17 Feb 12 Set off at 7:45am SA time, the plan being to reach the other side of Ararat for an overnight stop. Pulled up at round 4pm Vic time. Easy run except for a lot of roadworks. Stopped every couple of hours for a leg stretch etc. Not many hills so we were able to travel easily at about 90kph. Traffic volume was not too bad.
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| Loading in Melbourne |
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| Boat in Devonport |
18 Feb 12 Distant highway noise last night that didn’t seem to let up for ages. In spite of that had a good sleep ready for a leisurely run to Werribee, didn’t leave till about 9:30 then killed 2 or 3 hours waiting to do the run to the ferry. Going over the West Gate Bridge was a bit “hairy”, it’s very high. Traffic was horrendous in and around Werribee during the day, eased off a bit later in the day. Managed to get straight onto the pier without much effort; a bit of a delay though as everyone was processed and loaded onto the boat. Confused ourselves completed trying to find our cabin; eventually worked it out.
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| Don River Railway |
19 Feb 12 A reasonable night’s sleep; the boat bounced around a bit once we hit Bass Strait. Got our wakeup call at 10 past 5, in the car just before 6 and we were about the 6th vehicle off the boat, through Quarantine in next to no time at all and sitting down to breakfast in a nearby hotel by just after 6, all fairly slick and civilized. Did our shopping very early to kill time before attempting to look for a caravan park. It took a bit of an effort to get a site, but in the end we were successful, with Senior’s discount, elevated site with water view. Checked out the Don River Railway, rode the train, went on a guided tour of the complex and checked out the museum; a good hour or so all up and very interesting.
20 Feb 12 Drove around a bit, booked into a caravan park in a nearby town for the long week end in March; there’s a couple of festivals on in the area at that time, we’ll be back from our excursion to the northwest coast by then and we didn’t want to be caught short for a site. Did a bit of shopping and generally got ourselves into to caravanning mode.
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| Clever Dog! |
21 Feb 12 Went for a walk and found that there is a very clever dog around somewhere!!!!! Did the washing, did some more shopping and topped up with fuel for tomorrow. Spent the rest of the day relaxing – again!!
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| Countryside NW Tas |
22 Feb 12 Packed up and set off mid morning, caught up with a friend in Ulverstone whom we knew from Adelaide. A bit after midday we set sail for the west coast; dual highway to Burnie so that part of the trip was easy. From then on the road was a little narrower than usual, winding and hilly. Refuelled at Smithton as fuel further on might be doubtful (which turned out to be correct) and headed for a free camp at Murrawah. Total failure, place was packed so we took a punt and headed for Arthur River and found a campground with toilets and plenty of space. Arrived too late to obtain a camping permit so set up anyway. Had to buy an ice-cream!!! The countryside, still green, ranged from forests to farming, including a lot of dairy, reasonably hilly so although the distance travelled was not great, we were a little weary by the time we pulled up.
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| View of Arthur River Township |
23 Feb 12 A good night’s sleep, nice and quiet, only sound was waves in the distance. Went for a walk around the town, couple of shops, river cruises and National Parks and Wildlife office and a few houses and that was about it. Bought our camping permit and discovered that the self registration point we looked for yesterday and couldn’t find was about 10 feet from the NP&WS office door (should have gone to Specsavers)!!! Then relaxed again.
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| Filming Masterchef |
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| Filming Masterchef |
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| The Nut |
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| Sea Aquarium |
24 Feb 12 Headed off mid morning after filling up with water, had to engage 4WD (for the first time) to negotiate the steep gravel exit from the camping ground. We’re now fully fledged 4WDers!! Just have to get the big Coopers or Mickey Thompson tyres and put spot lights on the roof. The trip back from Arthur River didn’t seem anywhere near as difficult as the trip was getting there. Stopped in Stanley to empty the cassette, look at the Sea Aquarium which was well set out and very interesting. Took a photo of “The Nut”, a rock formation Stanley’s famous for; could have walked or taken a chair lift ride to the top, be we didn’t think we had time to do that!!! Learned that the main street had been closed off at the Stanley Hotel to allow shooting of an episode of Masterchef. Had to have a sticky beak at that; lots of hangers on, lots of repetitions of takes, lots of people seeming to be very important, lots of “look at me, look at me”. All very interesting but we wouldn’t bother watching filming again, all in a world of their own. Moved on to Peggs Beach Campground for a couple of nights. Quite a nice spot right on the beach although highway noise is a little high during the day. We had also read that a lot of the campground had been taken over by locals who have established a semi permanent presence; that turned out to be correct, leaving only 5 or 6 sites for travellers, still ok though. Went for walk along the beach that looks as though it would be safe for swimming.
