Day 54 - How cold??

This morning the Bandycoot got up early for an appointment, but it was far too cold for me and the pups so we decided to stay in bed.

There have been all sorts of clues to let me know that the Tassie winter has really arrived. See if you can guess what the signs and hints were that I picked up on:

Was it…

a)      Finding ice freezing on the windscreen of my car after dinner at the Bandycoot’s nans?

b)      Walking down the paddock to get some firewood and my face is frozen

c)       Waking to the sounds of ice sliding off the roof into the gutter

d)      Noticing that the water coming out of the tap is lots colder than the water in the fridge

e)      Considering buying ugg boots for the puppies

f)       All of the above

If you guessed (f) all of the above, you’d be correct. Today was crazy, cold with a maximum (that’s maximum) of 4 degrees Celsius.

At least I had a long online chat with my best gal pal to warm my heart!

Day 53 - What would Dory do?

Well it’s off to Burnie again this afternoon. The Bandycoot (my boyfriend) has a job interview and we’ve discovered he doesn’t really have a smart enough jacket to wear. The wind is icy cold and his farm jacket or alpaca poncho just won’t cut it. He’s been eyeing off a very stylish wool trenchcoat the last few times we’ve visited the Vinnies op shop (thrift store), but at $40 it’s a bit hard to justify the expense. Today however, he managed to get it for $25 and it really makes him look very suave. He looks a bit like an old-school naval officer and I was very tempted to say ‘aye aye cap’tn.

I decided to check out the downtown shops and it almost felt like late night shopping at 4pm, as the sun goes down so early. I was happy to discover a good quality lingerie store that still stocks lovely winter nighties (nightgowns) for these long Tassie nights.

We grabbed some quick take-away for tea (a rare treat) and headed off to the cinemas to catch a movie (an even rarer treat these days!). I’d been waiting for ages for it to hit Aussie cinemas and was so excited to be seeing Finding Dory. I came out with an new insight on how to approach life, thinking..’what would Dory do?’. So when we parked, after the movie, on the top level of the biggest shopping centre in town, as I looked over all the lit-up streets, I decided to apply this new perspective. And what WOULD Dory do?…the Mexican Hat Dance on the rooftop carpark at Kmart, of course! Da-da da-da da-daaa, Daa da-da-da da-da. J

Day 52 - The hat lady

I’m starting to feel more like a local each day. I got a compliment at the supermarket this morning about the groovy winter hat I bought at a garage sale on the weekend….by the lady I bought it off! We even tried driving along a different road into Wynyard today, just to try and get a better understanding of the local lay of the land and get to know the 'local' roads.

 

Today is the winter solstice! And along with the being the shortest day of the year, it’s also the sunniest we’ve had in ages. Something about the sunshine just makes me come to life and I think it’s the same for the Bandycoot (my boyfriend) as he was flat out around the farm today. Not only did he clear out all the junk the previous tenants left in the chicken coop (where the rats had been hiding), he also trimmed back so many low tree branches that I don’t think we’re in any danger of running out of firewood this winter. I was just so excited to get clothes dry on the line with all the sunshine and the wind, as usually they’re still damp after being out all day. It’s the simple things somehow.

We had the most amazing full moon last night and apparently it’s quite a rarity occurring with the solstice. It came up through a dusty pink haze and it looked like something from a soft watercolour painting. The scene just took my breath away.

Day 51 - Fresh flowers

One of the things we enjoy is being so close to the Bandycoot’s Nan and we often walk over to visit her. Today we certainly took the scenic route, giving the pups a big walk even though it meant they had muddy paws when we made it to Nans. She’s always so kind and generous with the bounty of her garden and today was no exceptions as we took home a big bunch of flowers. The walk back was freezing and I lost all feeling in my face.

Flowers from Nan's garden

We stopped off to check on the alpacas and Anna, the matriarch, actually walked right up to the Bandycoot and let him put his hand on her nose. We hope this means they are getting used to us and will become friendlier each day.

