Our First Month in Tassie.

We have now been in Tasmania for one month. During this time we traveled around 2,500 kilometers and experienced temperatures ranging from -1 degrees through to 19 degrees. The weather has not been kind to us, we have only had around five days without rain during the first month, at the end of the day this is part of the experience I guess. We have traveled to the far north west down to Arthur River through to Cradle Mountain and down to the south east corner, we have seen some wonderful sites.

My last posting was 2nd October so It has now been 2 weeks since I posted anything so here we go.

After sitting out the rain here in Burnie, we went back to the information centre to have a look at the paper making tour, I was blown away as I had never even considered the making of paper. You can make paper out of anything that is made from plant matter. Cotton clothing, flower stalks, leaves but flowers don't work as they are too oily. You can use the poo of any animal that only eats plant matter. We got the chance to make our paper from wombat poo. We were both blown away with the whole demonstration and participation.

It is starting to get colder so we headed off to buy Trice some gloves.

We woke to a day where the sun was shining, thank god! I turned around and bugger me dead here comes the rain again and the wind has picked up again too. We are not sitting around the van again so we have decided to pack up and move on. We headed straight for the Hellyer Whiskey Distillery - Hell Yeah...... It was a great tour and the whiskey tasting was good. Trice got to fill her own bottle from a wooden cask. If you buy it from the store it is watered down 20% with distilled water, Trice got to fill hers with 100% whiskey. We bought souvenirs and some whiskey purely for research purposes. Still raining so off to Waratah. We were going to drop in to Emu Valley Gardens which are spectacular but it was too wet. We did stop at Guide Falls, unbelievable water flow. I compared our photo of the falls to a commercial photo and there would have been double the water flow with water spray everywhere.

Finally we made it to Waratah and yes it is still bloody raining. Waratah is a pretty historic town which started in 1871 with tin mining. Right in the middle of town is Waratah Falls with a grand old pub overlooking it. We would have loved to stay here but everything is wet and mushy so Cradle Mountain, here we come.

Tassie is expecting 100  - 120 km/h winds so we thought it would be best to go inland to seek the protection of the mountains. We pulled into Cradle Mountain to find that there is only 1 powered site left that would take our van and my god it is tight. The only way I could get the van into the site was to reverse it down the very narrow road into the site. There is mud everywhere, there is no room to park the car. We found that the facilities are showing their age. When we were here 10 years ago it was so much more pristine, it needs a revamp badly. I thought that for $50 with our discount a night, we may have had a little better, we won't be staying another night.

We went for a quick drive up to Dove Lake but it was freezing and very windy. We dropped into the enchanted forest at the Cradle Mountain Lodge as this blew us away 10 years ago. They have recently put in a new elevated walkway and have cut down many trees, it has lost it's character.

1 night was enough so we moved on into the sleet and rain stopping at Tullah, Rosebury and Zeehan (the 3rd largest town in late 1800's - now just about a ghost town). The interesting thing is that many towns were the 3rd largest at some time or so the tour guides or information centre people tell you. We pulled into Strahan and caught up with Greg and Marg again. Fun and laughs at happy hourssss.

Greg and Marg are moving on, is it something we said? We stayed in Strahan 10 years ago so decided to do some sightseeing. The lookout, Letts Bay, Lowenes - the mouth of the King River. Tutts

Whittle shed was different, this guy makes things out of different shapes of timber. His favourite timber is certainly Huon Pine and his example of different pieces was very interesting. We took a drive out to Ocean Beach, not prestige like Queensland beaches but
interesting. The next land fall from here (in a direct line) would be South America. Next was a little fishing village, MacQuarrie harbour, very quaint, mainly little sheds and the occasional caravan on blocks. On the way back to the van, we came across the ABT railway heading back to the station to pick up passengers. Time for a walk to Hogarth Falls, one of the original parks and then a caravan park and now back to a people's park. Very picturesque and a haven for the platypus which come out early morning and evening. Weather still not good, we are going on the Gordon River cruise tomorrow, we are hoping for a miracle of good weather.

