When my family went to Australia in 2019 I wasn't able to fly out with them because I had an emergency appendix removal the morning of my flight. So Air New Zealand gave me $1,500 credit because I missed my flight. Well, then the pandemic came along and shut everything down so I have been waiting for years to use my credit and FINALLY made it work this year. I just flew down by myself and hung out with my host family. I got to see their new home (they had moved since seeing them in 2019) and then my host Mum and I went to Tasmania together for a few days. I had such a fantastic time. I really do love my host family and I love that they are so welcoming and kind to their foreign "daughter" I wish Australia wasn't so dang far away!!
My host dad showing off one of his chickens. Their new home has a lovely piece of property, where he has a nice garden, some fruit trees and even chickens!
Ella Fitzpatrick, Me, Ron Heindorff, Corinne Heindorff Fitzpatrick, Mike Fitzpatrick and Helen Heindorff. My host sister (Corinne) joined us with some of her family for a yummy thai dinner.
So excited about my first sausage roll in Australia. I love these things!
Dinner out with my host sister Leah and some of her boys.
I went to church with Ella and Sage Fitzpatrick. These girls are so super sweet!
I love all the crazy wildlife in Australia!
I spent the afternoon at Cleveland Point with some of my friends from my year of high school back in 1994. It was so wonderful to catch up with these ladies. We still laugh about stupid stuff and it was so wonderful for them to come so far just to say hi to me after all these years. I was so blessed to have a wonderful group of friends when I was here as an exchange student!
My host Mum convinced me to try a "'float" session at the spa. You lay in this water that is so salty you actually just float in the water. The room is completely dark and there is no sound. Some people really love it but I only lasted about 20 minutes. I felt nauseous and hated to feeling of sensory deprivation. Still, I'm glad I tried it:)
I survived driving on the left side of the road...just remember "Left to Live!"
My host Mum and I went for a lovely walk along the waterfront at the Wynnum Esplanade. Such a beautiful day and a lovely trail along the water.
I stopped for a visit to see Lily's grave. I brought he little angel on the left to leave for her. Corinne is such a great mama to her 4 girls and it's so sad she lost the chance to be a great mama to 5 girls.
Corinne and Mike hosted a "sausage sizzle" at their house. So yummy good!
Then, because she loves me, she whipped up some dumplings in golden syrup. Wow, she sure knows how to spoil a guest!
Helen and I got up really early one morning to walk to Wellington Point for the sunrise. It did not disappoint!
What a wonderful way to welcome the day:)
I went to a local library and this little magpie was looking at books to check out 😅
On the ferry boat over to Stradbroke Island for a bit of an adventure
Helen on the Point Lookout trail on Stradbroke Island
This place is so beautiful!
The hike ends at the fabulous beach. It's winter in Australia at this time of year so there were no people out playing in the ocean, but what a fantastic beach to have just across the bay from your house!
I found Australian gelato!!
My host dad said I couldn't leave Australia without trying a meat pie with mushy peas. The meat pie was yummy but I could definitely skip the mushy pease next time!
Corinne's 2 younger girls had been away camping with their grandparents so I got a quick visit with them after school one day. Ivy and Milla are the best! I love all these Fitzpatrick girls!!
Ron dropped Helen and I off at the airport for our trip to Tasmania!
First morning in Tasmania. I had no idea this island was so mountainous! There wasn't a flat spot anywhere. So gorgeous!
We walked around the University of Tasmania to this delicious little breakfast cafe
The view from MONA in Hobart. This is a really cool modern/ancient art museum where the museum building is actually part of the amazing art.
Cool playground structure at MONA
One of the art installations at MONA
You start the museum tour by going deep underground. The walls of the museum are carved out of the underground stone...so cool!
There were a lot of interactive artworks on display. Just so much to see everywhere
A cool display of cobwebs
This is actually crude oil surrounding a walkway. You go out into this room and the oil just is right up to the surface of the wall. The reflections were so neat and it was just such a different experience than any other museum I have seen
Katie Duncan (a friend of mine from Oregon that moved to Sydney a few years ago) joined Helen and I in Tasmania. Here we are outside talking into a tunnel that goes into the museum 5,000 feet underground to a room where people can talk back to you...so fun!
Wallaby salad for lunch:)
Shopping in Hobart on Elizabeth Lane.
Hyrum wanted me to get a picture with a quoll (a cute little animal that lives in Australia) lucky for him I found some artwork with a curious quoll:)
The fabulous Salamanca market in Hobart. I LOVED walking around and looking at all the great things for sale. I bought a lovely hand painted Mary and Joseph to add to my nativity collection.
At the summit of Mt. Wellington. It was a bit cold and windy but what a view!
