wondrous walk

My favourite walk with Poppy is one we call the river walk. The Blythe Conservation Area meets our property at the eastern boundary. Across the paddock and through a gate, we join a walking track. A short distance along, I look to my right and am awestruck at the realisation we live in our own patch of Tasmanian wilderness.

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The view across the valley changes with the seasons.

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Now and then there is a little surprise

and the forest embraces from all sides as the track continues.

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Nature’s debris has its own beauty

and the trees reach for the sky.

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About a kilometre into the forest, the track descends steeply to the Blythe River,

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a serene spot for a few hours of fishing.

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The light reflects the natural tannins in the water.

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The best time of day to walk the river track is early morning, the rising sun glistening through the trees is spectacular.

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Just another day in paradise.

Gunns Plains

Gunns Plains is a rich, fertile valley in northwest Tasmania. Named after botanist and early explorer, Robert Campbell Gunn, the Leven River winds through pastures, grazing stock and rich, red volcanic soil. Forty minutes drive from our house is George Woodhouse Lookout where George and his wife, Lurlie, are resting with a view of their beloved plains.

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The view is breathtaking, even on a cloudy day.

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It is a place we like to take visitors, building them up to this astounding vista as we get nearer. It was a little disappointing, one clear June day, to find the valley under heavy cloud. Still beautiful but not quite the same.

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The scenery is just as captivating once down on the plain.

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I love the poplar trees as winter approaches.

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Beneath this gorgeous landscape lies over 150 caves. The second largest was discovered in 1906 when a possum hunter’s dog fell into a hole. It was opened to the public three years later. The formations in the cave are magnificent, particularly the calcite shawls

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and the flowstones are so varied.

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Stalactites, stalagmites, columns and young shawls abound.

This cute little fungus caught my eye.

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The underground river still flows and is home to the endangered freshwater crayfish, platypus and eels. The delicate display of the glow worms can be appreciated when the torchlight is dimmed. We look forward to returning to the caves, maybe with our next visitors….

broken bridge

Our latest project was a bit daunting, we’d put it off thinking it would be difficult and time consuming. There is a bridge over the stream at the bottom of the hill in the rainforest

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and the timbers have been deteriorating since we moved in. No longer was it safe to traverse in a tractor…….

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……the time had come. Michael had sourced hardwood from a local sawmill and it was already stacked and ready to go. After cutting them to length

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we laid them out to make sure we had enough

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and drilled the nail holes in preparation.

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The old boards were easily prised off

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and the new ones were dragged down the hill a few at a time.

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One by one, they were set in place

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and nailed to the supporting beams (old telegraph poles).

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We were pleasantly surprised at the progress we made

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and the old ones were stacked for future use.

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The last of the old ones came off

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and the new ones were all laid.

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It was hot work but the surroundings made up for the discomfort.

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Side rails finished off the edges and Poppy was on hand to give advice.

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We thought it fitting that she should be first to test the strength of the new bridge.

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After that hard work in the heat, there was only one way to get back up the hill.

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Hartzview Vineyard

When my sister was here on holiday, we ventured on a girl’s road trip to Strahan and Hobart. Having sampled the produce of Hartzview Vineyard at Salamanca Market, we realised an expedition further south was in order. The complimentary lunchtime dessert voucher was added incentive. On a gorgeous overcast, drizzly day and after a few diversions along the way, we arrived at Hartzview in time for lunch.

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Hartz peak was shrouded in mist.

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The shop was filled with tempting produce, some of which came home with us.

The views through the stained glass windows of the tasting room were lush and peaceful.

There was no need to reserve a table

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and the meals were superb.

Did I mention the free dessert?

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After lunch, we explored the Heritage listed fruit pickers’ huts.

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The seven restored huts, dating from 1934 and 1943, were used by seasonal fruit pickers who came to pick berries from December to March.

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Whole families would live in a hut, sleeping up to eight people.

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During the Second World War, Italian prisoners of war worked as fruit pickers and farmhands and were housed in these huts.25.hut324.hut2-4

This unexpected journey into the past, coupled with a wonderful lunch in a beautiful location, made for a very memorable day.

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wonder wall

Last month, we completed a project that we had been working on for a few weeks. There was an area along the driveway where the land dropped away to the paddock and the driveway was being undermined.

We looked at all sorts of retaining wall solutions and decided used tyres were the way to go. The fellas at the local tyre service were happy to help and put aside any tyres of a specific size for us. Each week, we would collect them

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place them in position

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fill them with soil (we had a truckload of clean fill delivered) and stomp the soil to pack it down.

Of course, Poppy was on hand to help.

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The dead tree close by was removed in case it came down on the new fence line. It will be next years firewood.

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The posts for the new fence were positioned

and stabilised as we went.

The grasses didn’t take long to start growing in the new soil.

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Finally, we were up to the top row

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and more soil levelled the tyres with the driveway.

Once we get some rain, we will add grass seed to the top level and the wall will be complete.

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Now for that fence…………

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A big thank you to the guys at Tyreright. If you need new tyres or are thinking of building a wall, you’ll find them here https://www.tyreright.com.au/stores/burnie