Thinking Allowed: Encore, encore

What do you do when your six-week project in the (largely uninspiring) suburbs of Sydney ends? And you don't know where you're going next, or where your family will live? And you have nine items of checked luggage* and another five carry-ons?**

You go for a holiday, of course! This week has been a pleasant repeat of our last vacation: we just spent four action-packed days in Tasmania, and are now on the Great Ocean Road, which is conveniently not aflame.

Tassie was even better than last time. We surprised David and Alice (Tamar's brother and Tamar's brother's eye's apple) at the Launceston airport, and hiked the Crater Peak loop at Cradle Mountain together the next day. Tamar intrepidly ran and scrambled goat-like up to the summit of Cradle Mountain, eliciting oohs from the panting hikers and come-ons from two hot-blooded young Frenchmen. Meanwhile, Jakob slowly meandered down the trail telling stories about fish soup to three young girls until Tamar arrived in a glorious sweaty halo, raving about how beautiful the 'rock garden' atop the mountain was.

This had a powerful effect on Aurora, who started lobbying to climb Cradle Mountain herself. So she woke up at 6:40 the next morning and drove (with Jakob) to the Dove Lake trailhead. For over six hours she stolidly busted up and down the mountain past billowing fog, boulder-strewn traverses, and hundred-year old mountain huts. Sophia, Tova and Tamar, meanwhile, spotted an astonishing 120 lizards in just three and a half kilometres on the boardwalk to Snake Hill. Yep, we all had a good time at Cradle Mountain.

While Alice and David traveled east to the wineries and mellow shores of Tamar Valley and Wineglass Bay, we drove west to Strahan, the ancient home of mining in Tasmania. We wandered in the mined-out desolation of Iron Blow near Queenstown, dug pools in the 30-km long Ocean Beach, saw the steam locomotive chug its way into the station, and shivered for hours in the city park while the girls tirelessly played nautical-themed games. It feels a bit eerie walking through the rainbow-coloured wasteland created by copper and iron mining - rich sulphur deposits were burned as fuel, creating vibrant yellow streaks across the landscape (and making all the pack horses in the 1910's bleed from their nostrils, which should probably have been a warning sign)

This week has been a good reminder of how important and easy it can be to just up sticks and try new things in new places. If our lives remain unsettled and undirected, at least we can make the most of it by soaking up Australia's beauty whenever we get the chance.

* Black suitcase, black suitcase, beloved guitar, decrepit stroller, buggy board, ancient garment bag, Tamar's gymnastics bag from when she was 13, Jakob's duffel bag from when he was 15 overstuffed with car seats, excellent baby backpack

** Tova's small green backpack w/toys, Sophia's pink backpack w/toys, Aurora's blue backpack w/1 million things, Jakob's boring black work backpack, Tamar's blue backpack of essentials. Tamar is not proud of how much stuff we have.