Tasmania 7

The next day it was time to leave Strahan. We travelled together in two cars until we reached Zeehan, where we had a look at some of the old locamotives at the museum there. After coffee, we headed off seperately. My parents and their friends were heading North, and I was heading to the Sheffield area.


On the way to Sheffield I stopped off at Tasmazia. This is an "attraction" with a number of different types of mazes to explore. My expectations were not too high after my experience with the Westbury Maze (which was pretty lame), but this was much better. The great maze was made more interesting by lots of little statuettes and signs with jokes (mostly very bad!) down all the wrong turns. Half the fun turned out to be finding all the things hidden in the maze, not just finding the centre. Also, the maze was set up so that you couldn't find your way through just by putting your hand on one wall and following it all the way. It was a challenging maze to solve.



While I was there, I saw a bumblebee. I have never seen one before and they really are quite different to the bees we get back in Victoria.



After finishing the great maze, there were several other types of mazes to explore, including a balance maze (not hard, but fun) and several other hedge mazes. These were smaller, and lacked the fun things to find, but were very challenging to solve. I had a lot of fun at Tasmazia.




After I got tired of mazes I continued on until I reached Sheffield. The motels were all pretty empty so I had no trouble finding a room. After the long drive from Strahan, and Tasmazia, I was very tired, so it was time to call it a night.

Tasmania 6

Onto the next part of the Tasmania trip.

After the train trip we still had an hour or two to kill before dinner, so we went on one of the short walks in Strahan. The walk was to Hogarth falls. The walking path followed the stream up to the falls area.

The walk only took about half an hour, but it was very pretty.

Bookshelves with books

Well, I'm home sick today, so I thought I might as well get back into blogging.

First up, here are the new bookshelves, now with books!

Painted downpipe

Just one more thing I got done this weekend...

Seeing as it was fine weather, I put a couple of coats of paint on the downpipe I had not finished last time I was painting the eaves. The wall behind is now a bit splattered, but I will overpaint that when I repaint the wall.

Not a huge amount of work, but that much less that I need to do to finish the house.

New bookshelves

I had some old, falling apart bookshelves against the back wall of the living room that I wanted to replace. I wanted shelves with glass doors to cut down the dust, but I was on a budget, so I couldn't get anything too fancy. My family had kindly given me some Ikea vouchers for my birthday, so I went with the Ikea Billy bookcase option.

First I dragged dad down to Ikea with the station wagon, and he helped me pick up the shelves. Then I assembled the shelves and drilled holes to fix them to the wall.

Once the shelves were attached to the wall, I put the doors on, then put the adjustable shelves in position.

It was all pretty straight forward, but a lot of work, especially putting the hinges onto the doors. I am happy with the result though.

Bathroom cabinet

Now that the bathroom is painted, I have been wanting a new mirror cabinet, to replace the old mirror I took down. I did a lot of looking around, and found that most of the bathroom supply shops didn't have anything I liked the look of. Then I stopped by Bunnings and found something I thought would work well. So I bought it. Now I just needed to install it!

I started by removing the doors, to make the cabinet as light and easy to work with as possible. The cabinet came with four fixing points, and I was a bit uncomfortable with that, as I wasn't confident that they would support the weight. So I added another hole in the middle of the top of the cabinet, using a power drill. I then held the cabinet up to the wall, worked out where I wanted it, then marked the top right hole.

How to drill a hole in a concrete wall:
1. Mark where you want the hole to go, using a sharp ended object, such as a small screw driver.

2. Use a nail punch and a hammer to put a small dent in the wall where you want the hole. The dent will guide the drill and make it less likely to slip.

3. *Wear a dust mask for this step. There will be lots of dust. * If the hole diameter needed is large, drill a small diameter pilot hole (using a masonry bit and a hammer drill). Then enlarge the hole using the correct diameter masonry bit (and drill). If the hole diameter needed is small, just use the right diameter drill bit to start with.

4. Use a small brush , with a handle diameter smaller than the hole (a cheap water colour brush works well), to clean the dust out of the hole. Use a cheap brush, because this will destroy the brush.

5. Use a vacuum cleaner to clean up all the loose dust.

6. Insert the wall plugs into the holes.

Next came drilling out the hole I had marked. Then I held the cabinet in place and put the first screw in loosly. Using a spirit level I held the cabinet level and used a small screwdriver to mark the locations of the remaining holes, including the extra hole I was adding.

I used the provided wall plugs, plus one extra, in the holes, then held the cabinet in place and screwed it onto the wall.

Next step was to wipe off all the dust, then reattach the doors.

Finally, I inserted the shelves. Job done!

New fence

I keep forgetting to blog about the new fence. So here it is, with the before, half way, and after shots.

They did a good job, I'm happy with it.