Even though it's winter we couldn't pass up the chance to get ice cream at Van Diemen's Land creamery!
Helen made me stay up half the night to watch the coronation of King Charles. What a bunch of pomp and circumstance! But I was proud of my little snack table for the occasion:)
We spent a day exploring Eagle Hawk Neck.
We were a bit bummed because it was raining a bit when we got out of the car but then the rain cleared and we got this amazing rainbow...what a lesson to appreciate the bad because it creates the good:)
A little wallaby friend joined us for part of our hike
This was supposed to be a blowhole...maybe if the tide was really high this thing shoots up farther, sort of a sad little blowhole if you ask me!
This place is so pretty!!!
We walked down to the Tesselated Pavement. Erosion over the centuries created this cook rock formation
We took a look around the old Officers Quarters building in Eagle Hawk Neck. This 1832 structure is believed to be the oldest wooden structure still standing in Australia.
The ceiling in the Officers Quarters. You can see how this place was renovated over the years and they peeled back the layers to show you the history
A statue of a guard dog on Eagle Hawk Neck. This was the narrowest part of the island so it was heavily guarded. The penal colony at Port Arthur was on the south side of this narrow strip of land so if a convict tried to escape they would have to go through this part of the island. It was guarded day and night by ferocious dogs, they even put dogs on platforms out in the water surrounding the neck of the island so they could alert the guards if a convict was trying to swim to freedom.
We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at the Port Arthur historic site. This terrible penal colony that was created to house the worst criminals was in such a gorgeous location I had to keep reminding myself that this place wasn't a holiday retreat for people but the time spent here was the worst of their lives. From 1833-1877 Port Arthur was the destination for the worst criminals that were being shipped to Australia from Great Britain. It's location (on an island) made it virtually escape proof.
The main jailhouse in Port Arthur. A fire swept through here in 1895 destroying most of the buildings but its now ruined state lends a sort of quiet reflection to what happened here.
I sent this photo to Hyrum and he said, "She was thrown in jail for spending all her husband's money"
It's funny because it's true 😆
The size of the jail cells were so small. Prisoners would be confined to these small spaces for 23 hours a day, only being let out for an hour of fresh air a day!
A guard town in Port Arthur. You can see why this beautiful setting is at odds with the reality of prison life here.
We took a little boat ride out to the Port Arthur graveyard that was on a tiny island off the coast
I love cool old graveyards. The headstones were erected for "Free People" like the officers and their families that lived here. If you were a convict they would bury you on the island but leave no marker for you to be remembered.
A newer section of the colony that didn't get burned down. They had the cells set up to show you what prison life was like.
The remains of the church after the fire. I'm so glad we were able to spend a day here learning about the history of this penal colony. What a sad part of Australian history!
We visited the Bonorong Wildlife sanctuary. I was happy to make friends with some of the locals (having a pouch full of kangaroo chow makes it pretty easy to make friends!)
We learned all about wombats from one of the zoo keepers.
I got to see a Tasmanian Devil up close...while I was IN Tasmania!!!
I love the Australian kookaburra!
An Australian quoll...this one was real!
On the ferry boat ride over to Bruny Island. I wanted to go to Bruny Island because they are known to have little fairy penguins that come up on the beaches at night. I knew from the guidebooks that it was the wrong time of year to see the penguins but we went anyway...fingers crossed.
Saw these crazy penguins!
Delicious fish and chips dinner on Bruny Island
Katie and I hiked up these bazillion steps (Ok, just 279 steps) to see the amazing lookout views at Bruny Island neck.
The view from the top...simply amazing!
At the beach lookout point, fingers crossed we see some penguins
The penguins come out after dark. We waited until about 30 minutes after sunset and although we could hear some penguins calling to each other we never saw any. It was FREEZING and windy so we called it a night. I'm still glad I went. The starts here were incredible. We got an amazing view of the Southern Cross!
Hiking up to the Bruny Island lighthouse
It was crazy windy at the lighthouse. When we got to the top the guide wouldn't let us open the door to look around outside because the gusts were up to 60 mph and they were afraid someone would get blown off the lighthouse!
Cool stairs inside the lighthouse
The view from the lighthouse was gorgeous
We stopped for lunch at the Bruny Island Cheese company. Their bread and cheese did not disappoint!
The ferry ride back to Tasmania from Bruny Island. From here Katie took Helen and I to the airport where were flew home to Brisbane. Getting the chance to visit Tasmania while in Australia was the best decision I have ever made. I LOVED it and would happily come back anytime!
Ron picked up Helen in Brisbane to take back home but I stayed the night at the airport so I could catch my plane home the next day. What a great trip I had to Australia. Thanks to my crappy appendix I got a bonus trip to one of my favorite places in the world!!
