Four Dog-Friendly Walks in North East Tasmania

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Four Dog-Friendly Walks in North East Tasmania

Being the proud owners of Frida, the heeler-border collie cross rescue dog, means that walks in national parks are off the menu when we want to take Frida with us. North East Tasmania doesn’t have a lot of territory classified as national parks, but it does have plenty of good, short walks within reserves and state forests where dogs are permitted. We decided to check out a few of these. Here are four good dog-friendly short walks in the region.

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Waratah - A Tale of Three Waterfalls

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Waratah - A Tale of Three Waterfalls

Waratah is a small town in North West Tasmania. The town was built to support a tin mine at nearby Mt Bischoff. It was constructed on top of a waterfall so that the diverted water could be used for mining operations. On my recent first-time visit to Waratah, I was keen to see the town waterfall. While there we took the opportunity to visit two other waterfalls in the area and a couple of other sites of interest.

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Caribbean Islands – Our Favourite Shots (Central Caribbean)

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Caribbean Islands – Our Favourite Shots (Central Caribbean)

In 2016 we island hopped through the Caribbean. We started in the south, in the Dutch islands of Aruba and Curaçao and finished three months later in the north, in Jamaica and Cuba. In total we visited twenty one states and territories.

At this time, when COVID -19 still makes international travel virtually impossible, we’ve decided to revisit this trip via producing some posts with our favourite shots. We’ve divided this project into three parts: Southern Caribbean; Central Caribbean and Northern Caribbean. Here we present the Central Caribbean. We hope you find it interesting.

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Richmond Heritage Walk

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Richmond Heritage Walk

The township of Richmond is one of Tasmania’s oldest settlements. Richmond was a convict station and military post. It is home to Australia’s oldest bridge built in 1823 by convicts. Just thirty minutes’ drive from the centre of Hobart, Richmond is an excellent day trip for anyone visiting the south of the state. In this post we describe the Richmond Heritage Walk as recommended by Clarence Council which we did recently.

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Caribbean Islands – Our Favourite Shots (Southern Caribbean)

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Caribbean Islands – Our Favourite Shots (Southern Caribbean)

In 2016 we island hopped through the Caribbean. We started in the south, in the Dutch islands of Aruba and Curaçao and finished three months later in the north, in Jamaica and Cuba. In total we visited twenty one states and territories.

At this time, when COVID -19 still makes international travel virtually impossible, we’ve decided to revisit this trip via producing some posts with our favourite shots. We’ve divided this project into three parts: Southern Caribbean; Central Caribbean and Northern Caribbean. Here we present the Southern Caribbean. We hope you find it interesting.

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Cremorne to Roches Beach Walk

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Cremorne to Roches Beach Walk

The Clarence Coastal Trail makes it possible to walk from Cremorne to Seven Mile Beach, a distance of around 13.5kms. It is an attractive and satisfying walk. You can leave or join at several places or just do a chosen section. We have broken the walk down into two sections: Cremorne to Roches Beach (this post) and Roches Beach to Seven Mile Beach (previous post).. Read on if you want to know more.

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Images of South America - Our Favourite Shots

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Images of South America - Our Favourite Shots

We’ve taken two trips to South America. The first was in 2007/08 for 8 weeks with our then teenage sons, Alex and Zac. Cally and I returned in 2016 to fill in some of the gaps left after our first trip. This time we spent four and a half months visiting Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador, and Columbia. It was a fabulous experience. In this post we’ve chosen our favourite photos from our two trips. We hope you like them.

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Suzhou – China’s Venice of the East

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Suzhou – China’s Venice of the East

The city of Suzhou, 50 kms to the west of Shanghai, is famous for its canals and gardens, having earned the moniker of “Venice of the East”. The region around Suzhou has a network of canals and attractive canal towns, all of which date back to the building of the Grand Canal, the world’s longest canal, which commenced construction in the 5th century BCE. We spent a few days in the region in September 2019 and found it both a pleasant and interesting part of the country. Here are a few highlights.

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Nierinna Creek and Margate Creek Tracks, Southern Tasmania

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Nierinna Creek and Margate Creek Tracks, Southern Tasmania

In the southern suburbs of Hobart lies the municipality of Kingborough. Within this region there are an abundance of walking opportunities, including a lot of good short walks. Along with friend Jillian I decided to combine two creek walks which we had not previously done – Nierinna Creek Track and Margate Creek Track. The walk notes and maps on the council web page showed how these two walks could be easily joined into one longer walk.

