Our YaYa Adventures into Hobart & Ratho

Hobart Harbour, Tasmania

Two hundred years ago two young sisters (children really) stepped off the “Castle Forbes” which had just docked into the new settlement of Hobart in Tasmania. Ann and Margaret Honeyman were just 11 & 10 years old. They had been newly indentured to the Reid family as maids to the Reids two babes. They had left their mother and two younger brothers aboard the Castle Forbes to travel onto Sydney Town having just received news that their convict father, who they hoped to join up with in Sydney Town, had died. These two girls, new arrivals to the penal settlement of Hobart, a town settled just 18yrs prior, were Scottish emigrants now bound for the colonial outpost along the Clyde River in the highlands near to what was to become the township of Bothwell on the Central Tasmanian High Country. 

Australia’s First Slaves & Servants

Two hundred years ago this year, a branch of my family arrived into Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania).  It was a penal outpost then, one envisioned by those in authority of the day, to take in the tens of thousands of convicts over the next seventy years.

These were people expelled from the British Isles as the “Upper Crust” attempted to deal with those living in poverty, the destitute. Those often starving lower class and the disenfranchised. People who were mostly a product of the industrial revolution of the day, that was being experienced in their own country that of the British Isles.

The Pages of Our Lives

This damn virus has impacted our lives for nigh on 18 months plus now, so travel is complex and family are paramount in our lives.  But life does go on regardless.

We (The Man and I) have staged a break-away and I am currently sitting up in the rainforest at the Top-of-the-Range above Cairns where it is warmer, the cold got to me so we staged our break-out to touch base family, putting the finishing touches to my latest project. A new publication for the Family Historians.

(Nb: For a preview of this title visit the US site here. Australian purchasing can be done through all other links)

Travelling Our Aussie Stock Routes

Published by RV Daily – free E-mag

Visiting the Yarra Valley, Vic

RV Daily Editorial by Jan Hawkins

Living The Dream – And Family

Living the Dream

Planning for our next tour is always fun and between family time and living, this is what has been filling my thoughts of late and its led me to reflect on travel and family. After a number of years there still is simply so much of our beautiful country to see. Even revisiting places we love is a joy, as we get to see what time has made of them and then there is Family… yours.

Noodling for Nundle Diamonds

Nundle in NSW, east of Tamworth, is an old gold prospection area that we love to visit. Cold in winter or hot in summer if offers challenges… those which include access to water, unless of course it is flooding.  Nearby Chaffey Dam is a favourite camp for many as is the caravan park in Nundle itself, spacious and comfortable, and it is here you will find the Info Centre which is necessary for panning and noodling advice. Particularly if your not sure what your doing.

Australia’s Rainbow Serpents

Serpents have starred in religion since Adam and Eve… which is relatively recent. Before that they also starred in the Dreamtime and predominantly in ancient Lore around the globe, being involved in the creation and the evolution of mankind. In Australia, which has some of the most ancient lands still above the tide, serpents hold a special place in Lore… and they are commonly known as the Rainbow Serpents.

Home, Hearth (or Campfire) & THAT Fridge

The last few months have been something of an hiatus for us as we regroup at the home base, attend to a bit of maintenance … for the vehicle, van and person, and to enjoy the gathering of family of the Christmas Season, listening to the noise of Grandies, the gossip of our brood and the ‘putting into order’ that which a household needs from time to time.

Last year… 2017, was a busy year that saw us enjoying a sojourn in beautiful southern corner of WA and Perth, then out to crossing the Central Desert Region along the Outback Way, a bit of the Gunbarrel and the Great Central Road, along with our adventures into the beautiful red gems of Harts Range. 

A Celebration in Sydney

 

Sydney has to be one of our favourite places to explore. While accommodation is always an issue, and the cities Caravan Parking is as scarce as hens teeth, one of the biggest advantages in Sydney is the Opal card… coupled with what is generally a affordable, usable and convenient public transport system. Yes… you can easily get around the vast city on the public network and with the use of one of the transit apps available for smart phones which links you via public transport, from where you are, to where you want to go.