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Tuesday 17 June 2014

Orbit.

It's no secret I have a bit of a thing for escapism…..it's where I've been hanging out for the last little while. Curiously, it's the allure of the Stockholm Archipelago that has been fuelling our most recent escapist fantasies. As usual, there are no half measures in our family…..yet instead of going so far as to actually buy the tickets and workshop the myriad details involved in yet another extended leave of absence from Hobart……we are leaving a wake through the waterways of Southern Tasmania in our boat:



and restoring an historic boat shed…..five minutes drive from our home:






It's our loose interpretation of Southern Tasmania meets Northern Europe…..and for us, it's the best of both worlds. I'm starting to see what Proust meant when he wrote 'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.' Thank you words of wisdom found in a Baci wrapper.

Dreams of boats, boat sheds and archipelago's all collided over the Queen's Birthday long weekend when, with fabulous friends and our combined assortment of children, we staged an actual escape to Satellite Island…..which rises out the waters of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel…..between Gordon on the mainland and Alonnah on Bruny Island:




Satellite Island is uninhabited……except for Richard the manager who lives in his own cottage over near the disused fish farm, a wild roaming herd of deer and free ranging chickens. To really set the scene, you arrive by water…..we moored at the boat house jetty under the cover of darkness by the guidance of torches and candlelight. The boat house is perched over the water and is all tricked up for accommodation as it has a double bedroom and a cavernous bunk room…..which easily fit all of our children. Big roll a doors in each room open directly onto the panorama…...which I imagine must be utterly superlative on a still, summery day. There are sun lounges and a fire pit on the surrounding deck….which was the perfect location to toast marshmallows and watch as the wintery sun sank into the icy waters:


Evocatively named, the Summer House is accessed by stairs which lead all the way from the boat house to the top of the cliff where it nestles amongst the trees…..the windows frame vast expanses of sky and watery view and you can see the twinkling lights of Alonnah in the distance (the closest pub and shop are there). Inside, there is a shack aesthetic going on, decoration is embellished in the vernacular…..lots of driftwood, wicker baskets, corrugated iron in one of the bathrooms, candles and stones, antlers and a slow combustion fire….with piles of magazines (Satellite Island was on the front cover of  'Country Style' in March) and books.

I'll admit that I was somewhat panicked by the preparation involved for life on a desert island…..for three nights. Our fishing abilities are notoriously appalling. So, I resorted to lugging an enormous Le Creuset French oven with lamb shanks….slow cooked with a melange of vegetables and herbs, white wine, tomato passata and a hint of anchovy…..over on my lap.  Like magic it was transformed into soup with the leftover meat shredded and the addition of water, pearl barley and a grating of grana padano. Wild oysters shucked off the rocks,  local cheese from the Bruny Island Cheese Co and Grandvewe at Birch's Bay, home made pizzas and a bbq took care of other meals. Of course, my husband couldn't resist showing off his eggs benedict one morning for breakfast….hollandaise being my own personal cooking nemesis as I have the innate knack of ALWAYS being able to make it separate…..which never fails to reduce me to tears. He makes it seem so effortless.

We circumnavigated the island at low tide along the rocky shelf:




And explored vistas from the cliff tops:




Being lulled to sleep by the rhythmic tones of the tide ebbing and flowing underneath the boat shed was enchanting as were seeing the first weak, wintery rays of light coming through the picture window signalling morning….yet I'm sorry to say that I struggled with dreadful insomnia, paranoid that our three year old would wake in the middle of the night in the summer house (we'd strategically positioned one set of parents in each 'house' to keep an eye on children) and feel compelled, in the dark, to navigate the perilous cliff face stairs down across the unfenced deck surrounding the boat house to try and find us…..or that I'd need to reverse the journey to get to the loo. Why is relaxation with small children so elusive?

Anyway, our boys spent their stay in what can only be described as adventure heaven. They fashioned their own bows and arrows from collected sticks and feathers…..serendipitously there was a ball of string on the bookcase…..and entertained themselves for days (rain and shine) stalking the island's deer and working out where they were with their compasses:




Happily, it was more in line with 'The Dangerous Book for Boys' than 'The Lord of the Flies'. I'm all for children creating their own fun and we shamelessly ban technology on family holidays to try and show them what life was like in the good old olden days…..way back when we were children. Imagine our delight when the boys, unprompted,  said that our trip to Satellite Island was the best family holiday ever…..except for Legoland!

Now that we've consciously opened our eyes and are really looking at our surroundings…...instead of yearning for foreign climes (although I am guilty of doing just a little bit of that too….Oh, Uzes how I ache just reminiscing about you!)….there's no denying it, Southern Tasmania in winter, really is an amazing place.

