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.