What’s happening at Glencoe, near Sheffield in Tasmania? Well, the chooks are all freeloading saying it’s too cold to lay.
Rubbish…they have nice hay-filled laying boxes and a nice chook house to roost in. I may have to bring out a frozen chicken and have words.
The lawn looks like a minefield because the bandicoots are digging for grubs. My vegetable garden has been repeatedly raided by the rabbits – lost all of my broad beans, celery eaten to the ground, snow peas devoured, all the Brussel sprouts gone and most of my broccoli.
They haven’t touched the cauliflower, but I don’t like cauliflower either. Howard (the cat) is doing his part on pest control and has caught a lot of rabbits. This is the worst rabbit problem we have had here.
Winter is less busy around Sheffield in Tasmania, so we are doing some renovations to the old girl. Replacing all the weather boards that have rot where the paint’s chipped off.
At the front of the house, the veranda is getting a lot of work done. We discovered that sometime in the past the veranda was made higher by adding concrete, but the posts were just concreted around which has caused the bases to rot.
So, all the posts have been removed and fixed. We have been able to save all the old original posts. They will have new decorative mouldings and a fresh coat of paint.
Mind you, Russ did his back in stripping the multiple layers of different coloured paint off the posts. He managed to get the cast iron fret work off, which is original to the house, and it has been sent to be restored.
I am most excited about this because they had so many layers of paint on them a lot of the intricate details were missing.
Winter is a great time to come and visit Tasmania. It’s my favourite season. You can just stay at Glencoe Country Guesthouse and relax by the fire with some wine, indulging in one of Russ’s amazing cheese platters, or you can venture out into the beautiful winter landscape.
Sheffield in Tasmania is the main town nearby…and is the gateway to Cradle Mountain. From here, you can easily set out on any number of day trips.
What is better than wine in winter? Hot chocolate, of course. Just 25 mins away is Anvers Chocolates, a chocolate-lovers heaven!
Hailing from Belgium, Igor Van Gerwen, the head chocolatier at Anvers, is known for his irresistible hand-made chocolate truffles, fudge, and pralines, which he makes utilising fresh Tasmanian cream and butter.
Anvers has viewing windows so you can see the factory in action, and there is a small museum on the history of chocolate here, too.
A selection of tasters is available to tempt you in the tasting centre and shop. This winter you can book to join Igor for a one-on-one experience featuring stories of cacao hunting and a guided chocolate tasting.
To work off the chocolate you can go truffle hunting. 5 mins from Glencoe is the Truffledore, where you can book to go on a truffle hunt.
The winter landscape of Cradle Mountain needs to be experienced. If you have been in summer, come back in winter. There are generally snowfalls every month from late autumn to spring.
Seeing wombats in the snow is something everyone needs to see, as well as devils playing in the snow at devils@cradle.
A new adventure can be had in Devonport, a short 25 mins from Glencoe. Devonport’s Historic Tall Ship. A ship of significance to Australia’s Maritime Heritage, The Julie Burguss, a fishing ketch built from blue gum, huon pine and other Tasmanian timbers.
She could hold 4,000 crayfish in her hold. Enjoy a unique experience and embody the spirit of adventure on board the Julie Burgess as you sail out of the Mersey River and into the Bass Strait.
Feel the boat move to the forces of the sea, listen to the wind in the rigging and be refreshed by the bracing clean air. Get close to nature and admire the scenic beauty of the North West Coast from the deck of a working wooden boat while learning about the history of the area.
These are just a few winter activities available around Glencoe to encourage you to come and visit us.
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