New Year on the Sunshine Coast

We made it to Tasmania on schedule last Wednesday, and the sun was indeed shining. We are staying in the house that belonged to Tom's Mum and Dad, next door to his sister Jane, in a little village called Scamander, which is a seaside resort on the north east coast about ten miles south of the town of St. Helens. Miles of beaches and lots of walks in the forestry on the other side of the Tasman Highway. It's peak summer holiday season here so it's relatively busy - lots of camper vans on the road - but it still looks empty to anyone used to beach resorts elsewhere. This is the view along the beach looking south from Scamander.

Our mornings so far have been largely taken up with clearing and cleaning in the house - it lets us feel we're earning the free board and outstanding evening meals. In the afternoons we have been exploring the area on foot. We've discovered Shelly Point, a real treasure trove for shell collectors, and we've also been up to the Skyline Tier Lookout. It turned out to be a long dusty walk mostly on forestry roads and we didn't see a soul, just one wallaby briefly in the trees and a big 4-wheel drive in the distance. This is the view from the lookout, with Scamander spread around the bay in the centre of the picture.



On New year's Eve we all went to Binalong Bay, another little resort just beyond St. Helens at the start of the Bay of Fires, for a barbecue with Vic's brother Pete and his family. That's how to bring in the New Year Aussie style.

On New Year's Day we went to the races at St. Mary's with a crowd of Jane and Vic's friends. Not racing as we know it, it's called pacing and the horse doesn't gallop it trots, pulling the jockey - sorry the driver - behind in a little two-wheel buggy. Out of ten races we managed to pick one third place, so not much success there! We still have a couple of walks in mind then next week we plan to hire a car and head down to Hobart.