Category: Out & About

Exploring beyond home through local adventures, nature, events, and everyday outings captured with storytelling and curiosity.

Goal Setting for 2026: Vision, Balance & Intention

A Fresh Start: Intentions for the New Year

With the reflections of 2025 still fresh, 2026 will begin with a deep breath and a renewed sense of purpose. After a year of family health ups and downs, returning to study, and adjusting to new routines, 2026’s focus is all about balance – nurturing what matters most, one gentle goal at a time.

The aim isn’t perfection or pressure. It’s about living with intention, creating sustainable rhythms, and celebrating small wins along the way.

Physical Health: Grounding in Movement and Rest

Health was front and centre last year, and 2026 builds on that awareness. The focus is on gentle, consistent care – walking in nature, mindful movement, and rest that restores.

Key Goals:

  • Walk in nature at least three times a week – beaches, bush tracks, or ParkRun.
  • Create a gentle morning movement ritual.
  • Grow and eat more fresh produce from the garden.
  • Stick to a no phone after 9pm rule for better rest and sleep rhythms.
woman walking on the beach

Mental Health: Quiet Reflection & Gentle Progress

After the emotional weight of 2025, mental health takes priority. 2026 invites slow, steady self-awareness through journaling and rest.

Key Goals:

  • Keep a weekly self-check-in journal – mood, gratitude, and small wins.
  • Take one mental health day each month purely for rest or pleasure.
  • Explore sensory tools for autistic wellbeing – weighted blankets, calming soundscapes, and scent rituals.
  • Limit online comparison by curating digital spaces mindfully.

Home: Creating Calm and Flow

Home is the heart of everything – a sanctuary that supports both study and creativity. 2026 focuses on steady, practical improvements that make daily life flow with ease.

Key Goals:

  • Complete one decluttering or organising project each month.
  • Create a cozy or sacred corner with candles, books, and plants.
  • Build sustainable home rhythms – daily, weekly, and seasonal routines.
  • Grow herbs, flowers, and veggies for a thriving home garden.

Family: Connection at the Core

After K’s big start at Indie School and a year filled with both challenges and milestones, 2026 is about making time to connect. Family adventures, gratitude, and shared creativity will be woven into the year ahead.

Key Goals:

  • Have weekly family dinners or game nights – no screens allowed.
  • Take at least four day trips or mini-adventures around Tasmania.
  • Start a “family gratitude jar” to collect weekly moments of joy.
  • Begin a family creative project – photography, a zine, or a memory book.

Personal Development: Growth Through Learning

Returning to study after 20 years in 2025 was a powerful reminder that learning never stops. 2026 continues that momentum, blending curiosity with balance.

Key Goals:

  • Read 12 books that inspire creativity and insight.
  • Take a short online course or workshop that sparks excitement.
  • Practice saying no without guilt to protect energy and boundaries.
  • Reflect quarterly on values and priorities, realigning as needed.

Creative Goals: Making from the Heart

Creativity remains a core part of life and expression. Whether it’s through writing, art, photography, or crafting, 2026 is about joy in the process rather than perfection.

Key Goals:

  • Dedicate two hours each week purely to making.
  • Attend or host a creative workshop with other makers.
  • Complete a signature project that reflects personal story and style – it’s launching today and I’m really excitied.

Spiritual Goals: Staying Aligned and Connected

Following the Wheel of the Year and reconnecting with local land and energy will guide 2026’s spiritual path. These rituals offer grounding and reflection throughout the seasons.

Key Goals:

  • Celebrate each Sabbat with small, meaningful rituals.
  • Deepen connection with local land spirits through gratitude and offerings.
  • Build a daily or weekly altar practice tied to moon phases or elemental themes.

Closing Thoughts

2025 taught resilience, gratitude, and the value of slowing down. 2026 carries those lessons forward – with gentle structure, grounded goals, and space for joy. This isn’t a year of hustle; it’s a year of harmony.

Here’s to a balanced and beautiful 2026 – a year of health, creativity, and connection in all its forms.

With love from the Den,

– Nightwolf 🐺

Revolution & Silence

During our recent trip to Hobart we took the kids to check out the exhibition on banned books Revolution & Silence. It sparked some interesting conversations about why books are banned, censorship and freedom of speech. The eldest has now got a new list of books to read. Sadly it’s now finished in Hobart, but if you get a chance to see it elsewhere, do go and check it out.

Image with pink background and red text. Text reads "Revolution Silence Revolution" The word Silence is reversed. More text that reads "Brigita Ozolins // Banned Books" This text is strike thru.

Revolution & Silence includes an installation by Tasmanian artist Brigita Ozolins in the gallery of the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition considers George Orwell’s 1984, exploring the forces that try to silence free speech and the revolutions that rise in response. These works contextualise Orwell’s novel amongst contemporary political upheaval, AI, fake news, and the unchecked power of social media.  

