Friday, February 7, 2025

We started our day in Taranna, Tasmania — a tiny town located on the road to Port Arthur. It was our second night in the RV, and all four of us slept terribly. The same issues of being too cold overnight and uncomfortable beds persisted. Andi said his hips hurt so badly this morning, he could barely walk.

Aden asked to FaceTime his friend on the phone when he woke up. Friday at 8:00am in Tasmania is Thursday at 3:00pm in Minnesota, so mornings are a good time for the kids to connect with their friends. It drives Andi nuts listening to the boys talk & make noises while they play video games, so he said he was going for a run.

We were packed up & headed out for the day by 10:00am. Today’s destination was a small town called Cranbrook, about 2 hours to the north on Tasmania’s eastern coastline. The area around Cranbrook is known as the East Coast Wine Trail.

When Andi realized we’d have to backtrack all the way to Hobart to get off the Tasman Peninsula, he made a suggestion. “What if we drive 7 miles out of our way to a mattress store?” he proposed. The RV was already in motion as he said the words.

Andi’s small detour led us to a home department store where Andi purchased four pillows, three blankets, and a memory foam mattress topper. Some people spend $150 on excursions during their travels; we spend our money on bedding upgrades. As I told Andi, sleep is an important part of our travel experience. If one (or all) of us are tired and cranky, that’s not fun for anyone. Better to be comfortable and well rested, so we can enjoy our RV experience.

OK, now we were on our way to Cranbrook. Our drive north led us through rural farmland and sheep pastures. The only wildlife we saw were dead wallabies on the side of the road. Sad.

The scenery transitioned from farms to ocean views once more around Rocky Hills. We made note of the Spiky Bridge we passed — a bridge built by convicts in the 1800s to keep cattle from falling off the bridge and into the ocean.

We also admired our first views of Great Oyster Bay.

It was close to 2:30pm by the time we arrived in Cranbrook, late for our 2:00pm lunch reservation at Craigie Knowe Winery. I ran inside to see if we could still have lunch despite our tardiness. “You’re bugger late, mate!” the owner told me when I inquired. “Yes, of course, bring your guy or your gal inside and have a seat at Table 37.”

Craigie Knowe is the oldest vineyard on Tasmania’s East Coast. The first vines were planted in 1979, though the original buildings on the property date back to the late 1800’s. We made reservations at Flora’s Restaurant, located on the vineyard grounds in a white marquee tent. I found the restaurant to be a bit odd, to be honest; it felt more like an event set-up than a restaurant open 7 days a week.

Nevertheless, we ordered a cheese board, flank steak, fish of the day, roasted potatoes, and croquettes to share. The food was very tasty, though a little too fancy for Tory and Aden’s liking. Our host was a one-man-show taking orders, running the food, filling drinks, and answering the phone. Yet, he had a relaxed attitude about himself as he mingled with restaurant guests.

Two big house dogs were our only complaint about the dining experience. One barreled right up to Tory and welcomed her with a full face and hand lick which completely freaked her out. She’s deathly afraid of dogs, but handled herself with poise as tears streamed down her face. “Blah, get outta here!” the restaurant host called to the dogs from across the tent. They didn’t, of course, running in and around the tables, begging for food scraps, and lounging underneath diners’ feet.

Ugh, I just hate that. Just because you love your dogs, doesn’t mean everyone else does — especially while I’m paying for a dining experience.

After lunch, we decided to drive to the town of Swansea for ice cream. This seaside village offers some of the best views of Great Oyster Bay, but today wasn’t much of a beach day. Clouds covered the sky and 20 mph gusts of wind whipped around us. It was a chilly 62 degrees.

We stopped inside Morris’ General Store to see what odds & ends it offered, and purchased a few postcards for Tory and Aden to send to loved ones. We also grabbed a few more groceries — yogurt, salad mix, french bread, and crackers among other things. We considered buying ice cream, but we don’t have a freezer in the RV to store it.

The cashier recommended we visit The Horny Cray down the street. Inside the seafood & ice cream store, Andi, Aden, and Tory picked rocky road and salted caramel crunch of local Tassie brand Valhalla ice cream.

We considered camping tonight at a free spot near Swansea, but it was already full of campers when we drove by around 5:00pm. Given that it’s the weekend, Andi figured it would get even busier tonight. I liked this spot because there was a lagoon nearby with dozens of black swans swimming around.

In the end, we decided to go back to Craigie Knowe Winery and park in their back field for the night. It cost $30 AUD to stay ($18 USD) and supposedly included trash service and a toilet (though both were full).

I needed to get some steps in, so I invited Andi to join me for a walk. We ventured down the gravel road away from the winery to find a few houses, vineyards, and sheep grazing. Our favorite find was this unique flower growing through a fence line. Isn’t nature neat?

Aden wasn’t feeling well tonight, so he fell asleep early. He complained of a headache all day and didn’t eat much. Neither Andi or I were hungry after our late lunch, so Tory made herself a bowl of yogurt for dinner.

Tomorrow, we’re continuing our drive along Tasmania’s East Coast to Cole’s Bay.