We wake to today early to head off for our cruise, what is the blue stuff in the sky, what a beautiful day, the gods are shining. Quite a large catamaran, 2 story with 3 class levels. The only real difference is what you pay because everyone has full access to all parts of the boat including the captains station. The boat has

autopilot, and a joystick, the young guy driving was very relaxed and let me sit in his seat while it was on cruise control. The cruise was great dropping to Sarah Island, a convict island that was a ship building camp producing over 100 boats made from Huon pine. Huon Pine trees grow at the rate of 1mm a year, some of the trees here are over 3,000 years old. We are informed that on the West Coast it rains 300 days a year, an annual rain fall
of over 3 metres, now they tell me. We were given a guided tour of the island where some of the structures are still standing. The original slipways from the late 1800's made from Huon Pine is still there under the water and is not showing any signs of rotting, the tour guide walked out into the water

to demonstrate
. Because of the oils in the timber, Huon Pine resists rotting and marine worms. The life of Huon Pine is 1.6 times the age of the timber when cut. Some of the timbers cut back then would have ranged up to 2,500 years old. One of the stories was about a group of convicts who stole a boat and headed off to South America. This is the basis of a play that we are seeing tonight that has been running non stop for over 20 years. On the way back we were shown the Salmon breaking ponds which are big circular cages to protect the growing fish from seals and birds. As we pulled up a fellow was feeding the fish with what looked like a big fire hose blasting feed out onto the water making the Salmon thrash around in a feeding frenzy. 

We went to the play, it is a 2 actor play with audience participation. We walked in and are handed a blanket to keep us warm. Well what a great play, we laughed and sang and had a great night.

Happy Birthday Ben and we hope Zahlia's first birthday party goes well. 

Feeling a little distant from the family today but that is how it goes.

We moved onto Queenstown, the other end of the ABT heritage railway. We are camping at a heritage listed Aussie Rules football field. It is gravel and in its day was feared by all visiting teams who invariably left the field with a little less skin than what they started with. Just for a change it is raining and very windy, Queenstown is a quiet ex mining town. Lucky it is raining as it is also the 1st Sunday in October which means Bathurst, I am happy to sit down and watch the racing while Trice is thankful for wine. - cheers.

We have had a good look around town in the rain, so, as it is raining again, I am starting to get a little cranky so we decide to pack up and move on. 

Disaster!

It is very tight getting out around the end of the field and once committed there is no going back, I am watching the left hand side of the car to make sure that I don't hit the fence when I hear a strange noise.

Bloody hell I have hooked a post with the right hand side of the van, I cleared the post and stop in the car park, I have broken the corner jack at the front, cracked the plastic Trim over the wheels and punctured a tyre. If I wasn't pissed off with the rain I am now certainly pissed off with myself now. Now to jack up the van in the rain to change the wheel.

. 

Finally on the road again, up, up and up we go, my god what else is Mother Nature going to throw at us? Yes now we have bloody sleet!!!!

We stopped at Nelson Falls - spectacular and Franklin River - Just stunning walks.

We arrived at Derwent Bridge and headed straight to the "Wall in

the Wilderness". This is just so good that it is crazy. The sculptor Greg Duncan was there and gave us a bit of a background to his sculptures. The detail in the sculptures was outstanding with the over stitching in the carved clothing and gloves especially. A
carving of a Tasmanian Devil foetus was amazing. We looked out the window and, I guess we have had rain, then sleet so a bit of snow is only natural.

We checked out Lake St Clair and came back to the Derwent River Tavern and set up camp in the car park - OMG it is now really snowing.

We wandered into the tavern to sit around the huge fire place with some other people when we started talking to a woman Jan Klease, she lives at the Sunshine Coast but lived in Springwood in the 80's and 90's. Turns out she knows a lot of people we know. It is amazing that you can run into people in the highlands of Tassie who were almost neighbours.

We finished having a great (huge) meal at the tavern and headed
back to the van. The car is now covered in snow and the temperature has now dropped to -.5 degrees. The snow is coming down and covering everything, even our satellite dish which w
ill now not work. I tried to put it down but the weight of the snow won't allow it, a little shove with the broom through the
roof hatch has it closing.

Trice has woken up like a kid in a lolly shop, she has never seen powder snow before and was going nuts, it is a foot thick on the car. Trice is out there making a snowman while I am trying to get snow off everything so that we can get on the road.. The temperature has now dropped to -1 degree and she decides to have a snow fight. We both had a good laugh and made the most of the winter wonderland.