There is a new project in the works, as the Bandycoot (my boyfriend) spent the best part of the afternoon chopping up an old fallen tree that he hopes to make into a very natural mailbox. It’s a great concept and sure to be an improvement on our current box which is an old petrol container.

Day 50 - Markets round two

Day 50 – Markets round two

It turns out it’s a bit of a market weekend and we ventured off to the Wynyard markets this morning with the puppies in tow. It was wonderful to find that, not only were they welcome there, but there were other sweet doggies there to meet. However I think it was the man selling black rabbits in a small cage that really sparked their interest.

In the afternoon the Bandycoot started tidying up the some of the small flower gardens around the house. He was amazed to find a whole row of flower bulbs trying to grow under some of the rocks that had been placed around the garden edges. We’re not exactly sure what they are but hope they will recover from being flattened to bloom beautifully in the spring.

Almost every afternoon the Bandycoot takes the pups with him out into the yard to lock the chooks in their coop at the end of the day. They love going out and sniffing around where the chooks have been. Unfortunately the chook food tempts other animals into that space and tonight Indie almost caught a big, black rat that was trying to take up residence in the warm chicken coop. Apparently she put in quite a chase which may have the rat rethinking its new abode.

Day 49 - Pups adventures at Burnie Markets.

We finally made it along to the farmers markets at Burnie this week. We’d seen the signs around town that it was at the local showgrounds. As Burnie is a fairly major centre, we hoped it might be a full and vibrant market. Being in Tassie, we expected that it would be a dog friendly market but that wasn’t the case. However, we’d already parked the car down the street and walked the pups all the way into the grounds before we saw the ‘No dogs’ sign. I offered to take them all the way back to the car and left the Bandycoot chatting to a man selling free range chooks and eggs at the market entrance.

Being at the showgrounds, we had to walk past a number of pavilions to get the market stalls. It turns out that the local chook breeders were having their annual show event in the Poultry Pavillion. When I tried to walk past with the pups, Jazzie (my big little pup) caught the smell of the chooks and looked up to see rows and rows of them squawking and flapping in small cages. It was too much for her doggie senses and she tried to launch herself in that direction. I managed to hold on to her but in her enthusiasm she slipped the lead and ran into the pavilion, much to the disapproving glares of the poultry breeders nearby. I called out in my sternest voice to come back, but she was running around in there most joyfully. She has been so well behaved with our chooks back at the Old Dairy, although she watches them very, very carefully. I couldn’t go in to the pavilion as I was still trying to keep Indie (my little little pup) out. Luckily, in her eagerness, Jazzie ran out to me as if to say ‘Mummy, look what I found’. I managed to get her collar back on and scoot out of there quick smart. I’d just exited the showgrounds when to my further embarrassment, Indie decided to do her biggest poop ever and I remembered that the doggie bags were still in the car. While wondering what could possible happen next, I had almost reached the Bandycoot’s ute Brutus, when a massive Rottweiler wandered out of an unfenced yard and on to the footpath. My heart leapt, and I scooped Indie up into my arm and quickened our pace. Then I heard a rough voice shout, ‘Diesel get back in the yard’, and the dog loped off while still keeping an eye on the pups. I quickly opened the door and threw the pups in onto their cushions and breathed a cautious sigh of relief.

The markets turned out a lot smaller than I had imaged and we were disappointed to see produce that had been imported from the mainland. We met some interesting people, bought some bulbs and lots of fresh produce and a few tasty snacks. There was a whole pavilion of craft ladies with baby booties, knitted rugs and enough crocheted items to make your Nan proud.

