Week 2 of our 3 month Tasmanian Tour

Sunday, 25 September 2016

Happy birthday EJ

We left Ulverston today for a big drive, we covered around 140 klm down to Arthur River which is a national park and includes Westpoint and Bluff Hill point which are the most western points of Tasmania. 

We have camped up in one of the camp areas which is called Manuka, quite a nice campground with new and very clean flushing toilets, big areas not many level areas but we managed to get our caravan quite level and you can have fires and it's only $13 per night per site, not like NSW national parks that charge the earth.

Not many people here and we've noticed not many caravans on the road as it appears we are about two weeks ahead of the season and things are only starting to open up now.

Visited the edge of the world which is not the western most point of Tasmania but was quite spectacular.  There's been enormous amounts of water coming down the rivers here and the amount of timber stacked up on the beaches is amazing. There is timber everywhere and the Ranger said that we can take as much Timber as you like and burn it. Well easier said than done, this stuff has been in the water a very long time. 

The bridge across the Arthur River is quite a long one but only one lane. Patrice was quite beside herself with the van trying to fit across there, but she is a sook.
Trice here now - REALLY?

Ran into Greg and Marg again who were getting off a cruise of the Arthur River. We went for a drive to Bluff Hill point which now houses the Lighthouse which was moved from West point.


We then went on to West point and the old foundations for the Lighthouse were still there with a stamp of 1916 on the foundation.
Beautiful red rocks and seas and just raw beauty. 

Monday 26th September 2016

Went for a drive on the Tarkine
 tourist Drive. It was a little overcast and was sprinkling with rain , as we were driving along the road, the mist rising from the bitumen made quite an eerie feeling.  Every few hundred metres or so there are Tasmanian devil endangered species signs. Every now and then we see little dark

mammal shoot out of the bush which we understand to be
paddymelon's. We met Sarah who is a young English girl employed by a tourist company running tours for school children around the world she is very knowledgeable about Australia and was able to offer lots of information to us about the strange noises and so on that we can hear at night. We heard the screaming in the bush and understand that it is the call of the Tasmanian Devil. 

We did most of the Tarkine Loop but a bridge was washed out so
here we could only go as far as the sinkhole walk today including  the Julius River, Sumac look out Lake Chisholm, Dempster Plains look out and stopped at the sinkhole, a total of about 6 1/2 klm walks were done,I think we will both be sore tomorrow as it was quite up-and-
down. Beautiful forests, ferns to die for and tall trees. The mulch of the forest floor, the stunning fluorescent moss.  The forest floor felt like you're walking on rubber very different to the walks
 in dry regions. 

I spotted a sign and I'm sure somebody is having a go at us, but it is a proper state forest sign and the name of the fern is called "Manfern" the botanical name is "Dicksonia Antartica" and it lives by creeks and gullies and is found in wet forests ! now you gotta tell me that is a joke!

This area is also full of sinkholes due to the high incidence of acidic water caused by carbon dioxide dissolving the bedrock. 

The view from the Sumac Lookout was spectacular. The heavy rain is rapidly filling all the waterways.

Tuesday 27th September 2016 

  

I know for one thing, that as we haven't had the opportunity to do many walks because of the weather, our calf muscles the this morning are killing us.

8 klm past Coutta Rocks to Temma. The smell of Sulphur! Ranger Dale called it Stinky Beach. The
smell has been caused by the rotting kelp. Temma is a small crayfishing village.

We stopped at the Stockman's hut. The original was still standing but there has been a new one erected . Next stop is Coutta Rocks and then Nelsons Bay both small fishing villages, around 5 to 6 shacks at both.

Wednesday 28th September 2016

We woke up this morning to a strange phenomenon  - called sunshine!
So we packed up and moved onto Stanley.

We crossed the Arthur River once again winding through the mountains stopping at the Julius River Bridge, again you could see the water flow increasing as each day goes by.

We are going through Irishtown and are quite excited about doing this because we didn't know what to expect. Well it was not very   impressive at all, so we didn't even bother stopping. We set up
in an RV freedom park for $8 a night at the base of the nut, a sheer sided bluff - all that remains of an ancient volcanic plug , managed by the local golf club, If you look carefully you can see our van near the big trees in the photo to the left of the start of this paragraph! 20% of all takings is donated to charities. There are only 4 of us here. We decided that as it was such a beautiful day we would tackle the Nut.

We caught the chair lift up and did the circuit of the top this is about a 2 klm walk on a dead flat
plane. In the early days it was home to kangaroos and cattle grazing here. The views of the surrounding Stanley township as well as the coastline are spectacular and just the history of the area was amazing from the docks taking tall ships in the mid 1800's to the establishment of
world class sheep breeding. A  school camp was also doing a walk, the kids were very polite and excited.  I must say so far all the Tasmanians that we have come across are more than friendly and it seems that we stand out as being from Qld. 

I'm glad we only decided to walk down and catch the chairlift up because it was very steep. There was a young couple there with three young boys and a baby, who pushed a pram all the way up, they nearly got right to the top of the chairlift.  The mum couldnt do the last leg so chose to walk back down, pram and all. High 5 to her.A very tough gig, with us having to hold onto the rail the whole way down. 