We moved on to Meadowbank Lake, another free stay which was a good spot to do day trips discovering the Gordon River Dam, power stations and lookouts. On our way to The Lake we went looking for Bronte Lake but couldn't find it in the rain and mud. The van and car which were pristine after being washed with Snow are now totally covered in mud, it is everywhere.

Happy Birthday Baby 'Z', we love you.

Today we decided to go exploring, we head as far west as you can
go, taking in Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon, the Gordon River Dam. I thought that I had overcome my fear of heights, the lookout about the dam wall crushed that thought. Walking around the edge I immediately went jelly legs. I climbed down the numerous flights of stairs and walked out on top of the dam wall, just breathtaking.

The mountains, the hydro power stations and the enormity of the construction are spectacular. Just to add to our weather experience of rain, driving through clouds and more snow, we are now getting hailed on, come on give us a break.

We also did Junee River and Junee Cave where the water just appears out of this cave as the start of the raging River. The giant
ferns and massive trees have made today a bloody good day.

Off to Hobart we stopped into a little town called Hamilton, 1826 convict built homes, Inn and school house. Next stop was recommended to us and that is the "Salmon Ponds" at Plenty along the Plenty River. We started with gorgeous pancakes and a hot coffee before we start our look around. The ponds were built back in the late 1800's and were used to breed Salmon and Trout brought out from England to stock waterways in Tasmania. It took 3 arduous trips before they were able to import the live fish eggs in wooden boxes wrapped in moss and ice for the 3 month trip. Now these ponds supply Salmon and Trout across the state.

Finally we make Hobart where we drop into a Jayco dealer to replace the damaged items and fix a pair of faulty locks on the front boot, $206.50 poorer as a result of my misjudgment and I still have to replace a tyre,

After much research we have chosen a Big 4 caravan park at Cambridge just near the Hobart Airport, WikiCamps has given it a good rap. Trice has plugged the address in the navigator and off we go. The annoying woman is now telling us  that our destination is on the left, "No it bloody is not!" I said to her in a very authoritarian tone and continued going. We are now heading into the airport with a caravan on the back and there is nowhere to turn around. We continue into the airport, now a Mazda Bt50 which is not a short car with 9 metres of caravan 2.4 metres wide doesn't fit too well into the arrivals section of the airport. I am trying to stay calm and make a quick turn into an area that looks big enough for me to turn this monster around. I stop to take a big breath and make sure that I can get out of here when I have a security guard asking me what I am doing with a caravan in the airport. I felt like telling him that I was just stopping to make a cuppa but I don't think he has a sense of good humour. We did make our way out and finally found the caravan park, the address is wrong in WikiCamps.

Now I know Tasmania is part of the mainland and there is a reputation of having more than one head but in this caravan park you do not park your van on the grass and use the concrete to open your awning out over. Here you have to park your van on the concrete, I guess there is a first time for everything.

Off to discover Hobart, first stop "The Shot Tower". Built in 1870 it was
used to make shot by dropping molten lead mixed with Arsenic and Antimony through a colander with different sized holes depending on the size of the shot. It would drop from the top of the 48 metre tower into a tub of water. It would be hard enough not to deform and would be perfectly round.

We got to climb the 37 landings and 287 steps to the top and take in the great view. We bumped into some ladies who were down for the Masters Hockey Festival and as it turned out were on the same team as Marty Martin, a friend of ours. Their Bronze Medal Final was being played at 4:00 today.

Onto Cascade Brewery for lunch and a beer and then Mount Wellington. This was a very different experience this time as last time it was cyclonic winds, so much so that when
Trice got out of the car she got blown across the car park and I had to race and grab her to stop her being blown away. This time it was fairly clear, snow was on the ground and it was a very comfortable
temperature.

We then headed down to the Hockey fields to surprise Marty and watch the game. This was the over 50's final against Victoria, what a great game and Qld came out on top 4 - 0.

We headed back to the caravan park and a fellow on a push bike was setting up his tent beside us. He had only just arrived to start his adventure. He was originally from Idaho but now lives in Shanghai and has a passion to pushbike around all parts of the world. This adventure is to peddle from Hobart to Darwin. We did explain to him that he will have a number of issues to contend with, the 2 major ones being "B Triples" and the heat, he was allowing 2 months to ride their which will put him in Darwin in December.

