http://www.catherinelodge.com.au/#!cottages/c16wp
There are 3 bedrooms, a well-equipped kitchen with almost everything you need for cooking, a living and dining room with a fireplace and a laundry yard. I love the quiet and dark night. :) With no one else and only another family staying some distance away from us. Was able to wash our clothes almost every night as there is also a dryer.
In the morning, as the boys munched on their bread in the dining area , they could see sheep and cows grazing in the field nearby. Bliss.
Photo taken from the website.
The bedroom Zech and I slept in (photo also taken from the website).
Our view from the cottage.
Our stay at Catherine Lodge was enhanced by the warm and friendly owners, Mick and Eileen. They made us feel very welcome and we had no problem checking in and out at all. In the fridge, there was milk and orange juice. On the table top in the kitchen, there was a loaf of bread and homemade strawberry jam. I'd highly recommend this accommodation to all who are travelling to Tasmania. The only condition I think is the necessity of a car, as the location is about 3o minutes away from the city. But it's a very good base to start all day trips.
19 May Thurs
Set off for our farm stay today. Check in time was 2pm so we explored the nearby historic town, Richmond. It was a rainy day. Really bad weather. We had several short showers then sun. I've never seen so many rainbows within such a short span of time!
Decided to check out Richmond Gaol since it was still raining. Besides Changi Prison, this was the boys' second experience. Very interesting for them to see how tiny the cells were and for them to imagine how it was like to be confined in such a small space.
The boys had fun playing pretend at this small cell. Exploring the different areas of the Gaol gave us some glimpse of what life was like for these convicts.
Playing with an old washing machine.
After coming out of Richmond Gaol, the boys were certified.
Still raining. Had lunch at a popular bakery. Tried the highly recommended curry scallop pies. There were at least 5 scallops inside the pie! Yum!!!
After lunch, the sun came up again. Quickly made our way to Richmond bridge, the oldest in Australia. The convicts built this bridge.
There was nothing much for us to do in this very sleep town. So we made our way to Taras Farmstay. Started raining once more.
At about 3 plus, we could see the sun again! As happy as a lark, we walked around the farm. Went into the pen for the pony and sheep. Nathanael was scared stiff. He's, well, rather timid. He's afraid of anything bigger than him.
But as long as he stood outside their pen, he was fine. He was delighted with the rabbits and ducks.
Zech's more of a natural with animals.
There was a cool playground with a trampoline, flying fox, swings and slide. The boys love the swings under the pine nut tree.
There were so many pine nuts on the ground. We couldn't resist picking up 2 for ourselves. Of course, we asked the owner, Tara, if we could keep them. :)
What a great place for kids to grow up in!
20 May Fri
The last day in Tassie! Wished we could stay a day longer. Woke up earlier this morn as the feeding time for the animals was at 9am. At about 7.30am, our breakfast basket was placed at the door. What a sumptuous spread! Fresh eggs from the chickens, bread, jam, butter, orange juice, milk, cereal, yogurt, rice grain, apples!
Love love love the loaf of bread fresh from the oven. Warm and soft. Can't get enough of it. The best bread I've ever tasted!
The boys fed the ducks, chickens, rabbits, sheep, pony and alpacas. Collected eggs from the hen house too. Some of the eggs were warm!
Had a short ride on the pony. This time, Nathanael sat together with his brother and overcame his fear. It was a breakthrough for Nathanael. He also overcame his fear of the dog, Blackie. This dog is so very endearing. Maybe he reminded me of my old family dog. He came so very often to our cottage. My boys' encounter with Blackie inspired us to get a dog. :)
Our last destination was Port Arthur, with a quick visit to the Tasman blowhole and tessellated pavement.
Port Arthur, an old convict settlement, was a huge place with lovely gardens and a picturesque port. Love the ruins. Don't ask me why. Old places speak of a thousand stories and stories fascinate me. Every step u take tells the story of a convict. It wasn't just the convicts who were staying there. The officers and the commandant and their families settled there too. A very sad place with many tragedies but these took place in stark contrast with the luxurious lifestyle of the officers and the commandant's families. The better behaved convicts were deployed to work as carpenters, guards, overseers etc.
We were each given a play card which represents a convict. Went to look for our convicts first.
Zech was very excited and kept asking me to read the info panels to him. I got lazy and started summarising instead.
After a quick lunch, we started exploring the ruins, which gave us some glimpses into the convicts' life at Port Arthur. We chanced upon some archaeologists busy at work.
Hospital beds...
We took the 25 min harbour cruise which took us round to the isle of the dead (a cemetery for the convicts ) and the boys' prison. Found it very boring but the boys enjoyed taking boat rides like this.
The boys were stomping and romping all around, much to the displeasure of their papa. Noticed that Nathanael loves wide open space and he's a natural explorer. His 5 senses were truly stimulated!
Port Arthur is a wonderful place for kids. Some people may find it rather morbid (ghost tours are conducted at night) but it's still a beautiful place with a rich history.
On the way back to our lovely cottage, we visited the blowhole and the tessellated pavement. Wanted Zech to see the pavement which I felt was quite a wonder. The cracks on the pavement, caused by weather forces and the waves, tessellated the surface.
That was our final day in Tasmania. We've closed a chapter of our family vacation in 2016, Zech's last year in homeschooling before he embarks on another school journey in the primary school.
Tasmania is really all about nature. You may be wondering if all kids will enjoy this. I'd say it's the exposure you want to give to your kids and the kind of value you see in travelling like this as just being with nature stimulate their natural curiosity. I'm no perfect mum but I've always believed the importance of creating awareness of our environment and this needs to start from young. Seeing mountains and dolphins, fur seals and rivers, rainforests and wild Aussie animals gave the boys a greater awareness of the natural world we live in other than a city like Singapore. We all have a part to play in this world and to make the place a better world, we need to learn to love and protect our environment. I'd love my boys to grow up to be environmentalists. :) To be sensitive to the greater world outside our home and to be good stewards of what God has given us. And this trip to Tasmania is a small step we have taken to educate the boys.
