Looking Back on the Happiest days of 2024

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope it has started off on a good foot for you all.

Each year, my friends and I consider a few questions as we reminisce about the year that has just ended and ponder the possibilities of the year that has just begun. If you are interested, stick around after you read my post this month to see the link to my other friends as they share their thoughts on 2024 as well.

This year, to be a little different, I decided to focus on just the one question.

Describe the happiest days of 2024? What can you do to have more days like that in 2025?

To say I had many happy days last year is almost an understatement. It was a year of so many delightful events, experiences, adventures and so much more. I am grateful for every moment. It started and ended with two beautiful weddings. The first was a magnificent weekend away in the Southern Highlands of NSW where we were invited to share the celebration of dear family friends and their son who has grown-up with our sons. The second was the gorgeous fairy-tale wedding of one of our nephews at a castle-like venue in the heart of Sydney. Two weddings so completely different, yet both very special moments in time that we were extremely happy to share.

A fairy-tale wedding in Sydney for our nephew.

A beautiful country wedding in the Southern Highlands for a family friend.

Next was the publication of not one but two books in 2024. Dragons Drumming was a passion project that started from the spark of an idea after a thunderstorm several years ago. It slowly progressed and developed into an absolutely beautiful picture book. The second was the long-awaited final book in the Adamson Adventure series. Tracks in the Mist was another story I was keen to see in my hands and made me so happy and proud to reveal to my eagerly waiting and very patient readers. One of the most exciting moments that occurred due to this book were the radio interviews I was asked to do for ABC radio here in Canberra and then another one for ABC radio Tasmania. To hear a radio interviewer speak of your book with so much excitement after reading it filled my heart with pure joy. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity. I wish I could re-share the interviews here with you, but sadly I didn’t record either of them, not knowing that they would be removed from the website after a few weeks.

A fun day in the sun launching Dragons Drumming at our local independent book shop The Book Cow.

I was interviewed in=person at ABC Radio Canberra.

Then hubby and I had our eight weeks long deserved overseas holiday to the UK and some parts of Europe. Ever since my Parkinson’s diagnosis I had been in training for long walks in the Lakes District of England, planning to conquer National Trust walks with ease. We took our hiking poles, and yes, I was extremely happy to have achieved exactly what I set out to do. Of course, there were many happy days in those eight weeks, in fact most days I woke with a huge smile on my face and went to bed content and fulfilled. The Cotswolds were a dream come true. As was seeing Beatrix Potter’s Hilltop, and William Wordsworth’s home in the Lakes District. I ticked another famous author moment off my bucket list in Edinburgh, when we found the Elephant House Cafe where JK Rowling penned Harry Potter. It was such an incredible moment to sit at the same desk where she wrote, and write a note to her myself. I wonder if she ever actually reads any of the messages?

We carried our hiking poles all over the UK and Europe, but I only needed to use them one day on the hills in the Lakes District. I am so glad I had them, this walk was steep, slippery and rocky, but worth every step.

The original Elephant House Cafe in Edinburgh had closed due to smoke damage from a fire in the building next door, but I was very pleased to find it had been relocated.

Ever since my childhood spending New Years Day night watching the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo I have always had a longing to go to Edinburgh. Was it a coincidence I married a Scotsman or was it fate? We first visited Scotland in 1996, then returned in 2010, but it wasn’t until this trip that we had the time to spend so many days walking and exploring the beautiful city of Edinburgh. The architecture and history held me in awe as each day we happily strolled the Royal Mile and beyond. One day we reached 25,000 steps wandering around the city. It’s amazing how far you can walk when you are engrossed in your surroundings.

We strolled the Royal Mile and surrounds from sunrise to well after sunset.

Ancient history and archaeology are both another fascination I have had since my high school years. Add standing stones since reading Cross-Stitch (Outlander) many years ago when it was first released, and I had to make my way to the far north of Scotland and the Orkney Islands. The weather was windy, drizzly and quite chilly, but nothing could dampen my enthusiasm for walking around the Ring of Brodgar, touching the Standing Stones of Stenness or exploring the ancient site of Skara Brae. Historic Village. We also did day trips to Hadrian’s Wall and the nearby Roman remains at Vindolanda. This archaeological site was discovered in the early 1970’s and is said to have may years ahead before they have uncovered everything. Alnwick Castle where parts of Harry Potter were filmed was another day trip that was a pinch me moment.