25 Feb 12 Another walk along the beach and then took the rest of the day off - again.
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| Tablecape Lighthouse |
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| Power Pole House |
26 Feb 12 The plan was to move on to Rocky Cape and set up for a couple of days but once we had set sail it turned out that it was about 20 minutes down the road. We decided to press on to Wynyard for a couple of days instead. We’ve yet to get a grip on the fact that towns are much closer together here than they are on the mainland. Checked out the Visitor’s Information Centre, selected a caravan park, did the shopping and washing. Visited a couple of the attractions including the lighthouse.
27 Feb 12 Spent most of the afternoon visiting the small places along the way what we have or will by-pass on the highway. Found the Big Dip Falls and Big Tree after driving around a bit; well worth the effort. Imagine the falls would be rather spectacular after a heavy rain. The rock formations at the falls were fairly impressive as well
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| Rock Formation |
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| Big Tree |
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| Sea Views |
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| Hellyer Gorge Rest Stop |
28 Feb 12 Set off mid morning for a leisurely run to Waratah. Depending upon how we went we thought we may have overnighted at the Hellyer Gorge free camp; which was a terrific spot in the forest area, but just had a cuppa and pressed on as the distance was not great, arriving in Waratah just after lunch. The drive was very “busy” lots of hills and corners, although not much traffic, the scenery was very good – farms and forests and views back to the sea. Set up and had a quick drive around the town, checked out an old tin mine, was really just a hole in the ground, not much else to look at.
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| Savage River Scenery |
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29 Feb 12 Checked out the town’s waterfall then headed out to Savage River for a look. It’s now just a company mining town, no facilities for the public. The drive out and back was interesting enough through forests, up and down hills, round lots of corners, didn’t have the van on this time which made the going much easier. Took the rest of the day off!!
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| Waratah Falls |
1 Mar 12 Leisurely start today, packed up and headed for Burnie, about an hour away. Settled in to the Somerset Beachside Cabin and Caravan Park, then went for drive just to orientate ourselves. Bought a few bits and pieces for the van, including new straps to restrain the chairs while travelling. The run from Waratah was particularly easy, wide main highway, well maintained and little traffic.
2 Mar 12 Cruised the Burnie shops for anything we really didn’t need; found a few things we did. Came back via a different route just to see more of the surrounding area, more farms, forests, hills and winding roads. The rest of the day will be full on – Clipsal and then cricket.
4 Mar 12 Had lunch yesterday with friends from Adelaide who now live in Burnie. The rain started at about midday yesterday and except for a few brief moments hasn’t let up; due to clear later today. Because of the weather we’ve decided to stay put for another day and set off tomorrow instead; nothing to do with Clipsal being on TV this afternoon.
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| Gunn's Plains |
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| View from Cruickshank's Lookout |
5 Mar 12 Weather much better today; set off mid-morning heading for Leven Canyon (free camp); passing through Riana and Gunn’s Plains. Riana had the best free/low cost camping area we’ve ever seen, simply brilliant but it was not where we had planned to stay. Travelled through picturesque scenery again, farms, forests, lots of hills and lots of winding narrow roads. We were on the road for around 2 hours but only travelled 77 klm. The camping ground at Leven Canyon turned out to be the perfect spot for an overnight stay. Set up and then went on one of the walks to Cruickshanks Lookout; least it was down hill on the way back. Spectacular views but just a bit high!!
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| Countryside Preston-Gawler Tas |
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| Lake Barrington |
6 Mar 12 Went on one of the other walks to another lookout, downhill all the way which meant only one thing – uphill all the way back; the SAS wouldn’t train that hard!! Recovered, packed up and went a bit further down the road to another walk; no suitable parking for car and caravan, couldn’t turnaround so continued on. No turnaround spot so we attempted a reverse 3 pt turn in a farmer’s drive way. Still wasn’t enough room, so first battle casualty of the Tasmanian Campaign – backed into a post, tore the spare wheel cover slightly, bent the spare wheel holder bracket and put a couple of scratches and a ding in the cladding. As this was all happening the farmer came along and allowed us to use his driveway to turn around in. Continued on our way to our next stop near Willmot on the banks of Lake Barrington; another good spot except we couldn’t see the lake from where were parked for all the trees. We had our first obligatory campfire, now we’re fully fledged campers!! Very quiet night – we were the only ones there. The road from Forth to Wilmot is noted for its collection of unique letterboxes.