Day 48 - The devil went down to Moorleah

This morning I woke to the sounds of Tasmanian Devils playing around in the bush near the house in the early dawn light. I haven’t actually seen any yet since we’ve moved here, but for some reason they make me nervous. I think Warner Bros and the Tassie Devil cartoon character have a lot to answer for. I was worried that they might attack the puppies, but the Bandycoot assures me that, in reality, they don’t move at cyclonic speed and that puppies could easily get away. The chooks are a different story and we have to be sure to lock them in by dark or the Devils may have them for tea. Or the Tiger Cats (Quolls), or feral cats or wild dogs might get them. Chicken is certainly high on everyone’s menu. We even found rat chew marks on the fake eggs in the nest that are meant to encourage them to lay and one egg went missing for a couple of days (go figure!).

 Today on our morning rounds to check how the alpacas are going, I noticed a giant mushroom next to a big tree in our backyard. I don’t think it’s an edible one, and the Bandycoot said he has been watching it grow for days and it must be almost 15cms across and still growing.

My new Tasmanian Driver’s Licence arrived with a somewhat flattering photo, perhaps that’s because it is slightly out of focus. You’re still allowed to smile in the ID photos here and the lady in Services Tasmania seemed slightly amused when I told her we weren’t allowed to smile in Queensland. Well, not officially anyway.

Day 47 - Fish and snips

Today we went to Wynyard in order for the Bandycoot (my boyfriend) to have a medical test. He went through it with flying colours. Beforehand, I had decided to treat him to a yummy fish & chip lunch in the beautiful Wynyard harbour. It was the only fish place in town that we hadn’t tried and we were keen to see how it compared. We had the pups with us and so we took them to explore the nearby Gutteridge Gardens park set on the Inglis River while we waited for our lunch. It’s was very green and there were still piles of logs on the low-lying riverbank, washed down during the floods. We sat overlooking the now calm water as we had our fish and chips, which turned out to be rather disappointing.

While waiting for the Bandycoot at the doctors’ surgery, I sat in the car with the pups sleeping on the back seat. With our limited internet access, the Bandycoot wanted to take full access of the 4-bar service in town and left a device downloading while he was gone. Unfortunately it totally drained my car battery and we had to wait for an hour for the RACT guy to come and get us going again, even though their depot is one block away. Because the battery was dead flat, I lost all connection to the security system built in to the stereo. It kept asking for a code, but I’m pretty sure I never got one and went through all the manuals keenly searching for the magic numbers. It looks like we won’t be having any music in the car for a while L

Day 46 - Flood damage

Today we took a long walk down to the Flowerdale River to check out the flood waters and the damage left behind. The pups get so excited whenever we walk down there with all the strange smells along the way and the chance they might sniff out a wallaby. It was mushy along the track and I was glad to be in my gumboots, though they do slip on the wet tree roots. The Bandycoot (my boyfriend) loves the walk down and I think it must bring back some happy childhood memories for him. The flood levels were incredible and we could see debris in the riverbank trees at least 10m above the usual water levels. Many of the huge trees on the very edge of the water had fallen in and some of the old man-ferns were leaning rather dramatically down toward the river.  

It’s all uphill on the way back up to the house and quite a good workout. By the time we got back the pups were exhausted as they do twice as much running as us, ducking off the track, back, forward, chase that bird. They were also wet through and stank of swampy water. We wouldn’t usually bath them this late in the day, but they reeked. So the Bandycoot dunked them through a warm tub and set them to out dry in front of a blazing inferno (our fireplace) where they proceeded to do their wet doggie roll and dig, dig, dig.

 

Soggy Indie... :(

Day 45 - Extreme knitting

Ever since Jazzie (my pup) started sneaking out the follow her puppy-daddy (the Bandycoot) down the paddock, she has been officially promoted to farm-dog and goes everywhere that he does. Both her and Indie are quite quiet dogs and the first time I realised she was missing I panicked, thinking that she’d gone onto the road. She has no road sense and the big logging trucks roll through quite regularly. She turned up way down the back paddock where the Bandycoot and his dad were sawmilling. The next time she turned up at Nan’s place just down the road and I got the call to say she was there.