Rx

19 comments:

  1. Yay - you're back! Wonderful post, I'm SO envious… I had family yachting holidays down the Coorong as a child, and around the wilds of the islands off Port Lincoln (you don't want to try swimming around there…), and can't wait until my children are old enough to replicate the adventurousness of those holidays in the wild (they must all be able to swim before I'll do it). How lucky you are to have the ability to do this so close by, and to get there by your own boat as well. Lovely post. xx

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    1. Thanks Heidi! The boat is one of the best things that we've done this year….it's perfect for Hobart as there is so much waterway to explore and when we tire of that and need a change of scene we just tow it on the Volvo to wherever….the Tasman Peninsula, Launceston, Bridport…..! There are also a string of fab restaurants within an easy boat trip from Hobart to where we often head on a Sunday. Kim had a yacht before we embarked on the second child and dreams of owning one again yet with 4 children a motor boat is perfect as you don't need to mess around with sails and you can return home quickly! Your boating childhood sounds idyllic….so keen to try and give my own children interesting memories! Rx

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  2. thank God you are back! I have missed you! The kids look so big!! A ferrari crashed into my car outside kindy. Apart from that I am well. Your big girl looks so grown up! Miss you darling xxxx

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    1. Quelle horreur…I hope you two weren't inside? My big girl is now taller than me and about to become a teenager…..I must admit to being just a tad terrified of entering that vortex! Miss you too….seems like ages until our scheduled trip?! Rx

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  3. Oh stop Romy - I am so homesick. And citysick as in sick of the city. I need some wide open sky and water... We used to sail down to Partridge Island and moor. Satellite Island looks gorgeous. Lovely to have you back, I have missed your writing. x

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    1. Oh the sky down here has been magical of late….all of those grey mists and raging red sunsets…..and the penetrating beams of David's MoFo light show which reach into the skies around greater Hobart…I swear I awoke during the other night to see them shining on my ceiling! I wish we owned an island….had my husband check to see if any were for sale….none in Tasmania….yet plenty in Sweden! Last month we motored down to Port Huon for lunch at the Kermandie Hotel…and stopped at Arch Rock! It's beautiful down that way. Rx

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  4. WHat a lovely post with amazing photos. Tasmania is stunning and it is a place I even went to on my own once. It is hard to see when you live there. Sometimes I want to get out of London and find it amusing people want to come here. Wanderlust is an affliction of which there is no cure. But I think that beach hut is a good start! Great to have you back :)

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    1. Thanks Naomi! Fancy, you've been to Hobart….although the city is hopping with tourists at the moment for the Dark MoFo festival….my children are desperate for me to take them on the 'ferris wheel of death'….yet mercifully they aren't keen for the nude swim! Phew. Wanderlust is a strange affliction yet I'm glad that I suffer from it as there is nothing so challenging for the psyche as travel….and I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to indulge! Where are you going next?! Rx

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    2. The hubs doesn't fly so makes planning for trips a bit challenging...Austria very soon but repeat visits have its own charm!

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  5. What a great adventure you are embarking on!
    I love the idea of that boathouse and hope when you have restored it that you will share pictures. Your pictures are gorgeous....
    We love cruising on our boat and finding quiet spots to visit in the Gulf Islands. Happy that you are back blogging

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    1. I must admit to being seduced by the Tasmanian landscape and also spend an inordinate amount of time considering it's history. I'm lucky that I live in a house with an interesting Hobart story and that now we are involved with the boat shed which comes with it's own connections. Will share photos on how the shed evolves! Isn't cruising on a boat soothing for the soul?! Rx

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  6. your words are mesmerizing Romy. this all sounds like the makings of a Wes Anderson movie. love the pics of the kiddies. x

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  8. Oh Janet…I'm giggling about the reference to Wes Anderson! So many people have told Kim that he looks like Ralph Fiennes….and I will pay that there is some similarity…..however as far as I know he has never strayed to being naughty on a plane at altitude with an air hostess! Openly guffawed through the early scenes of 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and Gustave's exceptional service to the geriatric ladies! Rx

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  9. Hi Romy,

    So happy to see you back in this space and what a fabulous Post. Satellite Island looks and sounds heavenly. Looking forward to seeing your boat house transformation. I have the fondest memories of that area as we used to have our little sailboat moored down there but sold it when we found out I was expecting twins and realised we wouldn't have the time or space on board or safety measures in place for 4 little ones :-) And I agree, your Husband does look like Ralph Fiennes!!!! Mel xxx

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  10. So so so happy you are back and with such a wonderful post! You have been greatly missed and as always, a delight to read

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  11. So happy you are back! I have missed your blog and I love how you do such a good job of reminding me what a beautiful place we live in! I'm loving Dark Mofo at the moment, your IG photos from last night were really good (much better than mine hehe)

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  12. Hello ! Although I can see that there is no new post on my blog, I keep logging in to get to your instagram (there must be an easier way !). Not having it myself, I can't comment on your pics so I'll do it here : you take the most extraordinary photographs and what a beautiful corner of the world you live in ! Je suis incroyablement jalouse ! Amitiés de Paris. x

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  13. What a beautiful place you live in. I think it may just rival South Australia. The boat shed is amazing. I want one. Great post. I've discovered both you and Faux Fuchsia through Heidi and AdelaideVilla. So glad I did.
    Sandra

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I LOVE hearing your thoughts! Rx