Author: TravellinPenguin

The Penguin and I are travelling in a lovely little town on the northwest coast called Penguin.  You might wonder why a town was named as such. Tasmania is home to the smallest Penguin of the species. They were always called “Fairy Penguins” for decades but political correctness caught up to that and now they are just called “Little” or “Small” Penguins. ( I know- dumb!)

They swim out to sea during the day and then after dusk parade onto the shore to their burrows. Tourists come from all over to see them in various parts of Australia. You can read more about them here if you are interested. 

Along the east coast of Tasmania there are many more and when driving down the road along the coast you will pass road signs with a drawing of a Penguin. It means be careful for them. It is not a sight one sees regularly in the world.

I digress.  Today had us up to a quiet, sunny day with little wind at first. Coffee out back was enjoyable and there were many birds flitting around.

After breakfast we drove to the town of Penguin which is only about 11 kms down the road. We followed the train track the entire way.

The following are photos from the day.  It has been a lovely way to spend Christmas Eve day.

Today we woke up to a very windy day.  Rain was predicted for later afternoon but we have not seen it yet.  As we have no Christmas shopping to do and plenty of food in our little fridge we decided to go see the local lighthouse. Mersey Bluff in Devonport is only 17 kms from where we are staying.  We have been in Tasmania 30 years (almost) and never seen this candy cane light house.  There is a short walk around it and the coastline.

We loaded up Odie and Molly after their breakfast and off we went. Here are the photos.

We stopped at a lookout on the way back to the cottage from the lighthouse. Beautiful cattle and long ranging views.

We decided to escape from the hustle and bustle of crazy gridlocked traffic in Hobart for the northwest coast of Tasmania. We will be here a few days over the holiday season. The best part of it is we found a pet friendly accommodation and our dear dogs are with us. The sad part is our three cats have been sent to ‘camp’ as we tell them. (cattery)

Christmas may have fun moments but the stress of the level of activity is never far from home. Why is it we go for months without lunches, parties or dinners with friends then at Christmas everything has to happen at once. On top of running around making sure your cards are sent and gifts are lined up you have to eat non stop. It isn’t that I don’t like Christmas. I just don’t have the energy I used to have and trying to get it is exhausting.

Now we will relax.  Our little accommodation comes with a cute little bungalow, an ocean view, a very tiny back yard and you won’t believe this…a freight train that goes through the yard four times every 24 hours. The ad for the place forgot to mention the freight train. The bungalow is very modern. Lovely as can be. But it

comes with this train. The whole cottagevibrates as it goes by.  The first tremor we experienced was about 10:15 at night. We heard it cut through the darkness. The next one was at 5:00 am. Yes….AM!!!

Another one went through going the opposite direction about 10:30 am. Then the last one heard was this afternoon. I heard the whistle and ran out and got some photographs. Maybe there won’t be so many over the weekend and on Christmas Day.

We keep the dogs leashed so they don’t get onto the track or on the busy road out front which also wasn’t mentioned in the ad. Though that does show up on the map. Beach access is a couple of kms down the road. We can see the water but it is protected wetlands so we can’t get to it.

Just before we drove up here I finally finished the book of short memoirs by Western Australian author Tim Winton. I only listened to it while in the car. It took awhile to finish it. People don’t drive long distances in Tasmania.  I lifted a description of this book from Good Reads:

In The Boy Behind the Curtain Winton reflects on the accidents, traumatic and serendipitous, that have influenced his view of life and fuelled his distinctive artistic vision. On the unexpected links between car crashes and religious faith, between surfing and writing, and how going to the wrong movie at the age of eight opened him up to a life of the imagination. And in essays on class, fundamentalism, asylum seekers, guns and the natural world he reveals not only the incidents and concerns that have made him the much-loved writer he is, but some of what unites the life and the work.

I love Tim Winton because he describes Western Australia  as no other person does. He grew up there during the 1970’s and his stories can be harrowing. They can also be funny. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. We think the same way about social issues and the environment and in this day and age of right winged fanatics it is soothing to the soul to hear an intelligent person discuss what much of the rest of the world thinks. He agrees with me and that is always a bonus.

I have scattered a few photos amongst this post so I hope you enjoy them. Enjoy your Christmas weekend and I hope you find a bit of peace and quiet within it when you can sit back and breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

(Note: I might add I just began reading Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. I have heard so much about it I thought I’d have a look at it. More on that later.)

Odie ponders a beach he has never seen before.