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| Funny Letterbox |
7 Mar 12 The way from the campsite back to the highway was a bit hairy; narrow gravel road uphill all the way and not many spots for any other traffic to pass. Luckily we had the road to ourselves; and thank goodness for 4WD. Today’s original plan was to drive past the Gowrie Park site and check it out for later use then move to Port Sorell for a day etc. However, the road was either “straight up or straight down” very few bits that were anywhere near horizontal; 30 kph in second gear and working very hard. We suspect the road to Cradle Mountain and then Strachan will be a lot more of the same. Gowrie Park turned out to be a good spot so we set up and we’ll now go to Cradle Mountain and back tomorrow without the van. We’ll attack Strachan later on from another direction
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| Cradle Mountain National Park |
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| Dove Lake |
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| Little Devils |
8 Mar 12 Apart from the short stretch from Gowrie Park back to Moina (which was a nightmare towing) the remainder of the road to Cradle Mountain was some of the best road we had travelled on in the past week or so. So much for our fear that it would also be a nightmare. Good day at Cradle Mountain, perfect weather. Caught the shuttle bus out to Dove Lake and went on a couple of short walks along its edge. In the evening we visited the little devils at Devils at Cradle; very interesting presentation and tour of the facility to see them being fed and see them “fighting”. Interesting to see fuel at Cradle Mountain was $1.93 per lt.
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| Cradle Mountain Fuel |
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| Axemen's Hall of Fame |
9 Mar 12 Short run today to Latrobe where we’ve set up for the next 3 days; refuelled and shopped. Had a look through the Axeman’s Hall of Fame, all very interesting.
10 Mar 12 Headed off (without the van) to Railton which is famous for all its topiary. All very clever. They are also into murals, which seems to be all the rage though out the area.
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| Railton Topiary |
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| Railton Topiary |
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| Railton Topiary |
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| Railton Topiary |
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| Railton Mural |
Then on to Sheffield which is also famous for murals, they are everywhere. Our real reason for going to Sheffield was to check out their Steamfest; all things steam plus tractor pulling, bullock teamwork, vintage tractors, cars, bikes, food and drinks etc. The site also included a steam train setup; had to have a ride. The engine was turned around on a tiny turntable by 2 men; the engine weighed 7.5 tonnes. A good day out.
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| Engine on Turntable |
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| Train at Sheffield |
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| Sheffield Mural |
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| Steam Traction Engines |
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| Sheffield Mural |
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| Sheffield Mural |
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| Modified V8 Tractor |
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| Sheffield Mural |
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| Sheffield Mural |
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| Chainsaw Carving |
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| Tractors at Sassafras |
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| Church near Sassafras |
11 Mar 12 Off to the Sassafras Heritage Farming Weekend today; all very interesting, a whole host of all sorts of machinery and tractors, but no Chamberlains. It was a bit lack lustre compared to Sheffield yesterday; a lot of static displays and not a lot of things moving around to generate interest. The grand parade that was due at 1pm had to be postponed until 2pm so that the farmers/tractor drivers could have their lunch!!! Oh Please. We decided to choof off for a while and came back for the Grand Parade. A parade it was, but that was all; only a selection of tractors and none of the new ones. That would have given a good comparison with the little old ones. Spotted a little church advertising its harvest festival on the way back to Latrobe. Visited the Anvers Chocolate Factory, but as usual it wasn’t operating on a Sunday so we could only go to the shop; had to buy a couple of things. Topped up with fuel and took it easy for the rest of the day.
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| Metal Artwork |
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| Flat Countryside!! |
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| Bridge at Ross |
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| Church at Ross |
12 Mar 12 Latrobe - Oatlands Set off just after 10 for somewhere before Hobart; easy run along the main north/south highway, much wider, not as many big hills or sharp corners. Most of the time we were able to scoot along at 90 kph doing it easily. There are some flat areas in Tas!! Stopped in at the little village of Carrick for Lesley to look at (and buy) some pretty flash metalwork art. Continued onto the historic town of Ross, had an ice-cream, walked around checking out the historic buildings including the famous bridge, then moved on to Oatlands for a free overnight stop on the edge of the Lake Dulverton wetlands; looks like it’ll be another top spot. We may well stay 2 nights.
