Tassie Tales by Tracee...... Final Part

Now we get to the end of my travels, 2 nights in Franklin in the Huon Valley. I have been wanting my own little patch of grassy goodness in the Huon Valley for many years but there has always been other priorities holding me in Perth. After lots of internet study many years ago I decided on somewhere around either Cygnet or Geeveston & a trip where we stayed in those towns in 2009 made me even more sure I was on to a good thing when the time was right.

(beautiful Cygnet Bay)

At work some of our gorgeous girls were talking about a friend Janet, who used to work with them years ago and who with her husband Tony has brought a stunning property in Franklin in the Huon Valley. They intend to offer B&B accommodation too, so after an intro by the girls I was ready to be their number one customer in their new venture.

Now let me introduce to you my little partner in crime in my trip, my mighty hire car the Nissan Micra. Don't you love the colour, kind of a pinky bronze. He is only little & the hills between Launceston & Hobart and Hobart & Huonville did make him grunt a bit but the big test was Tony & Janets driveway.

You can't have the best views in the Huon without a driveway that goes up. So after extra instruction on the phone from Janet (out of automatic, 1st low range, keep moving) we were off on our first climb to the heavens.

And heaven it was.... Little car & I handled the climb no problem, even the next day after a bit of rain overnight, nothing to worry about. By then little Micra was feeling like a V8 & I am now officially an off road driver! Check out the view as you go back down.

With views like that you can imagine the ones from the house are pretty spectacular. Every room except the guest toilet has a view. This was from my bedroom window.

Of course the inside offers style, luxury & great comfort. It was nice to have a proper lounge room to sit & sew in after being in hotel rooms for 8 nights.

And breakfast cooked for you & served with a view each morning was a real relaxing way to start the day. That's the table I used over in the right corner, next to the windows & currently covered in my sewing stuff.

Of course, a highlight for me was chickens & roosters, little chicks hatched from eggs, sheep in the paddocks & gardens and wild areas to roam and take photos.

(self shedding sheep - this is Bobby (I think, or maybe Shaun) and baby) 

As hard as it was to leave my awesome accommodation, I did go for a drive around the next day, Friday, to check out if everything was as gorgeous in the Huon as I remembered. It was sad to see the dragon & crystal shop in Cygnet had gone but it has been replaced with chocolate manufacturers. I went especially to Geeveston to stop at the sushi shop (as seen on the latest Gourmet Farmer series) but it was 2.30pm by the time I got there & he was all sold out. Janet tells me his sushi is second to none, every piece a work of art & not your run of the mill takeaway sushi. Never mind,another excuse to go back soon & next time I'll be there earlier.

So I followed the water all day, went off roading again (expert in off roading in a 2 wheel drive micra!), saw where all the houses with the great views were and generally had a fantastic day.

The Huon is tranquil & vibrant at the same time & from what Janet told me Franklin is a lovely, welcoming community. So more information to ponder in my yearn for a cool, country life.....

I will get more info from Janet regarding their accommodation & if it is now officially open for business. I can't imagine anyone finding it not top class & the prices are very reasonable. There are two bedrooms, 1 queen & 1 with 2 king singles so great for a family too & like me, the kids will love the animals. I will post more info as I get it. Needless to say I highly recommend it!

Saturday I couldn't get a park to go to the salamanca markets, talked too long before leaving Franklin so went to the needlecraft store in Sandy Bay. To think I stayed there for 3 nights & never saw it until I saw an ad on Tv for it while down the Huon.

Next it was on a plane back to Melbourne. While sitting waiting for my Perth flight Melborne put on a great electrical storm that closed the airport & had everyone waiting for our flight very nervous. The lightning was hitting the ground & still planes were landing. It was quite a show & filled in time in a riveting way. Only 45 minutes late & Qantas had us all on our way back to Perth. Lucky it wasn't a week later....

So that's my travels in Tassie... Loved every minute of it.... Can't wait to go back......

Those of you who live their permanently, whether in the towns or country are very blessed.

Happy stitching (& travels)
Tracee xx