Week 8 Tassie

Lake McIntosh

Well folks have been a bit slack this time. Nearly a fortnight since my last report but we have spent a good deal of time recently outside Internet access. Well that's my excuse and I am sticking to it.

Lake McIntosh

From the beautiful Hellyer gorge we moved on to Lake McIntosh #180 for a coffee but once again decided to stay. After a nervous narrow access across dam wall and causeway we were greeted by a variety of camp spots on the edge of the lake. It was quite picturesque and free. As we were keen to get to Strahan we moved on the following day through Tullah and Rosebery before stopping at Zeehan for coffee. As there was no free camps advertised at Zeehan we decided to keep going to Strahan via the western route. All in all a hilly and twisty day but amazing country to traverse. 








Strahan was a wonderful village and we checked into the caravan park as the free camp was not dog friendly. The park was central but expensive and had very tiny sites. We were only going to stay a couple of days as we were not prepared to leave Trixie tied up all day in order to do a cruise.


Lady Franklin II

When our neighbors returned  to camp that first day we discovered that they were Jenny and Chris whom we camped with on about two previous occasions. They had a pooch as well and we said we would keep an eye on him whilst they did a cruise on our second day. They had a wonderful day and said on their return that they would do the same for us the next day if we wanted to do a cruise.






We jumped at the opportunity and immediately booked a trip on the Lady Franklin and went whole hog with a deluxe package.

Gordon River

View from Sarah Is

Poor people cruising the Gordon



Our amazing tour guide on Sarah Is

  








What a day, it was truly amazing. Cruising across Macquarie Harbour sipping champagne and orange for morning tea was something else. The scenery was magic, out through Hells Gate then back across the harbour and into the Gordon River. Such a beautiful place and some close up looks at the famous Huon Pine trees. They grow so slowly only about 1mm per year. One that had fallen in 2000 was 2700 years old.

Leatherwood flowers ( famous Tassie honey)

After a glorious lunch on board of smoked salmon and ocean trout we headed to Sarah Island, which was a former penal colony. We had a very interesting and theatrical guided tour of this historical site and enjoyed the experience immensely. Back at the dock after about six and a half hours we were replete in food, wine and visual overload. what an amazing day that we might not have managed but for our lovely neighbours. Thank you Jenny, Chris and Levy.

Time to move again but we wanted a bit more of Macquarie Harbour so we went out the rough road to the very cheap camp near Hells Gate.#177. It was a great site with toilets and only $6 per night. What we hadn't figured on was Australia Day long weekend which brought out all the red necks with quad bikes and dirt bikes. One night was enough as Trixie went off her head every time one of these noisy vehicles went past our camp.

Old pit from iron Blow lookout

Aileene on Iron Blow lookout

Saturday ( Australia Day) we were on the road rather than celebrating but hey driving through Tassie is a celebration of Australian beauty.  A very slow winding trip took us to the stark but fascinating town of Queenstown. We found the only van park as washing was to be done but not a pretty place to spend much time. We had a drive around town, took in the look out and after advice from a local ( drunk) we ventured out of town to the Iron Blow. An amazing cantilever look out over an old open cut mine. It was very high and gave my vertigo a bit of a work out. Fascinating to see how much rock has been moved by the mine. Mt Lyell Mine contributes 35% of Tasmania's economy. But boy the visual cost is a big price to pay. The old copper smelter which ceased opertaion over 40 years ago created a lot of acid rain that killed all vegetation which has still not recovered. The river is still stained brown and will never be restored to its previous condition.

Queenstown from lookout with no grass AFL ground

Bronze monument Queenstown

Queenstown devastation



Lake Burbury camp

As we didn't feel like sitting in the dull camp we took a trip out to Lake Burbury and had a look at the free camp # 172. Not a lot of room but boy it was a magic spot.














Sunday the last day of our week eight brought us to another free camp at Bradys Lake #165. A great spot with a panoramic view of the lake and no neighbors within 200 metres.


Bradys Lake camp

Week 7 Tasmania



Longford caravan park

Longford was a wonderful stop for a caravan park. Well run and a great place to centre ourselves to visit the surrounding country.