She loves following the Bandycoot around and always wants to go where he goes. I wasn’t worried today, as I knew they were out together, until he came home in the ute alone. I could see he was stressed, and he asked if Jazzie was here at home. He said she had been misbehaving and kept hiding when he tried to get her in the vehicle. Even when he left, just to give her a fright, she stayed 50m behind the ute. So he very slowly drove home and hoped she would followed along. She wasn’t far behind and was sent to the naughty corner after that.  

I’ve been keen to start on a knitting project since we came down to Tassie, and after finding the right sized needles at the local op shop, I was ready to start on a scarf for my God-daughter. I don’t know if I was overly enthusiastic or a bit out of practice, or a bit of both, but I managed to snap one of the needles mid-stich. The Bandycoot thought it was hilarious and asked if I was taking up extreme knitting.

Just before bedtime the Bandycoot called me outside where he had spotted Tawny Frogmouth on the fence near the shed. It just looked at us for ages while we took photos in the moonlight.

 

Day 44 - A musical life

Well it was time for another round of garage sales. We rugged the pups up in their onesies, as the weather had turned freezing cold, and hit the road. We’ve found the best sales are when people are moving, especially to the mainland.

At one sale in Wynyard we found an amazing collection of succulents, many in beautiful ornamental pots including painted tea pots and ceramics. At another, I managed to pick up a fantastic electronic keyboard which will help at those times when I’m missing my piano. Music has been such a key part of my life for a long time now that I miss the times I could just sit down and play a tune.

We went on our regular walk down the paddock this afternoon when we would usually check up on the alpacas. They seemed a bit more agitated today and didn’t take their eyes off the pups as they walked with us. The alpacas came up closer than they had before and the Bandycoot actually reached out and pet one. Jazzie (the biggie of the pups) had started a bit of game where she would run towards the ‘pacas, pretending to chase them, and then run back while never getting too close. Having the alpacas come up so close must have unnerved Indie and she began to run away, heading back towards the house. This got the alpacas all excited and they decided to give chase. It was quite scary as I wasn’t sure about the intent of the chase, as alpacas are known to ward off wild dogs. Indie didn’t hang around to find out and ran home to safety. I think that they might think she’s a little fox as she does look quite foxy.

Day 43 - Cradle Mountain

Well today’s my birthday, and I have a tradition of celebrating in a new place and/or new way each year. That should be fairly easy this year since I’m having my birthday in Tassie which I’ve never done before. But I still want to do something special to mark the occasion. The Bandycoot (my boyfriend) has proposed that we go to Cradle Mountain, one of Tasmania’s icons, for a day trip. The weather looks rather ominous and the mountain is famous for only emerging from its cloudy mists for a few minutes on a rare day.

We decided to give it whirl, as even if the weather is terrible and we don’t see the mountain, at least it will be a birthday activity to remember. The Bandycoot has worked out the route through a maze of backroads and scenic drives. However, the first turn that we come to just down the road from the Old Dairy is closed due to flood damage. So we end up having to backtrack and try and try and get back on the route a different way. The scenery is just breathtaking, with rolling green hills, fluffy sheep and colonial cottages along the way. It’s fun to be out exploring new places and I finding this is a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday. We see lots of wildlife during the drive and I mention how great it would be to see a wombat in the wilds around Cradle Mountain as I’ve only ever seen them in captivity.

After we’ve been travelling down the middle of Tassie on a minor highway we again have to divert down dirt roads and unknown tracks to continue on to Cradle. As we get closer to the Cradle Mountain turnoff we realise that our fuel supply is getting low. We have enough to get there, but the place where we planned to fill up along the way is now inaccessible due to flood damaged roads. We drive until we can get a signal for my mobile phone, and then call the rangers at Cradle to see where the closest fuel is. Fortunately we learn that they have fuel at the information centre and it is with great relief that we drive on in to the national park.

