The Hot Hot Summer

Greetings kids, it has been a while since we last had a new post put up, but I think it is because Johanna is in Sweden. Most if not all of you are now in the rigours of a cold and miserable winter. If you can imagine the opposite of that in the summer you have the bush fire season in Australia. As you are probably aware this country is litterally burning up and I am lucky enough to say that the closest we have been to one of the fires is 60km. I have an answer to my question 3 months past when I saw a 10 km controlled burn, most likely in anticipation of where we are now.

There have been a few too many nights like this one where around 1am in the morning the temperature is still above 30. To make things worse we have no air conditioning. so what do you do when you are hot and cant sleep???? Go to the beach!!

A lovely look at Zenith beach for a quick dip and surf...

Along with the summer come new additions to our growing family of wild pets. The first of which is a baby Kookaburra in the front with the black mask, incredibly cute but sounds like a cat.

   A friendly spider that was relocated away from the house, not the biggest but big enough to cover your ear...

Paddy the Possum enjoying the Bananna.....

Some Little Correllas.....

The second new addition, Polly has given birth to another youngster still in the pouch. If you look close enough you can see two feet sticking out of her pouch. Eventually I will have a picture riding shotgun on moms back...

Husband and wife duel, Paddy refusing to let Polly onto the deck for seeds. It was unfortunate as the night was stormy and the female was soaking before he let her onto the deck and out of the rain ;(

Some communal sharing, not very common between these two bird types...

Helga Huffelpuff came to say hello.......

The bullies asking for some seeds......

Let the good times roll

Seasons greetings all. As you probably know Jo is having her white Christmas in Sweden while I went the warm route to Hawaii. So far the weather had been great but not as good as Australia. Hawaii has so far been filled with catching up with the family especially Abigail and Lucas.

What you have been missing....

As you may or may not know, Johanna has headed home for the Christmas break leaving me here alone with our pets. Just a reminder of who already misses you

                            Some old times.......

                     Pippi crawling up on the roof with her treat....

        Finally caught the Ring tailed possum on camera, a smaller and more agile cousin of the Bush Tailed possum.......

Caught in the act!!!!

Mother and daughter together again....

Roommates

Sorry for the long break in updates but the blog hasn't been prioritized lately. Things have been busy over here with end if the year work outings, scuba diving, work and some new roommates. Our friends Lauren, Jarvis and their little Jayda have moved in to our house for a couple of weeks. It's great to have them here but sad that the reason for them staying is that they're moving up north and are in between houses:( we will miss them a lot but are right now enjoying great company and a lot of evening card battles:)

I finally got my scuba diving certificate. The last dive was really relaxed and I felt way more comfortable. Great Barrier Reef here I come:)

Wyatt and I will soon head away in different directions for Christmas. Whilst Wyatt has a sunny warm holiday in Hawaii to look forward to, I'm bracing myself for snow back in Sweden. I can't wait to see my family and friends and are getting very excited!

Hobart and Mount Wellington

Our last stop in Tasmania was Hobart and surroundings.  On the way to Hobart we stopped at one of the many wineries for a glass of wine and cheese platter.  Such a beautiful view and not too many people there, so nice and quiet!

We didn't have too much time in Hobart but we took a stroll around Salamanca and the old part of the city called Battery Point.  Nice old houses and amazing flowers.  Every single house up there had a really old fashioned garden with different types of rose bushes.  

The day we were leaving we decided to drive up Mount Wellington, which turned out to be a lot nicer than I expected.  A bit chilly at the top, but we were rewarded with very nice views. 

There are still so much left to see of the island and I would definitely go back to Tasmania again to explore the west coast.  Thank you so much Lina for all the tips on what to see and do.  I can see why you miss it:) 

Salamanca Place

Battery Point

Really tasty mussels!

Hobart Marina

Mount Wellington

Mount Field National Park

The next stage in our journey through Tasmania took us up past to the west of Hobart to Mount Field National Park. One of the best decisions of the trip was to stay on an acreage Bed and Breakfast. It was run by a sweet couple from Scotland (Aussies for 25 years) and thier dogs/cat. The building was rustic as you can see from the picture of the bedroom but not without comfort as we enjoyed this stay more than any of the hotels previous. To top it off the area was absolutely beautiful for a Barbie....

                                                 The bedroom complete with bathrobes and slippers......

As advertised, a beautiful view for an outdoor meal....

The puppies, notice the very large puppy to the right who was hogging the teat!!!

Mount Field national park was a dense jungle like forest. Every inch was covered with moss and if straying away from the path, one would easily be lost. The forest contained several very large types of trees that were enormous in both height and in width. Many are reported to be over 200 years old, dating back to when the first settlers arrived in Tasmania. Several lovely waterfalls were along the 8km hike we took. In addition possibly the highlight of the trip (for me anyway) was our encounter with the elusive "Duck Billed Platypus." Johanna spotted the animal swimming up-stream but instead of watching and enjoying the sight, we both attempted to maneuver for a photo opt, only to have the platypus disappear into the dead brush never to return. Oh well, at least we can say we saw one!

A mother and her baby (wallaby) having a morning wash....