Native Folk

As I have mentioned a few times before, my children are chronic collectors. They find treasure everywhere they go and fill their pockets (my bag) with all of the must have souvenirs. 

I love that our children see treasure and beauty in the natural world... we just need to find a way to channel the 'goods' that are lovingly brought into our home.

So when we came across this book... we were inspired to use some of our treasures. In fact we were so inspired we spent 2 more days out bush walking, collecting even more treasures with vision.

I LOVE that resources from the natural world a completely free. All they require is for you to step out of your door and open your eyes. We found some really interesting things on the nature strip!

This afternoon was a 'Craft-a-noon' at our place and the whole family sat and created. A world of Native Folk, out of our treasures. 

All we needed was the natural resources we had collected and a hot glue gun (I LOVE HOT GLUE GUNS)

We had a lot of fun, here are our first attempts :)

Canoe Camping with Kids

Last year I had the privilege of working with a very skilled and very passionate Canoeing Instructor Travis Frenay. He instilled in me a LOVE of canoeing and the ability to control a boat, as I desire... even to look good when doing it :)

I really enjoyed our weekends out as a group, and was really surprised at just how much skill we were able to acquire in a relatively small period of time. Although I don't make it look like magic (like Travis does) I feel very comfortable making the canoe do what I want it to.

I was also excited by the possibility of being able to fit the kids in the boat, with Nath and I, and all the camping gear. We are keen to buy a boat, but wanted to see how to kids went in the canoe before investing.

As I started to pack I realised how much more stuff was needed for a family of 4. I am used to throwing together the minimum. If I forget something, it doesn't really matter, I'll make do. With the kids in tow... I needed to remember everything x 4. I started to worry about fitting it all in the boat and leaving enough room for the kids. The boat we were hiring was smaller than the one we would buy. The man at the hire place was worried we wouldn't fit in. I assured him we would... I just needed at assure myself :)

When the boats and barrels arrived I looked at my pile of 'stuff' and set to work. I can pack well... no space wasted. I got all of our gear down to 2 barrels and 2 school bag sized back packs. I was chuffed. The barrels went in and the kids straddled their backpacks as seats.

We were loaded... completely self sufficient in one boat.  A heavy boat, but set to go. We were all kitted with PFD's and set off on our adventure.

The kids were relaxed and calm, not anxious at all (thank goodness!) I was worried about us bring slower than the group, as we were so loaded. But with Nath and I muscling along, we powered through the water.


The kids loved it! We loved it! Bring on the water, off on an adventure, with my whole family in one boat... that is what we live for.

I had a smile from ear to ear.

Once the kids got even more comfortable in the boat we hit a few hurdles. They wanted to lean over the edge... but in a laden boat that was a little to much 'tilt' for my liking. They also LOVED paddling... but with only 2 paddles that meant one of us was unable to paddle. Therefore we went nowhere fast.

I see both of these as very 'fixable'. A bigger boat would be less laden and we have an extra paddle or 2 for playing in the water with. Easy fixed.

For kids, it really is a long time sitting in one place. But with the spectacular beauty around us they were pretty engaged. With the amazing feeling of gliding over the water, they were pretty engaged.

A few tips and tricks to when they get restless...
- Paddle close to shore and spot all the interesting things you would other wise miss. Lillies, lizards, waterfalls...
- Play games like 'I Spy'
- Sing... loud... fill the valley with your family in song
- Have plenty of snacks with you
- Have an extra paddle
- Stop every few kilometers to explore, stretch legs and have a swim!

There is no rush. I believe that when adventuring with kids it is important to factor in a lot of exploring time to the schedule. If we become goal oriented we miss the adventure along the way. In a canoe we are paddling to places we cannot get to by foot... make the most of it!

We had a wonderful weekend away. The kids took to the boat like a house on fire. Orlando even makes an awesome paddler. This is definitley something we wont to do again, often. So with a canoe set up (We-no-nah) now on the cards, we are excited to start planning many more adventures. Exploring places you can only see by boat.

Treasure Bags

On a rainy day not long ago....

Orlando suggested he wanted to do some hand-sewing. Hand sewing has become a little popular in our household recently so I said "SURE why not!". We sorted through fabrics, found one that was firm enough. Not too floppy, but easy enough to get a wool needle through. Felt or a wool blend works really well, and set to work.

Orlando picked a wool he wanted to sew with and we chatted about what he wanted sew. He suggested a little bag for treasures. Being the treasure hunter that he is, I thought this was a brilliant idea. He wanted it to be for a bush walk and he could collect bush treasures (a man after my own heart).

