Week 9 Tassie

 

New Norfolk and the Derwent River

On leaving Brady’s Lake it was back on the Lyell Highway and a near free camp at Hamilton # 160, a great camp with water and only 72km down the track. We were greeted by some other travellers met along the road including Ron and Carmel ( Boroma owners) and Pat and Judy. Another great happy hour or was it three? As we had good company and a great camp we stayed a couple of days which enabled a trip up to Bothwell which is the home of the first golf course in the southern hemisphere as well as a new boutique distillery making whisky. At $125 for 500ml I was not even close to being tempted but it did look good.

Had a bit of fun climbing out of the campsite with a full belly of water, but with all wheels spinning to the amusement of fellow travellers, we were able to escape and attack another 40km day, which found us in the council park at New Norfolk #150, right on the Derwent River. This is a lovely park with arguably the best and cleanest facilities in Tasmania. Once again we were joined by our new friends Pat and Judy. As the weather was a bit dull, wet and cold we stayed another day and enjoyed the company.

We left New Norfolk after making plans to catch up with our new friends during the Wooden Boat Festival and they kindly offered to mind Trixie one of the days to allow us to go into Hobart.

Our next port of call was another near free camp at Franklin on the Huon Rive #121, a good camp with toilets etc. We enjoyed a visit from the field of Targa Tasmania who called in at end of a stage in this famous race. Lots of older style rally cars with a sprinkling of very expensive boy’s toys.

Near Dover -Roaring Beach

Our next day took us down to Dover where we camped at the caravan park as washing machines were needed. We decided to make this our base for a couple of days so we could drive to the southern-most point in Australia (by road). A rough drive to Cockle Creek on Recherche Bay led us to some beautiful sandy beaches much like the ones seen at Bay of Fires. The scenery in this southern part of Tassie is fantastic.





Dover



Roaring Beach on a quiet day














On the way down we called in at Ida Bay and took a trip on the Ida Bay Railway. At approximately 7km this journey is on an old historical train that originally pulled limestone out of the hills and took it to the coast to be loaded on boats. The limestone was used for making carbide for the early lights and during war time it was used in the manufacture of armaments.

Ida Bay Railway

Our wonderful tour guide from Ida Bay

The far south was a beautiful experience and once again we are in awe of the natural beauty and diversity of this wonderful state. Tasmania is a must for all travellers and we have already determined that we will definitely be back.