January 2026 (Rye, Palm Cove and Tasmania)



Question: Where did January go? 

Answer: In a lovely blur of family, lazy days at Rye and a week in Palm Cove, Far North Queensland.

We had all the kids and partners and some of their friends at Rye until they all went back to work earlier in the month. I have forgotten how much food six (to a dozen or so) adults eat! Added to the holiday congestion that descends on the Mornington Peninsula every Christmas/New Year, I did feel a bit like I was relaxing in between supermarket visits!!! Also, a big group deciding what to watch after dinner is a minefield. Especially when there are a couple of voices very keen to watch the Big Bash which seemed to go on endlessly! I like cricket but Test cricket during the day followed by T20 at night is too much for me. Not whining….even though this reads like whining!! It was lovely to all be together.

Our son, M, turned 30 so we had some celebrations for that too. Yes, I have a 30 year old child. How did that happen??!!

Said 30 year old child and his wife asked us to go to Palm Cove with them for a week for Baby’s first holiday. We didn’t need to be asked twice! We spent a week there and the new family stayed on for another 10 days.

Palm Cove in January is stinger season and very humid so not my first choice for a visit but we enjoyed the time with M & A & Baby very much. Seeing Baby every day was a delight and not having to queue for cuddles was the best delight!!

I was commissioned by Mamamia to write a story about our week so we got to enjoy some treats – the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, Kuranda Scenic Railway, dinner at Nu Nu Restaurant and dinner at Reef House. We also went to Port Douglas for the Sunday market, Cairns for a day and took a scenic Barron River cruise when we realised that the Kuranda Markets were not open so there wasn’t a lot to do in Kuranda!

The Skyrail was amazing as was the boat cruise and the train. The highlight, though, was the Skyrail. I don’t love cable cars but the ride was super smooth (despite strong winds) and the views from above were absolutely incredible! 

Back in Melbourne, we had our customary (and very enjoyable) day at the Australian Open and caught up with family at Rye. We also fiddled around with Vandie in readiness for a trip to Tasmania which we started on 27 January. We are doing a circuit and very much looking forward to a slow travel adventure!! I’ll leave “Tassie coverage” until next month.

Not much published work to speak of this month although the Australian Writers’ Centre did a lovely social post about me and featured me front and centre in their weekly newsletter - https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/leonie-jarrett-when-harry-got-lost/

I had a review of Uniworld’s S.S. Victoria published in NZ – online and in the papers but I’m waiting for a proper link. I am also waiting for my website to go live. The “transfer” stage is taking a while.

Signing off from Vandie just outside of Devonport.



^ Nu Nu, Palm Cove




^Skyrail Rainforest Cableway



^Tasmanian sunset


^ Vandie

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