We cut out a rectangle, folded it over - leaving a little to cut into an interesting shaped flap. We tie on the wool and Orlando set to work with his running stitch. A button and a button sowed later and he was rather chuffed. A handle is yet to come.

Instead of stopping there he decided "Matilda and I explore in the forest together, so I think she will need one too. Matilda I am going to make one for you to."  What a generous soul he is. He picked some fabric and wool for her and set to work. 

This inspired Matilda to come and sew. Instead of over complicating things, I gave her a square of fabric, attached the wool and allowed her to stitch throughout the fabric where ever and how ever she pleased. She loved this and felt rather important sitting up there stitching with Orlando. I think it also looks rather good, the contrasting wool and fabric. What ever she created was going to be beautiful.

So they may be rustic, but the kids love them, and most importantly they made them all by themselves. This sense of connection and ownership makes using the treasure bag so much more special. The bag is a treasure in itself. A treasure to hold all future treasures. 

Sewing, like beading, is a fantastic opportunity for children to develop their fine motor control and attention to detail. Bring at an age where writing and communicating your ideas through drawings is of great importance  I am always happy to provide opportunities for Orlando to strengthen his fingers and dexterity. Also to be able to work carefully and take pride in this care. Every stitch was examined to see if he felt it was good enough. This is bound to create great pride and a wonderful feeling of self fulfillment.

  

Coming Home

Our grand journey had come to an end. We are home. Ahhhh...

We have loved every minute of our journey, but once the car started heading in the homeward direction it was hard to stop! 

After the Arapiles, we stopped in at the Grampians. Very beautiful place. On arrival we had hit the hygienic low of our journey. We were with limited water and no showers for 6 days of dusty, sweaty rock climbing. All of us had an air of grubby-ness that you only seemed to notice when you were in town around all the clean people...

Grand Canyon, Grampians

It turned out our camp had a mountain stream through it. The weather was actually hot, very hot, so I stripped us all in to cosies and gave us a rinse in the river. The water was mind numbingly cold. I'm a water baby and I had trouble convincing myself to get in. Nathan, up at the camp-site, said he could hear the kids murderous screams, accompanied by my wicked cackle and he could imagine exactly what was going on down at the river.

Our next camp was Daylesford which was delightful but we only stayed 2 nights as our hearts knew it was home time. We got up early, set off and with only a short stop for lunch, drove the full 9 hours back to Canberra. As we drove down the Barton Hwy towards Canberra, conversations turned to our favourite memories from the past 8 weeks and the things we were really looking forward to back home.

So How has it been being back home?

Well it has been a different experience thats for sure! Here are the main points we have all noticed, since being home...

- Our bedroom is the size of 2 caravans.... who really needs all that space?
- The more space you have, the more mess you make.... and the longer it takes to clean it all up...
- I LOVE my shower... it is free, there and no time limits, I don't have to wear thongs in there and I don't have to manage getting dressed in a wet shower cubicle
- It takes more than 1 shower to scrub 8 weeks of dirt off yourself
- We have A LOT of stuff... and much of it just sits there
- It is nice not having to pay for every load of washing (mind you we got home, put on the first of 10 loads of washing and the machine started flooding the laundry... crap... a 50 piece had blown a hole in the side of the outer plastic basin, Nath spent the whole day fixing it... because he is good like that :))
- The kids are adoring re-discovering their toys
- We kept to ourselves for the first few days... this was great! Kids re-found each other in the new space instead of turning straight to friends. We have been able to continue our holiday relationships back in our familiar  habitual environment
- A lot changes in 8 weeks, the new traffic lights are finished, a new MacDonalds has been built, and our supermarket is all switched around and different!
- We have more time in every day than we think we do. We just need to turn off the media boxes, get up and do it!
- The kids really have grown! Tilly can reach the door knobs and toilet flush button now!

We are slowly entering the social world around us again, but I have definitely noticed that we are moving at a different pace than everybody else (the man who was beeping me to drive faster noticed it also :)I have hardly driven in 8 weeks so I was taking my time :))

So overall are we glad we took the gamble and went on our trip

ABSOLUTELY!!

We are REALLY bonded and close as a family and the kids eyes have been opened to SO MANY new ideas and experiences. Hearing them talk and describe our holiday to others makes it very clear just how much they got out of the whole experience.

So our adventure ends here, but leaves us with life memories and relationships that will last for many many years to come...