Once there we purchase National Park passes that will allow us to explore other wild areas of Tassie during our adventures here. After an informative chat to the ranger in residence, we take a drive down to the famous Dove Lake. We had hoped to do the walk around the lake, but with all the detours the day is getting on and so we decide to walk to the boat house. I am trying out my new thermals and wind jacket and they are working marvellously against the icy winds and rain. It’s a lovely walk around the edge of the lake to the old shingled boatshed, through the alpine vegetation along the mushy path. My work team bought me a fabulous knitted scarf and beanie for my Tassie adventure and I’m so grateful for them today. As we walked back up to the car, I noticed a raindrop softly falling in front of my face and then start to fly upwards. Snow! I realised quickly and shouted out to the Bandycoot that I was getting birthday snowflakes landing on my nose. How wonderful!!

Walking at Dove Lake

Unfortunately the peak of the mountain is hidden in thick cloud and it will not show itself today.

We drove back up to the main lodge area and did a short walk along the Enchanted Path, starting at a rushing river full from the recent floods. It was getting close to the end of the day, and in the soft light I was thrilled to see a big, hairy wombat decide to join us on the boardwalk for an evening stroll. Yay! I got my birthday wish!! He was totally oblivious to us walking only a few metres behind and taking hundreds of photos. A few times along the path he decided that a patch of green grass was just too enticing and he would climb up for a munch. Nearby a small wallaby looking all fluffy and cute watched us cautiously while it too nibbled on the sweet winter grasses. The walk was quite magical with moss covered trees, old hollow logs and a green canopy overhead. It felt like we were the only people there.

Wombat in the wild

 

On the drive home we headed straight up the highway and stopped at Burnie at my favourite fish and chip shop Fish Frenzy for a delicious birthday dinner.

Day 42 - Shake and bake

Our sweet chooks have not been laying for a while now. After doing some research I discovered that once the days get shorter that hens often slow down or even stop during the winter. Apparently they need at least 12 hours of daylight in order to lay. However, we now think we are receiving the benefit of the recent earth tremor with earthquake eggs. It must have given them a big fright!!

The Bandycoot (my boyfriend) took the pups out for a late night walk around the yard and was shocked to see what looked like a large owl swoop down near Indie. He quickly bundled them back inside but he warned me to always be on the lookout when out in the paddock with the pups, as Indie may get carried off! I suggested we always have them in their onesies when they go out, as the colours are so bright that the birds won’t know what to make of it.

Day 41 - Earthquake, landslide...what next?

Like most men, the Bandycoot (my boyfriend), endures pain stoically but not exactly silently. After a week or so of suffering pain in his mouth, we made our way to the dentist. As he’s not a big fan of visiting the dentist (especially a new one!), understandably, I went with him for moral support. This dentist had a rather quirky sense of humour which I think put him at ease. After a very thorough examination he declared that the Bandycoot had excellent teeth and there was nothing to be concerned about. This was great news and I was happy for him, though a bit envious as I always seem to have to have work done in my mouth.

On the way home we called in at the Bandycoot’s Nan’s place to see how she was faring with the wild weather and to drop off her newspapers that we'd collected in town. When I went to the newsagent to pick them up they said they were missing papers as the delivery truck had been washed off a bridge.

As we rounded the corner of Nan’s property we saw that there had been a massive land slip and a big part of the hill near her home was now down in the valley. Only a few big trees were holding it all from slipping away. Nan, usually fearless, had been for a walk out to see what had happened and when she felt how spongy the ground was, she quickly made her way back to the house. She read in the paper that there had been 5.1 earthquake in nearby Smithton yesterday. She figured that the combination of massive rains and the tremor had caused her land to slip.

 

She asked me to send a story in the local paper about her experience, and this is what I sent:

Meg C could not believe her eyes when she went out to survey the damage to her Preolenna Road property after the recent Tassie floods.

“In all my years of living here, I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said.

In the paddock between her Moorleah home and the road, a major landslip had occurred taking a large amount of the topsoil down the hill.

