Counting down.....

.....the number of hours until we are back on the mainland, and the number of hours until the 'front' comes through! The weather has continued to bless us, and let's hope we can complete 'the crossing' before the conditions change....! But before we got to the boat, we toured downtown Hobart, the town  of Ross, Cataract Gorge in Launceston, and to finish the last day in Tassie, the Ashgrove Cheese factory near Devonport. 

Constitution dock in Hobart

Mt Wellington in Hobart....which is expected to be covered in snow in the next couple of days!

Morning tea in the historic village of Ross

The chips were amazing and very popular..... great 'sharing' food! 

All aboard 'baby bus' (with 'mummy bus' in front!)

Some of the crew with 'Steve-the-(baby)bus-driver'

'Eric-the-bus-driver'

Mrs Meyer after visiting the 'Tasmanian Wool Centre' in Ross 

Crossing Cataract Gorge

Stretching our legs 

The group....

The gorge...

A perfect photo opportunity for the budding photographers in the group

Checking out one of the cows at Ashgrove

Checking out another cow.....

Afternoon tea anyone?

Well... the time had come to finish our time off in Tassie with a celebratory meal in Devonport before boarding the bus....a double celebration as we sang Mrs Meyer 'Happy Birthday'! As a stimulus for dinner time conversation, Mr G challenged us to reflect on the things that had impacted us most during the trip. Lots of excited chatter.... on various topics!

Down in 'the bowels of the boat' retrieving a missing bag from the bus! 

The excited chatter continued as we waited in the terminal lounge, dosing up on Travel calm in preparation for the crossing....expecting a strong wind from the north so its best to be prepared!

Everyone settled in to various activities on the boat very quickly, with many choosing to look for Dory in cinema 2. The rest of us enjoyed each others company either playing games, or retiring 'early'. In a conversation with one of the stewards after curfew, she couldn't believe there was a group of 53 Year 9 school students on board!!....she hadn't heard a thing !(I take that to mean any sort of commotion) Everyone was tucked up in their cabins by 10pm and settled in to sleep very quickly, much to the relief of all the teachers! Homeward bound......

More adventures....

 We have had the most amazing weather while we have been in Tassie!...thank you for all your prayers. Yesterday in Richmond, it was sunny and 19 degrees. Jacob was well and truly justified in wearing his shorts for the day, although he hedged his bets by donning his beanie....a good look! Today however, we were down in the very south east corner of Tassie so we shouldn't have been surprised to have our first experience of rain....a little bit of a shock to the system! At least the teachers and parents now don't look like liars after all our pleading and coercing to make sure thermals and wet weather were included in everyone's bags!

But.... today was our 'wet and wild' adventure day, so it would seem that it didn't matter that it was raining.... not so sure that everyone agreed with that at various points in the 3 hour trip as the rain pelted in our faces! At least we were 'geared up' for it, especially Codie with his 'already famous' kangaroo beanie from Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.

The scenery was amazing! Mrs Meyer was often heard to say...."The geography teacher in me says......" The different geological formations were fascinating and the tour guides were full of interesting facts about them, the history of the area and the wildlife we could see. 

We saw several colonies of seals basking on the rocks. They were being very vocal, which apparently was very unusual for this time of the day and at this time of the year. Many of them looked liked they were posing for photos, even diving in and swimming around the boat inquisitively; again very unusual behaviour apparently.....lucky us!

The 'Pinnacles' and the 'Totem Pole' both very popular rock climbing routes!

The 'Blades' at the entrance of Port Arthur

Remnants of the once-upon-a-time access to the lighthouse on Tasman Island. In 1976 it became automated and so the lighthouse keeper and his family moved off the island.

The more adventurous in the group sat up the front where they experienced the full force of what the ocean swell had to offer, whereas others were more than happy to sit up the back! It was interesting to note who was in which group.... ? By the time we left the shelter of the mainland and headed around Tasman Island, it was time to 'batten the hatches' and 'ride out' the wind, rain and swell!! Everyone found their own way to deal with it all......

