Conquering fears

About 7 years, I slipped on a gravel path at the start of a nature reserve near home.

I tore my knee right open to the bone which needed 60 stitches.
I then developed DVT. 

As a result, I have only attempted the path once recently with my husband and 

never walked down this path alone again until yesterday.

I am proud to say that I have conquered this fear, and these photos show what I was missing out on. 

They are not brilliant by any means, but acknowledge a significant milestone for me.

 Do you have fears you want to conquer? 

Have you managed to conquer a fear?

It's been a while....

since I blogged - sorry, life became much too hectic, and I downed tools for a while. I'll post some projects shortly, but I wanted to show you some images from the night away Steven and I just had...

We arrived at our B&B on Saturday afternoon, went for a couple of walks and had tea at the local RSL.

We then snuggled up in our lovely room with the above essentials....bliss!

The next morning, after a fabulous breakfast, we strolled down and looked around......

before I tell you where we stayed, I'm going to offer a surprise to the first person who guesses the location.. good luck!

A fantastic sewing retreat....

After a break of a few months, I am finally getting around to publically raving about the last place

we stayed on our fabulous Tassie holiday .......

 The Old Cable Station in Stanley.

I decided this place was so beautiful for so many reasons that it deserved an entry all by itself.

This little gem is tucked away just outside of Stanley proper, a short distance from the Highfield homestead and is the site of the cable station that enabled a telecommunications link

between Tasmania and the mainland.

We were lucky enough to be placed in the self contained cottage containing the old telephone exchange....

Out the window of the photo below, there is a covered courtyard the holds a beautiful timber table,

large enough to seat 10-12 people. A gas heater and barbeques are also provided, so even on a cool day,

it would be possible to sit and sew or relax in comfort.

Upon arrival, we were provided with tantalising foods of the highest quality for breakfast the next morning.

Several smaller but really lovely rooms are located on the other side of the courtyard. I could imagine staying here with a few friends for a weekend (or even longer!) relaxing in the fresh air

and sewing to our hearts' content.

The cottage has several bedrooms, and at least 2 have their own ensuite, as well as

a self contained kitchen and lounge with a TV and DVD player.

We were given the main bedroom which had its own massive bathroom

complete with a luxurious spa.... it was heavenly...

The icing on the cake was dinner in the restaurant in the evening. Mic is a top class chef who created a memorable meal for the two of us. I had been hanging out for the

wood oven roasted Stanley 1/2 crayfish with baby potatoes and a fresh side salad......

while Steven enjoyed fresh salmon served with locally grown vegetables.

We finished off with a platter of Tasmainain cheeses and loccal produce.....MMMMMMMM!

You couldn't ask for better hosts than Mic and Charlotte - they are genuine people who are passionate about providing their guests with the best of everything. Would anyone be interested in going down there with me for a sewing retreat? 

Heaven on Earth Part 2

Sorry for the delay in posting the second part of our fabulous Tassie trip - work insists in taking over my life and preventing me from doing what I'd love to do! Now... for the rest of the trip;

Strahan harbour is very pretty and tranquil - it looks almost exactly as we remember from our last trip 26 years ago. We had booked a seaplane flight to get a closer look at the wilderness surrounding Strahan, as this is one of the most stunning places you can visit, in our opinion.

Four of us settled in to the small seaplane for an hour long flight..... the weather was perfect, bright, sunny and very calm. We couldn't have asked for a more ideal day!

The landing on the Gordon river was exhilerating.... swooping down to land on the water while being surrounded by dense bush kept us on the edge of our seats! After a very safe landing, we walked along the jetty to enjoy the secluded beauty of St John Falls....

The brown tinge to the water is the tannins that leach from the  trees. It was very therapeutic to stand quietly and enjoy the tumbling water and crisp, clean air.

On returning to the plane, we headed back to Strahan via the Kelly Basin and the King River.

We are so lucky to live in this beautiful country - there is such a massive range of environments and terrain.... and to think, all this area could have been lost forever if the dams proposed in the early '80's had been built!

After another lovely evening in our stunning accomodation, we headed for Stanley on the north west tip of Tasmania. It is an interesting town to wander around because it contains many beautiful and historical buildings.

The photo above of the Van Diemans Land Company Store, built in 1843. Below are photos of the convict barracks, used from about 1836. Approximately 23 convicts were housed in this tiny structure....the massive rocks it was made out of now litter the area around what is left of the building.

Before I leave this installment, I have to show you one of the crops grown in several parts of Tasmania.....

Does this help explain why Tasmanians are such relaxed and friendly people??

The other surprising element to the first poppy photo is the sprinklers being used - we were so used to drought conditions that it took us by surprise to see the amount of crop watering taking place.

My last Tassie post will be highlighting a stunning place to stay that would also be perfect as a retreat venue for a small group of friends....

Heaven on Earth! (Part One)

Steven and I have arrived back from our postponed 25th anniversary holiday to Tasmania

….. the most beautiful place in the world, we think!

We were blessed with perfect weather, magnificent accommodation and sumptuous food

– it’s hard to know what to leave out, so get a drink, relax and enjoy!

The photo above shows part of the track to Liffey Falls, a beautiful waterfall which is well worth visiting if you are in the area. We spent quite a while relaxing here, just soaking up the atmosphere.

The first night, we stayed at Lemonthyme Lodge, near Cradle Mountain. It is tucked away on a gravel road in western Tasmania. The lodge is surrounded by forest and has several walks you can undertake. The evening meal was inspirational….

Much to Lana’s disgust, I selected …

“Tender and succulent char-grilled wallaby rump dusted in Moroccan seasoning

and placed on a vegetable frittata, topped with Chef’s tomato relish

and seasoned with red wine vinegar and sumac dressed salad”

The photo doesn’t do the meal justice – it was mood lighting in the restaurant! Steven had Crispy skinned grilled Chicken Breast which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Dessert? We shared a cheese platter and a platter of mini sized desserts that were heavenly!

The next morning, after a relaxing walk to the fern glade on Lemonthyme, we headed for Cradle Mountain. We had managed a flying visit on our postponed honeymoon nearly 26 years ago, but had more time on this trip. Neither of us were sure how Steven would cope, but we chose the Dove Lake circuit, which was not in existence on our first trip. We walked about 8.5 km that day, but enjoyed every moment – this area is SOOO stunning, in so many ways!

We fell in love with this tree… it contained several beautiful burls, which Steven loves to work with…

After such strenuous activity, we desperately needed a rest…

this is what awaited us at Wheelhouse Apartments in Strahan..

This was one of the most stunning places you could ever hope to spend a few days.

After a luxurious spa bath, we settled in to watch the sunset with

fresh fish and chips and a bottle of Tassie bubbly… what more could you want?