Long Beach

We only discovered this summer just gone the recently rejuvenated playground down at Long Beach in Sandy Bay, and it's quickly become one of our favourite outdoor haunts. There is a fantastic multi-level play structure, with slides, rope ladders, suspension bridges, tunnels, spinning things, ramps, poles and more. There are plenty of swings, a climbing wall cubby, a balance wheel and it's all surrounded by clean sand and tanbark, tall shady trees, large lushly green grassed areas and flanked along its length by the lovely, and eminently swimmable Long Beach. You can also barbecue your lunch (if you can dibs a spot!) under a large pavilion. The beach itself is clean, gentle and edged with a new cement promenade.



There's an awesome ice-cream shop around the corner, where you can buy a generous single scoop, in a waffle cone, for a measly $2, splash out on a double for $3. They don't have a huge range, but they've got all the basic flavours, and for a two-buck treat, I'm not complaining.

There is a well-paved path running the length of the beach and around to Blinking Billy Point (where you might find an accommodating rock-pool or two) and then to Blinking Billy Beach, another lovely beach, very much quieter than Long Beach (but it's seriously a five minute stroll) but just as nice for swimming and poking around for smooth stones.



Long Beach is a fantastic day out. There is plenty of parking by the playground, always a bunch of kids to muck in with, and it can cost you nothing if that's all you have.

Where: Beach Road, Sandy Bay (left off Sandy Bay Road as you leave the city, just past Lipscombe Larder, but that's another post...!)

Australian Mountain Bike Championships

Held in the Mt Wellington National Park, the Australian Mountain Bike Championships last weekend were apparently a sight to behold! Just beyond Tolosa Park in Tolosa St, Glenorchy, the championships spanned both days last weekend, with heaps of jumps, bumps and stunts!

Upon the River Bend: Glen Huon

Upon the River Bend is a delightful cottage accommodation in Glen Huon, not far from the town of Huonville. We had friends from interstate stay there so we went down to spend the afernoon, much to our delight! It is a dear little house, two generous double bedrooms, very nicely fitted out, cosy and pretty without being too twee, and great value! They got a 7-nights for $700 deal, which if you shared with another couple, works out to be very cheap indeed. It was super kid friendly, as we had two one-year olds of varying levels of mobility who we hardly had to say 'no' or 'stop' to at all! It is located at a picturesque bend of the Huon River (hence the name), and you can stroll easily along the neatly cut track through the paddock down to the river where there are kayaks to use if you so desire. It is a really beautiful spot, the river is stunning, the view over the golden paddock towards the trees and the river flowing beyond is just lovely. I would recommend it to anyone coming to stay in Tassie.




Where: 588 Glen Huon Rd, Glen Huon

Bicheno Hideaway

Bicheno Hideaway is about 3km before Bicheno heading north along the Tasman Highway. There are a number of cabins available, ranging from small couple-sized ones to large family cabins, like the Boathouse which we hired at $300 a night and which slept four families (8 adults and four children - two big and two little). It's only a few minutes walk from a stunning rocky beach and maybe a half-hour stroll to a sandy beach. The location is absolutely gorgeous. There are peacocks, wallabies and potoroos, parrots, ducks and chickens all wandering about like they own the place (I guess they do in a way). Kids will love the animal life abundant here, adults will love the ocean views from most vantage points. I for one was pretty happy lying on our king-sized bed looking out over our private deck at a rugged coastline, blue sky and sea. You fall asleep at night listening to the waves, or maybe the possums fighting! The cabins are completely self-contained. All bedding, towels, utensils, microwave, TV and DVD, stereo, books are provided. The proprietors even went out and especially bought a high-chair attachment at our request, which meant peaceful meals three times a day, and you can't put a price on that during a holiday! (Funnily enough, their website states that Hideaway is not suitable for children under 10, but we had a one and two-year old, which they knew all about, and the kids LOVED it and were fine in the cabin as long as we stashed some of the more fragile/dangerous artifacts and objects in a closed room.)
The cabins themselves are those cool airplane hangar-style buildings that I know as RAL Homes, and the glass-walled end makes for a beautiful ocean vista.

Bicheno itself is absolutely beautiful. There are so many stunning beaches, and it's a really friendly town with a lively and relaxed surf-culture feel. We loved it, and were very sad when it was time to go home. Diamond Island, at the end of Redbill Beach, was an especial highlight. You can walk out to it at low tide along a sandbar, and see the penguins living on the island, then you race back through the surf before the tide turns! (Or sit on the island for 6 hours, which with a hat, a book and some sandwiches, would be a pretty fine way to spend a day!) Our slogan for Bicheno was "Looks like Queensland, feels like Tassie!" Mostly referring to the contrast of the tropical aqua colour of the water with the actual temperature!


(Redbill Beach, Bicheno - Diamond Island visible distant right)

Where: Harvey's Farm Road, Bicheno, a comfortable 2-hour drive from Hobart.
Check website for prices and off-season specials.

Boronia Beach

Boronia Beach in Kingston is a hidden-away gem of a place. I call it the secret beach in my head. About a 10 minute walk from Kingston Heights, down a long
set of steps and along a bush track, you round the bend and see through the trees this glorious little cove that transports you to some remote Greek island!


We went with the clan on a 30-degree day the other week, and although it was for once a bit busy with a few other families, there was such a nice vibe that we were happy to share out little paradise with others. Emerging from the cool, crystal clear water onto the clean sandy beach embraced by tall shaggy bush and totally out of sight of civilization is enough to make you fling your arms wide and sing "I'm aliiiiive!" Which I did, unashamedly.

Where: Walk from Kingston Heights, Kingston.

The mountain.

Mount Wellington dominates the Hobart skyline, from pretty much any vantage point you choose. Its magnificent blue humped back cuts a crisp edge to the sky, and from a profile view, either from my place in the northern suburbs or directly over the other side down Kingston way it resembles the proud, shaggy shoulder of a bison or mammoth. It's a focal point for all Hobartians. The weather rolls in over its back or blows in from the river and shrouds it in mist, hazy wet clouds and sheets of rain.

I didn't realise until I was once again living at its foot, how much I had missed having a mountain nearby and always within sight. It's an ever-present reminder of the grandeur and agelessness of nature. It's made of ancient stuff, and you can still die up there without trying too hard. It's rock, tree, earth, water, ice, snow (sometimes even on Christmas Day!), fire, fur, blood, life and death. It's a late-sleeping woman who has pulled the sheets up around herself, and we nestle our stilted and stepped homes in the low tangle and rumples below.