5/6C’s Class Blog 2008

We’ve had a little over two weeks of holidays for the term break. Hopefully the Easter Bunny visited everyone and it was great to get some much needed rain as well.

I headed off to Tasmania with my family. People over there kept telling us that it was very dry and that they, too, were short of rain, but it was so very green that sometimes it was difficult to believe! Here are a few photos from my favorite places: down in the very inappropriately named Dismal Swamp, the Newdegate Cave near Hastings and the sea cliffs off the Tasman Peninsula.

Dismal Swamp is in the north west corner of Tasmania. It is a 40m deep sink hole with a beautiful Blackwood forest growing in it, undisturbed except by crayfish that churn the soil and help the plants to regenerate. It’s easy to get around on the raised boardwalks so you don’t disturb the environment and your shoes stay clean too!

The Newdegate Cave near Hastings is a rare dolomite cave, the largest known in Australia open to tourists. A guide takes you through the cave pointing out features and explaining how the caves were formed and how they are still changing. It was quite wonderful to see the huge stalactites and stalagmites and other interesting formations throughout the cave.

My favorite thing we did was a cruise from Eaglehawk Neck to Port Arthur, half way around the Tasman Peninsula and alongside the Great Southern Ocean. Our guide was a crazy man named Damian – he was funny but very knowledgeable about the area, especially the animals. We saw a variety of birds, tuna fishermen, abalone divers, dolphins and seals by the dozen. We also cruised right up to 300m sea cliffs, apparently the highest in the Southern Hemisphere.  We got wet and windblown and it was fantastic!

Grade 5/6, consider your favorite holiday activity or place that you saw these holidays (even if you didn’t go anywhere special, something interesting must have happened!) and share your thoughts and even some pictures on your blog. Add a comment here to tell us when you’ve done it and what your post is about.