Our cruise was 'one way' which meant that we finished at Port Arthur and got to see the historic site from the water. This gave us a different perspective on what we saw later when we visited it after lunch. We cruised right past 'The Isle of the Dead' and 'Point Puer', both significant landmarks in the history of the area and in the story 'For The Term of His Natural Life'. 

It was another very full day, and being out in the elements meant that there were more than a couple of sleeping bodies on the way back to camp! These 'naps' must have been rejuvenating, because everyone came alive again to make the most of the games areas before dinner....

After dinner it was 'The Talent Time'. It constantly amazes me the depth of courage, confidence and talent our young people have! From singing, musical items, poetry, recitations, humour, gymnastics, Yo-yo tricks and even Rubics cube tricks. Codie summed up the effect of the 'Spirit of Tasmania' amongst the year group, reciting a speech he had prepared on the strengths of the group's dynamics and how time together, while often challenging, had been a real time of bonding for many. 

Rehearsing....

A period drama....

Moonlight Sonata by Chloe

Ben's amazing antics with a Yo-yo

Mrs Jobson wrote a (dramatic) poem, in which she thanked everyone for lots of different aspects of our time together. And of course, Talent Time wouldn't be complete without the customary Tassie song written and performed by Mr G! 

[I will add a video of this to the blog when I can access it, so..... stay tuned!] 

I loved the way we were all surprised by those in the group, who although we wouldn't have necessarily expected them to, shared some of their amazing talent with us....

On the move again.....

Our time at Poatina has come to an end....today it was time to head south to explore an interesting part of Tasmania. We headed up over the 'Western Tiers', through the area of 'Great Lakes' and down to Brighton where we visited Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. There was definitely more than one disappointed person on the bus(es) when we didn't find any snow left on the mountains as we went over them. Once we had wound our way up to the top, driving along the plateau provided an opportunity to put a DVD on for the first time in the trip. The film 'For The Term of His Natural Life' is based on a true story of a (wrongly) convicted person who ended up in Port Arthur. It begins the process of 'bringing to life' the stories and tales of this period of Australia's history. First stop for the day ended up being the wildlife park, so everyone was quite 'relieved' to get off the bus(es)! 

An informative tour of the park introduced us up close to a number of special animals, before we were 'let loose' with the kangaroos.....Mrs Azar's child studies students were revelling in the opportunity to pat the joeys while in their mother's pouches!

A short drive brought us to the beautiful historic town of Richmond where we descended upon the bakery for lunch! For Danika, it was a perfect opportunity to spend time with her Grandmother who travelled from Hobart to meet with her. Old Hobart Town is a miniature replica village of Hobart in it's early days. An interactive activity enticed the kids to look really carefully at the scene in an attempt to find all the clues....a little bit of competitiveness goes a long way, especially when lollies are the reward!

Another opportunity to 'hit the shops' just about 'cleaned out' most of the kids, but they were really excited to share their 'finds' and who they were for. It was lovely to hear about all the thought and effort that had gone into deciding upon the different purchases, showing evidence of the care and love they each had for family members.....so special! A walk across the oldest bridge in Australia, built in 1825 by convicts, took us to St Johns church; in the early days Richmond was en-route between Hobart and Port Arthur. 

The students arrived at the church, where they took the opportunity to just sit and quietly reflect on their environment....this was too good an opportunity to pass up for Alexander. He seized the moment, and at an opportune time, took the lead and began a 'sermon' on the 12 stations of the cross, using the 12 pictures around the walls to re-tell the story in detail. Everyone was amazed at his ingenuity and caution to detail, even if some of the details were more-or-less how he imagined them to be rather than how they perhaps actually were! 

Tonight was the last night where we spent time reflecting on anxiety/fear. To finish off, a Q&A panel  was made up of the teachers. Everyone had an opportunity to write a question down and submit it anonymously. The questions could be about anything, so naturally there was a real variety in the topics....a great opportunity for the kids to ask something they had been contemplating but couldn't quite bring themselves to ask someone, and also a great opportunity for the teachers to offer their thoughts and wisdom based on years of 'life experience' and their own spiritual journey. Many of the kids' questions reflected a deep desire to 'know' their purpose, and to 'know' how to make a difference in other peoples lives.....what a blessing to be engaging with kids who, at this stage of their life, already see the importance of this!