Back in Tasmania.

We have arrived in Tasmania. 

I don't really have much to update so far, but I have some time today so I figured I could tell you about our trip over and our first few days.

The trip went very smoothly as far as airports and connections go. We didn't have any trouble making any of our flights. This seemed to be my trip to be randomly selected though. I was pulled out of line a couple times for random security checks and bag checks. It was a bit funny by the end. I was pretty sure I was going to get a full on bag search in Melbourne, they had pulled me aside and rescanned my passport at customs, but I managed to get through just fine. Things like that really aren't a big deal if you have plenty of time until your next connection.

We did have one very unpleasant flight. It was one of the shortest ones too. On our Calgary to LA flight we hit some pretty crazy turbulence. It was the worst I've ever experienced. I very nearly emptied the contents of my stomach into the aisle. But I survived. And after a few quesy hours in the LA airport I was ready to get back on a plane. I managed to sleep about 10 of our 12.5 hours to Auckland. The gravol may have helped with that. In Auckland we just had enough time to get off the plane and get on the next one, which took us to Melbourne. We had a couple hours there and then we got onto a tiny little plane and flew over to Devonport where Sarah and Fiona Hingston were waiting for us. It was so nice to fly into Devonport this time. It saved us (and the Hingstons) quite a bit of driving. 

We arrived in the late afternoon and we went straight to the Hingston's for tea and then on to Camp Clayton. Since then we have had some downtime around camp. It has been nice to not have too much going on. We have had lots of time to rest and see camp. We have already had one nice swim in the ocean and I am looking forward to many more. Yesterday we spent the day in Burnie with the Gates family. It was lovely and so wonderful to see both the Gates family and the Poke family again. Before I came I was looking so much forward to seeing all the people I knew. So far it has been wonderful. But there are still heaps of people I am still waiting to see. 

Being here again is such a blessing. It has been feeling quite surreal so far. On the one hand it seems like I was here only yesterday. Lots of things are very familiar and just as I left them. But on the other hand it feels like so long ago that I was here. So much has happened in the few months since I left. I have moved out to camp and done all sorts of things out there. Here things have changed too. People have moved and the girls have grown up so much. It is interesting. I am reminded of the fact that no matter how badly we want things to stay the same, or to stay in a moment just a little longer, things will always change. I loved my time here last year. It was beautiful and wonderful. But that doesn't mean I would want this trip to be the same. I like that it is new. And that things keep changing and moving forward. I am so happy to have been given the chance to come back. I am reminded of the fact that God has brought me back here. I am excited for what the next two months will bring. 

Classic plane wing photo. I got very bored on our Auckland to Melbourne flight.

The lovely Camp Clayton beach.

This is the Huntsman I found above my bed on the first night. We had two Hunstmans in the first day! I managed to get rid of this guy with a little bit more flailing and whimpering than I'd like to admit. I am 95% sure he went out the window like planned. But it was dark, so there is a chance he fell into my bed instead. I ripped apart my bed and couldn't find him though, so we'll go with he landed out the window.

A poppy field. And you can see the Table Cape Lighthouse off in the distance.

The first of what I'm sure will be many lovely sunsets. This was taken on our day in Burnie.