Hobart and surrounds.

In Hobart we had arranged to stay at The Lea Scout Camp, another Wikicamps find which proved value for money. Although a basic arrangement for $15/night with power and water you cannot complain, also being only 10mins from Hobart and 5mins from Kingston shops you are very central. As soon as we were setup up we went into Hobart to catch the famed Salamanca Markets, this was one of Kellie’s to do items and it turned out to be quite enjoyable. Running the length of Salamanca Place the street market must be about 1-2km in length with stalls selling everything from fresh produce to hand carvings and everything in between. After the markets we were now feeling a little warm as the temperature was around 25’C (think of Bridlington on a hot day, that’s how Hobart felt), so we made our way to one of the beaches close to town for a swim. Although a little fresh the water was certainly refreshing and we were able to say we had swum in the Derwent River off Hobart, the next couple of days would not allow the same comforts as the warm weather was on its way and cold temperatures took over.

Wandering around Hobart the day before I had spotted some Targa Race officials so made some inquiries on the net, seems we had timed our visit for the Wrest Point Targa rally being held around the Huon Valley area so seemed only right we should try and catch some of the cars on the stage, this would also work well for our visit to Cygnet to check out the area. Taking the highway out to Huonville we turned south and made for a road junction just off Cygnet Coast Road, here we could take our position in amongst the trees over looking a downhill section of road which turned at the bottom heading back up the hill, the course car had only just been through so we were just in time to see the cars come through. Targa Wrest Point is a smaller scale rally for the south of Tasmania and then later in the year they have the main Targa Tasmania around the northern regions, it looks like good fun and certainly a mixed bag of cars competing, unfortunately the Lamborghini finished the previous day as a pile of molten plastic and metal so one less supercar to see in action, we did however have running commentary from Fred as each car came into view and I have to be honest he was spotting the brands sometimes quicker than me!.

After the cars had been through we made our way over to Cygnet, this is a small town just inland from the bay Port Cygnet, with a small country town hall with a weekend market and also the more modern cafes you would see in a city suburb. I suspect some of it’s popularity may have come from the Gourmet Farmer show on TV filmed in this area. We had some lunch then took a walk up the main street checking out some of the shops and market stalls before making our way back to the car. This was also where the Targa cars were stopping mid stages so we got to see them at slower speeds and gave all the drivers a cheer and thumbs up as they headed back out of town for the next stage. From Cygnet we took the coast road around the peninsular through Verona Sands and Gordon before making our way back through Kingston and back to the van. Speaking to a fellow camper he mentioned that the Mount Wellington viewing platform was to close the following day for works so as we still had some daylight left in the day we had an early dinner and headed up there for a look. Mount Wellington sits 1400m above Hobart and provides a natural barrier from the westerly winds that sweep across Tasmania, driving up there is an effort in itself with lots of switch backs but for some crazy clowns there is a track that you can walk up!. Once at the top the views are spectacular, it was a little hazy when we were there due to some bushfires in the distant hills but still the feeling of being so high up was still amazing and the views over Hobart and its surrounding suburbs were great. We had promised the kids desert as we had the early dinner so headed into Hobart waterfront area in search of some sweet treats, we found the 24hrs bakery so all was well in the world but Hobart is very nice to walk around on a Sunday evening if you get the chance.

Monday dawned and all was not well in Liam land, not feeling too well we took a lazy day, a text confirmed the kids school work had arrived in Hobart so we went to collect that and went back to Kingston library to dissect the 7 weeks worth of work, Lil was very enthusiastic about this, Fred not so but they will get used to it and it will become part of the routine. We also managed a visit to the Cadbury Factory, $4 for adults and kids free you get a gift bag with some chocolates and can listen to a short talk by one of the ladies who have worked there for quite a few years, the main event being able to buy discounted chocolates in the shop which should last us a while.