 



The sun goes down on Lonford's trees



 

 

 

A very popular tourist destination in Longford was “Woolmer’s Estate”. This was a step back in time to see how farm life was back in the 1800’s. The old homestead has not been touched since the last family member died there and is now administered by a not for profit organisation and has world heritage listing. Back in the days when convict labour was plentiful the family had a combined holding of 50,000 acres of prime farm land. Later generations of the family were not interested in farming so land was sold off or leased out and now the estate is only about 800 acres or exactly the size of the original land grant. Beautiful old buildings and a homestead still decorated as it was over 150 years ago.



Woolmers Estate



Wooden windmill at Woolmers




 

Woolmers Estate once went as far as the mountains in distance

 

  

 

As we had enjoyed our trip around the great lakes we thought a visit to Ben Lomond would be good. We decided to visit the Evandale markets on the way to restock with magnificent fresh veggies and stunning cherries and apricots. Boy we are spoilt for good fruit down here and the Dutch Cream spuds are to die for.



Ben Lomond




Ben Lomond

After the markets we took the back roads and climbed Ben Lomond as far as the sign that said no dogs “not even in a car” so we had to abort this plan to see Tasmania’s ski fields. Another destination for our next trip to the “Apple Isle”. On the way back to camp by a different route through Perth we travelled along single lane country lanes lined by hedge rows and I guess probably like what you see in the UK.



Preservation bay camp site



Time to move on as time is slipping by so we headed back towards Devonport via Deloraine and along the coast road through Penguin to find a free camp at last at Preservation Bay just west of Penguin. No facilities at #234 but a beautiful spot right on the beach. Made friends with the fellow travellers and had a great happy hour or was it three?

 



The Nut



As we had already spent some time in this locale we kept moving the next day to Stanley where we again camped for free under the shadow of Circular Head or more commonly known as “ The Nut”. This site is adjacent to the wharf and is not in Camps 6. After setting up camp we found a second free camp area on the north side of town, all grassy and along the beach. Beautiful spot and also not listed. Toilets were not too far from either site and we found water in town near the golf course.



Stanley

Another feed of whiting, scallops and chips from the local fish shop was a real treat. The Nut climb was difficult but worth it and we resisted the chair lift easy option. The Nut is about 100 meters high and according to my calculations the climb rate was one in four…..bloody steep. Stanley is a gorgeous little town steeped in history and we enjoyed it very much.

Near Arthur River

 



Off again after a couple of free nights with the Wild West coast in our sights. We had some washing to do, so with there being no laundrettes in this part of the world we thought a park was in order rather than a free camp. The only one was Arthur River and was overpriced and poorly managed but it did have a machine. After exploring some more we recommend #247 Manuka camp grounds. Not free and administered by parks and wildlife but heaps of room and good toilets….next time!

The west coast is wild and desolate with lobster boats anchored in little bays along this coast. Very small settlements with shacks scattered amongst the coastal bush. We drove down to Sundown Point and up to Green Point but the only bush camp worth stopping at was Manuka. Green Point was highly recommended but has been revamped and is not suitable for large rigs, although it is a beautiful beach. The gravel roads are reasonably maintained and if you had full off road gear and not too big a rig the trip could take you all the way down to Zeehan. (A couple of ferry crossings along the way).

Off again and in need of provisions and reasonable priced fuel so we decided on Wynyard where we camped at the Beach Retreat van park. we love Wynyard and it is one of our favourite towns so far. Replete with water, fuel, food and beer we are off again, this time south along roads not previously travelled. After a mighty 46 km we stopped for coffee and decided to stay the night at a gorgeous free camp at hellyer Gorge # 185 and the start of week 8.

 

Week 6 Tasmania 2013

The two Aileene's

On Monday we finally managed to catch up with Aileene's aunt Aileene in Lindisfarne. At 97 she is remarkable and still lives on her own in a lovely apartment overlooking the harbour at Lindisfarne.
On Tuesday we left for the midlands as the smoke was dreadful and thus any sightseeing was not particularly pleasant.
We took the shortcut to Midland highway via Richmond and Colebrook. Stopped at Oatlands for a coffee and arrived at Ross at an early hour after a very modest 114km day. Oatlands was quite an interesting town with an operating windmill come flour mill but nothing like the beautifully preserved village of Ross.