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| Old Barracks at Oatlands |
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| Oatland's Topiary |
13 Mar 12 Oatlands Yes, we are staying another night. Strolled around the township this morning looking at all the historical buildings and other interesting sights. Topiary is the go here as well,
14 Mar 12 Oatlands - Hobart Headed off around 9:30 for a fairly easy run into Hobart; surrounding areas much drier than the North West. Checked into the showgrounds for 5 nights without any real trouble, refuelled, booked the car in for an oil and filter change, cruised around at bit to orientate ourselves. Went to look at the Cadbury factory but they now charge an entry fee just to go into their shop, that’s without even going on a tour. We decided to save our money and spend it buying chocolates at Woollies instead. We had both been through the factory years ago, so this time we just couldn’t be bothered.
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| Tasman Bridge |
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| Female Factory |
15 Mar 12 Hobart A bit noisy last night, highway on one side, street on another, freight depot a stone’s throw away (including 3 am forklift operation). Cruised around greater Hobart today just generally sticky beaking. Tried to go to the top of Mt Wellington but vertigo got the better of me about half way up; the summit was shrouded on cloud so we wouldn’t have seen anything anyway. Thought about looking at the Cascade Brewery but they wanted an arm and leg to enter, so we decided that we weren’t that interested. Also went to look at the Female Factory, another let down; really all that was left were the exterior walls and then you paid another arm and leg for some old boiler to tell you all about it; nothing to see. Light rain set in mid afternoon but should ease tomorrow; only the second day of our trip where we’ve encountered rain. Spotted this leaving the showgrounds; quite clever.
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| Casino and Constitution Dock |
16 Mar 12 Hobart Had the engine oil and filter and transmission fluid changed in the car; walked the streets while it was being done, that was a lot of fun. Caught up with the shopping and did not much else for the rest of the day.
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| Mawson Commemoration |
17 Mar 12 Hobart Caught the bus into Hobart CBD and went to the Salamanca Markets; hundreds of stalls and hundreds of people, fortunately found nothing we had to buy, but there were lots of stuff we could have. Wandered the waterfront area for a bit, spotted one of the Sea Shepherd ships near the Mawson Commemoration.
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| Tas Transport Museum |
18 Mar 12 Hobart Did the washing, visited the markets in the showground; really not much more than a trash and treasure with the emphasis on trash, some really “interesting” looking people there as well. Even the donuts were a bit ordinary. We then ventured up the road a bit to the Tasmanian Transport Museum. Well laid out and an interesting display, lots of interesting exhibits. Luckily they had a steam train running today, even though it only went a couple of hundred metres and back again, still good fun. (We had the “funnest” time). Got back in time to watch the Grand Prix.
19 Mar 12 Hobart – Franklin Set off mid morning on the Brooker Hwy which skirts the edge of Hobart’s CBD and heads further south into the Huon Valley; a bit hairy in parts as we weren’t completely familiar with the road network. Got through OK only to find more hills and then some more, not quite as bad as those between Moina and Gowrie Park, plenty of double highway and overtaking lanes so we didn’t hold up progress too much. After we cleared Hobart the scenery became very picturesque again, rolling hills, farms and forests. The road follows the Huon River for a good deal of the way. The original plan was to finish up at Port Huon for a couple of days but after we looked at the campsite we decided to return to the one in Franklin which was much better, level, grassed area, river front and only $7.50 per night for four nights. This would have to be the best, or one of the best spots we’ve stayed in. We’ll do 2 or 3 day trips from here without the van.
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| Farms and Forests |
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| Ida Bay Railway |
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| View from Train |
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| Chainsaw Carving |
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| Ferns in Tahune Forest |
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| Swamp Gum - Geeveston |
20 Mar 12 Franklin Left here at 8 ish for the 65k trip down to Ida Bay just for a ride on a train. The trip down was uneventful and relatively easy as we were not towing the van. Once again we passed through the standard Tasmanian scenery of farms and forests. The train and the line were used to haul limestone from a quarry in the hills to the wharf for further shipment to Electrona for the production of Calcium Carbide (acetylene gas). An interesting and relaxing couple of hours, despite the rocking and rolling, rattling and squealing wheels. We then went on to Geeveston, another smallish timber industry based town with a good collection of chainsaw carvings, lolly and ice cream shop. We’ve found the ice cream throughout Tassie is of a very high standard!! We ventured then deep into the Tahune Forest with a view to tackling one or more of the walks it offered; however we found that the walks came as package so we couldn’t pick and choose. One of the walks was at tree top level so for me that was out; came home.
