Around the world – Tasmania

Today I’m participating in Shannon’s ‘Around the World in 80 Blogs’. You can find the other participants here. I personally am looking forward to clicking around the world and finding myself some new blogs to read as well.

I live in Tasmania, at the bottom of Australia. I’ve done posts about Tasmania (with photos!) before on my other blog if you’re interested.

I’m about 50 minutes drive from Hobart, the capital city. Being Tassie though, that leaves me in the middle of nowhere. I’ve got farmland on three sides of me and a road on the fourth side, with more farmland across the road. Last year my neighbouring paddocks held sheep and the occasional herd of cows.

I suppose I am in the middle of a tiny little township, there is a pub [a bad pub. food is shocking, I’ve seen inside their kitchen] and maybe half a dozen houses within a kilometre radius.

Last year I took photos of sheep. Lots and lots of sheep.

Gambolling

This year however, I’m surrounded by a sea of Opium poppies.

Yay me.

Poppies

Sea of Poppies

Sea of Poppies

I’ve also got abandoned houses to photograph.

Empty House

And creeks where bushrangers used to swim. Author Nan Chauncy lived here and now, it is named after her. Chauncy Vale.

Rocks in the Creek

We don’t get very much snow where I am living at the moment. The occasional dusting on the surrounding hills is about it.

Snow

You can’t see the mountain from where I live, but Mt Wellington is gorgeous. I could happily live underneath it (again – we used to live in the city, underneath the mountain) if it wasn’t for the damp and the cold. Also snow. I don’t do well with cold and wet.

Mt Wellington from the car

Mt Wellington from the car again.

I take a lot of photos from the car. Sorry about that.

The Derwent River

I don’t go into Hobart very often anymore, as I don’t drive. I miss being within walking distance of the city.

Hobart

A few months ago, it flooded here. Rained and rained and rained. I’m fairly sure that the underneath of my house has only just started to dry out. My grey water system and the back corner of my paddock still hasn’t recovered.

Flooding

[This is not the back corner of my paddock. This is the river, breaking it’s banks and flooding my neigbouring paddock.]

Hills

I’m almost tempted to nip over and pinch one of the pine trees for our Christmas tree this year. Do you think the farm manager would notice a missing tree? Then again, that is part of the poppy paddock. It’s probably wise not to venture into that one this year.

Tasmania has a lot (A LOT) of spiders. Snakes too. All our snakes are poisonous so I do my utmost to avoid any and all snakes. It didn’t stop a snake scaring the shit out of me a few times a week when I was a kid though. There are also lots of insects.

Redback Spider

Cicada

We’ve also got echidnas. Aren’t they cute?

Echidna

And Blue Tongue Lizards.

Blue Tongue Lizard

Pretty architecture too.

Church

So really, all you’ve learnt from this foray into my corner of the world is that I live in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a sea of poppies.

We get good sunsets though. I’m not complaining.

Sunset

Comments

19 responses to “Around the world – Tasmania”

  1. Brenda Avatar

    Love your slice of paradise there Veronica.

  2. Kristin Avatar

    I still think it’s terribly romantic (except, perhaps, for the spiders and poisonous snakes). I love anywhere rural and that’s what makes Kansas tolerable for me. We don’t have a harbor, though. That’s a couple thousand miles away. 🙂

  3. Shannon Avatar

    Tasmania looks STUNNING. I’ve always wanted to go. Your post has made me all dribbly with envy, the photos are brilliant.

    Fantastic view of your world and I’ll link you as soon as the post goes up.

  4. […] One is on Tasmania, as part of Shannon’s ‘Around the world in 80 blogs’ challenge and the other is a humorous look at blogging that I’m quite happy with. […]

  5. Lily Avatar

    Gorgeous landscape… So much space to take a breath and relax.

  6. Jeanette Avatar

    My word, looks like a beautiful place

  7. Miss Ash Avatar

    I definitely need to see such a marvelous place in person!

  8. Siera Avatar

    I love the simple beauty of wehre you live. You’re very luck to live there.

  9. lceel Avatar

    The one thing (well, the two things, actually) that would bring me to Taz more than any other, are you and your Mum.

  10. Kris Avatar
    Kris

    Wow – what a gorgeous place to live. Your photos are lovely too – even the car photos 🙂 Thank you for sharing. I probably couldn’t be further from you (Upstate New York), but it’s nice meeting you.

  11. QoB Avatar

    The first time I saw an echidna I was mesmerised. They don’t walk, they kinda rotate/roll… I think if I lived in Tassie, I’d just watch them all the time…

  12. ~Easy Avatar

    It all looks like beautiful country. I think I could do without the spiders, tho

  13. geohde Avatar

    I can go down the road from my place and make faces at cows, but that’s urban sprawl for you 🙂

    g

  14. Katy Avatar

    Wow….just…wow!

    I wish Pittsburgh got sunsets like that!

  15. diamond dave Avatar

    Some pretty scenery you got there. Love the shots of the hills and the countryside. But all the poisonous spiders and snakes would make me very skittish.

  16. river Avatar
    river

    I used to dream of visiting Tassie. Now you’ve woken those dreams again with your photos. Who cares if you take them from the car? At least we get to see bits of your wonderful countryside.

  17. Brenda Avatar

    I’d love to visit Tassie, but the snakes and bugs really aren’t my thing. Lovely countryside, even if it is the middle of nowhere.

  18. Fi Avatar

    Ah, just beautiful!

    Merry Christmas over there in Tasmania from us over here in New Zealand 🙂

  19. Randy Avatar
    Randy

    I visited Tasmania when I was a teenager in 1977. I don’t have any pictures, but I remember it being very, very beautiful. I will never forget that place. Thanks for the stunning pictures.

    Randy Blackmon
    Mobile, Alabama