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| Could this scenery be more beautiful? |
While uploading today’s first-time-posted photos, I couldn’t help but gasp once again over the beauty of Tasmania. All of today’s photos were taken no more than a 45-minute drive from Penguin.
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| There’s nothing like a blue sky to enhance a scenic view. |
At times we’re asked why we don’t take more long road trips while living in a particular area for an extended period. We’ll often spew the same answer, “Why leave when there’s so much surrounding us that we have little motivation to leave?”
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| Homes and farms scattered throughout the countryside. |
Although this isn’t always the case and, we have taken many road trips (and even stayed overnight in many cases), Penguin has certainly proven our point. We’d only need to jump into the car to drive a short distance to discover the scenery as we’ve shown here today.
We’ve never had to drive the same country road twice to encounter more breathtaking scenes in most instances. Frequently spotting a variety of bodies of water, the ocean at a distance, the rolling hills, the vegetation-covered mountains, the farmhouses scattered throughout the lush greenery, and an array of animals prompted us to stop to admire the views.
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| The lush greenery, trees, and hills enhance this pond view. |
With no shoulders on the narrow country roads finding a place to stop has been a challenge. But, Tom, creative and determined to assist in photo taking, always finds a spot to pull over with the utmost caution in mind. But, unfortunately, the winding hilly roads present a hazard when stopping.
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| River in the farmland. |
In reviewing the photos, we’ve posted and those that remain, it appears that we’ve spent more time exploring Penguin and its surrounding areas than we have in many other parts of the world.
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| Tom, chewing on his floss pick while enjoying the view. |
There’s no doubt that the cooler weather has been instrumental in part in our relaxed perusal of Penguin. However, over these past 51 months, we’ve lived in hot, humid tropical climates (except for New Zealand last year), which has definitely decreased our desire to get out more often.
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| Flowers blooming along the railroad tracks across the street from us. |
Constantly sweating in hot, humid climates without air con certainly reduces one’s energy level and motivation. Although some vacation homes have air con in the bedrooms, which we’ve used at night, none have had full house AC, and, as conscientious renters, if it did, we’d avoid using it to save on energy costs.
Plus, we’ve spent considerable time outdoors in many locations, preferring not to be stuck indoors with windows closed. Unfortunately, few properties have screens on the windows, and we’d had to deal with flies, bees, mosquitoes, and other flying insects daily.
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| A house tucked away in the vegetation. |
In Penguin, the exterior doors have screens, and there’s a screened window in the living room. So with most days and nights cool, we’ve been comfortable. Also, surprisingly there haven’t been many flying insects here, although we’ve seen several ominous-looking spiders in the house.
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| Cattle grazing. Grass-fed meat is commonly found in Tasmania. |
As we relocate to the Huon River, where the house is located directly on the river, we anticipate many more insects. However, it reviewing the listing for the property, it appears there are screens there. Wonderful!
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| Horses in the paddock. |
Don’t get me wrong…I’m over any unreasonable fears or apprehension about insects. Africa cured me of that! But it’s annoying to have ants and flies in the kitchen while cooking and dining, which was outrageous in the four months we spent in both Fiji and Bali.
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| Train tracks at the beach across from our vacation home. |
In Bali, every evening while dining, we constantly had to fight off the flies to keep them off of our food. Even the geckos came out while we had dined to take advantage of the hundreds of flies for their dinner. However, once the meals were over, the flies were tolerable, although still present.
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| Colorful poppies growing wild. |
In Penguin, we’ve had to swat no more than eight or nine flies indoors during the entire six-week stay. What can I say? It’s been easy here, comparable to how easy it was in New Zealand one year ago.
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| Hazy day country view. |
Of course, cruises are also ultra-easy, especially when we have no cleaning, cooking, or need to make the bed. Tom, a bigger fan of cruising than I (although I do love it), especially likes not making the bed and doing the dishes. Likewise, I revel in not having to chop and dice since I have little interest in cooking these days.
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| Flowing river in Gunns Plains. |
Today, we’ll finish most of the packing, which won’t take much time. Tom’s currently watching the US NFL football playoff games on TV. Then, I’ll finish washing the refrigerator and gathering items throughout the house, and…tomorrow, we’ll be on our way.
Enjoy the day!
Photo from one year ago today, January 15, 2016:
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| The shore is Akaroa, New Zealand. At that point, the cruise was ending in a few days, and we’d be living in New Zealand for three months. For more photos, please click here. |