Tasmania 5

The day after the Gordon River Cruise, we were booked on a trip on the West Coast Wilderness (ABT) railway. The railway was originally built to transport ore from the mines at Queenstown to the port at Strahan. It was left unused for many years, until a recent venture to restore the track and the rolling stock as a tourist venture. We took the option of travelling by train from Strahan to Queenstown, then taking the connecting bus back. I don't seem to have a picture of the station at strahan, but this is a view of the river over the tracks near the station. Also, here is a view of the train stopped at Strahan station.

The carriages are old fashioned, with wooden seats and panelling. The track runs through some very dense rain forrest, next to three rivers, the Gordon, King and Queen rivers. In places the trees are so close that they brush against the sides of the carriage.

The King River was badly polluted by mining in the past. It is hard to see just how badly, until you reach one of the places where another river or stream flows into it. The water in the area is usually a dark "tea" colour, from Tannins in local plants leaching into the water. This shot shows the dark tanin rich fresh water mixing into the milky polluted water of the King river. The hope is that over time the pollutants will be washed down to the sea, and that the river will run clear again.

There were four stops along the way, with a chance to walk and see some of the rainforest up close.

The second stop was for lunch, which was provided as part of the fare. The food was basic but good. The other stops were just for chance to walk around and see the area near the track.

Part of the trip is a fairly standard railway, but the half of the trip nearest Queenstown is on an unusually steep grade for a train. To enable the train to climb the slope a special rack system is used, with a rack between the rails interlocking with a notched wheel on the train engine.

Here is picture of the rails, with the notched "rack" in the center.

It is hard to describe just how lovely the contryside is. The rainforest is thick and full of diversity, with something new to marvel at around each corner. The track crosses rail bridges and climbs steep grades through dense forest.

Then the train pulls in at Queenstown, and you can see the devistation that mining has made of the local hillsides.

Finally, there is the bus trip back to Strahan, which takes a lot less time than the train trip, but is also a lot less fun!

All in all, this train ride was the highlight of the trip for me. I highly recommend it.

More painting!

After using the bathroom for a couple of weeks, I started to notice places where I hadn't gotten full coverage with the paint. Eventually I decided I needed a third coat of paint. So that was Saturday's job. While I was painting, I decided to have another go at the "cutting-in" where the wall colour met the ceiling colour. I got a first coat around the whole perimeter of the room, and a second coat half way around.

Initially I had the plan of using a stiff piece of plastic to hide the wall area below where I was painting, then paint above the plastic. Sounded good in theory, didn't work in practice. The paint kept seeping below the line of the plastic and making a mess. It was no more effective than the masking tape I tried last time. So in the end, I had to use the very slow and carefull method of painting with a small brush and using a damp sponge to clean up any overpainting. It was a very slow process, but I am much happier with the result.

Here is what one corner looked like after the first two coats of paint.

And here is how it looks now.

Much better!

Fence cleanup and wheelbarrow

The fences along the sides of my property are in pretty poor shape, and one of my neighbors has finally decided to get quotes for replacing the fence between my property and hers. When I read the quotes they made it clear that the fence line needed to be clear of obstructions (which is fair enough). So my wonderful parents came to my rescue, and on the ANZAC day public holiday, they came over and helped me move a large pile of compost (badly overgrown with Kikuyu), and a falling apart barbecue. After about an hour of pulling grass off the compost heap, dad decided that we needed a mattock, so we went to the Bunnings Notting Hill hardware store in search of one. Dad had also seen wheelbarrows at a different Bunnings for a good price, but they didn't have them at the Notting Hill store. So we swung by the South Oakleigh store, which did, and picked up a $40 wheelbarrow. I now realise that the South Oakleigh Bunnings is much larger and has a better range than the Notting Hill store, so I think I will be going straight to South Oakleigh from now on.

It turned out that the wheelbarrow came in parts and needed to be assembled. There were no instructions, so that made for a pretty interesting afternoon! With a bit of help from dad, I got it put together in the end. It is pretty light weight, but for moving around piles of compost, weeds and mulch (which is pretty much all I need it for), it is perfect.

Here are some before and after shots of the fence line:

Before

After

Bathroom wall painted

Last weekend I painted my bathroom wall. The wall only took 2 coats of paint, probably because I was using a much stronger color than for the ceiling.

I didn't do a very good job of the "cutting in" (where the wall color meets the ceiling color),

and when I took the masking tape off the power point it pulled some of the paint off the wall,

so I still have some touching up to do.

However, it was my first time painting an interior wall, so I am pretty happy with the overall result.

I had a go at using a roller for part of the first coat, but I wasn't getting very good coverage, and the area I was covering was fairly small, so I used a brush for the whole of the second coat.

Bathroom Ceiling

I painted my bathroom ceiling last weekend. It turned out to be a lot easier than I was expecting. Painting inside is SO much easier than painting the outside of the house!

