Tag Archives: travel

beautiful beach

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A short drive from Strahan township is the beautiful Ocean Beach. Forty kilometres of pristine sand lies between the Great Southern Ocean on one side and the west coast wilderness on the other.

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The Entrance lighthouse signals the infamous Hells Gates, where the ocean meets Macquarie  Harbour in a shallow, turbulent channel.

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On the opposite side is Bonnet Island with its own majestic lighthouse.

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The breezes that blow from Antarctica and South America create diverse sand patterns.

The waters edge shows the amber hue of the buttongrass tannins

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and the natural flotsam lies scattered along the shoreline.

A lone silver gull is loathe to share his paradise,

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excepting the driftwood sculptures

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and colourful shells.

A seaplane cruises overhead on its way up the Gordon River….

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but that’s another story.

 

Strahan serenity

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Strahan is a small town located on the beautiful Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast. Rich in convict history, it is the gateway to World Heritage Wilderness. It is one of those special places where you immediately feel relaxed with the gorgeous harbour and buildings oozing historic charm.

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A stroll up the hill to Strahan Village Hotel is rewarded with breathtaking views from the comfortable deck while enjoying a beverage.

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The wharf is a hive of activity, reminiscent of the former port town.

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Franklin Manor is the perfect place to stay. Built for the Harbour Master in 1896, the house and grounds are exquisite.

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Risby Cove is a fabulous setting for dinner.

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The food is delicious

and the views of the harbour at sunset are spectacular.

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The short walk back to Franklin Manor and the welcoming lights are a perfect end to the day.

night

more Melbourne

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We had a few hours left in Melbourne but with suitcases packed to the brim, shopping was off the menu. We opted for a stroll to the Royal Botanic Gardens, passing through the Queen Victoria Gardens on the way and it’s colourful flower beds.

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The floral clock contains over 7,000 flowering plants that are changed twice yearly.

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The roses were past their best but still presented a bright display

and the lake offered some lovely reflections.

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The little mynah birds are cute but apparently a bit of a nuisance.

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With limited time we only saw a small portion of the stunning 94 acres of gardens. The path we chose took us through a cactus garden

to the Temple of the Winds. Built in 1901, the grey masonry structure has 10 columns, each one crowned with a sculpted elkhorn fern

and a gorgeous ornate ceiling.

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The Grey Garden was interesting

and the Plant Craft Cottage had a quaint garden of its own. The cottage, built as a gardener’s home in 1850, is heritage listed.

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We followed the path around the lake

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to the William Tell Rest House. Built in 1897, it was destroyed by accidental fire in 1994 and rebuilt in 1997. Last year, it was obliterated by arsonists (the mental acuity of our so called ‘intelligent species’ never ceases to astound me!) and has been resurrected yet again.

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After a coffee and muffin stop at The Terrace, we continued our circuit of the lake past stunning flowers,

awesome foliage

and amazing trees.

I have never seen a smiley face tree before

We exited at the historic Lych Gate, originally built in churchyards to shelter coffins awaiting burial.

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I hope to return to The Botanic Gardens one day with a lot more time to explore.

marvellous Melbourne

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Last weekend I ventured to the big smoke to spend some time with my sister from Adelaide. We had a lovely apartment on the thirtieth floor on Southbank with expansive views to the south from the balcony.

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The ocean of glass to the north dazzled with stunning reflections that seemed to change constantly

 

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and the shifting light added dimension to the adjacent tower.

We were fortunate to be in Melbourne on the weekend of the Mind Body Spirit Festival held at the Exhibition Centre where I enjoyed a whole range of new experiences.

Our days were filled with shopping and we walked for miles, taking in the sights along the way. The river is a tranquil centrepiece to the bustling city.

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Towering edifices line the footpaths, some with a certain kind of elegance

while others like to make a statement.

I think the older buildings have much more charm

and some of them stand firm in the shadow of progress.

After a days exercise we enticed our aching feet a little further to savour the delights of the eateries on Southbank

and admire the city lights.

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Melbourne is a fabulous place for a long weekend but it’s nice to come home to the forest.

lyrical luthier

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In September 2012, Michael realised a dream to make his own guitar. A Melbourne based luthier instructed his five students during an intensive two weeks at Highfield House in Stanley.

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The course culminated with a dinner and musical evening at the local pub, a good excuse for me to join him for the weekend.

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The finished instrument is a unique 7-string acoustic guitar with a celery top pine front, rare tiger myrtle sides & back, Queensland maple neck, Queensland gidgee fretboard & bridge and blackwood rosette & bindings.

At the dinner, we learned that the same course was run in Italy each year and so, in May 2014, we ventured to Benabbio in Tuscany. Michael created another masterpiece, labouring long days in the 16th century workshop of our villa residence.

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The view from his workbench was quite tolerable.

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This is how it happened. The sides were shaped, glued & clamped and given a light sand.

The back was glued & clamped, then the kerfing & scalloped bracing was added to create rigidity.

Meanwhile, work on the neck was underway.

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The rosette was carefully inlaid into the soundboard, the struts on the underside were precision scalloped and the bridge was glued into place & clamped.

Michael had designed a Tasmanian Tiger for the headstock. The blackwood was inlaid into the musk here in Tasmania and travelled with us. This was glued in place and the soundboard was attached to the body.

Gluing & taping the bindings was fiddly.

A bit more work on the headstock and the neck was dovetail joined to the body.

The holes were drilled for the machine heads

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and sanding & shaping continued

despite the momentary distraction of an exotic bird.

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A few coats of oil and a final wax

and the strings were attached

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The result is a magnificent instrument with huon pine soundboard, figured blackwood sides & back, Tasmanian oak neck, Queensland gidgee fretboard, bridge & bindings and Tasmanian musk rosette & headstock. The sound is beautiful and I have it on good authority she is a pleasure to play.

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You can hear some of Michael’s music here  http://michaelcannon.bandcamp.com/album/invisible