More from Australia

Not quite the last post from Australia but long overdue -  After Ballarat, I travelled to Melbourne then on to a week of holiday on the Great Ocean Road in NSW -  another beautiful part of Australia I had not visited before.  Made of sandstone the coastal cliffs have been eaten away by strong waves that constantly beat the shores.  A surfer’s paradise - huge waves and beautiful sandy beaches as well as the most dramatic scenery I have seen in years.  A stay in Port Campbell for 4 nights gave us an opportunity to take day trips along the coast.  Here are a few of those views including the 12 (-1) apostles, the bay of islands, London Bridge and the Loch Ard gorge.  Quite wonderful!!!.

 

Then, on to Hobart, Tasmania for a week that included more sights like Port Arthur, the famous convict colony, and numerous highlights along the coast.  Such a beautiful part of Australia, so lush in vegetation as well as dramatic in history and coastal scenery.  Bruny Island was especially terrific and we took the boat cruise around the tip which was a fantastic experience.  The most southerly tip of Australia…. Next stop Antarctica.

I would recommend the island cruise if you get to Hobart.  We were blessed with a sunny bright, but quite cool day and you can see from the photos how fantastic the scenery was.

Port Arthur was also a great experience. Understanding the life that convicts had when they arrived in Tasmania over 100 years ago was quite a revelation.  Many of the buildings are derelict now, but set in the most beautiful scenery you could imagine.  It was hard to comprehend what life was like for many who found themselves so far away, banished for petty crimes in England.  It is certainly worth a visit if you are visiting Hobart in the future.  I could see so many textures and architectural images I am sure they will find their way into future work.

We also visited the 'Tesselated' pavement on the Tasman penninsula east of Hobart and I was amazed by even more natural pattern.  These 'pan' and 'loaf' formations seem unique to this area and full of rock pools and wildlife.

 While in Tasmania I taught a 3 day workshop to a wonderful group ‘Stitching and Beyond’, a group I had visited before several years back.  A wonderful venue in Woodbridge gave us a great opportunity to explore art and stitch.  Here is some of the great work done during that workshop….well done !!  We even had inspiration from the Royal Wedding that happened the same weekend.  Thanks to the students who are allowing me to show their work.

 On to Brisbane and Sydney to ATASDA groups in both cities. 

                                                         Stay tuned and thanks for reading