The Montifiore Manse

The 4th of July Part I

We spent the 4th of July in Hobart. Originally, the SPC had their Presbytery scheduled for July 5 in Hobart. We were going to go down a day early and spend the 4th with Iain and Mary Smith. However, Iain and Mary both became ill and Presbytery was canceled. Seeing as it was that great American holiday, we decided to spend the day in Hobart anyway.

We left at 8am and headed down the Midlands Highway toward Hobart. These next pictures are of some of the frosty paddocks (pastures) we passed on the way down.

Our first stop in Hobart was the Bosveld household. We met the Bosvelds for morning tea. We had a marvelous visit with the family, minus Brian (father and husband), as he was at work. The Bosveld family numbers 11 in total but one of those is in utero. We rarely have a chance to fellowship with them but when we do it is a real blessing. They are a large Dutch family with friends and relatives in Grand Rapids. We can discuss family, church, theology, and the things of the Lord very freely. Plus, large families in Oz are a rarer thing these days.

In the above photo, left to right, are Lauren, Robyn, Elloise, and Lochlan.

From left to right is Martha and Julia, Ruth (mom and wife), Ashleigh, and Owen. We missed getting Daniel and Felicity in these pics. As you can see, Julia decided to have morning tea with us. However, she declined the homemade sticky buns Ruth served, opting for her usual favorite instead. The rest of us finished them off in a jiffy.

From the Bosvelds, we headed up to Mt. Wellington, the tallest mountain in Tassie.

As you move up the mountain, you eventually cross the snow line. The snow only shows up in winter.

Gum trees always stay green; they never lose their leaves.

Up near the top, a snow plow must have gone through to clear a bit of the snow.

At the top of the mountain, there were people all over the place playing in the snow. Here are just a few.

Not sure what this tower thing is, but it is on the top of the mountain.

A view of the Derwent River and the outskirts of Hobart below.

Julia braved the cold well and seemed to enjoy her first encounter with snow. There was something oddly appropriate about celebrating the Fourth of July in the snow; although snow is rare in Australia, it was a normal part of our lives in America and thus links us with our memories of the U.S. Of course, you'd never see it in July except on mountains, but hey... in Tassie you don't see it even on mountains except in July (and a few more months).

It was neat to have a cloud drift past our view. Here's the edge of it floating by.

Little One is wide awake and soaking it all in.

Mum and bub (as the Australians would say).

Gotta love the transforming effect of snow on a place. There's a wonderful freedom and wildness in a rocky landscape drifted with snow. Happy Independence Day!