The walk of Stanley was fantastic.The wharf was dated 1827. There are so many historic places here, Tasmanias first and only prime minister of Australia was Joe Lyons born in Stanley in a cottage on the terrace in 1879. His wife born in nearby Smithton in 1897 J. Lyons become the prime minister of Australia in 1923 to 1928 he died in office of heart attack. Now you're all the wiser that you've been told that hey!

We got bailed up by Robyn who was happy to tell us about the town. First off the conversation started in the cottage, then the front stairs, then the front path, then the footpath before we could make our get away to 'Angle Share', whisky tasting, wine tasting just an interesting place. Louise was the owner and just and interesting person to sit back, sip whisky on the rocks at $10 a half nip and have a chat. 

We came back to have 'Happy Hour' with Ross and Cheryl, a couple from Gladstone. We were enjoying our few drinks when the local policeman dropped in to warn us that high winds were on there way and that we better pack up and batten down the hatches so to speak.  He explained that we are 6 miles out into the Bass Straight at Stanley and that winds can get amplified here. 

We closed the van up tied everything down and went to bed as the wind was starting to pick up. 

Thursday 29th September 2016

What a night, the van was rocking and rolling so much so that it had rocked itself
off the wheel chocks and the portable solar panel which was pegged down and locked to the chains of the caravan was spread eagle and at the extremities of the chain, nothing broken. We got a small amount of water in the ensuite which I tracked down to the hatch door of the toilet cassette. A couple of turns of the adjuster and the rubber seal is now fixed. Still raining but at least the winds have stopped. Went for a drive to Smithton to do some

grocery shopping and commence a lazy afternoon. 

Friday 30th September 2016. 

We decided to pack up this morning but on the way out going to visit the historic property Highfield. The original home was built for the boss (Edward Curr), of VDL (Van Diemen's Land) Company a very large English firm who came to Tasmania to set

up sheep farming but who also got into loggerheads with the Tasmanian government. 

This house has a checkered history which includes the massacre of hundreds of aborigines, the suicide of the
Surveyor Henry Hellyer over his miscalculation with button grass paddocks and the unfortunate death of one of the Curr's 15 children, Julianna. Little Julianna was only 18 months old, she was being towed in a little trolley by the family dog. Everything was going great until the family dog saw other dogs outside the property
and took off under the gate killing little Julianna. A beautiful memorial was built in the garden which still stands proudly. 

The house with its 12 foot ceilings was beautiful, the history was great and the gardens an inspiration. The old barn is being

fitted out as a function venue and would be a spectacular place for a wedding as there is a chapel there as well.

We moved onto Rocky Cape Tavern which has camping out the back. It is still raining and everything is soaked. 

We decided to treat ourselves to a Tavern meal and a few drinks which was fantastic.

Saturday 1st October 2016

It is still raining this morning but we decided to go sightseeing anyway. We tried to find Dip Falls but couldn't find it so we went to Table Cape for the Tulip Farm. Patrice was beside herself, the colours and the varieties. We went into the farm and saw the displays
and spoke to the staff about growing Tulips in Brisbane, Tulips in Brisbane region are annuals not perennials,
. Outside to tip toe through the Tulips.

Still raining and red mud everywhere so we put on a pair of gum boots and off we went. All Trice wanted to do was walk among the Tulips, her first attempt saw her slip over in the thick red mud. I was kind and didn't take any photos of the damage.

On to the lighthouse and lookout, we couldn't see much as it was very cloudy and misty. Wynyard had Tulips growing in garden boxes around town, the festival is running until the 8th October. 

A very windy road took us to Boat Harbour Beach. It is funny watching Trice freak out whenever we are close to a cliff. Boat Harbour Beach is beautiful, if it was fine we would come back with the van in a heartbeat. 

Sisters Beach was not a patch on Boat Harbour Beach with the sand and water stained with the tannin from the forests coming down the creeks and rivers. 

This is how crazy the weather is, Greg and Marg we met on the boat sent us a photo of Cradle Mountain, it is snowing there, only about 130klm from us here.

We got back to camp only to realise that I must have left the pin for the tow hitch on the back step of the car, I can't find it, now to find a solution to our problem. 

Sunday 2nd October 2016.

Beautiful and Sunny when we got up, I was starting to become grumpy with all the rain about. As Trice would say Lordy Lordy Lordy the sun is out! Well that was bloody short lived. It is raining again.
 I figured out a solution to my losing the pin off the hitch. So off to  unnings at Burnie we go & buy an M16 bolt to fix the hitch.(shame Uncle Dans not here too)

Cooee Point is about 3 Klm West of Burnie and normally being right on
the beach would be idyllic with the sand and penguins but at the momentthe weather is not being very nice to us as it is raining and blowing a gale AGAIN!

We spent the afternoon at the Information Centre having a coffee and chatted with some of the makers in the Makers Shop. Today 2 glass bead makers were on, we will come back for the paper maker.

Back to the van to watch the football.

We have now had 2 fine days since 14th September and I am starting to go nuts. I love being outside wandering around talking to people and enjoying happy hours but we are not getting the opportunity.(Trice here again - So now he just has to sit here and have happy hour with me and G)od forbid even talk to me) BRING OUT THE SUNSHINE!