An Air of Adventure

Since being back on mainland Australia we have explored the Great Ocean Rd, stayed at a beautiful beach in the Great Otaways National Park.  It has all been very beautiful, but our eyes were set on getting to Mount Arapalies. I don't think we were going to be settled anywhere until got there. So, with a service stop at a cheap little caravan park with free washing machines, we set off a few days early for Mount Arapalies.


You drive through the great expanse of the Wimmera Plains. They are completely flat, broken up into squares of green wheat and brilliant yellow canola. Rising out of the flat in front of you is a mammoth rock mountain, like an enormous beetle sitting on the horizon.

This is a size comparison.
When the correct way up you
should be able to see 4 climbers on the  'pipe'
2nd in from the right :)

The camp ground is right at the foot of the cliffs. The camp is littered with tiny 'extreme' tents and I'm surprised just how many people are here. As I said before, we have come accustom to not having many others at our campsites so this is quite a change! As you are so close to the cliffs, you can hear climbers on the rocks. You can sit at camp with a cup of tea and watch them like tiny ants working their way up a 130m cliff face. It's quite spectacular.

Most of the campers are sleek bodied, muscled, risk takers. I find myself envying their toned bodies and their ability to physically and mentally push them selves to the extreme. There are just as many women here as men which is great and really inspiring.  I thought that most people would have been uni age through to late 20's but there is such an age range. Ollie and Tilly are by far the youngest :) but there are families with older kids and even an old grey couple who climb with the best of them.

The whole campsite seems to follow the same routine. Everyone wakes early, not a lot of noise until the rattle of the racks begins. Climbing gear has a very distinct rattle. Then after a little discussion about who's rack is the best, they start the pilgrimage to the cliffs. Climb all morning, back to camp for lunch and off to the cliffs for an afternoon climb. At dusk climbers come out of the wood work and the campsite fills with jovial discussions and reminiscent recounts on the days adventures. Most are early to bed as they have both physically an mentally challenged them selves through out the day.

I am in great awe of rock climbers. It is something I would like to be a lot better at. As I said before, the whole process of climbing is a physical challenge, testing their bodies to their limit. I go to the gym for an hour and shake my booty and feel good about it, but these guys put physical demands and stress on their bodies all day and then go back the next day to do it all again. Climbers challenge themselves, but they also do it in the throws of nature, beautiful locations. They need to be really trusting, they are allowing another person to be in charge of their safety/life.

Having my other half as a rock climber, it is something I have always wanted to put time into getting good at. Being able to climb as a couple is very convenient. In all previous attempts, my fear of my own physicality got in the way of me getting very far at all. It was hard, it hurt and I didn't really believe I could do it, so I didn't.

I think rock climbing is half the mental will and determination to do it.

Before we begun this holiday I made the decision to give it a really good go. Over the past 12 months I have learnt to push my body to do hard things. I have got a lot fitter and am more aware about how my body works and it's abilities. I have realised that I am stronger than I think I am.

Ollie's confidence and ability to climb has sky rocketed. We are having to put limits on what is okay to climb un-roped. Nath and Ollie are adoring climbing together. So when I heard Tilly say to me quietly "When I get bigger maybe I can be a boy and be a rock climber like Daddy and Ollie". It was the clincher that I needed. Tilly needed to see that girls can be climbers to. That girls can physically and mentally push them selves to the limit to. Not just boys.

So in being amongst all of these climbers, what better time get to it and challenge myself...

Nath and I agreed that we would start with baby steps. Do some easy ones to build my confidence. We did and I got to the top!!!! Twice!!! I didn't feel scared at all, in fact I trusted my ability to do it and I did it. Nath choose well. I trust him completely and this makes the whole process easier. I know he loves me and he isn't going to let me fall.

I think through my climbing today I have realized that trust is the biggest mental  challenge I needed to overcome. Trust in my ability, my safety, trust in Nath, in the rope, in the shoes gripping and in the fact that the world isn't out to get me, rip me of the rock and throw me down.


I still have a whole lot of practice to do and need to gain a lot more confidence but I'm getting there and hopefully after the next week of practice I can feel empowered to take more physical challenges, and then I can rock it with all these extreme cool people and not feel like such an imposter :)

LOOK!!! Mum!!!!

As I have had a lot of time for reflection I have been observing the role of Mothers within the family unit. As all mothers know there are too many roles to mention, but here I’m going to share just one.