 

 


Ross bridge

Ross is a journey back in time with a wonderful collection of historical buildings beautifully restored. We loved it and spent many hours exploring. The campsite was right on the Macquarie river and the famous bridge was in our back yard. The two bakeries were doing a roaring trade with scallop pies high on the draw cards. We enjoyed one for lunch plus a taste of a "worlds best vanilla slice".

Historical building in Ross




Escapee from the colony

Bacon Cottage

Home in Ross

Home in Ross



After two nights we felt it was time to move up to Longford a journey of 83km. Longford and the caravan park were recommended to us by just about every traveller we had met so was a must do stop on our journey. The park is excellent and also sits on the Macquarie river. Here the river  is quite fast flowing as it is fed by hydro water coming off the highlands and the Poatina power station. Longford has heaps of historical buildings and our early morning walk with Trixie sees us exploring the towns sites .



Great Lake

The Great Lake from western plains side.

Our second day took us on a journey to the highlands. We set off through Poatina and climbed the Great Western Tiers. The road rose to 1200 meters and we travelled down the east side of the Great Lake and to the west of Arthurs Lake. Around the lake are hundreds of bush shacks which are holiday fishing camps for the intrepid Tassie trout fishermen that obviously spend many cold winters days chasing the abundant trout in these picturesque catchments.



Liffey Falls

View from Liffey Falls

At the south of these two large lakes we joined the Lake highway to travel north and back to Longford. The lower section of this highway along the lake is unmade but an easy drive for any vehicle. It was amazing driving through these high country plains that were largely treeless. Once north of the lakes we followed another back route through to Liffey falls then back to camp via Bishopsbourne. A really memorable day with an incredible range of scenery and only about 150 kms in total. Tasmania sure is a compact state full of treasures.

 



 


Week 5 Tasmania 2012

Spiky Bridge

The week’s beginning found us still in Triabunna. We took a trip back through Swansea and down to Coles Bay on the Freycinet Peninsular. On the way we stopped to explore Spiky Bridge. This historical site was constructed in approx. 1840. There is no history as to the spikes which are thought to be a quirky addition by the convict labourers.

Coles Bay

 On to the beautiful Coles Bay. Rather a small settlement on the edge of the beautiful Freycinet National Park. Having Trixie with us precluded entry into the park but further cemented in our minds that we will return to Tassie when our beloved dog passes on. Maria Island (pronounced Mariah) just off the coast from Triabunna is another must see after listening to the tales of other travellers. It has great walking and a lot of history concerning the convict past.

The Hazards accross Great Oyster Bay

Another day trip took us down to Buckland where we visited the historical Baptist Church. The stained glass window was built in the 15^th century and brought out by the priest in the 1800’s. The chain saw sculpture in the front yard was stunning. Also in town we saw the very old Buckland Inn.

Spring Beach

On the way back we explored the great beaches out of Orford with Spring Beach really capturing Aileene’s heart.

The famous Richmond Bridge

Wednesday saw us back on the wallaby and headed to Hobart Town again. Seven Mile Beach Park was well located about 15km south of town near the airport. A bit expensive for our budget but we did need a handy place to explore the city and surrounds. We booked for six nights with a plan to visit Port Arthur and other great sights around the district.

Richmond boat hire

Main st Richmond

Thursday dawned quite warm so we thought a short trip to Richmond was in order. Richmond is such a beautiful historical town with a wonderful old bridge but boy it was warm by Tassie standards. On the way back to camp via the east side of the Derwent estuary we saw the first of the terrible bushfires underway. Friday was a real scorcher and at a tad over 42 deg. was Hobart’s hottest day on record. We ran the van’s AC for the first time ever and it just coped. Not much done today except our first swim after the sun went down. Trixie had her first taste of small surf and had a ball navigating the waves.

With the escalation of the fires we put off Port Arthur for another day and maybe even next trip. The smoke is so thick that site seeing is not too good at all. We did do a few smaller trips around the coast and also went to the famous Salamanca markets on Saturday morning. The markets are quite incredible with hundreds of stalls selling everything imaginable. A very colourful side to Hobart! We parked at Battery Point in the small narrow winding streets and the short walk to the market past the beautiful old homes was fabulous.

With the escalation of the fires and the resultant thick pall of smoke we have decided to amend our plans again and after visiting aunty Aileen on Monday we might head north along the Midland Highway to escape the smoke and return to the south later as we still have six weeks left in this beautiful place.