Southward bound….again!

We’ve now left the north of the state and have headed further south towards Hobart…. and more adventures. Having experienced -5 degrees overnight, it was very pleasant being in the warm bus, driving through magnificent scenery, under clear blue skies. As an indication of the outside temperature, it was interesting to note that even at 9:30 in the morning, the frost was still present in the shade of the trees! Despite all that there was to see out the windows, and plenty of action inside the bus, many couldn't resist the temptation to catch up on some sleep; the sun shining in the windows only helped this along! We can't believe that we have been in Tassie for 4 days now and we haven't had any rain!….a very brief snow shower, but no real rain! We have been very blessed, and thankful that we have been able to stay dry.

Making the most of bus-time! [guess who?!]

Our first port of call was Bonorong Wildlife Park where we met some Tassie Devils and were able to get up close to a koala (who tended to give the appearance that she couldn’t care less whether we were there or not!) and lots of kangaroos. They however, were very tame and inquisitive and appreciated our attention. Somehow I suspect they really were only interested in us for our food. They provided lots of entertainment and challenges as we desperately tried to entice ‘Joeys’ out of pouches, and fend off over-exuberant diners! Some, especially the larger ones, were even a little intimidating when they decided to exercise their ‘right’ to lunch!

There's a koala in there….

Meeting a Tassie Devil….in Tassie

Just 'chilling' with my friend…..

It was only a short ‘hop, step and jump’ to Richmond, a beautiful historic town near Hobart. Eric-the-bus-driver kindly informed us that he would let us off for a “twinkle and a toddle” near the main street. We weren’t allowed to ‘toddle’ too far, as it was lunchtime. Lunch today was a pie from the Richmond Bakery….and the selection was amazing! I don’t anybody who didn’t enjoy their lunch; except perhaps the other patrons of the bakery who endeavored to share their lunch experience with 35 fifteen year olds! Surprisingly, it wasn’t that obvious that a ‘school group’ had descended upon the establishment, as they all discretely settled into little huddles to enjoy…….so there were no complaints.

After lunch, we ‘toddled’ off to Old Hobart Town to visit a replica of Hobart in the 1800’s.  It was amazing! So much thought and detail to attention has gone into its construction.  The creators have gone to great lengths to research, and as accurately as possible, re-create the township as it was.  A competition was established between 7 groups each with 5 students, with some specific rules as to how they were to source information.  They needed to scout around and keenly observe the layout in order to find the answers to a number of scenarios.  The winning team would receive a bag of lollies to share.  Well….no more enticement was needed to convince everyone that it was a worthwhile task! It was great to see the kids scurrying around (sorry….I forgot……they’re Year 9…..) eagerly strolling around anxious to discover the answers!

"I've got this one!"

Chilling out after all that hard work!

Another opportunity to purchase gifts for home, or just enjoy checking out interesting places, culminated in a meeting outside the lolly shop! By this stage of the trip, budgets are starting to dictate choices, and the need to perhaps become a little more resourceful! Jane, Jaslyn, Melissa S and Georgia W had the right idea.  Why spend $4 on a single icecream from the lolly shop, when for just about the same price you could get a whole tub full of Sarah-Lee gourmet icecream from the supermarket over the road! They proudly displayed the empty tub and satisfied smiles to everyone else congregating outside. [I’m still not sure how they sourced the 4 plastic spoons that were needed to complete the session?] 

Beat that!

Outside the lolly shop -  best place to re-group!

 A stroll over the oldest bridge in Australia [built by convicts to ferry themselves towards ‘home’ at Port Arthur] meant that we could again ‘chill out’ on the riverbank enjoying the last of the sun’s warmth.  Rolling down the grassy bank, feeding the ducks and taking ‘selfies’ were all legitimate ways of waiting while the rest of the group caught up.  En-route back to the bus was a little old church on a hill (of course) with the accompanying graveyard. It was interesting wandering through both, getting a glimpse into life in the past, endeavoring to piece together some stories of what may have happened.

Richmond Bridge

Let me take a(nother) selfie…...

We are staying at Blue Lagoon Christian Camp Centre in Dodges Ferry for the next two nights….and it’s a ‘big kids’ dream! A downstairs games room, and an outside ‘playground’ complete with a couple of 30m slides, means we are not short of ‘down time’ activities. And of course there is still always board/card games in front of the open fire. The interactive ‘card’ game of Mafia is proving to be the trip favorite, regularly and capably narrated by Charlie.

Into the swing of 'Devotions'

The 'Mafia'….and plebs…and assassin…..and doctor... and spy!

“That was the best Bolognaise sauce I’ve ever had” according to Eric-the-bus-driver….so much so he enticed the ‘cook’ to hand over the recipe!  The kids obviously agreed with him, as I don’t think the scrap bucket had enough to even feed a hungry pet dog back home! After dinner, we finished the last of our devotions on ‘Suffering”. It has been a wonderful witnessing the journey that the group, and each/many of the students have been on. ‘Bouncing’ ideas, insights and experience around the group has been enlightening and helped to forge deeper relationships and understanding amongst the group. 

Tomorrow the adventures continue with jet-boating and visiting Port Arthur….