I have found it interesting to observe the role of mothers as ‘validators’. Often I feel that within the family unit, mothers are this central figure that is the ‘go to’ person for EVERYTHING. Now this, as we know, can at times be exhausting. But it also can be very rewarding. When someone in our family is hurt, it isn’t fixed until Mum knows about it. If a fight has occurred, it isn’t truly over until Mum knows about it. If something great happens, it isn’t truly celebrated until Mum knows all about it.

I have also noticed this in a small way on our holiday. When the kids or Nath find this along the walk, track or beach it’s “MUM!! Look at this!” and they run, treasure in hand to share the discovery with me. Each member seems oblivious of any demands the others are making so at times you can be being called to ‘validate’ 3 different things all at once! It is also joyous though as you get to share in all the great discoveries! 

It has made me think about how much humans have a need to share and communicate their discoveries with others. It is like by sharing it, we validate the experience for ourselves.

Over the past week or two I have taken to photographing (when the camera was with me) all the treasures I have been asked to ‘validate’ and thought I would share them with you!

Catch Up Take 2!

Well in my last posting I said that at Mt Field the sun came out... Well it has stayed out ever since, so I have been out busy enjoying our holiday and not had a lot of time for blogging or much Internet connection (good old Tassie!). We have some mega catching up to do! More than 2 weeks worth actually!!! So it will be brief but I'll elaborate when we get home :)

Following Mt Field we went to:

Bruny Island
This was a wonderful stop. We rode the ferry (or Fairy as the kids are convinced it is) over. Orlando was in heaven! Yet another form of transport to add to the repertoire! Or camp site was on one end of "The Neck" which is the famous isthmus the joins north and south islands together. Our campsite was merely meters from the BEAUTIFUL beach and we very much enjoyed sleeping to the beating of the waves (have actually had this for 3 weeks now and will miss it as we move inland).
We could have stayed here for weeks! The island has a small population but it has a beautiful relaxed atmosphere. There are little factories and farms like the cheese factory, the smoke house, the berry farm and fudge shop. We did the tour and went back to our beach with a hamper full of goodies to enrich our camping pantry. We had sunshine and no wind YAY!!

We saw the Fairy Penguins waddle in from the beach at night time and squark around their nests (the part of the holiday Matilda has been waiting for.... I think she is still a little surprised they didn't look like the fairies she was imagining :))

Dover

Our dear friend Kathryn and her daughter Jasmine live in the little fishing village of Dover. It is always good to spend some time with old friends. Particularly ones you were very close to and then don't see for ages. It was nice being in a house for a few nights but a bit of a culture shock also. The kids were in heaven! Another kid to play with! And TOYS!!!!!!!! After an awkward start, Orlando and Jasmine hit it off and quickly made friends. Orlando found it rather tricky to say good bye to Jasmine, she made quite an impression on him. He sobbed for a good half an hour when we left, upset he wasn't going to see her again for a long time. This was also a clear indication for us that he is REALLY missing all of his friends and the social community he has around him at home.

Hobart
Well Hobart nearly blew us away!! LITERALLY! This was when the gale force winds hit Tasmania and Victoria and Oh MY!! We were in a horrible little Caravan Park on the outskirts of Hobart and were in a wind tunnel next to a bay so we had 3 sleepless nights just trying to hold the van down so that it didn't take off! Nathan's wonderful rope skills meant that he was able to tie the roof of the van to the ground to hold it down. This wind scared me a bit and I didn't feel settled or safe.

But on the touristy side of things we went to the Cadbury Factory and learnt all about chocolate. The kids were in heaven! We also brought a good lot of it from the very very cheap retail shop (I was also GOB SMACKED buy the amount of chocolate some people we buying OMG why are they not the size of houses!)


We also spent a very windy day in Hobart at the Salamanca markets which is always a nice day out. Got some delicious produce to nibble and found a FANTASTIC little book shop in Salamanca square. Could of spent days in there. It was my idea of a beautiful little tucked away treasure. Even the kids were happy for a full hour looking at all the kids books.

We had our Belated Fathers Day. We went to see MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) This is a great gallery and a real asset to the Art world. We really enjoyed our visit here, the museum has been well done. We also agreed that much of it, is not the sort of art we really like to look at! A bit too much exhibitionism for my liking. We then went over to the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens. These are beautiful but it was really interesting to been in a 'constructed' natural space after spending so much time in wild natural spaces.

Tasman Peninsular

I always marvel at how old foot stones
wear down over hundreds of years
 and millions of uses.