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| Pancake Train |
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| Pancake Shop |
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| Countryside Woodbridge - Cynet |
21 Mar 12 Franklin Today’s plan was to go to Bruny Island for the day but rain had set in (only the third day of rain in all the time we’ve been here), so we’ve postponed that for tomorrow when the forecast is for better weather. Instead we decided to go for a scenic drive through Cygnet, Gordon, Kettering; something where it didn’t matter if it was raining or not. It was a bit like travelling the Great Ocean Road, winding road through farms and forests with water views out to one side. As luck would have it we found a pancake place in Margate that we had seen advertised in our tourist info. How lucky was that; so we had to have lunch, won’t need to eat for a week, but we probably will. The shop was in complex utilizing train carriages; all a bit flash.
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| Bruny Island to Kettering |
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| Bruny Lighthouse Coastline |
22 Mar 12 Franklin Much better weather today; bit over half hour or so from here to Kettering to catch the ferry for a 15 min ride to Bruny Island. We spent nearly all of our time on the island just driving around; farms, forests and water views again. There seemed to be more farming areas this time, and these were a little flatter as well. Not a lot to see or do on the island other than drive around and look at the scenery. We had thought of taking the van and camping on the island for a few days, but now we’re glad we didn’t; expensive to take the van, not many places to camp and not a lot to do. Quite a deal of gravel roads on the island that hadn’t seen a grader for a while; soon got sick of dodging (or hitting) pot holes. Conversely, the main sealed road on the island was some of the best we had encountered in all of Tas.
23 Mar 12 Franklin – Richmond The forecast for today was windy, cold and wet so our plan was fairly fluid as we left Franklin for somewhere in the direction of Sorell. Easy enough trip but by the time we got to Sorell it was freezing and blowing a gale. The free/cheap campsite was out in the open (freezing and blowing a gale) so we weakened and headed for Historic Richmond and a caravan park with electricity so that we could use our little heater. Hibernated for the rest of the day.
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| Richmond's Main Street |
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| Prospect House - Richmond |
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| Model of Old Hobart Town |
24 Mar 12 Richmond Checked out a nearby home maker type shopping centre; found a few things we wanted/needed/liked. Lashed out and bought a small gas stove to use as a barbeque when travelling; the little Webber we have with us is a bit bulky and cumbersome to use, it’ll become the home BBQ. Drove around a bit and found some more flat areas, jeez it was good! Wandered around Richmond and checked out it’s shops, attractions, historic buildings and landmarks. The Old Hobart Town Model display was particularly interesting. The weather was a little kinder to us today, should get better still from tomorrow.
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| Lettuces near Richmond |
25 Mar 12 Richmond – Nubeena Stocked up with fuel and groceries at Sorell and continued on to Nubeena where we planned to spend a couple of days; travelling to Port Arthur without the van. Fairly easy run, still some hills and surprisingly some flat areas. Planned to look at a couple of things in Eaglehawk Neck on the way through but parking with a van was horrendous so we continued on and set up at the camping spot at the Tasman Ex-servicemen’s Club. Toured around the surrounding areas and settled in for the night.
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| Port Arthur |
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| Port Arthur Grounds |
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| Blowhole |
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| Tassellated Pavement |
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| Coal Mines Ruins |
26 Mar 12 Nubeena Spent most of the day at Port Arthur, including a boat cruise around the harbour showing us glimpses of the cemetery on the Isle of the Dead and Puer sIsland which was used at the boy’s prison. Took part in a very informative guided introductory tour of the complex showing us what the buildings were for and a general description of the history of the place, a who did what to whom and why. We were then able to wander around at our leisure and have a closer look at many of the buildings. We then travelled back to Eaglehawk Neck to look at the Devils Kitchen, the Blowhole (that wasn’t blowing) and the Tassellated Pavement. Along the way back to Nubeena we veered off to check out the old Coal Mines Site that was part of the Port Arthur Prison system. Nearly all buildings are just ruins but you get the general idea; solitary confinement wouldn’t have been much fun.