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UB For Beginners (in Pre-COVID 19 Mongolia)

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UB For Beginners (in Pre-COVID 19 Mongolia)

This time last year, six months or so before the world was hit with the COVID 19 pandemic, we visited Mongolia for a month. Most of our time was spent out of the capital Ulaanbataar, but the trip necessitated that we transit through the city on several occasions. We’d read less than flattering reviews about Ulaanbataar. However, we decided to give the city a chance and decide for ourselves what we thought of it. The result was that we were pleasantly surprised. So, if you find yourself in the city many locals refer to simply as “UB” here are a few options for how to spend a couple of days.

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The Canary Islands - Gran Canaria

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The Canary Islands - Gran Canaria

Dodgy Knees recently published a post from Ken’s brother Brett and wife Linda on their trip in 2018 to Chefchaouen – Morocco’s Blue City. On the same trip they also visited the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. Despite its reputation as a tourist hotspot they found it to be remarkably uncrowded and relaxing. Definitely recommended. Here is their report.

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Marjorie Bligh - Domestic Goddess, QVMAG Exhibition

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Marjorie Bligh - Domestic Goddess, QVMAG Exhibition

In early March 2020, just prior to strict coronavirus lockdown measures being implemented in Tasmania, we were able to visit an exhibition at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) in Launceston entitled “Majorie Bligh – Domestic Goddess”.

The QVMAG website description of the exhibition says: “Marjorie Bligh is a Tasmanian icon, well-known for her advice on household management, craft, cooking, gardening, and even relationships….The exhibition showcases many of Marjorie's handmade items, collections, mementos from travel, scrapbooks, personal photographs, signed editions of her books, and numerous awards. In particular the exhibition focusses on her thrift and use of recycled material.” As big fans of Marjorie’s work for many years we were keen to learn more about her fascinating life.

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Rice Terraces, Hanging Coffins and Kalesas - Northern Luzon Road Trip (Philippines)

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Rice Terraces, Hanging Coffins and Kalesas - Northern Luzon Road Trip (Philippines)

We knew little about the Philippines before we decided to go. From a bit of research we learned about the 2,000 year old UNESCO World Heritage listed rice terraces of Northern Luzon. Also, in this region are extensive cave systems, a number of tribal groups with their own distinctive languages and cultures, and nearby is the city of Vigan, Asia’s best preserved example of Spanish Colonial rule. We decided that Northern Luzon was worth a visit. Here’s what we found.



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Three Lesser Known Chinese Cities Worth a Visit

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Three Lesser Known Chinese Cities Worth a Visit

Most first time Western tourists to China will follow a well-trodden path – to Beijing for the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City, Xian for the Terracotta Warriors, the Bund in Shanghai, a Yangxi River cruise, and a visit to the karst mountain region in the south around Yangshao. There’s nothing wrong with this itinerary. All of these are impressive and well worth the effort to see, but there is a lot more to China than just these big ticket attractions. On a month’s visit to China we also took the time to go to some lesser known cities and were rewarded for the effort. Here are three that we think you might want to add to your China program.

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Classic Mongolia Circuit Part 1: Northern and Central Mongolia

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Classic Mongolia Circuit Part 1: Northern and Central Mongolia

We’d always had an ambition to visit Mongolia and we achieved our aim in August-September 2019. There is a fairly classic circuit that can be done over a two week or so period where most of the key attractions of Mongolia can be visited. We did an 18 day trip that took us from the pine forests and scenic Lake Khuvsgol in the north to the deserts and stunning vistas of the Gobi in the south. We’ve divided the journey into two parts – each of nine days. Here is Part One – Northern and Central Mongolia.

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Hobart Rivulet Walk

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Hobart Rivulet Walk

The Hobart Rivulet was critically important to 19th century colonial Hobart both as it’s water supply and for a number of industrial purposes. Today the 2.7 km walk beside the rivulet which wends through the suburb of South Hobart provides many insights into the city’s past. It also affords excellent views of kunanyi/Mt Wellington before concluding at the Cascade Brewery, Australia’s oldest brewery, established 1824.

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