The 88-year-old went down to have a closer look at the damage. But finding the ground under her feet very spongy, she decided that it wasn’t such a good idea. She wonders if it was the soaking rain or the reported earth tremor at Smithton on Monday morning that caused the damage.

Having lived in the area for most of her life, Mrs C was curious to know how the rest of the area had been affected by the record breaking rains. She was shocked by the level of flooding when her neighbour took her out around the Lapoinya and Flowerdale region and by the damage to roads and bridges by the local rivers bursting their banks.

The Flowerdale River is the back boundary on her property and they needed to cut through two big trees, toppled by the flooding rains, just to make it down the river road to see how high the floods went.

Mrs C recalls her parents speaking about the Tasmanian floods of 1929. Her mother, with a new babe in arms, having to take a boat from the Wynyard Hospital to make it back to her home at Preolenna.

With more rain expected, she is worried now how stable the ground is on her property and whether the Preolenna Road itself may have been undermined and might slip also.

She said that only time will tell what the weather will do this year after a terrible drought, wild fires, an earth tremor and now this.

Day 40 - Big floods

We are in the grip of incredible flooding, the worst in over 80 years. I knew that we’d had a lot of rain at the Old Dairy, but I didn’t realise the extent of it until we tried to go into Wynyard and found the road closed. Driving along we could see big ponds formed in low lying areas of nearby farms and water running across the road. We turned around where the road was closed and could see that the farms close to the river were underwater and houses there in danger of going under.

We parked the Bandycoot’s ute and he got out to have a look. We could see something floating in the nearby flood pools and on closer inspection it turned out to be hundreds of apples. Only in Tassie!! The owners of the houses with water lapping at their back doors were out chatting to neighbours and didn’t seemed to concerned. We couldn’t believe the amount of water flowing there.

Tassie's floating apples

Flowerdale River burst its banks

 

Taking a different road into town we had to cross a bridge that had only just been opened to traffic again and still had massive piles of logs and timber jammed up against the railings. We decided that we should stock up on basic necessities in case the bridge went under again. We soon learned that the bridge at nearby Lapoinya had been completely washed away.

We drove down to the Wynyard foreshore and were amazed to see big waves breaking along what was left of the beaches. Surf’s up in Tassie! People lined the foreshore taking photos and gazing at the muddy swirling water. A pontoon had been overturned and large logs and debris could be seen in the breakers. People were talking about cars afloat and livestock being washed away.

A visit to Services Tasmania and I’m officially Tasmanian with driver’s licence and registration plates to prove it. Happy days! Now home to bunker down next to the fireplace with the pups and ride out the flooding.

Day 39 - Getting down to business

Today’s the day! Today I knew I wanted to finish my final online exam and complete my postgraduate study. I was studying my last course and had really been enjoying learning about how different cultures function in varying ways. But now I was ready to finish and allow myself more time to make the most of my Tassie experience. The Bandycoot (my boyfriend) was in full support of my plans and promised to give me space to finish this task today. He had an outside project that he could tackle today – the guttering.

Him and his dad had taken down all the guttering a few weeks ago as it was in a pretty bad way. They managed to fix or replace most pieces, now came the job of putting it all back up in place. With his dad now back in Queensland, the Bandycoot had been putting off doing this massive task on his own. However his Nan checked the water tank when she was over for a visit and was concerned it was getting really low. That was the extra incentive he needed to get outside and up the ladder so we could catch some of the predicted rain. He really was a man on a mission and managed to get it all up in the one day. Having him drilling right outside my window was slightly off-putting when I was trying hard to concentrate, but then he would make a funny face and I would laugh away all my exam stress.

No sooner had I submitted my exam in the late afternoon, than it came a wild wind with heavy rain to flow down those newly installed gutters and start filling up our tank. It blew so hard for so long into the night, I started to wonder… did the alpacas get blown away?

