjacent lawned area is popular for weddings.

The American Gazebo overlooks Lake Pearl

and the sound of water tumbling over rocks was mesmerising.

Some of the flowers were extraordinary,

all were beautiful.

We were fortunate to find a sculpture competition in full bloom.

I voted for Boho Bungalow.

We made our way past many more magnificent hybrids

and returned, across Olympus Bridge, to our starting point.

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It may have taken years to get there, but it was worth the wait.

Rawlinna

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Toward the end of our third day on the Indian Pacific, the Nullarbor Plain, that had kept us company for so long

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started to change.

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As the sun descended to the horizon

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the sky awoke with colour.

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Soon after sunset, we arrived at a railway siding at Rawlinna Station. With 70,000 sheep on 8,000 sqkm, Rawlinna is the largest sheep station in Australia.

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By the light of a spectacular moon,

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hurricane lamps

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and fire pits,

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we shared platters of barbecued meats and roasted vegetables while our resident musician entertained us with Aussie favourites.

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The train stayed close, her warm glow welcoming us at the end of a wonderful evening.

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Cradle Christmas

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We couldn’t decide what to do for Christmas this year so we decided not to do anything. Then, on Christmas Eve, we had a rethink and booked lunch at Cradle Mountain Hotel. We took Cooper on the first of many relaxing summer drives.

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We arrived in time to enjoy a pre-lunch beverage

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and, as I hadn’t been to this hotel before, I had a little look around. The bar and lounge area were very comfortable

and having the keg room on show was a novel idea.

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Beyond the Christmas tree,

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the dining room and buffets were presented beautifully.

The barbecue area was set and the chef had entered into the spirit of things.

We found a comfy spot

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with a fabulous view

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to finish our drinks before being seated for lunch.

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The menu was extensive and delicious.

Of course, we ate too much and returned to our place on the veranda to digest the food and the surroundings.

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We returned home, hot & weary, for the obligatory Christmas Day nap. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a safe, happy & healthy 2017.

across the creek

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Travelling across Bass Strait is affectionately referred to by Tasmanians as ‘crossing the creek’. The distance of 250km is easily traversed with a one hour plane flight. Alternatively, there is a ten hour ferry trip with a choice of day or night crossing. Four days after returning from our travels in Britain, we packed up the car and trailer and left Adelaide on our new adventure. The Spirit of Tasmania waited patiently in Melbourne,

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our excitement mounted as we drove aboard.

With our possessions in storage, no jobs and nowhere to live, we celebrated with a superb meal as we set sail.

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The crossing of Bass Strait was anything but smooth, my decision to splurge on a deluxe queen cabin at the front of the boat was not a good one. We were very pleased to see the sun coming up and calm waters as we approached Devonport.

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After navigating the Mersey River

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we disembarked and headed east for Launceston.

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We stayed in a holiday apartment for two weeks, then moved into a rental property while we searched for our perfect home. The rental was very comfortable

with great views,

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a manageable garden

and a park over the fence.

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We didn’t realise beforehand, it was the least salubrious suburb in Launceston. No wonder the rent was so cheap! Still, we survived and we have very fond memories of our time in Launceston.