I have a problem with paint fumes making me sick, so I used one of the new low VOC paints. I was very happy with the results, the fume levels were so low that with a bit of airing out I have had no problems.

The bathroom ceiling needed to be painted, as the paint had flaked off in a few spots, leaving bare plaster. Plus, I am just so sick of BEIGE.

Step 1: Remove all loose items from room, including curtains.
Step 2: Remove cover over hole in ceiling where old fan used to be, and remove cover from "bathroom buddy" heater/fan unit. My god, what a lot of dust I discovered! I'm glad I was wearing a dust mask.
Step 3: Scrub ceiling with scrubbing brush and sugar soap solution.
Step 4: Lightly sand ceiling to break surface on existing gloss paint (so that new paint will adhere). (Tools used: sanding block, sand paper, dust mask).
Step 5: Put down drop sheets kindly lent to me by mum. Two old worn out sheets, and a worn out heavy weight quilted theatre curtain.
Step 6: Apply first coat of paint. Allow 2 hours to dry.
Step 7: Apply second coat of paint. It is now getting dark, so wait until next morning to review job.

Step 8: Now that I can tell which cracks haven't been covered over by paint, use "builder's bog" to fill cracks. Allow to dry for 30 minutes, then sand.
Step 9: Paint still looks patchy in daylight, so apply third coat of paint. Wait 2 hours.

Step 10: Apply second coat over areas filled with "builder's bog". Looks good now! Wait 48 hours before using room again.
Step 11: (48 hours later). Put cover back over hole where old fan used to be. Replace cover over "Bathroom buddy". Replace loose items. Job Done!

Next task: paint walls.

Before (and yes, the spots are stains on the ceiling):

After:

Tasmania 4

So, back to the Tassie trip.

The drive to Strahan was long, winding and very very steep in places. On one hill, I had to pull over near the bottom, because the brakes on the hire car were smoking! By the time I got to Strahan, it was dark and raining.

I was staying with my parents and their friends in the cottage they had booked. We all had the same list of things we wanted to see in Strahan, so it worked out well.

The next day (first day in Strahan), we were booked onto a Gordon river cruise. We were a bit concerned that the cruise might not run, as the weather was very wet and windy, but apparently that is not unusual for Strahan (annual rainfall of approx 3 meters!). The cruise took us down the Gordon river to Sarah Island. Sarah Island was a convict settlement for "re-offenders", or convicts who committed further crimes after arriving in Australia. The island is very small, and fairly bleak. There is not much of the settlement left, just the foundations. The tour guide told us about the history of the settlement, including the mutiny. The settlement was eventually closed down and a new settlement opened up at Port Arthur. It was pouring rain while we were there (I was very glad of my rain coat and umbrella) so I didn't take any photos.

The next stop was Heritage landing. This is a loop track/boardwalk, through native rain forest, including stands of Huon pines. Apparently Huon pine is very prized by shipbuilders and other wood workers for it's natural ability to repel pests. As a consequence, after massive amounts of logging, there is not a lot of Huon pine left, and logging of Huon pine is now illegal, except for removal of deadfall. At Heritage landing the rain eased off a bit, so here are some photos.

Boardwalk

A section of a Huon Pine

A stand of Huon Pine

Views from the Boardwalk

Here are some views of the Gordon River. The wake from the boat looks very brown because of tannin which seeps into the water from native plants.

I get fairly sea sick, and the water was fairly rough, due the weather. I had taken some seasickness tablets, but by the end of the trip I was starting to feel pretty exhausted. Once we got back to the cabin, I lay down and was asleep for the rest of the day.

Mirror mirror on the dresser

To make up for the gloom of my last post, I thought I would post about a successful DIY project.

The task, remove the mirror from the old and falling apart dresser I was replacing, and attach it to the new chest of drawers I had purchased.

Step 1. Remove mirror from backing (easy, just take the clips off and lift the mirror off).
Step 2. Remove the backing board from the dresser. A bit harder as the backing board was attached to the dresser with two pieces of wood and nails.
Old Dresser

Step 3. Remove the two lengths of wood from the backing board without breaking the backing board (tool employed, claw hammer).
Step 4. Purchase two new, longer, lengths of wood. The length to allow the backing board to sit on top of the chest of drawers, while the pieces of wood were touching the ground (to provide good support).
Step 5. Nail the two new pieces of wood to the backing board.
Step 6. Attach the backing board (and pieces of wood) to the back of the chest of drawers. The method I used was to purchase some metal strips, designed to be bent into brackets, and then bend them into brackets. I carefully measured where I wanted the backing board to sit on the chest of drawers. I used gaffer tape to hold the backing board and lengths of wood in place temporarily. I drilled holes for screws in the sold wood at the top and base of the chest of drawers, then used self tapping screws to attach the brackets (and the strips of wood), to the back of the chest of drawers.

Step 7. Put the mirror back onto the backing. Job done!