Monday in Tasmania 11/5/09

Wasn't planning on going anywhere today but plans can change ! :)

After speaking with my son I found myself volunteering to drive him to Franklin to collect the boys from school.

While not a sunny day, it was nice. My son lives in West Hobart, closer to town than me. After collecting him we set off. Our journey would take us south into the Huon Valley. Franklin where the boys go to school is south of Hounville and sits on the bank of the Huon River. It was a glorious drive with all the orchards for which the Huon Valley is famous for, putting on their autumn coats. The colours varied depending on the type of orchards. There were some vineyards still showing a defiant green. Once we crossed the Huon River at Huonville we were driving with the river close on our left.

River waters in this area tend to be very dark, due to the amount of tannin in the water. This was the case today with the river being so very, very still and this meant the reflections were mirror perfect. Sadly we didnt have the luxury of time to take photographs. As it was we got into trouble from the boys for being late !!. I made up for the 'error' by buying them an ice cream [my son had one as well, not sure how that happened:)]

I will tell you about Franklin another day but here is a postcard photo showing the sort of relections one can find.

Day 1 in Tasmania 8/5/09

I have to decided to try and do a regular blog about Tasmania. If a guy up on the Barrier Reef can tell the World about how wonderful Queensland is, then, I will attempt to do the same for Tasmania.

Today while a little nippy first thing turned into a great day. The sun shone and it warmed up.

After taking some friends to the airport I headed home via Sorell. Driving past the Tasmania Golf Course, I noticed a party of golfers enjoying themselves in the sun. Crossing the Sorell Causeway the sun was glistening on the water. Upon reaching historic Sorell I turned left heading for Richmond. Just a short drive and had to turn left again now heading directly to Richmond. The journey took me past stables and a vineyard and then down a hill with a market garden on my right. Here was growing Hobart's future salad items in a variety of colours. Decending the hill took me into the valley where Richmond is found.

But this was a journey of discovery [I try to make all my trips a discovery drive] and so before entering Richmond I took a turn right heading for Hatcher's Manor [my new discovery location] The road to Hatchers although not long was undulating. Hatchers while a tourist accomodation location is situated within the boundaries of a very hsitoric farm 1820's. Being autumn in the southern hemisphere the trees are turning, and coming onto Hatchers certainly proved that. The neat orchards were a delightful shade of burnt gold.

I am always on the look out for new photo opportunities and here I had found one! The shot above shows the autumn leaves and in the distance Australia's oldest Catholic church (1836-37).

After taking a shot or 2 or.... I headed for Richmond bridge. This is a must stop location for every tourist. In fact while I was taking photos I overheard a woman say to her partner 'see I told you that you would love it' as they both were clicking madly. I have been to Richmond so many times but always feel compelled to take 'just one more' shot of Australia's oldest bridge still in use. Built by convicts it has well stood the test of time

c.1823

After all this activity I felt it was time to go home and so I slowly drove through the delightful historic town of Richmond being ever aware of the tourists strolling past the shops and old well preserved house along the main road.
Be aware the speed limit through Richmond is low but why would you want to speed.
Temp range today was 7-19
websites to check out
http://www.richmondvillage.com.au/ and www.flickr.com/photos/gillisrasmania
if you visit my flickr site you can see many many more shots of Richmond.