27 Mar 12 Nubeena – Dunally Leisurely drive back to Dunally for a relaxing time in the camping area behind the local pub. Went for a stroll up and down the “main street” mainly just for exercise value as there was not a lot to see. A pub meal is on the menu tonight; all in the name of supporting the local community!!
28 Mar 12 Dunally – Triabunna The pub meal was HUGE, that big that it was impossible to have a go at dessert. Set sail for Sorell, washing, fuel and water, then off to Triabunna for the next night; found some more big hills but we negotiated them without any drama. On calling in to the visitors centre we discovered a couple of other free/cheap places to camp so we set up in the picnic area overlooking the marina. Relaxed for the rest of the day; I think we did that the other day too!!
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| View from Cape Tourville |
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| Moulting Lagoon |
29 Mar 12 Triabunna – Moulting Lagoon Relatively easy run again, some big hills but a lot of flat ground for a change; the roads could be a bit wider though. Found our free camp site and got in only just as the only decent spot was about to be vacated a few minutes after we pulled up. Set up, unhooked then cruised around checking out the nearby township of Coles Bay, and a couple of features in the national park, mainly just to get some use out of our 60 day parks pass. Not a fan of charging to drive into a national park to look at some rocks, river, beach etc. Had we not had our Holiday Parks Pass it would have cost us $24.00 just to drive around on narrow winding potholed roads just to look at a couple of things. Bit of a rip off.
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| Lagoons Beach |
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| Lagoons Beach |
30 Mar 12 Moulting Lagoon – Lagoon’s Beach Easy enough run through Bicheno where we filled up with water and fuel; had a bit of a stroll around and headed for our free camp in the conservation area at Lagoon’s Beach complete with beautiful white sandy beach that went forever (you should have been here). The countryside along the way was the usual forests and farms and surprisingly some flat areas.
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| Sculpture at Scamander |
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| Historic Building near Falmouth |
31 Mar 12 Lagoon’s Beach We had heard that Elephant’s Pass to St Mary’s was a bit of a horror, not much fun for towing so we have planned not to go that way with the van. But just for the fun of it we thought we’d give it a go by ourselves; and they were right, it was a beast, hilly, narrow, twisting and sheer drops on either side. Not happy Jan; a bit high for me. Looked around St Mary’s then travelled back via The St Mary’s Pass which was only marginally tamer than the other road; a road that we will have to travel on in a couple of days time. Really looking forward to that. We continued on through Scamander, Falmouth and then back to the camp site.
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| Beach at Cosy Corner |
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| Cosy Corner Visitor |
01 Apr 12 Lagoon’s Beach- Cosy Corner North Because of daylight saving change we were up nice and early and set off again this time destined for somewhere north of St Helens in the Bay of Fires area. Not much traffic, fairly easy run again. Filled the tanks on our way through St Helens and arrived at our campsite at about midday, found a nice open site and set up. We haven’t been on 240 power for some days now and we’ve found that with the sometimes overcast days the solar panel hasn’t been able to keep the battery fully charged; hadn’t been helped either by us parking in semi shaded areas. This time we positioned the van in the open as much as possible. Still not a success so we will have to rethink our strategy.
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| St Columba Falls |
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| Inside Holy Cow Cafe |
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| Sign at Holy Cow Cafe |
02 Apr 12 Cosy Corner North Travelled out past Pyengana to see the 90 m high St Columba Falls; quite impressive and well worth the trip. Called into the Holy Cow Cafe for smoko where their theme is all things cow; they also produce cheese as part of their business. Back to St Helens to top up with groceries and fuel. Rested for the remainder of the day. Again had to ration our power in the evening as the battery had not recharged enough throughout the overcast day. We periodically ran the car, with the electrics connected, just to relieve the pressure on the battery, particularly with the pump running when showering; this to prevent the battery level dropping below 10.5 volts where it is programmed to cut out to save damage. Even running the car wasn’t enough to put much of a charge into the battery; really just a measure to stop the situation from getting worse.
03 Apr 12 Cosy Corner North – Fingal Set off mid morning for Fingal to take advantage of a free camp with electricity so that we can recharge the battery. Tackling the St Mary’s Pass wasn’t as bad as feared; the up track was slightly wider than the down track of the other day, traffic wasn’t too bad so the 6 klm was over in about 8 minutes. I still kept my eyes on the road and didn’t see any point in checking out the sheer drop out to the right hand side; luckily the vegetation was fairly dense so that helped. Paused briefly in St Mary’s to empty the cassette and top up with water then completed the trip to Fingal along some of the flattest, straightest, widest road we’ve found so far. Set up, hooked up to power, had late lunch/early tea and settled in for the night.
