On the weekend, we went to the Great Lakes in the Central Highlands.
The weather had forecast snow but we did not realise how amazing it was going to be. We nearly didn't get there. We left Friday around 7pm as Hallie had her soccer grand final which didn't finish until after 5. (they won!) By the time we had finished packing the car and got underway, it was dark and raining. We only had to drive just over an hour away but about half way there, the car started slipping on the icy snow which with the elevation and drop in temperature, made the car just slip and slide on the road. It was very scary and it took awhile to turn the car back around. We decided to try and go in the other end from Poatina but the same thing happened. We could do nothing but go home after 3 hours of being in the car to try and get only an hour away. Emerson screamed away as he hates being in the car for too long, echoing all our own sentiments.
We got home, unpacked the food and went to bed very dejected. The forecast was for snow all Saturday but we decided to give it another go anyway as the temperature was not as cold as the night before. It was very snowy but a grader had moved a bit of the snow off the road, up until Pine Lake anyway. The rest of the trip was pretty much snow on the road but we made it with such a sigh of relief as we knew that we didn't want to miss out on our snow weekend.
Our car made it about halfway up the driveway before it got stuck but we were only about 50 metres from the house spot we walked everything up. You can see our footprints all over the driveway in the photo below and see how thick the snow was.
It took Simon and Hallie about an hour to get the car up to the house using a spade and pieces of wood to move the car.
The kids wanted to get out straightaway and play in the snow. They loved the novelty of being outside, knowing that at any time they could run back in to the nice warm fire.
Emerson has a bit of a cold and cough so he was happy to watch from inside.
The accommodation is an old ranger's hut owned by parks and Wildlife. It is pretty dated but sleep 13 and only cost us $80 for the night. it has 2 bathrooms and the main thing was the big beautiful wood fire that kept us very toasty.
It has practically everything in the kitchen in the way of utensils, saucepans, toaster, crockery etc and Flynn loved drinking his milk out of the plastic wine goblets he found. 😋
You had to bring your own bedding and towels but other than that and your food, it was pretty much all set up.
The next day was actually quite warm and sunny so we took the opportunity to explore a little in the snow and continue work on the snowman before heading home again.
Simon took the drone up on the way home to get some amazing footage of Tasmania's beautiful wilderness. It never ceases to amaze me at how beautiful our country is and there is nothing like being in nature and getting away from all the day to day responsibilities. It has a way of making you pause and appreciate what is around you.
Postscript....
Toby bird and Theo dog had a lovely time being babysat. I think they had such a good time, they may not have wanted to come back. Back at home I think the cats loved the peace and quiet they rarely get to enjoy.