I was not well for a couple of days, we did have the car booked in for a service at Justin Cooper Automotive, if you have a Land Rover and need a service look him up in Hobart. Whilst the car was in we took the bus into town to wander around the shops, visit the Maritime Museum and have lunch from one of the floating fish n chip boats in the dock.

Feeling a little better and the kids having done some school work we planned to visit the Historic sight of Port Arthur, this is about 1.5hrs from Hobart and you pass through a town called Dunally, for those that do not know this is one of the areas caught up in the bushfires only a year of so ago and you can see the devastation with burnt trees, house remains but also on a positive note there are quite a few new buildings so the locals seem to be getting back on track.

Arriving at Port Arthur you are greeted by the visitor centre run by Parks and Wildlife, a family pass at $80 is reasonable value as it also includes a 20min harbour cruise. Port Arthur is known for a couple of reasons, the first being the place where the English setup a convict prison which housed up to 2000 people during its times, the second more recent history was the mass shooting by Martin Bryant killing 35 and injuring many more back in 1996. We first had a look at the display in the main centre, this gave stories of convicts and how different people got by in the new location, then we made our way outside to join the next harbour cruise. Just to remind me of my old job the cruise ship Astor was anchored in the harbour, something I was trying to sell fuel before leaving on this adventure. The cruise gives to a quick view of the two additional sites linked to Port Arthur, one being the Island of the Dead where as many as 1000 convicts and military personal were buried, and the second being the Point Puer Boys Prison, built just before Parkhurst in the UK. Returning from the cruise we could now wander around the grounds and check out some of the buildings and stories from when the prison operated, much of the buildings though were damaged in bushfires back in the 1890’s but through the conservation work some are being brought back to life.

Back in Hobart our next location was Bruny Island, famed for its gourmet foods and stunning views we took the ferry across from Kettering, only 15mins, and made a quick tour of the northern side of the island. Our first food stop was for some oysters, these would be mine for lunch. Next stop Bruny Island Cheeses, all made on site and many different flavours to enjoy, we grabbed a small piece of Tom cheese made from raw milk and with a cheddar texture. Now we were ready for lunch so pulled up at an area called The Neck campsite to devour our feast. After lunch we made our way to Cape Bruny lighthouse, the 4th built in Australia, the original lighthouse still stands but the light is now provided by a new solar light on the opposite cliff top. About now we were hearing thunder and could see a big storm cloud building and heading our way so jumped back in the car and checked the map before taking a forest drive to Adventure Bay on the east coast of the Island. This is an area where Captain Cook landed and is commemorated by a couple of memorials in his honour. Adventure Bay looks to be a very nice area with holiday accommodation and a caravan park which was filling up with it being a long weekend coming for Hobart residents. Now it was back to the ferry and into Hobart but before we got there I noticed a sign to something called Tessellated Pavement, something in my mind reminded my to have a look so we turned around, Kel’s nan had mentioned this spot from her visit 20 years ago so we went for a look, basically salts building in the cracks causes the lines in the rocks which give the effect of paving.

That night we were meeting with Kel’s cousin and partner for dinner, now that I was feeling better I could enjoy some fishy goodness to finish off our time in Hobart, next stop would be Freycinet National Park, home to Wineglass Bay.

 

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.

So now we are in Hobart, planning to spend a week but will see, still so much more to see and only a short time to see it.

 

Devonport to Waratah –Tasmania Week 1

So our first week in Tassie is complete, the first thing we noticed is you do not cover much distance but do cover a lot of places, much like the UK all the towns are close together so seeing many things in one day is easy to do.

Having spent our first night at the local Discovery Holiday Park in Devonport we decided to move on and try some of the free camping available, also I was wanting to catch up with another acquaintance from a forum I frequent so we decided on the Penguin as cool place to stay.

On the way to Penguin we took a detour and did a quick loop through Railton, Sheffield (town of murals) and back via Spreyton where they have a cider factory, quite a nice drop too.