The Standing Stones of Stenness were the third set I visited this trip. Each time a touched the stones, but sadly I didn’t travel back in time.

The wind and rain lashed fiercely sideways as the bitter cold seeped through my clothes but undeterred I still walked around the ancient site of Skara Brae.

The ancient Roman archaeological site at Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall, will take years to fully excavate, yet the museum already has a massive collection of artefacts.

Reaching Denmark and meeting up with our nephew and his partner in their home in Aarhus was incredible, and having the opportunity to have them show us around Copenhagen was absolutely wonderful. We shared many moments laughing as we were guided around the city able to view it from the perspective of a local. Zurich and Lucerne were an unexpected beautiful surprise. We hadn’t planned those days at all, but sometimes the unexpected can be the most delightful as you discover places you have never imagined visiting. Finding the cable-car that took us to the Chateau at the top of Lucerne was spectacular. The view was stunning, the chateau and lunch were magnificent and the walk through the pine forest back down to the city was enchanting.

Copenhagen shone in glorious colour as we wondered along the canal.

Hotel Gutsch is a beautiful white chateau that sits above the hills of Lucerne.

There is still so much that made me happy about that holiday, I could go on for ages. Suffice to say, Venice could never disappoint, and finding ourselves on a Norwegian cruise through the fjords was unbelievable. The day the ship cruised through the fjord early in the morning towards the tiny village of Olden, was the absolute highlight. The views from the top of the mountain were breathtaking and walking through the thick snow that sunk half-way up my shins while fighting a strong bitter wind to reach an igloo was unforgettable,

Words cannot express the magnificence of Olden nestled at the end of a long fjord. We would never see anything like this in Australia. The heights of the mountains shooting up from sea-level were astounding.

I can’t forget our week in and around London while staying with hubby’s cousin and his family. Their hospitality was second-to-none as each day we laughed well into the evening. They helped us explore Blenheim Palace, (family home of Winston Churchill) Cliveden House, Runnymede, Windsor, (the site where the Magna Carta was signed), Windsor Castle, Oxford, the quaint little village of Cookham and a stroll along the part of the Thames where they live. Most days we still made it home to spend time with their gorgeous grandkids after school. Family time is always special, it made us extremely happy to feel so welcomed and at home by family on the other side of the world.

On our return home to Australia, there were still many more days that I embraced with complete happiness. But the cherry on top of the cake was our trip to Tasmania in search of seeing the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis). Not only did we see it once in Tassie, but we had what could be a once in a life time experience where we watched the heavenly astronomical display from our own back deck at home. Words cannot describe how I felt being able to see this with the naked eye.

Experiencing an aurora from the east coast of Tasmania, was truly incredible as we watched naked eye beams shoot towards the heavens.

Witnessing an aurora from home was unbelievable. Notice however that the colours are not as spectacular as we are further north and can only see the highest beams.

How can I continue to have more days like this in 2025?

Well, I certainly don’t plan another massive trip like 2024, but I will be content with my memories, reliving them as I slowly work through all the photos to make beautiful coffee table photo album books. I have already completed the first book of the Cotswolds and Lakes District, but I think it will take all year to complete the rest.

In the meantime, we have our 4th grandchild due to be born any day now and I look forward to spending a couple of weeks in Perth once he/she is born. When my son’s first child was born in 2020, it was the middle of Covid and the state of WA was in lockdown, which meant he was six months old before I was allowed to fly to Perth to see him. This time around will be so different, I want to be there for my son, my daughter-in-law, my grandson and their new precious baby.

Later in the year the family will come together again for the happy celebration of another nephew’s wedding. In between all of this, I hope to continue to write, maybe finish a picture book I started last year and begin a new adventure series. For you to stay up to date on all my news, I will finally embark on a monthly newsletter that is coming very soon. If you haven’t signed-up already, please consider doing so, I promise I won’t invade your inbox too often, but I do hope to bring you lots of worthwhile information on helping raise awesome readers while providing teaching resources, book reviews and more.