Day 38 - Seaweed tales

Today has been a rather mixed experience. Priority number one was to return the trailer we hired back to Ulverstone, once we’d hosed out the ‘pebbles’ left behind by the alpacas as a souvenir of their trip. It was my first chance to have much of a look around Ulverstone, which is about an hour away, and I was particularly impressed by the beautiful park on the river and a rather magnificent clock tower in the middle of town.

On the way home we went a beach near Doctor’s Rocks and managed to fill up four big bags of smelly, salty seaweed for fertilizing the garden. We’d been told that it is an excellent natural nutrient, but the Bandycoot (my boyfriend) is concerned how the salt will affect our rich loamy soil. The garbage bags we bought for the occasion proved rather disappointing and the Bandycoot had to struggle up the beach while trying to hold the sides together and get the whole load on Brutus’ tray.

 

Getting seaweed for the garden

We’d worked up an appetite by this stage and decided to pop into Wynyard to try out the new Burger Bar we’d read about in the local paper. It was in a similar style to Grill’d and we hoped the food would be as yummy also. While the burgers weren’t bad, the chips left us wanting with about 7 fries for $6.

We drove home separately, as my car was at the mechanic, and I got back to tales of how the Bandycoot took one of the curly corners home a bit too quickly and lost part of his load. This turn is now to be forever known as seaweed corner. People driving past must be wondering about the fishy smell so far inland.

Day 37 - Welcome to the family (or alpaca love)

It’s another early start and it is absolutely freezing. When we go downstairs for our full and fancy English breakfast (even the pups get some bacon!) we are very grateful for heated floors. The B&B owner is rather quirky and we hear her chatting away to herself as she prepares the breakfast. Jazzie has staked out the kitchen door after discovering there was a cat on the other side and she’s prepared to pounce, should it wander into the dining room.

After reconnecting the hired trailer, we headed a little further south to meet our new alpacas. Along the highway we spot ‘Icy roads’ signs for the first time and drove down into the misty Huon Valley on our coldest Tassie day (so far!). We drove through beautiful but frosty countryside on our way to the alpaca farm. We saw the alpacas as we drove up to the gate and it was love at first sight. We’d only seen one fuzzy photo on Gumtree before deciding to get them for the Old Dairy.

We met the owner and her young teen son and they took us down to the small holding yards that the alpacas had spent the night in. They warned us that the alpacas wouldn’t like going up the ramp and into the trailer and they were right. Young Jack (the son) took the brunt of it as he tried to move them in the right direction and his jumper was green with alpaca spit by the time we were done. The owner warned us that once they sat down it was ‘game over’ because you just couldn’t get them to move after that. They were so stubborn that the Bandycoot ended up basically lifting one of them into the trailer, and then, as pack animals, the rest followed. I was barricading one side of the broken ramp with an old piece of timber and having nervous visions of one of them leaping off the ramp in my direction. It was staggeringly cold and I’d lost feeling in my fingers within minutes of getting out of the car. The owner said they’d already had a dozen winter frosts in that part of Tassie.

It was a full day’s drive to get them back to the farm and they were looking rather blow-dried by the time we arrived. They travelled really well and seemed to be in no hurry to get off the trailer once we’d let down the back tray. The mother and son (Elsa and Olaf) were the first to venture out and the matriarch Anna and smaller male Sven soon followed. The Bandycoot was trying to take photos of their first steps into the paddock and before we knew it they were galloping off into the sunset.

The previous owner’s young daughter had named the alpacas after the characters in Frozen, but the Bandycoot decided to rename them on the drive home. Their new names include Paca-punch, back-paca, whacka-paca and paca-man. We really hope they’ll enjoy living here. I’ve already searched the Tassie library resources for a guide to raising alpacas without any luck, so I’ve ordered a book online. Hope it arrives soon!!

