northern territory: darwin

We initially thought we'd just duck in to Darwin, meet Ma and Grug and head back out of town but we needed to restock the fridge and get a few odd jobs done. Standing in the Optus shop for three hours isn't my idea of fun but it had to be done! 

Free Spirit Caravan Park had been recommended to us by travelling friends and with three pools, jumping pillow, a free kids club and usual amenities it was a comfortable place to stay. Whilst it was a bit of a drive in to town it was close to the free and awesome YMCA water park in Palmerston! I should have done my research because our dearest girl didn't meet the height minimum of 110cm for the big slide (but she may or may not have got two slides in before we realised). 

Rapid Creek Markets is a foodies heaven and you can buy anything from the freshest Asian fruit and veggies to soups, homemade rice noodle and egg noodles for your own cooking. There's herbs and Asian desserts. Our daughter asked that I bring back a pineapple and a mango. I also grabbed veggies, a bright sweet watermelon. And I had the tastiest laksa for brekky. 

On the way to Darwin we met a grey nomad couple who suggested we go to Mindil Markets. "Take your own chair. Take your own drinks and take your own food," they said, "then you don't have to buy anything." Instead we took our picnic rug, our drinks bottles and ate this feast of treats from across the globe. We had Thai, Vietnamese Japanese Sri Lankan Greek and Indonesian! We love that we can sit back in an Aussie city and experience our country's diversity.

J had himself volunteered at the foreshow. That's him holding the ladder just before the entertainer juggled flaming machetes. Truly. He thinks he's going to take up a new vocation. We're not convinced. 

tasmania: launceston

We were reluctant to head back in to town after our stay at Bay of Fires but the time came to refill the water tanks (2 x 95 litres) and find a dump point. I'd never paid attention to dump point signs until this trip! 

J planned a morning walk from town to Cataract Gorge. Naturally I planned a visit to the providore enroute to stock up on local ham, cheese & fresh Manu bread. Throw in a few of those Lucaston apples (love the IGAs in this state) and you have yourself a picnic! 

The Mill Providore is a stones throw from Kings Bridge in Launceston (& I dare you to walk out empty handed) where you can park and begin the 15 minute walk to the Gorge. If it's hot take swimmers as there's a pool. The chairlift can take you across or you can rock hop or take the path along to the suspended bridge. It's an easy walk for kids or those who aren't keen on an arduous outing. In other words, you won't burn off the cheese you've just eaten! 

As it's close to town we stayed at Old Mac's Farm which offers unpowered sites (with water) along the banks of trout ponds for $10/n. J paid $20 extra to fish from the ponds. This was the scene just moments before he hooked a fish.... 

And dramatically tackled it in the reeds when it flipped off the hook! He wasn't going to let it get away!! 

I'd read good things about the food in Launceston so we made the most of the two days we had. 

Stillwater is a posh cafe downstairs from the Mill Providore. We were squeezed in but couldn't entirely relax despite our children being well behaved. The granola was INCREDIBLE but it might be a nicer place to eat with friends without children! 

With so much great produce in Tassie it's hard to go a day without being inspired to cook. I made Anni's walnut, apple & spice biscuits with Lucaston Apples, Coaldale Walnuts & added some Diemen Native Pepperberry for a bit of bite!

http://missmayblossom.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/anni-walnut-apple-biscuits.html?m=1

I didn't have the Thermomix going so I melted the butter on the stove and added the rest of the ingredients to the saucepan (off the heat). 

I sometimes wish we lived in a house and didn't have a weight limit. The Mill Store supplies Tassie with freshly milled flours & in large quantities!

A visit to Alps and Amici was the last thing on my list for Launceston. I went there for coffee beans, completely forgot, and came back with more Manu Bread, Bok's Bacon, the sweetest corn, sweet potato, pears & Tassie snow peas for $6/kg! And two double-shot flat whites. These were some of the best coffees we've had in Tassie. And there were so many more temptations in-store but we just couldn't squeeze it all in! 

