Family Portrait

Tassie Day 3: Rainy Forest

Autumn was in the air on our third day in Tasmania. We woke up to rain so what better place to spend the day than a rain forest! The drive there took us through rolling hills and fertile valleys and past promising-looking trout streams.




On the way, Zach got to nibble on blackberries picked ripe from the brambles along the road. Yum! He ate a handful so quickly we couldn't get a picture of them, but if you look closely you can see the blackberry juice around his mouth.

Dad was impressed with the hop fields that were being harvested in the valleys. The hops will be used to brew the local beer made at Cascade Brewery.

When we finally made it to the rain forest at Mt. Field National Park, the rain had stopped so we decided to take a short hike. Zach had to study the map to make sure we wouldn't get lost.

The trail took us through lush forests full of towering tree ferns.

Eventually we ended up at beautiful Russell Falls.

Big tree? Small car? Both.

One REALLY big tree! Tasmania has some of the largest trees on the planet. The giant gum trees that we walked by are the second largest deciduous trees in the world, only slightly smaller than redwoods. Truly impressive.

On a smaller scale, seeing this little echidna was the highlight of the day and was the icing on the cake of a fantastic (and short) trip to Tasmania. We love Tassie!

Tassie Day 2: The Market and Mountain

Day two in Tassie, dawned crystal clear and beautiful. Zach woke us up early to make sure we wouldn't miss a second of such a spectacular day in Hobart. We walked down the street from our B&B to a delicious French bakery and bought the biggest chocolate croissant we could find.

It was all smiles from Mom and Zach as Dad took a picture from the front door of our B&B.

With no time to waste it was off to the market. People come from far and wide to the Saturday Salamanca market in Hobart. The people watching alone is worth the trip!

Zach was pleased to learn that Mom and Dad bought him an Aussie hat to grow into.

Easter lilies

After we couldn't stand one more second of shopping in the market, we took a stroll along the harbor in Hobart. In the background, Mt. Wellington beckoned.

A quick drive up a steep windy road brought us to the top of Mt. Wellington. From there we could see most of Tasmania. If we squinted our eyes and used a little imagination, we could almost see Antarctica to the south!

We enjoyed a breathtaking lunch atop the mountain. Down below, Hobart beckoned once again.


We made a pit stop at Hobart's local watering hole, Cascade Brewery. As Australia's oldest brewery, it was an essential stop for Brett.

Zach had a fun time playing in the beer garden while Dad enjoyed an ale. Notice that Mr. Kanga now has a new friend, Tassie the Devil.

Tassie Day 1: Harvest Time

We spent the weekend in Tasmania. After our trip to Tassie with Grandma and Grandpa Loge in November, we couldn't wait to go back. The combination of beautiful beaches, picturesque coastline, quaint towns, and rugged mountains makes it our favorite place Down Under so far. We spent Friday driving around the southwestern part of the island, known for it orchards, bays, and vineyards.

The only thing that could make this scene better would be to be on a sailboat in the bay! We'd have to learn how to sail first, of course.

As the autumn equinox approached, harvest was in full swing, and the small towns were bustling.

Pinot Noir grapes, ripe for the picking (and fermenting!)

Delicious apples (for eating and fermenting)



Our back seat driver enjoying the sights.



Mountain vistas. A preview of what was to come for the weekend!

Grape Harvest (Shir-az Fun)

Saturday we were invited out to our friends' vineyard to help pick this year's crop of Shiraz grapes, vintage 2009. After careful instructions on what to look for, we began picking. Brett took his job very seriously. To make the best wine, he picked the plumpest, juiciest grapes.

The extreme heat of summer took its toll on the grapes. We were only able to pick grapes from the south side of the vines since most of the clumps on the north side were sun burnt.

Always trying to be helpful, Zach thought he would taste the vintage. According to him, the grapes were ripe for the picking with just the right sugar levels. Should be a good year for Shiraz!

Anna was quite pleased with the perfect clumps of grapes she found.

All and all we picked nearly three tons of grapes that will be fermented into approximately eighty cases of tasty Shiraz that will be ready for drinking in three years.

Saturday's events were so much fun that we decided it was time to take a trip to our favorite local winery, Tahbilk, to see how their harvest was coming along. We also needed to pick up a few bottles of our two favorite summer white wines, Verdehlo and Dulcet. The harvest was in full swing. They already had the first batches of red wines fermenting in the 100+ year old open vats. We could smell the wine as we drove up. Yum.

It also happens that Tahbilk is the oldest winery in Victoria and has some of the oldest grapes in the world. If you click on the picture you can read the story about these Shiraz grapes.

Most of the grape vines we see around here have stocks a few inches in diameter. As for these old vines, the stocks are like small tree trunks. That's what happens when you have been around for 150 years! The grapes from these vines draw quite a premium. A bottle of Shiraz will sell of over $100.

By the end of the weekend we couldn't close our eyes without seeing grapes. Cheers to vintage 2009!

Sydney: The Highlights

Disclaimer: Words and pictures really don't do justice to Sydney. It's far too beautiful. But we'll try anyway. Here are a few highlights from our trip.

We started our two day whirlwind tour of Sydney down by the water with a quick trip to the fish market to pick up a fresh catch for our dinner.



Then it was off to the botanical gardens where we had lunch in the park.

With bats...not as bad as it looks.

Too bad we didn't have better views!



Sydney Icons: The Bridge, The Opera House, The Harbour.

Zach and Dad took time to ham it up in front of the Opera House.

And Zach wanted to climb every step in front of it.

And there are a lot of steps!

Day Two: Zach meets a mini sting ray. He's fascinated by the fish and sharks and dugongs at the aquarium!

Then we took a quick ferry ride through the harbour. The boys seemed to enjoy themselves.

Eventually we ended up back at the Opera House and took a tour. This was Mom's favorite part.

The bright purple carpet was worth the price of the tour ticket!

And Zach found a room where he could demonstrate his speed and acrobatics.

On our last evening in Sydney we watched a full moon rise over the city. If only we had more time here. Guess we'll need to add it to our list of places to come back to! (It's getting kind of long.)