There are moments in our lives that leave a lasting impression on your soul. Moments that take your breath away. Moments you will have forever. When thinking of these moments from my past, a few occasions that come to mind include our wedding day celebration, becoming a father for the first and second time, visiting the unmarked graves at Culloden, our #3monthsinacaravan experience and visiting Whisky distilleries in Islay. Today I, dare I say we, experienced another of these moments when visiting ‘The Wall’.

The morning started much like many other mornings on the road. During December, Trixie, our naughty Elf on the Shelf, is spotted in the caravan by the girls (caught completing a sinister act), we shower, have breakfast and get on the road. Before breakfast service was completed, bacon and eggs on the bbq, I noticed paw prints on the bbq lid, animal poo at our vans entrance and similar paw prints outside where Caroline and I sleep. Reminiscent of family holidays many eons ago with my parents and brothers on my Uncle John’s farm, I took on the alter ego Hamish, my second youngest brother – affectionately known as “Farmer FxckNut”, for his uncanny ability to identify animals by their poo. “It’s a dingo”… “It’s a cow”… “That’s wombat poo!” Rather than examining the faeces that stood before me, I inspected the animal tracks. Paw prints, coupled with the faeces led me to believe the animal prowling our campsite was non other than the Tasmanian Devil.

We left our campsite and headed for Lake Saint Clair near Derwent Bridge. We headed through a myriad of landscapes today. Some parts were almost apocalyptic, with what seemed unnecessary destruction of large sections of forest, some resembled the Scottish Highlands while other sections of the journey resembled the Cotswolds in the UK. After almost two hours in the car we arrived at our destination, Lake Saint Clair and were ever hopeful of glimpses of Cradle Mountain. It was surreal transferring from post apocalyptic to picturesque landscape – all within one car journey!

Lake Saint Clair is a natural freshwater lake that forms part of the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park, the lake occupies an area of around 45km2 with a maximum depth of 160 metres, making it Australia’s deepest lake! With Ava and Audrey occupying us on our hike, we chose a modest track to view the scenery. Within two minutes of commencing our journey, Audrey uttered her favourite words. “Daddy, can you carry me?” Fortunately Caroline was on best form and advised Audrey that you build strong muscles through exercise and if she wanted to be strong like Oscar, from her first season in Under 6’s, she would need to walk herself. Consequently Audrey spent 20 minutes of the hour long hike practising her jogging and sprinting – running 50 metres ahead of the pack then returning when ‘boomerang’ was yelled. The consequence of the exercise was Audrey smashing her lunch and sleeping in the car afterwards. The lake was stunning – it was unfortunate that we couldn’t see Cradle Mountain due to the distance.

A pub meal at the hotel down the road before heading to the memorable moment I was previously referring to – The Wall. Local artist Greg Duncan has spent the last 12 years carving 100 metres of Huon Pine panels that are three metres high commemorating the past and present of Tasmania’s central highlands. The Wall is living art. Some parts of the wall have been completed, other parts are yet to be carved. Describing The Wall as intricate doesn’t do this craftsmanship justice. Different carving techniques have been incorporated to bring the wood to life. Some sections of The Wall describe the impact of ‘man’ on the demise of the Tasmanian Tiger, while others capture the journey of a couple from courting, having a family, the husband going to war and that of the family mourning his loss and having to sell their home. The carving is exquisite, capturing every detail three dimensionally. From muscle fibres and veins in the forearm of men working the land, to horses leaping out of the slabs of wood. This living art is one of the most beautiful pieces of art I have ever experienced. Out of respect for the artist, Greg Duncan, no photos are allowed to be taken of his artwork – the image on this blog is a screen shot from the internet.

Leaving Derwent Bridge, we began our return journey back to the campsite at Mt Field National Park Campground. Danielle, sitting in the boot of the car, undertook her role as our daily photographic editor, touching up photos as we travel. Before returning back to HQ, we made a pit stop to pick up some local raspberries before commencing prep for dinner. Danielle, took the girls for a shower, Caroline set up camp and had a cup of tea while I made spaghetti bolognese. We all played a game of UNO before the girls went to bed, the adults continuing before the planning begins for the adventures tomorrow.