The State Library and Archives of Tasmania has curated and displayed a collection of books that have been challenged throughout history, and today. This exhibition represents and interprets diverse points of view through a collection of banned, restricted and controversial books. Read some of these books and more during your visit in the ‘Silenced Reading’ library.  

Travelling Tasmania: Lilydale Falls and the Abandoned Tunnel pt 2

In part 1 of the post, we visited Lilydale Falls. We travelled a few kilometres up the road to visit the Abandoned Tunnel.

The tunnel is part of the now unused North Eastern Line which opened in 1889 from Launceston to Scottsdale. According reports and newspaper articles I read looking into the history of the tunnel, work on the tunnel began in 1885 with the last brick being laid in 1888. It is 705 meters long and lined with one million bricks. Construction involved 70 men and no accidents were reported. The surrounding area became known as Tunnel and the nearby station, no longer standing, was Tunnel Station. With the increase in road travel, the line usage slowed from the 1960s and stopped all together in 1992.

image of abandoned train tunnel. Location: Tunnel, Northern Tasmania

Recently there has been discussion to open more parts of the line back up to walkers and cyclists, with a 24km section between Billycock Hill and Scottsdale is already in use since 2015.

Anyway, enough of the history. We wanted to visit after hearing stories about it and numerous photos on different tourist sites. Oh and it’s reportedly haunted.

To get there, from Lilydale Falls, follow Golconda Road for about 4 kms until you reach Tunnel Road. Drive for another 2km until you reach Tunnel Station Road and follow that for about 180m where you will see a small sign saying Tunnel. Park your car on the road side and follow the track towards the tunnel (about 200m).

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The mood was perfect with the rainy weather. I would highly recommend wearing boots if you go in Winter or Spring. It was very wet in the tunnel and the kids and I came out with soaked feet. DSC_0637

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Is it haunted? Well, the kids were making enough noise to wake the dead but we didn’t see or hear anything apart from running water and the crunch of gravel underfoot. There is a sense of something though about halfway along. This is were a lot of people report feeling ‘something’.
Hubby & I plan to go back another day and take another look. Who know maybe we’ll find something?

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This is a great place to go for a walk, take a torch though and a great place to photograph for the architecture, the railway itself, the textures and the flora.

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Where are we off to next? Who knows but I’ll be sharing it here.
Until next time!

Travelling Tasmania: Lilydale Falls and the Abandoned Tunnel pt 1

We were going to start out Tassie adventures locally in George Town and surrounds as that is where we are based but it was recently school holidays so we decided to visit one of the nearby falls.

I visited Lilydale Falls when I was younger, most likely with relatives visiting from Scotland, but had never been back so seemed like the perfect place to start. And it’s one of the closest falls.

The falls are located in the Lilydale Falls Reserve, about 25 minutes North of Launceston. It’s a relatively easy 6-10 minute walk from the car park along a dirt and duckboard path, then down some stairs to the base of the first falls.

image of a dirt path leading under a train bridge. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania image of wooden stairs. to the right of the image is moss covered rock image of a group of people standing, looking at a waterfall. The waterfall is the bottom fall at Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. 

Image of waterfall and surrounding plants. Bottom falls at Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.

Another 3-4 minutes up the path and you are on a viewing platform at the second falls.

image of a dirt path next to a flowing river. Location Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmaniaimage of wooden viewing platform at the top falls, Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.image of waterfall. Top fall, Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.

I could seriously spend awhile here taking photos when the weather is dry.

image of manfern growing on rocks. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of tree trunk that looks like a contorted face. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of moss growing on rocks. water is trickling over rocks. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of moss growing on rocks. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of plants and moss trailing over rocks. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.
image of moss growing on trees. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania. image of green moss growing on rocks,covered with dry leaves. Location: Lilydale Falls Reserve, Tasmania.

Back at the car park is a well maintained public toilet, play area and an undercover BBQ area. If there is already a group there, you are most likely going to have to wait for a BBQ though.
The car park has parking spaces for campers and motor homes. There is also an undercover building with tables and a fireplace, which I’m guessing can be used by campers.

The day we went was overcast and then it rained on the way back. The paths and rocks can get a little slippery, so watch your step.
We gave up waiting on the BBQ area as it was completely taken over by a small group of tourists who weren’t keen on sharing with a family so we packed up the car and headed to our next location.

A few kilometres up the road is a place called the Abandoned Tunnel and we’ll cover that in part 2.

Something new around here

School holidays start for us here in Tasmania next week and we have 2 weeks off school. With COVID, travelling outside our state still really isn’t a thing (even though both hubby & I are both fully vaxed) so we’ve decided that we’re going to play tourist in our own state AND take you guys along for the ride.

We’re making a list of where we want to go and what we want to see so if there is anywhere in Tasmania you’d like to see, let us know and we’ll do our best to add it to our list.

Follow along on our adventures by following the Travel Tasmania category & on my instagram using #nightwolftravelstas