Alpacas on the ride home

Day 36 - Road tripping

Today we are on a mission. Which is not to say there might not be a bit of fun and frivolity along the way, but it is a day with a purpose. Up early before the sunrise, with the pups on board in the Bandycoot’s ute Brutus, we are on the road. This probably sounds more organised and enthusiastic than is the case, as the sun doesn’t come up now until after 7:30 in the morning. We are headed for Hobart. Well, just south of Hobart to be precise, to pick up the new members of our little farm family. The Bandycoot (my boyfriend) and I have dreamed of this moment for some time but were not sure it would ever actually happen. After falling in love with these beautiful creatures years ago, we are finally getting four alpacas to call our own.

It’s a long drive. Though Tassie isn’t big area-wise, there is no direct road down from the North West and so we have to drive almost to Launceston (2 hours) before we can start to head south to the capital. It’s exciting to be exploring new areas though we don’t really have time to look around. Lots of quaint small towns that must have been stops for the days of horse and coach, with their inns, colonial buildings, old pubs and stately government buildings all beckon for a closer look. Next time! We do stop for a lunch in a sweet little park in Campbelltown and get a look at the bridge on the edge of the town build by convicts in the early days of Tasmania. There is so much history here that we both long to learn more and so the Bandycoot stopped at the town’s bookstore and purchased a fascinating illustrated book on life in Van Diemen’s land for those early inhabitants.

 

After a long day’s drive we spend the night at a pet friendly B&B down in Margate. We watch a glorious sunset over the harbour and out over Bruny Island. The rooms are just beautiful and the Bandycoot describes his first Bed & Breakfast experience as 5-star! The rooms were so fancy that we took the pups out three times during the night to do their business, even though it was freezing, just because we didn’t want an accident on the fancy carpet. Thrilled to have access to fast internet, the Bandycoot took advantage of the free Wi-Fi and managed to download over 13GB of data! After a rainfall style shower, it was time to snuggle under the glorious doona (duvet) to dream about meeting our alpacas in the morning.

Room with a view

Day 35 - Beach treats

Well today it was time to take the pups back to the Vet to how they were faring after being so sick last week.  He was happy with their progress, though Indie is yet to put on weight despite me investing in the high-quatlity (read high-priced) pet food sold by the surgery.

They really don’t enjoy visiting the vet, especially the temperature taking. As soon as we walk in the door they start shaking. I don’t know if there’s a residual scent of fear left by doggies past, or the just remember the last time they were there and start having flashbacks.

As a bit of treat we spontaneously decided to stop of at the beach at Somerset to give them a run. We were fairly sure it was a dog friendly beach, and being a bit rainy we thought it was unlikely we’d see any other dog walkers around midday on a weekday, so we let them off the leash to run free. The vet had told me quite firmly that I had to keep a strict eye on Indie’s poops, but she is as elusive as a Tassie Tiger when it comes to doing her business and I wasn’t even sure she’d gone the whole week since the last visit. Well I don’t know if it was the visit to the vet that got things moving but I think she pooped a whole week’s worth along that beach. Of course I had no doggie bags ready (I’m usually prepared!) and each time there was another dog walker going past at exactly that moment – so embarrassing!! Needless to say they had a great time running around on the beach. When we got to the end, the Bandycoot decided to explore the rocks a bit and the pups were trying to follow him, jumping rock to rock. I couldn’t believe it! I was sure they would cut their feet on the sharp shell edges and we’d be straight back to the vet. Luckily they realised pretty quickly how precarious the rocks were and ended up having a little splash in the rock pools instead.

An icy wind was howling as we walked back and I was freezing. The Bandycoot suggested that I pick it up a level and really lift my knees while walking to warm up. This challenge kept going up and up until I was doing a North Korean style straight-leg march. It worked well to keep me warm though I did get some odd looks from the other walkers.

On the way home we stopped off at our favourite op shop and snapped up a beautiful blue and cream couch on wheels (for easy transport) and a brown swivel armchair. Now our living room feels complete.