The time has come......

....for us to leave the island state. So we've just boarded the boat after another big day in the bus together, travelling from the south of the state to the north. I will make a start on todays journalling, but I daresay we will be 'out of range' fairly early on in the trip, so will have to finish off tomorrow.

The rain we experienced over night delighted us with snow falls on the hills around Hobart and heading north. Everyone enjoyed the chance to stretch their legs in the historic town of Ross, and take one of the last opportunities to 'hit up' the gift shops. Of course, the bakery received favourable attention, not that anyone was hungry as Mrs Meyer has made sure that everyone has been well fed. I forgot to mention last night's dinner menu for those of you following our culinary travels.....chicken parmigiana, wedges, and veggies, followed by sticky date pudding and ice-cream!

You know about all the rain I've been mentioning? Well, we saw more evidence of it at Launceston, in the Cataract Gorge. The picnic area where we were supposed to have lunch was all flooded out! So lunch (salad rolls and 2 min noodles) was up at the bus overlooking all the water. Walking along the gorge after lunch gave us a chance to marvel at the power and spectacle of a river in flood. 

The last point of call on the island before we headed back to the boat was a Fish Farm where Salmon are grown and harvested. Ginseng is also grown on the farm and made into a yummy herb blend that goes really nicely with not only Salmon, but all fish and meat. I happen to know that some of you will get to taste it for yourselves! As well as being part of a very informative tour of the farming operations, we were treated to a tasting of many of the food products available. Let me tell you, the Salmon was delicious! Even many of the kids who normally wouldn't eat Salmon agreed it was! As part of their sustainability program, the owners of the farm had developed a magnificent wetlands area.....you'd be very impressed Mr Van Honk!

Dinner overlooking the river in Davenport, playing cards, singing and song writing on the top deck of the boat were all favourable ways to finish off a great day, a great trip and add to many great memories.... of Tassie 2013

A magic night.....and day!

Another big day of adventure today..... first the Ocean cruise tour around Tasman Island, then the historic tour of Port Arthur this afternoon, capped off with a trivia night and talent show this evening. But, I'm racing ahead.....

 What a great way to see the rugged, pristine coastline of southern Tasmania.... from the water in a fast boat! We were warned that we would need every piece of clothing on today, as we were being exposed to the elements all day.....they were not wrong! Three hours on the southern ocean, in the winter, in an open-decked boat.  It was cold, but it was amazing! Mind you, there were more than a few anxious faces as the guides dished out Ginger travel sickness tablets to everyone at the start of the day, followed by a briefing on the 'when to' and 'how to' of sea sickness in a small boat....

Arrival/departure 'lounge' of Tasman Island

All that aside, the thrills and spills (of water into the boat and not of students out of the boat just in case you were a little unsure.....) of a big swell off a rugged headland had every one of us hanging on to our seats, especially those up the front of the boat. Lots of screams, and more screams with every bounce testified to the enjoyment level. Thankfully we were given respite at strategic points to learn much about this special part of our country. 'Cain and Dammo' the guides were walking/talking encyclopaedias as they pointed out geographical features, historical landmarks and numerous birdlife and their habitats.  We also got to see some seals and dolphins. Once again God blessed us with the absence of rain, but the freezing wind was enough to make most people huddle together at some point in the trip. There were so many highlights and stories to tell of (all the activities) today, you will just have to wait until we come home and ask the kids!

Trying to escape the cold wind!

The famous Tasman Arch

The rugged coastline of southern Tasmania

After seeing Port Arthur from the water during the boat trip this morning, we were able to spend time exploring it this afternoon. So much history, so many stories...... We've been watching the DVD "For the term of his natural life" on the bus on the long hauls between events.  This story has also given us a greater appreciation of what happened at this place, at a different time, long ago. Can't fully comprehend the severity of living conditions at this time.......

 And yet again, God's timing was perfect! It started raining just as we were getting on to the bus.......The awesome day became the magic night with the arrival of the long anticipated 'talent event'. Before we launched into the talent though, Mrs Meyer challenged us with a Trivia quiz, based on all the wisdom that Eric (the bus driver) had humorously imparted throughout the course of the trip. It came down to a tie-breaker question with group A winning and being rewarded with souvenir key rings from the Tahune Air Walk! (thanks Mrs Meyer).  

Some students had been stressing over the course of the trip as to what they could contribute to the talent event. But by the time the event came around, all was good, and a fantastic and varied 'set' eventuated. From the 'magical' showmanship of Ezra (a future star on Australia's Got Talent I'm sure!) to the musical talent of Nick and Nelson, and of Olivia and 'The Girls' and 'The Boys in the jungle', to the comedy of Will, and drama of Silas and friends and of Florence and Oliva. With engaging story telling by Mitchell, displays of creativity from Amelia and Samantha, a Silent Stance by Liam, and finally, a unique Tassie song by Mr G and Mr B. What talent there is in Year 9! In fact, throughout the whole trip we have enjoyed the singing and musical interludes to break the 'silence' of the bus! (what silence was that?)

Not much time for 'outings' in the games room tonight, as the BIG pack up needed to happen in preparation for the boat trip home :( 

Flying high.....

