Enjoying Australia

On boxing day we watched excellent sports TV along with some family visits. There was the first day of a five day test match at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. Then there was a spectacular start to the Sydney Hobart yacht race. The 117 boats reached out of Sydney Harbour in 25 KN of wind. Great TV coverage. It so happens that we are going to be in Hobart for the finish. This was not actually planned. We decided to go to Tasmania for some hiking and to visit historic sites but the first boats will be arriving probably the day after we arrive.
In the afternoon Penny's niece's husband Bruce, who used to be a policeman and now is the manager of a gun shop took John and I out to do some clay shooting. I shot about 30 rounds and probably hit about 5 clays! Anyhow even the experts seem to only hit about a third of the clays. Bruce also had with him his deer rifle that he had used that morning to drop a deer for a friend of his. I had one shot at a tree target using its telescopic sight. Experiencing a different lifestyle than we normally live!
To-day - 27th December - we drove for an hour and a half to a historic winery called Tahbilk. It was originally started in 1860 and still has the underground cellars with huge wine barrels. It then fell into disrepair until in 1925 the Pubrick family took it over and Eric Stevens Purbrick took over the management in 1931. To-day it is a very relaxing and interesting tourist attraction. We went for a walk around a Billabong and then we had a family picnic in the grounds. It has continued to be developed over the years but they are still making wines from the vines that were planted in 1860!

Here are some pics of the last few days.