Trip to Launceston

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On Monday, Jodie and I took a quick trip up to Launceston to meet some of the members of BBBAT - Bed & Breakfast and Boutique Accomodation of Tasmania. We stayed overnight at Edenholme Grange, a lovely Victorian home with a great view of Launceston and one of the member properties of BBBAT. It was great to meet some of the BBBAT members over pizza, and even catch up with some properties close to us on the East Coast!

The following day we decided to take the long way home, and experience the north east coast. The weather wasn't great, but sunny patches allowed us to stretch our legs occasionally - and we even saw a rainbow! The trip filled in a last major gap in our local knowledge, having not driven north through St Helens before, but was enough to make sure we head back that way and really get to know the area.

While we had to get back for guests, Jodie convinced me to turn north at St Helens to take a look at Binnalong Bay. What an inspired decision. We'll post more photos later, when we get appropriate sun to reveal it's spectacular coastline - but we did find a fantastic place for lunch! Angasi is a restaurant with a fantastic location above the bay and terrific food. We already intend to get back there for an overnight stay, and dinner. Hopefully the surf will be up too!

Freycinet Walk with Frances and Catriona

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When Frances and Catriona came to visit in February, we were able to get in a full 5 1/2 hour walk in Freycinet National park. We walked up to the Wineglass Bay lookout, down to Wineglass bay, across to Hazards beach, and then back along the coast to the start. It was great to get down and experience both pristine beaches - both of which warranted more exploring than we had time for. Frances and Catriona are both very fit, and I could have left the 70-200mm lens behind...

I've added a web album, to head there, click on the picture above.

Fast Boil Kettle

On the recent long weekend, we again tied the record for the most full cooked breakfasts. We had a full house with 13 guests, so we had a look at beating the old one. While two people declined a cooked breakfast, we had our first double breakfast, serving both pancakes and bacon and eggs to a hungry and happy guest to equal the record.

We currently operate with two kettles in the big kitchen, both with a 1.8L capacity. We have removed the slowest kettle from the kitchen, but would love to have even quicker ones! Our own personal kettle can boil [from room temperature] 1.5L of water in 3:41. The two in the big kitchen take 4:37 and 4:42 - the slowest one took more than 5 minutes!

If you know of, or have a kettle that can boil 1.5L of water in close to 3 minutes or under, we would love to get a make and model from you! If you do go to the trouble of experimenting with your own kettle, make sure you post your time in the comments...

Cameron vs. Schouten Beach: Winter Edition

Today, after a busy weekend, we were able to get down to the beach... but only one of us swam. Understandable, since only one of us has a new winter wet suit! The water was very, very cold, but the wetsuit was wonderful, and I only had to get used to my feet being frozen before I could really enjoy the water.


We have been lighting the fire in the big house every night for our guests, and I'm trying to get into this whole 'winter' thing. We had a minimum of 0 degrees the other night... which is 4 degress off the RECORD minimum for June in Swansea, of -4. Some days don't even make it into the teens. Still, it's nice to get out and chop some wood with my new Axe, after Jodie had a close look at the one I was using. I thought it was going to last another season, but the handle was starting to break apart. After the last exciting episode with wood chopping accidents, Jodie explained that it made fiscal sense [appealing to the right [left] side of my brain] that we avoid another trip to the emergency room.


I'm finally out of the water, and I'm really, really WARM! As small as the waves are, I'd prefer to mess about in them rather than try for some longer distance swiming.

While Jodie was away, I literally let my hair down - but I don't think it will last too much longer.

Jodie's Back!

Jodie has been back for a week now, and I've been sooooo glad to have her back.

We have had a couple of days off this week, which meant we got to have a couple of sleep ins, and special breakfasts... pancakes and huevos rancheros! We've had a couple of special dinners too, including Jodie's favourite curry for her return, pizza nite(tm) with our bread maker making fresh pizza dough, and Beef Wellington last night. Jodie's culinary repertoire never ceases to amaze me, and beef wellington is my new favourite [having never had it before!]. I can't wait for our next pizza nite(tm)! I'm hoping to have them often enough to avoid making a MASSIVE 'the lot', just because you can. Next on the list is BBQ Chicken and Mushroom. I think Jodie is going to do something with tuna...

We have a full house tonight, since it's a long weekend here, and have had the fire going all afternoon, which is a favourite with the guests.