The Glenbarry Bush Maze is a short 45 minute drive from Launceston. It was a natural place for us to stop for lunch on the way to Narantapu National Park. The kids loved the maze and the giant games & puzzles set out within the grounds. You can enjoy a coffee while the kids play. 

tasmania: bruny island in a day

If someone tells you "it's just not worth seeing Bruny if you've only got one day" don't listen! 

We didn't but we had a neat plan for the day because we wanted to make the most of our time and get back to Woodbridge for the kids' dinner. The weather was predicted to be beautiful and it was. 

This was how our day went. 

0840 leave Woodbridge. 

0900 Visit Snug Butchery to stock up on local meat - lamb for toast, vaccuum packs of roast beef & silverside for lunches, local eggs. This is why I love travelling with the car fridge! Thanks again Uncle!! 

0930 Ferry at Kettering. We had time for J to grab a take away coffee while we waited! 

The first stop after arriving at Bruny was The Neck. If you arrive earlier (at dawn) you can see the penguin march. 

Next we took the road to Adventure Bay 

and stopped at the Bruny Island Berry Farm to grab some blueberries for morning tea. The kids were also allowed to pick some strawberries from the farm. 

The walks around Adventure Bay look amazing but we can't bite off too much with three littlies. The 1km walk to Grassy Point seemed an ideal walk along the beach and through the casurina forest but we ended up stopping for morning tea a little before Grassy Point. 

We passed the remnants of two whaling stations. The history of which is fascinating. 

After our bushwalk we took the 4WD - unsealed road to Lunawanna. We were pleased to have left the caravan behind! There are two signs on the road which indicate look outs to the east and to the west. We stopped at the lookout which had the most magnificent view to the west in the direction of the most southerly point on Bruny Island. 

Lunch (which turned in to a long lunch) was tapas (& wine) at Bruny Island Premium Wines. This place was accommodating of the kids. The lunch  was delicious - seafood chowder, beef croquettes, mushrooms with haloumi, skewers - all showcasing local ingredients. The kids menu was salmon with cheese and carrot sticks - such a change from deep fried fish and chips or crappy pizza. 

It was a hop, skip and a jump back to the ferry via a quick stock up at the Bruny Island Cheese co. where we grabbed some soft and semi hard cheeses. Yum! Next door we spent $9/dozen on two dozen unopened oysters though one dozen turned out to be only ten. Get Shucked Oysters has a drive through service! Best idea ever and these oysters were meaty and so tasty. 

I'd read that the little shop on Bruny Island at the ferry terminal has fresh veg for sale so in the few minutes we had to wait for the ferry I grabbed some cherry tomatoes for the following night's dinner - grown a few metres away in the owner's small market garden. 

There's no doubt we'll be back to Bruny because we had such a memorable day on the island - combining what we love - being outdoors, food & having an adventure! One day was just enough to whet our appetite!

tasmania: huon valley food adventure

We love Tassie for its produce! Today we had the morning in Cygnet at Lotus Eaters. It wasn't long after breakfast but who says you can't have a Lotus Eaters banana cake with creamed cheese icing, clotted cream and fresh plums for second breakfast? No one. Ever. I don't need lunch!

I just love Cygnet. Local producers supply as much of the ingredients as possible to meet the needs of the cafe. A few doors down Cygnet Garden Larder provides the ultimate in grocery shopping  for local (& consequentially seasonal) produce. We came home with this huge box of groceries (potatoes, silverbeet, an avocado, two capsicums, huge head of broccoli, lemons, tomatoes, two punnets of strawberries and two organic hunza pies) for a little over $50! 

There was a welcome downpour which sent us in to the homeopath. They deal with the homeopathics behind the counter but the front-of-shop is for fun - secondhand and new books and beautiful European toys. Can you imagine our two kids playing quietly from the toy box while we perused? Well they weren't but it wasn't that sort of book shop. In my bundle of purchases I bought The Field Guide to Tasmanian Produce. The book should really be named The Field Guide to Tasmanian Produce and a Million Reasons Why You Should Move to Tassie. 

This praying mantis enjoyed reading up about local food tonight in the camp kitchen! 

Making our way back to our caravan, we stopped at the Pagan apple farm cellar door for juice & cider. 

We barely ventured more than 20km from our roaming home today but we had a really delightful day full of good food, people and inspiration.