Mercer Travels: Waratah to Hobart

We arrived in Waratah just after lunch and duly checked out the caravan park, part of the reason for staying here and not at Cradle Mountain was the $40/night difference in price, it seems children give van parks an excuse to charge what they like so Waratah it was to be, only 30mins from Cradle Mountain anyway so perfect for a day trip. Waratah is an old mining town where copper was found in the mid 1800’s which kept the town on the map until late 1900’s when the mine closed. There is quite a lot of local history to read about as you wonder through the town and they have also moved an old single battery stamper complete with hut into town and built a shed around it so you can see how one of the locals mined on his own after the mine closed.

Another benefit to Waratah was the Platypus viewing areas just next to the park, we have been to a few places which promise sightings of Platypus and never managed to actually see one, our first night at Waratah had us watching three swimming around the lake, we really enjoyed seeing them.

Cradle Mountain is a wilderness area used by many prior to an Austrian couple building a chalet there and inviting friends to experience the area they loved so much. I had already prepped the kids and Kellie that I wanted to do one of the walks at Cradle Mountain, not being what you would call the most active bunch we usually manage a few short walks but the walk around Dove Lake is around 6km and takes 2-3hrs. Getting to the park in reasonable time we went straight for the walk, we would look at the visitor centre on our return so taking a shuttle bus up to the lake we started out on the walk. The wind was blowing quite strongly requiring a firm hold on our hats but as the walk meandered around the lake we got to take in the impressive views of Cradle Mountain, a beautiful spot and well worth the visit. I did try to wind the kids up about taking one of the longer and steeper walks up to one of the peaks but they now do not seem to believe me. Even with a short stop to have some lunch we still managed to complete the walk in just over two hours.

With the walking out of the way I spotted another local attraction devils@cradle, now we had being talking about Devils with the kids but they still have not seen any live so I thought it would be a good idea to check it out. The facility is a breeding centre for Devils to help in trying to stop the species going extinct, after a short video introduction the guide showed us around some of the Devils picking some up for us to pat, feeding another with a bone which it quite happily was crunching through. Also in the park where Eastern Quolls and Spotted Tailed Quolls, another couple of species living on the edge of existence. However the highlight for this family were the two baby Common Wombats being cared for after their mothers were hit by cars. they were only 8 and 10 months old and we all got to have a pat of the older one, if you could have one of these as pet I think we would be first in line.

Speaking to a fellow traveller in Waratah I mentioned we had not booked our return journey to Melbourne on the ferry, he advised to look into it quickly as friends of his struggled to find a ticket. Good job he told me as the latest I could book was 23rd February otherwise it would have been April and we don’t want to be here that long really.

The next day we headed off again towards Strahan, the road travels south through Rosebury and Zeehan where we took the road less travelled towards the coast and Strahan. Realising now that we only have 3 weeks to fit in Hobart and the East Coast we planned to stay only 2 nights in Strahan which would allow us to see a little of the area. Walking around the waterfront we checked out which Gordon River cruise company had the best deal, in the end we bought tickets for the Gordon River Cruise company and at $260 including lunch seemed the best value. Next on the agenda was to see a play I had read about before called ‘The Ship That Never Was’, it was due to start soon so we had a quick fish and chip dinner (one of the best!) and went back to enjoy the show.

The Ship That Never Was tells the story of a group of prisoners being incarcerated on Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour building a boat and sailing to Chile. Four of the prisoners were returned to Sarah Island after the British found them in Chile, the others went on to escape and live their lives. The play has been running since 1984 with over 5000 performances and is very entertaining, some audience participation is involved and Lili took up the challenge like the little starlet she is, Fred was not so keen so hid under my jacket when required. Certainly if you are in Strahan ad this to the list of things to do.

Up early we arrived at the cruise boat on time, the Lady Jane Franklin II was to be our vessel for todays explorations, along with a few other people. Heading out from port the Captain gives some commentary which was both interesting and humorous regarding the local area and shipping past. First stop was Hells Gate, this is the opening to Macquarie Harbour, only 60m at its widest and then you are into the Southern Ocean, standing on the bow may not have been Kel’s best decision as we started rising and falling in the 5m swell coming at us. Turned around we head back to into sheltered waters and check out one of the fish farms this area is popular for, now we know the difference between Ocean and Rainbow trout, do you?. Now we pick up speed and head across the harbour to the Gordon River, impressively deep and mirror like surface due to the tannins from the trees up river it is a quite amazing view, at one point we are dropped off at Heritage Landing where you stroll along the walkway through the rain forest, we even spot a Tiger snake basking in the sun. Back on the boat lunch is served from the buffet, excellent food and fresh smoke salmon kept me going back for seconds. The final stop on the voyage is Sarah Island, met by a guide we are given a theatrical guide of the island, learning of some of the punishment the prisoners were put through and also the people commanding them, the Island was used to send convicts that had offended again once in Sydney, sending them to Sarah Island was to break their spirits and many did not leave the Island. Back on the boat and were are back in Strahan where we have a lazy evening at the van before packing up the next day Hobart bound.

Wanting to get to Hobart on Friday so Kel could check out the Salamanca Markets on the Saturday we left Strahan early’ish and made our way to Queenstown stopping for lunch and a wander around this mining town it felt very mad max in the way the mine spoils are piled around the town. Then a quick stop at Lake Lyell, this is the end of the overland track a 5 day walk from Cradle Mountain, stopping to check out an Echidna on the side of the road on the way out we managed to get to a place called Dunrobin Bridge where we could camp for the night, meaning only a short trip into Hobart the next day.