If you made it this far, thank you for staying with me and reading, I know it was a bit of a long one. If you would like to read more, here are the links to my friends posts regarding their thoughts on 2024.

Julie Gorges The New Year: A Time for Reflection and Hope.

Books by Rose What is the Most Courageous Thing You Did in 2024?

What about you? What made you happy in 2024? What do you plan to do in 2025 to continue making those moments of joy? Please let me know in the comments below.

Researching Facts for Fiction.

I love writing middle grade fiction for readers aged 7 -12 years. There is so much potential to grip them with an adventurous story, but writing for this age group means a wide range in reading ability, not to mention their desire to read. That’s why in my Adamson Adventures series along with a great story full of tension and humour, I always like to include lots of factual information. Some readers enjoy fiction for all the fantasy and world building it entails, but others enjoy learning through reading factual texts. By combining the two, I hope to help bridge the gap between these different types of readers and encourage a love of reading in them all.

If you have read any of the three books in the Adamson Adventures series so far, you will know how extensive my research is. I take my readers on a journey from Bali, to the south coast of NSW and far out west in arid Queensland. Once I have a concept for a story, along with an idea of a location, I want to be able to write about the setting using all five senses, I need to experience that particular place myself. Photos, books and google searches can only help to a certain degree. There is nothing like immersing yourself in the scents, sights, sounds, tastes and feelings of the surroundings.

Pademelon are cute little marsupials that belong to the wallaby and kangaroo family. They are found all over Tasmania.

Far South region of Tasmania heading towards Cockle Creek and South West National Park Wilderness area.

That’s why in order to write book four, (title to be confirmed), I recently embarked on a trip to Tasmania. I always knew this story would be set in Tasmania, so to begin my research for the ideal setting I started googling possible best locations around the island. I also knew it had to be in the wilderness and accessible via campsites and walking tracks. Once I decided on the location, my next step was to go down there and experience it for myself. I spotted platypus, pademelons, a Tassie devil and a lyre bird all in the wild. Although the last two were too quick and elusive to catch on film. I inhaled Huon pine, gentle mist and rainforest ferns. I listened to thundering waterfalls and rolling rivers while leaf litter squelched underfoot. I tasted fresh powdery snow as it swirled in the air and landed on my nose, and welcomed log fires and warming hot chocolate. I hugged trees, patted bright green mosses and marvelled at four different types of leaf patterns in ferns that mingled in the same location. I was amazed by the splendour and magnificence of tall trees and the simple majestic wonder of the wilderness. I came home inspired and refreshed to start writing again.

For those non-Australian readers who have no idea where Tasmania is, it’s a relatively small island at the bottom of mainland Australia, that is included as one of our states. Tasmania is the southern most tip of our country and the place from where scientists embark on research trips to the Antarctic. New Zealand and Argentina are the only two countries closer to the Antarctic.

Map of Australia showing the states including Tasmania.

Map of Tasmania, showing Devonport in the top middle, Hobart down south and Cockle Creek near the southern tip.

Hubby and I spent six months living in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, back in 1986, soon after we were married. On weekends we managed to travel around to see a few places, but as you can imagine, when you are busy working in a place, you don’t have the time to explore as much as you might like.

After all these years, I was very excited to return this July, now that all our states have reopened after two years of lockdowns. We decided not to fly and rent a car on arrival because I knew I wanted to explore roads and areas off the beaten track. Therefore, the best option for us, was to drive to Melbourne and take the ship across overnight. That way, we could take our old four wheel drive car and have no restrictions as to where we went. I was pleasantly surprised that we had calm seas on both the departure and return trips. Bass Strait is known for wild weather, so I counted us very lucky, perhaps it was even a good omen.

