Daily post: Tourist Trap: What’s your dream tourist destination, either a place you’ve been and loved, or a place you’d love to visit? What about it speaks to you? Thanks for the great idea mehakzaid.
Holidays are not on our agenda at present. My memories of holidays past suffice. Flinders Island we returned to twice because it was so idyllic.
Flinders Island is off the North Eastern coast of Tasmania. The population is small, mostly fishermen and farmers. There are contrasting geographical features with the mountains towering above farmlands but all surrounded by little coves and beaches. On the Eastern side the waves pound in and on the Western side the tea trees and eucalypts shade deserted beaches with flat orange rocks and clean sand full of tiny shells. The clear turquoise waters invite one to swim.
Our first holiday we were there to celebrate my sixtieth birthday. Four of our five children came to join us for three nights. The eldest was overseas. We had rented a cottage in Whitemark, which two of the children shared with us. The other two stayed at the one hotel nearby, where we ate each night. We hired two old cars while the children were with us. We stayed on longer. Locking up was not necessary, as honesty is just part of the culture.
One of the tourist attractions is the Killiecrankie diamond that can be found, or bought. Of course, we went up to the north of the island to try our luck. The stones look just like clear stones, but when cut are a colourless topaz, which is a hard stone, and therefore called the Killiecrankie diamond, that is unique to the area.
The children swam and climbed the mountain. Our favourite place to swim and have BBQs was Trousers Point, but when the kids left we spent many hours going from one deserted spot to another. We always made sure we had a beach to ourselves. Each day we would visit the bakery and buy fresh rolls and what ever was needed for our picnic lunches. Christopher and I painted on the beach.
Stories in the evening at the pub were told, such as: when a new policeman came to the island, he set up a breathalyzer for those leaving the hotel on his first Friday night. The next day he went to get into his car and there on the seat sat a live tiger snake. He soon learnt to fit in, and drink with the locals and not bother them. It was either that or leave the island.
Cape Barren geese, or Mutton birds as they are known locally, inhabit the islands around this area. The Aborigines traditionally harvested them and smoke them for eating for the mainland of Tasmania. These birds fly all the way to Canada once a year for their annual pilgrimage. They are beautiful large birds.
So if you are feeling like a restful holiday, away from the hustle and bustle of every day life, this is the perfect spot. The cottage where we stayed has all modern conveniences, though tank water is treated with consideration. Games and books are provided, as luggage is restricted to 15 Kg. on the small 8-seater plane that leaves from Victoria or Tasmania. A television is provided, though being away from everything, it is not really necessary.
Note: an apology for the size of Christopher’s paintings, that I took off the internet.
Sounds delightful.
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Pleased you found this delightful Kayti! 🙂
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You certainly make it sound heavenly, Ba ! 🙂
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Certainly perfect for a holiday! 🙂
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What a beautiful, peaceful spot it appears to be! Those snub-nosed geese with their emu-shaped bodies are different, aren’t they? I wonder what predator their camouflage muted-and-flecked feather pattern was evolved to protect them from?
I really like the tide paintings particularly.
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Sorry you can’t blow the paintings up to see a larger size O. Babe, perhaps on the web you might have more success under christopherpyett, if you are interested. Not sure about the geese and their camouflage, what their predators might be.
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That sounds lovely and makes me think of the few days we had at Burgh Island off the coast of Devon, UK) for my husband’s 60th, arranged by our daughter, who were with us and including a surprise visit from our dear friends, disguised at Mr and Mrs Verdi (as in opera). A great time was had by all!
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That sounds like fun Hilary! I love the sound of the visit from Mr. and Mrs. Verdi!! We later arranged to meet friends at Flinders and had virtually three holidays with different friends, and time on our own.
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An interesting connection to Canada with the geese and to mineral collecting, too! Thanks for sharing.
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I thought of you Maggie as I wrote it!! 😀
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😀 ear to ear grins
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That sounds like a wonderful place to have celebrated your birthday and how lovely that your children were able to join you sounds absolutely idyllic, once again you have brought such life to a new place on the map for me. The fact that you both painted in the evenings makes it sound so relaxing and stress free, thank you for sharing this lovely glimpse of your time there.
Happy days from Kathy.
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A pleasure Kathy, and maybe it is a place you can visit one day!! 🙂
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its on my bucket list , just made home made pizza for the first time can u imagine raising 5 children and only tonight making this wonderful snack , the great thing about it is there’s no waste you can make it whatever size you want , and the ingredients can be used again and it tastes divine , one of my daughters is an amazing cook the other not really into cooking so my aim is to try and do this with her , would really love to give her a little of the pleasure one gets from home made and this is as easy as cheese on toast , hugs kathy xxx
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Sounds wonderful Kathy! Would love to be closer to taste a slice!
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Sounds beautiful, I should make plans to go there!
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If you’re after peace and tranquility, you’ll love it!
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That sounds like paradise.
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Perhaps to add to your bucket list? We almost chose to retire there, but with the children all on the mainland, it would have cost too much to keep in touch with visits.
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A few years ago I looked into emigrating to Australia but it turned out to be too complicated and expensive.
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And it’s getting harder to live there effectively, Ba. Lack of doctors, dentists and so many other things 😦
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That’s a shame it was too complicated and expensive Martha! Our son in law is from Manitoba, Canada, and our daughter in law is from New York, but may be for the young it is different! 🙂
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Pauline, You are right, and that was also something we thought about. Families have to send their children to boarding school too, when they reach High School, which is another reason there are so few living there. Still, a great place for a holiday!!
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Many years ago I did the Cradle Back Mountain to Lake StClaire walk in Tasmania. I remember it well. I love the paintings in this piece, very soft and poetic.
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The Cradle trek is lovely isn’t it, but the weather is precarious at any time of the year. For Flinders Is. the best months would be February/ March as the weather is generally settled then. We love Tassie all year round though, having grown up there. I don’t know why the paintings won’t enlarge, but am glad you appreciate them Gerard, even though so tiny.
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Thanks Mihrank, this is really a hidden treasure!
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very interesting and informative post!!
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