DAY 13 – December 22, 2022 – From Hobart to Shearwater

Final Prep before Leaving for Shearwater

The morning was busy getting ready to leave for Shearwater. Before getting on the road, Jess and Alex’s Christmas gift (a hi-tech BBQ) was delivered. Then, off we were – on the road to Shearwater, at approximately 10:00am.

On the Road

Leaving Hobart was rather easy with little traffic but we did encounter some road constructions. According to Alex, the construction has been going on forever. The usual incompetence of government and the construction industry – a constant in this world.

Driving North, through the center of Tasmania, it is mainly all farmlands. There are also many poppy fields for the pharmaceutical industry (legal, at least that’s what they say).

Zeps Restaurant in Campbell Town
Main Street, Campbell Town

For lunch, we stopped in a small town called Campbell Town, which has a restaurant that Alex and Jess like to stop for lunch when they drive to Alex’s parents. The Restaurant, called Zeps, was quite nice and we had a decent lunch. I noticed beautiful artwork on the walls and took a few pictures including the contact info of the artist, Ornella Imber. I wouldn’t mind one or two of her art pieces in our apartment.

Isabelle in front of Zeps, Campbell Town
Eliza and the Ram, Campbell Town
At Alex's Parents' House

After lunch, we got back on the road and arrived at Alex’s parents in Shearwater around 4:00pm.

At Alex’s parents’ home, we were welcomed by Rupert and Narelle; Alex’s sister, Harriet, and her daughter, Madi (2.5 years old). The property they live on is quite impressive and has been in the family for several generations. The property is a 10-hectare farm and it is quite beautiful. The house is very Australian – one-story ranch style, tin roof, sunroof. Lots of character.

Such a warm welcome at Rupert and Narelle's home!

We celebrated our getting together with a toast and some snacks. But before getting too comfortable, we still had to do some prep work for our trip to Corinna. Narelle had already planned the meals (thank you, Narelle!), but we still needed more food items. I went with Jess and Alex to the nearby grocery store for food and to the liquor store for wines and beers.

Back at the house, one of Alex’s uncles and aunts and their daughter dropped by (they live very close) to visit with us. It made for some fun conversations!

Narelle explained that they sold their house in Hobart and decided to stay in Shearwater. Over the next few months, they plan to make upgrades inside the house with the kitchen and the bathrooms. Rupert also has plans to grow crops and plants on the farm once more. Lots of work ahead, for sure!

Rupert’s mother had passed away a few days ago and the funeral was taking place the next day in the morning. We were invited to attend. After the funeral and lunch, we would leave for Corinna.

Madi, Harriet, Rupert, and Jess

Although the weather was still nice, but a bit chilly, we built a bonfire outside where we had our dinner: corn on the cob, steaks, and chocolates. Alex is having fun cooking the steaks on the brick BBQ. Lots of fun all around, relaxing, playing with Madi, talking about everything under the sun! Everyone is very talkative in Alex’s family 😊…

Photo gallery of our BBQ dinner at Alex’s parent’s house

Because Harriet and Madi were not going to be with us in Corinna, we opened some gifts and kept others for Christmas Eve. Also, since we had brought some gifts from New York, it made sense to open them now instead of taking them all the way to Corinna… besides, we knew we were going to be loaded with stuff in our cars. 

Photo gallery of opening Christmas gifts (only the best selection as we took a lot of pictures that evening!) at Alex’s parent’s house

After a very enjoyable evening, we called it a night and we slept very well in the sunroom.

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES DRIVEN = 169 miles (272 km)

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES WALKED = 2.2 miles (3.5 km)