04 Apr 12 Fingal – Kempton Nice quiet night at Fingal despite being told that there would be 2 coal trains passing through at some time. Battery appears to be fully recharged and as Murphy’s Law would have it it is very sunny today and the solar panel is working overtime. It will be interesting to see how long the charge will last. Easy run, stopped in Oatlands to do the washing and then continued on to Kempton, a cheap/free camp we had checked out before. Unfortunately there were no powered sites left when we got there so we just set up and hooked up to water; had hoped to get another days charge into the battery if we could have jagged a power pole. Took it easy again!!
05 Apr 12 Kempton – Hamilton Got access to power for about an hour to help charge the battery before we left. We think it’s the computer that puts a drain on the battery even though we make sure that the solar is operating when it’s in use. Another traveller only uses their computer when hooked up to power and then the computer is powered directly and not through the battery at all; may try that and see if that helps.
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| Bothwell to Hamilton |
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| Tartan Sign |
Apart from a 5 klm hill climb just after Milton Mowbray the trip was rather easy; the countryside much drier, more sheep country, somewhat flatter but with patches of green where irrigation was in use. We made a quick tour of Bothwell, checking out the caravan park just in case plan A (stopping in Hamilton) didn’t work. Would have done a treat if we had to back track. Interestingly the street signs in Bothwell have a tartan background; must be Scottish or Irish Heritage. Hamilton turned out OK, so we’ve set up for the max of 3 days, and will do day trips from here. Without any 240 for the next 3 days this will be another test for the solar.
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| Russell Falls |
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| Wall to Wall Trees |
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| Lake Pedder |
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| Hops near Bushy Park |
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| Gordon Dam Wall |
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| Meadowbank Lake |
06 Apr 12 Hamilton Short day trip ( 5 hrs and 275 k) out to Strathgordon via Bushy Park with its areas of hops and the Mt Field National Park where after a short walk we arrived at the fairly spectacular Russell Falls. Then we drove and drove and drove through wooded mountains where there was wall to wall trees on both sides of the mostly winding roads until we reached Lake Pedder, snacked, and then headed out to the Gordon Dam Wall. On our return leg we detoured through Ellendale, crossing Meadowbank Lake near Bethune Park; now cattle country with areas of irrigation near the lake. A long way and long day, but with some breath taking views of Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon, which together are the largest manmade water storage in Australia, holding 27 times the volume of water in Sydney Harbour.
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| Autumn Colours |
07 Apr 12 Hamilton Another day trip, this time into through Bridgewater to New Norfolk. Another scenic drive with some of the autumn yellows starting to show through. Stocked up with food, fuel and returned to the van; the weather now starting to get a bit chilly. Rained a good deal of last night. We found power in the BBQ shelter shed so we’ve used the computer in there (on 240); seems to have assisted the solar even though both yesterday and today have had patchy cloud cover. It looks more and more likely that we will need another solar panel to keep the battery topped up during cloudy days.
08 Apr 12 Hamilton – Tarraleah The forecast was for the weather to be pretty ordinary over the next couple of days from here to Strahan, where Monday’s top is expected to be just 11. The plan was to take 2 or so days to get to Strahan doing short hops and staying in caravan parks so we could use the power to run the heater and computer and fully recharge the battery. Today’s planned stop was to be the Wayatinyah Caravan Park, however when we got there it was still pretty well packed out with Easter Holiday makers, a bit wet and muddy so we pushed on and found a little gem in Tarraleah the former construction town for the Power Station. A few buildings remain and it’s now a tourist spot. Very windy with the road fairly ordinary in parts; very hilly again. The rain started just after we had set up, so hibernation it is again. We’ll rethink our plans in the morning after we see what the weather is like. We hope that the weather in Strahan will be on the improve by the time we get there.