It was freezing this morning! Half the problem though was, that we woke up to clear blue skies...amazing for Tassie in winter! So, we got to appreciate the sunshine (for a few hours at least). On our way out to todays activities, Eric took us on a tour of the historic part of Hobart town, which the kids all thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed (ok, I have to be honest.... it was really me who thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed it!)


The first stop today was at a little town called Huonville, on the Huon River, where we visited another school.  This time it was a Traditional Boat Building School, where people can come and do courses on the art of building wooden boats. The guys doing the tours explained the different processes involved in joining timbers together and how to make them water tight (Mr Wong, you would have loved it! All the different sorts of timbers, tools and techniques!) We were allowed to wander through the workshop and check out the different boats in progress of being built or repaired. This tied in really nicely with what we've been learning about the maritime history of Tasmania, thanks to Eric's informative commentaries.

Lunch was bakery pies and sausage rolls.....what a choice....and all sooooo yummy according to everyone.  It didn't take long to polish them all off, which was just as well, as a weather alert for all of Tasmania had been issued for early afternoon, predicting heavy rain and high winds. This would seriously affect our scheduled afternoon activities (air walk and hang gliding). So seriously in fact, that they would be cancelled! We wasted no time in getting to our destination.

'Games' while waiting in the bus.....

Of course by the time we arrived, the rain had started (it wasn't too bad) but the wind had yet to pick up. Both the Air Walk and the Hang Gliding activities were given the big thumbs up. It was really pleasing to see a number of students tackle their fear of heights and adventure head on; everyone completed both activities admirably! Not so sure about the 'fear' of leeches, of Tasmanian Funnel Web spiders and of getting lost and (completely) eaten by Tassie devils (bones and all, oh wait, perhaps not the skull?) Thanks go to Tim, our Air Walk guide who had the students enthralled by his tales of (mis)adventure in an engaging and informative style.

God is so good..... He waited until we'd finished the activities before fulfilling the predicted weather forecast.  Needless to say, our trip home was made all the more interesting, with the bus being buffeted by the high winds.  Eric capably kept us on the road and heading in the right direction to get us home in perfect time for another yummy camp meal of kebabs, baked potatoes (and toppings) with salad, topped off with chocolate self-saucing pudding and ice-cream (in abundance!). The camp staff at Blue Lagoon Christian Camp Centre surely know how to look after their guests, and they are so generous with their time and resources. I was so proud of our kids.....how many times did I hear them say 'thank you' to any of the kitchen staff they saw throughout the course of the evening? Oh wait....I've lost track.....

Tonight was the last night in the series of devotions "Proof of Jesus".  The kids have really been grappling with so many BIG questions and issues over the last four nights, and it has been humbling to see how they have accepted each other despite their differences, and encouraged each other in their discoveries. I am sure these times will form many strong memories for these guys to take through life. Tonight we were looking at how we need to 'trust' in the evidence there is for Jesus. Mr G tested our ability to trust in asking us to participate in a number of trust building activities which was challenging for some, but a lot of fun for everyone!

Once again, the games room was a perfect place to 'hang out', 'chill out' and maybe even 'make out' before 'lights out'........

Farewell to Poatina

After a hard day's work and a good night's sleep, it was so good to be able to go back to Trinity College and spend some more time at the school, this time when the teachers and students were there! We soon became quite aware of the fact that we tripled the population of the school as soon as we arrived! In the beginning, the excitement of our arrival there was nearly out done by the presence of four 'runaway' cows on the school oval belonging to a neighbouring farmer. However, it wasn't long before everyone was settled and enjoying getting to know each other.  Different school, different climate, different rules! The abundance of mud means it's 'shoes off' before coming into class.....

Living and working in the same small community has it's interesting facets.  For instance, the Principal of the school is also a family friend to all the students, and so it's first name basis all round. Steve (Mr Cooper) made us feel very welcome and had us all working together to create interesting stories. Wagga students collaborating with Poatina students, teenagers with young kids, all enjoying the time together, laughing at the stories being told.

Once again, Ezra had people marvelling at his amazing tricks!

Monday mornings are community morning tea times in Poatina, where many people from the village meet together for a devotion, to share prayer points and give any community announcements. So, after our time at the school, we headed back to the village to meet for morning tea.  This gave us a deeper appreciation of community life in Poatina.  It also gave another opportunity to be a blessing to others. Yesterday in church, we prayed for a family who have four children, three of whom use wheelchairs.  They really want to head to NSW to visit a very sick family member, but they call it their 'impossible dream'. They only have enough money to cover their fares.  Our kids were talking about it before they went to bed last night, and of their own undertaking, decided to pass 'a hat' around the group. So.....after morning tea, our students presented $260 to the Bell Family to help them realise their 'impossible dream'.  How proud were we (the teachers)!!

It was time to say goodbye to Poatina. In a time of reflection this evening, many students said that our visit to Poatina has made a huge impact on them, and has been a real highlight of the trip so far. 

The trip form Poatina to Dodges Ferry (near Hobart) passed through some magnificent countryside, as Mrs Meyer keep reminding us; "Oooh look at that..... Aaagh isn't that beautiful....... What a view.....!". After lunch, we visited Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary and 'got up close' to the animals, especially koalas, wombats, Tassie Devils and kangaroos. 

Finishing off the day with Roast Beef and vegetables, chocolate mousse and drinks around the open fire (for those who wanted to 'chill out') and romping around in the games room with pool, air hockey and table tennis.....