Outside, the gumtrees bend and contort with the wind. The wind blows the snow over our camper van, and the camper van gently sways with each gust as the snow settles around it.

It’s early morning and inside we are warm. I’ve got the kettle on and I’m heating up some water so I can make some chai in the hopes that it will entice Steph out of bed.

Willow is having a sleep-in as well, and I know she is very glad we have the diesel heater on. Outside it’s about 0c, but inside we are warm.

It’s a long weekend and yesterday we left our cottage to travel up to the Central Highlands to a place called Interlaken. Willow was snuggled up in a blanket and I had to carry her to the van. On the way North, we stopped in at Oatlands to find the bakery before remembering there wasn’t one! So, we headed a little bit further North to the town of Ross where we picked up some treats for the weekend and some vanilla slices to have for morning tea.

From Ross, it was only a 40 minute drive up to the plateau at 1000 metres above sea level.

So here we are, at Dago Point campground. There’s no other campers here and I think the cold has scared them off. So, Steph and I revel in having the whole place to ourselves.

With fuel so expensive, it’s nice to get away not too far from the cottage, yet a million miles away. There’s no phone coverage here so we have really left it all behind.

We walk through the snow with Willow in her satchel looking out at the frozen rain falling around her. I place her down and she sniffs at the grasses beside the snow capped rockery. Not ten minutes later she realises that she’d rather have a nice blanket under her toe beans instead of the icy snow.

She sprints back to the van.

On top of the dashboard we have placed her new blanket. It’s a special blanket that was sent to us from a remarkable person from Minnesota, US. Bekki sews and crochets blankets to send all over her country having reached over 40 states.

Bekki sends blankets to people in need or just for the joy of it. Willow is very lucky to have received one, and she absolutely adores it having spent many a night curled up in it.

In the afternoon we drive over the snowy pass to the old homestead of Steppes. The homestead was established in the mid 1800’s as a police residence for the newly appointed Chief Constable. The property served as a school, bakery, and post office, and from the early 1900’s, a telephone exchange.

The site is maintained by Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service who do not allow pets in the area, so unfortunately Willow has to stay inside the Van.

Steph and I walk around the old huts and imagine what life would have been like here all those years ago. A 1km walk through the forest brings us to the Steppes Sculptures – a collection of 14 bronze sculptures depicting scenes from the area.

In the late afternoon, we drive back over the snowy pass to our camp at Dago Point. There’s no one here. We’ll stay here until Monday, enjoying the view from inside the warmth of the van and rugging up to take walks around our snow sprinkled wonderland.

There’s more snow forecast tonight, but the three of us will be warm in our home on wheels.

Willow’s paw prints will surely melt in the coming days but the memories of our cosy weekend in the snow will be firmly imprinted in our minds.

* * *

Thanks so much for joining us on our snow adventure! We are back in the cottage now and already missing time spent in our cosy van. There is something magical about waking up, looking outside and seeing the snow. We discovered that Willow is not much of a snow bunny, but prefers to spend time with us inside the van as we relax and drink hot chocolate – and spending hours on the dashboard, surveying her new home.

This is what I love about travelling with Willow; she’s pretty good at letting us know what she wants. It would have been a boring weekend for her if we had left her at home. Instead, we have our van set up for the three of us and we each had an awesome weekend, even if our activities don’t always align.

Willow loves her new blanket gifted to us by Bekki. Follow Bekki on Instagram to see her spread joy all around the world. She is truly an amazing person!