The campsite was at the surf club and maximum stay 48hrs but with no other facilities this was a good test of our set-up and I have to say I am very happy. Waking up right on the beach (after crossing the railway) we were able to go swimming in the surf the kids had a great time exploring the rock pools. We also got to catch up with Ian and his red dusted interior Landcruiser when he visited, much appreciative of the icey can of Boags that appeared from the centre console, I knew there had to be something worth having in a Cruiser!.

From Penguin we could easily explore along the coast and of course having a name like Penguin the little feathered rock hoppers had to be around somewhere. It was in Burnie one evening we went to the Penguin viewing area, each evening a volunteer comes down and gives a little introduction about the Fairy Penguins in the area and from the boardwalk they have constructed you can see the young penguins coming out of their burrows waiting for mum and dad to return after a day at sea gathering fish and squid to feed the young. We did not finish up until 10.30pm as it was so cool to watch, the weather was also pretty cool by then so the heater in the car got a good run on the way back to camp. Also whilst in this area we checked out the town of Burnie, sampling some whiskey at Hellyers Road Distillery and spending some time at the visitor information centre they call the Makers’ Workshop. This is a really interesting place where they have combined a visitor info centre with a working facility where artists can come and work whilst people wander by and have a chat, the display also shows the history of Burnie as a port and the paper and timber industry based in the area.

It was time to move on again further along the coast, we wanted to head towards Stanley and found on the maps a campsite called Black River, this is a conservation area and we finished up in or own camp with a short walk to a small beach, perfect for a refreshing dip in the afternoons. At $13/night for a family of four this is a great way to save some costs and the location could not be beaten, only 20mins from Stanley so checking out that area was going to be easy. Stanley is a small town, originally called Circular Head back in the early days when first settled by the Van Diemens Land Company, the town sits at the base of a volcanic plug which the locals call “The Nut”, quite an imposing sight on the skyline when approaching the town. You can walk to the top of The Nut if you like steep gradient pathways, our like us you can catch the cable car the 120m up and walk around the top along the leisurely walk taking in the views over town and across the beaches either side. After our strenuous day so far we went over to the main wharf to try our hand at fishing, now those that know us have heard of our amazing failure to catch much worth keeping and today was to be no different, despite people just up the wharf bringing in all sorts Kellie managed to catch the ugliest bugged eyed fish we had ever seen, and on been told its spikes were poisonous we kept our distance and returned it to the depths with some new mouth jewellery. Thankfully Kellie had better success the following morning during her early walk along the beach which at low tide revealed oysters and pipis (small clams), I ate the oysters and they were pretty tasty, the pipis got returned as we did not have time to cook them, next time.

Our next destination along the coast was to be the far west at a small town call Arthur River, again due to the distances involved we took a detour through Smithton to grab some supplies and were able to arrive at the campsite mid afternoon. After having a quick chat with the Ranger we found out of some activities they had planned being a long weekend (we had almost forgotten  about Australia Day!) and found out where to collect some firewood as the evenings were getting a little cool and we also wanted to use our campfire cooking implements. So the next day the we joined Ranger Fi for a talk about Tasmanian Devils and work going on in the area to track them and how to track them, next the kids were all taking turns tracking down a hidden collar in the bush. The next camp to ours had been visited by a couple of Devils and Quolls the previous evening so they were there, we just did not see any. This area is one of the few where the Devils do not suffer from the facial cancer other populations of Devils are afflicted with, how long that remains is to be seen.

The Arthur River is a starting point of some fairly adventurous 4wding, being on our own we just stuck to the main roads and a couple of tame side tracks checking out some of the fishing villages heading south. We also got to visit the ‘Edge of the World’ which is just out of town, from here the next stop is South America so the area takes the brunt of the roaring forties and it shows in the battered coastline.

It was Australia Day holiday Monday when we left Arthur River, if we could make it to a town called Waratah we would be able to base ourselves there to visit the impressive Cradle Mountain National Park.

Until then.