Tasmania Holiday And Frugal Tasks

Straight after Christmas last year we had our family holiday.  Darren and Megan left on the 27th by boat with my car.  Jessica,  Eugene and myself left on the 28th by plane.  We spent five nights in Devonport in a cabin at a holiday park.  This allowed us to spend time with Darren's Dad,  step mum and some extended family.

The boys spent lots of time fishing with Eugene catching some squid and Darren showing him how to cook it.  Megan and I had a lovely walk on the beach collecting shells and a few beautifully colored,  smooth stones.  Jessica and I watched a few movies together and enjoyed some bargain hunting.

We discovered a discount store called Shiploads which is similar to Cheap As Chips,  The Warehouse or Chicken Feed.  Darren and i picked up lots of heavily discounted Christmas decorations / party items and Megan enjoyed the makeup section. 

New Year's Eve was spent at Darren's Dad's place eating nibblies.  About 11.30 pm the kids went down to the water for the party and fireworks.   We got a phone call at 12.04 am asking to be picked up because the fireworks had finished and everyone was going home.

The Reject Shops in Tasmania as huge and once again we picked up lots of Christmas bargains.  One was a white with gold stripe tablecloth we bought for $5 down from $20.  We soon discovered most towns either had a Shiploads or Reject Shop and it felt like we were doing the national tour of all stores.

The girls and Eugene flew back home on the 2nd Jan and Darren and I continued our holiday for another week.  We spent 3 nights in Stanley at a lovely spa cottage.  We explored The Nut which is an extinct volcano the Stanley is built around.

We then travelled down to Hobart and stayed in a Bed and Breakfast in Margate.  We visited the Salamanca Markets,   took a lunch cruise on the Derwent River,  visited the Margate Train and it's converted shops, drove down to the Huon Valley and explored New Norfolk and it's antique shops. 

Darren and I enjoyed eating lunch out on occasion,  bought afternoon teas at Banjos Bakery and cooked our own dinners most nights.  Everything was budgeted for which gave us peace of mind.  We caught the boat home on the 9th January arriving at the crack of dawn on the 10th.

Here's a list of how we saved money on our holiday -

*  Used our thermos for cuppas when we were travelling.  This saved us about $7 - $9 each time.

*  Stocked up on cheap Christmas decorations,  material and party supplies.

*  Used our Flybuys dollars to buy the groceries we needed when staying in Devonport and Margate.

*  Saved the paper carry bags from Kmart when we went shopping.  Most plastic bags have been banned in Tasmania for about four years.  Retailers offer paper bags or multiple use plastic bags to their customers or you can bring your own.  I carried lots of fold up material bags in my handbag which were used many times over.

*  Saved the plastic cutlery from the cafes we ate at.  I don't usually do this but the cutlery was quite sturdy and seemed a shame to throw out.

*  Reused the few plastic bags and bread bags we had over and over again to wrap food,  cover bowls or to pack things in the car.

*  We carried bottles of water wherever we went.  This alone saves a small fortune and keeps us hydrated.

*  I packed tea bags,  sugar,  breakfast cereals,  spreads,  muesli bars,  sweet biscuits,  savoury biscuits,  pasta,  tinned tomatoes,  seasonings to make spag bol and rissoles,  chips and chocolates.  Yes we could have bought these items from the supermarket when we got there,  but I already had them in my pantry.  This saved us about $75 - $100.

Lighthouse at The Bluff Devonport

Th Bluff Devonport

Sunset in Devonport

Huge craft shop in Spreyton Devonport

Acoomodation in Stanley

The Nut Stanely

View from the top of The Nut

On the chairlift with Darren.  He didn't look down

Historical Highfield House Stanley

House on the main street of Stanley

The Nut up close

Stanley main street.  Our accom was up the laneway - bottom left

Stanley Hotel.  Masterchef filmed finals week here in 2012

Margate train shops

Margate train

Discount super store.

Historical bridge in Richmond near Hobart.

View from our balcony in Margate.

Derwent River cruise.

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