After dinner we headed out to Seven Mile beach as the fellow at the shot tower was telling us about the Aurora Australis and the fact that now is the ultimate time to photograph it. Besides being freezing cold, my camera did not have the fine adjustments to be able to shoot it. We headed back and sat at the end of the run way watching the jets come into land which is a very popular thing to do if you judge it by the number cars sitting there in the darkness.

We have heard so much about the Salamanca Markets which is right in the
city next to the wharves. There was some good music and interesting food but I think that it has lost a little bit of its laid back feel and really nothing more than an extension to the surrounding retail stores with many of their items the same price or dearer than nearby towns and local stores. We bought a thumb ring for Trice made from an old silver teaspoon.

Back to Seven Mile Beach again to have a look in the daytime and off to Barilla Bay Oysters to pick up a dozen Oysters, yum. What do you mean that you have sold out, no bloody oysters left, no more until after 10:00 tomorrow. We are leaving tomorrow.

I missed out on the oysters as we had to get out early. The caravan park was ridiculously cramped and full of cabins that housed shift workers that went to work in mini buses that would park in front of where we have the van. I spoke to them and they said that they would make sure to leave some turning room, which they did.

Hobart has changed dramatically in the 10 years since we have been here, prices of homes have gone up 4 times in price in that 10 year period. The city is packed, streets are narrow and it has lost it's innocence. 

We headed down to Geeveston, a town built by John Geeves in 1842. He came here originally as a farmer but became involved in saw milling, shop keeping and growing apples.

On the way we stopped at Franklin and did a tour of the Wooden Boat Makers factory. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and were shown the making of boats from Huon pine. One of the boats that was recently finished was on display and for sale. It is no bigger than a dingy, open hull with a mast and sail and rigging made from Huon Pine and trimmed in bits of Blackwood, $26,000.

We spot a pie shop just down the road and tried one of their curried scallop pies, one of the best pies I have ever eaten.

We have managed to camp behind the RSL right on the banks of the Riley creek, a beautiful spot which is provided free. I thought that I should support the local RSL and have a couple of beers with the locals. After quite a few scooners of Cascade Draft I staggered back to the van.

We have stopped at Geeveston so that we can use this as a base to discover the surrounds and to go as far south as we can possibly go. Our first stop is the Tarhune Airwalk which included 7 1/2 klm of walks including elevated walks through the tree tops, 2 swinging bridges, 1 across the Huon River and the other over the Picton River. Both rivers are raging with it's tannin stained water spilling over the tops of the banks. There is also a counter lever bridge which Trice was to shy to try as it was way too high and unstable for her. The swinging bridges were a bit scary (Well a lot) but she has no choice but to cross them as it was the only way back.

The locals at the club told me about Cockle Creek but I couldn't remember what it was that they said so we headed down there.
Population 3, you could hear the banjos. The road was pretty rugged but we have driven worse. We made it to the southern most accessible point where the Great Right whale bronze sculpture sits.

We stopped at Southport to have a beer at "Australia's Most Southern Pub". We attempted to get to the Thermal Pools and Hastings Cave but they had closed early so we missed them. We kept
driving only to come to a dead end, we turned around, found another road just up the road and decided to follow it as we did not want to travel on
the same road as what we came down. 38klm of winding bush track, single lane and lots of trees down, someone had been through recently to clear the track. Turned out to be a great day travelling over 200 klm. It has been raining on and off all day.

We have woken to another day of rain so
we are doing nothing other than walking into town to have a look around. What a lovely quaint little town. They are getting ready for their "Blooming Festival" this weekend. Old artefacts, old machinery - pedal driven wood and metal lathes, routers, saws etc, art and more. Quaint shops "Makers on Church Street" - Trice loved it, we were in there for an hour talking and laughing. It was a very big shop, handcrafts of all sorts for sale. One of the ladies

moved here from Logan 3 years ago and has made a great business
sewing and selling her costume creations all over the world. Circuses, rhythmic dancers, gymnasts etc. The town has carvings of past townsfolk which was nice. There is a great feel in this town, we are enjoying being here.

Still raining so back to the van for a quiet afternoon, catch up on the blog and Trice is now practicing making Paper flowers that the lady at Makers on Church Street taught her - help me!!!!!