We were pleased and relieved to be going bush again and this is a beautiful part of Tasmania. We camped at Fortescue Bay which is a stunning beach with white sands and picture perfect blue water. We had quite an adventure getting in to our campsite as it was raining, just a little, but enough! The road was dirt and the hill was long and VERY steep and started to go straight up, straight after a sharp corner, so you didn't even know it was coming to get a good run up.... well with this and a whole lot of loose, wet slippery gravel on the road.... we couldn't get up the hill... Bugger... we had 3 attempts, each time Nath had to reverse the car and van down the ridiculous hill that was so slippery we were sliding even when stopped and trying to be still. Just when we were discussing other camping options in the area an 'old cobber' came out of no where in his little suzuki and said "Common cobber, hook this to your bus, we need to get those kiddies to the beach!" and he hooked a tow rope to the front of the car and his little box of a 4WD pulled us, the car and the van up the hill. Thank goodness! And bless the little bush yokel fairy that saved our asses!

 
Once here we really enjoyed a day at Port Arthur. Ollie really loved the stories about how people used to live and we only included a few of the horrible bits :) Tilly didn't understand much of it but loved the old houses. We also went on an epic bush walk that was meant to be "flat 3 hr coastal walk". Well it took us at least 4 1/2 hrs and was VERY hilly. Like we walked over the top of 3 mountainous headlands. By the end we all felt exhausted but satisfied. Ollie walked the whole lot of it and Tilly helped me build back and shoulder strength with her luxury back pack ride.







Freycinet
Being the "Gold Coast of Tasmania" and Tasmanian school holidays, it was a lot busier here than we have had anywhere (saying that we have come accustomed to having campgrounds to our selves :)) So we felt a little crowded. We are also starting to get a bit tired and need to remember to schedule in some slow days, other wise we are going to need a holiday from our holiday!

We had a meander along some little pebble beaches, one with some amazing granite boulders and caves. The bouldering/rock climbing bug has bitten Ollie and Nath and Ollie are having some FANTASTIC boy time going off and rock scrambling. Matilda on the other hand sits in the sand or pebbles and has a little sensory massage, rubbing and rolling her whole body in the sand. She gets in quite a zone!


We also did the iconic Wineglass Bay walk. Up to the lookout and over the mountain to possibly one of the world's most beautiful beaches. I am so pleased they haven't put a road through nature to get easy access here but instead you have to walk, a decent walk, to enjoy and appreciate its beauty. We continued on an extended bush walk, totaling 5 hrs of walking. Ollie has developed into a champion walker and only complains a little near the end of 5 hrs, which in all honesty we all feel like doing :) I found it interesting to reflect on the beauty of the beach and then to discover why it is called wineglass bay. Partly it is to do with it's shape, but mainly, due to how deep it is and the fact that it is very protected, it was an area of great protection for whales and it had an enormous migrating whaler population.  During early settlement of the area it was discovered how many whales were here, and low an behold man started to slaughter them at great speed. First all the Sperm Whales and then the Humpbacks, so much so that the bay was continuously full of blood, so much that it looked like a glass full of red wine.... :(


Mole Creek
For our last stop in Tasmania we have decided to stop at the sleepy little town of Mole Creek. Today we went and explored the caves which was one of the most beautiful and well preserved limestone tour caves I've seen. It also houses one of the largest populations of Glow Worms. The kids have become quite the glow worm fans! Ollie expressed today that they were like beautiful stars and he and Nath are hatching a plan to construct a glow worm haven on his roof at home. Tomorrow we bush walk some more and go and visit the honey shop and other gourmet delights.

On Wednesday evening we embark on our return voyage on the Spirit (as you could of guessed Ollie has been talking about for a week already!) and then we have just over 2 weeks of this journey left! Time is flying for us!

5 Weeks in we have settled into a nice hum together as a family. The kids have made great friends and are really enjoying each others company. We are thankful for the bonding we have the opportunity to be doing and I think it will stay with us for a long time following this journey. All of our internal communication has improved out of sight and we are appreciating each other everyday. Parts of us are longing for home, we miss our friends, family and lives. We miss our chickens and garden, which should be blossoming just beautifully about now. But that will all be there waiting for us on our return.

Coming to the end of the Tassie leg it is hard not to feel like we're going home. In a part we are but we still have 2 1/2 week in Victoria. It's hard to get there mentally right now so we are just being and will explore Vic when we arrive on Thursday! (Which is also my BEAUTIFUL little sister's Birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNA!!)

Until then...

Caio!