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