Our friends have made us very comfortable, so we all slept in and had a leisurely breakfast. A beautiful sunny day greeted us.

After coffee, Steve & I headed off in the Land Cruiser to the Huon Valley, south of Hobart.

It’s a pretty drive along the coast.

We drove into Kingston and picked out the houses we’d like to live in. Some lovely timber homes with beautiful views across to Bruny Island.

The local churches are timber and very inviting.

First stop, Willie Smiths Apple Shed. It’s a bit of an institution and now a tourist attraction. It’s quiet on a Tuesday morning, so perfect for a coffee- for me, A hot spiced cider and slice of apple cake for Steve.

Inside there are many tables, a great menu of good & ciders and an apple museum.

Outside there were inviting fire pits, lots of seating and an area for weekend entertainment.

We continued on to Franklin. Quite a boaty paradise.

We stopped at the Wooden Boat Centre.

Steve had heard about this place and was keen to talk to them. You can apply to build your own small boat. A dingy made of beautiful Huon pine. They teach you to build it. It takes 5-6 weeks to do the course and at the end you have a beautiful boat – for Oliver & Leo and any future grandchildren.

We spent quite some time talking to Richard about the course. By the end Steve was ready to sign up! Who knows we might be spending 5-6 weeks here next year. Ginetta said her husband could help build it and we would do some art craft course in Hobart. Sounds good to me!

Franklin is a gorgeous place so try and visit if you get to Tasmania.

Next stop was the bakery at Ranelagh. A small place but a very good bakery. Steve had a steak pie and I enjoyed a bowl of chicken soup with sourdough bread.

The bakery had these beautiful flowers in their window.

Next stop Ninapatina. A homewares shop. It’s beautiful.

I bought our friend Jess a beautiful basket for her home in Huonville.

Jess and Jono are a young couple we’ve known for quite awhile. They have Olive who was born just near Oliver’s birthdate. In fact they were christened together.

She has now had Charlie and they have moved back to Tasmania where they first met.

They have a modern minimalist home with a gorgeous view. Just lovely.

After our afternoon visit we drove back through Cygnet, an artsy, crafty place that was featured on the ABC show Back Roads.

Then through Kettering, Margate and back to Sandy Bay

By now it was cloudy but that didn’t spoil the views.

A lovely fish dinner awaited us and we enjoyed some local wines as we planned our trip to Bicheno tomorrow.