On disembarking at Devonport, (6;30 am ), we drove straight down the middle of the island to reach Hobart by mid-afternoon. I had booked accommodation there for five days to give us plenty of time to explore the far south region. Out first full day trip was a drive through the Huon Valley, to the beachside township of Southport along with the campgrounds and wilderness walks around Cockle Creek. Imagine my delighted surprise as I read information maps to find Bennett’s Point, Adamsons Peak and Adamsons Falls! Regrettably I didn’t walk in to see these as I am not an experienced bushwalker of that calibre. The tracks are overgrown, and extremely difficult to navigate, plus they would take far too many hours to traverse than I could manage. I had to be realistic. However, I did get a good feel for the area a couple of days later when we returned to do the walks around the thermal pool at Hastings Caves, as well as the Airwalk and the Swinging Bridges walk that take you over the fast flowing Huon River. The views of the forest wilderness were spectacular.

Detailed map of the Southern Wilderness area of Tasmania with Adamson’s Peak and Adamson’s Falls circled. Bennett’s Point is highlighted in orange.

Looking across Recherche Bay to Bennett’s Pont.

Swinging Bridges walk across the Huon River, Hastings Caves and Thermal Pool.

To my delight, after a couple of hours walking, we returned to the carpark to discover a Tasmanian Devil and a Lyrebird in the wild. Sadly they were both too quick to disappear into the thick foliage to capture on film. I did manage to buy a couple of cute cuddly toy Tasmanian Devils and Tigers for the grandkids. There are many stories about the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger, and I did purchase a number of books about them. Could they still be elusively hiding out there in the wilderness somewhere?

We were lucky to see a Tasmanian Devil in the wild, if only for a fleeting moment.

Tasmanian Tigers are believed to be extinct. The last one died in captivity at a zoo in Hobart in 1936.

Surprisingly, I also watched a platypus playing in the river outside her den one afternoon. I had booked a cosy little Bed and Breakfast for the night, and on booking the owner has assured us that if we were there by 3:30 pm, we would be able to see the platypus at play. I didn’t believe the platypus would be there, but as we were served afternoon tea by the river bank, sure enough, the platypus arrived right on cue.

Our hosts also believed it would be a good night for seeing the Aurora Australis and suggested a great spot for viewing. Unfortunately as we waited, we watched the rain come across the valley and set in, spoiling any hopes of us catching a glimpse of this amazing phenomenon. I was so close to ticking this one off my bucket list, perhaps I’ll have to head to the northern hemisphere and see the Aurora Borealis instead.

Platypus in the river at Geeveston.

Aurora Australia courtesy of Wallpaper Flare

After my exploration down south was complete, we continued to discover more of the beauty of the Tasmanian wilderness through walks in Mt Fields Nation Park and Cradle Mountain. My initial plan on the day we headed to Mt Fields, was to just do the walks to the waterfalls, but hubby had other ideas. We drove up to the end of the road at the top of the mountain where we embarked on the most fabulous walk around Lake Dobson. The change in vegetation and diversity in plant life at the top compared to the rainforest and waterfalls further below was incredible. I took so many photos for my research and was inspired with lots of ideas.

Horseshoe Falls, Mt Fields National Park.

We hadn’t planned on a visit to Cradle Mountain as we had been there all those years ago, but I was so glad we did. This time we managed the 6.5 Km ( 4 miles) around Dove Lake. It was 2 !/2 hours of enchanted rainforest, squeezing around overhanging rocks, stepping over thick vines, massive tree roots and stone stairs that climbed up a hill and back down the other side. The park ranger informed me it wasn’t called Heartbreak Hill for nothing! All the while the rain drizzled off and on, causing the track to become quite slippery in places, but it was so worth it for the striking views of the lake and the rugged mountains that occasionally peaked out from behind fog or misty clouds. On checking the weather forecast for the next few days, we learned that snow was predicted. I was so glad we decided to stay, we were rewarded with a winter wonderland of fresh powdered snow that blanketed the resort and the mountains as far as the eye could see. Naturally, I had to head out for another walk in the fresh snow before too many footsteps turned the tracks to ice and mush.

Snowfall at Cradle Mountain.

I feel like my writing has slowed somewhat over the last two years, covid and lockdowns have not been conducive to my imagination. But this research trip was the prescription I needed. I have returned home inspired, motivated and keen to put pen to paper. Hopefully the next great Adamson Adventure will flow from my hands and be ready for publication sometime next year.

Do you do research to help you write your fiction books?

How do you do your research for your fiction books?