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.