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| Snow at Tarraleah |
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| View from Tarraleah Power Station |
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| Wall in the Wilderness |
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| Snow near Bronte Park |
09 Apr 12 Tarraleah – Lake St Clair Rained most of the night; woke up to a light covering of snow in the park, some 3 or 4 degrees outside. Whenever we were awake the little heater was going flat chat, best $30 odd we’ve ever spent. Packed up and stopped off at the power station for a look before we set sail for Lake St Clair. The road was clear of snow by the time we got going and apart from the compulsory mountains, ordinary road surface in parts, twists and turns was a reasonable run. Detoured through a little place called Bronte Park just to top up with fuel just to make sure we got to Strahan OK. A different place; I’m sure I could hear banjos in the distance!!! Just before Derwent Bridge we had a look at the Wall in the Wilderness, a spectacular collection of wood carvings, commenced in 2005 and due for completion in 2015. Couldn’t take photos inside the building but hopefully with a bit of trickery with a couple of postcards and a digital camera may be able to show a sample of the work. On to the campground, privately run but in the National Park; expensive, small sites, had trouble getting into a spot; a bit more battle damage on the van, easily fixed once we get home. Still not a fan of National Parks for camping.
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| Sculpter at Work |
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| Coming into Queenstown |
10 Apr 12 Lake St Clair – Strahan Three degrees again this morning but no more snow. Went for a quick walk, packed up and set off; once out of the National Park emptied our fresh and grey water tanks to reduce the amount of weight the car had to pull up the hills and to reduce the amount of “push” from the van going down hills. It seemed to make the going a bit easier. The road from Derwent Bridge to Queenstown wasn’t too bad all things considered; except for the last 5 k into Queenstown, twists and turns downhill, very high, steep slopes, luckily next to no traffic so we very carefully negotiated all the bends. I’ll look at photos to see what was around; too busy looking at the road. Quick stop in Queenstown, then on to Strahan; lesser quality road but manageable, checked in at the Visitor Information Centre, settled on the cheap campsite at the Golf Club, set up, drove around for a quick look, bought tickets for the next 2 days activities and settled in for the night.
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| Wilderness Train |
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| Sassafras Interior |
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| Ferns from Train Window |
11 Apr 12 Strahan Today’s activity was the ride on the West Coast Wilderness Railway from Strahan to Queenstown, a journey of 5 hours or so; the return trip of about an hour’s duration was by coach. Our train carriage had just recently been completely refurbished with beautiful polished Sassafras wooden interior. Brilliant day out, well organised, well run, excellent commentary, terrific scenery. The Anvers truffles in the lunch pack weren’t bad either. Well worth the expense.
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| Gordon River Cruise Boat |
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| Gordon River Water Colour |
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| Blackwood Bowl |
12 Apr 12 Strahan The Gordon River Cruise was today’s adventure. Once again well organised and well run. Very informative and interesting commentary. Good seating and thankfully no-one wanted to be our new best friends and talk all day, unlike yesterday. The boat was powered by twin V8 diesels, cruising along at 26 knots, 50 Kph, currently holds the record for the boat towing the greatest number water skiers, a hundred and something. We were given another very informative and entertaining guided tour of what is left of the penal settlement on Sara Island. The colour of the water in the Gordon River looked dreadful but it was caused by the tannins leaching out of the Button Grass that grows throughout the river’s catchment area. Had a look at a collection of all sorts of items made from Tasmania’s specialty timbers; magnificent items but you could only afford to look; one large Blackwood bowl could be yours for just $1100 odd. They only had one, but I wanted a matching pair!! A long but good day out. After having travelled through National Parks and World Heritage Listed areas over the last week or so, the last 2 days in particular, we are just about at the point of “enough with the trees already”.
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| Ulverstone Clock Tower |
13 Apr 12 Strahan – Ulverstone Overall the leg today wasn’t too stressful even though we experienced the whole range of Tasmanian road conditions; hills, sharp corners, goat track, wide flat stretches and divided dual highway. Checked in to the Apex Caravan Park, did some shopping and settled in for a couple of nights; to give us a chance to catch up with all things computer (on mains power). Although we’ve had overcast days in Strahan the van battery has held up a lot better since we haven’t been running the computer through the van’s battery; seems to confirm that we need greater solar capacity.
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| Train at Caravan Park |
14 Apr 12 Ulverstone Quiet night, except for the train at 3 am; probably be the same again tonight. Did the washing, refilled the gas bottle, drove around a bit, had afternoon tea with Heather and Margaret and refuelled. Mended the water hose that runs from the rear of the van to the filters; the hose that dragged along the road and wore a hole in itself, also repaired the plastic trim in the doorway that had worked its way loose and cracked.
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| Sad Face |
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| Greens Beach |
17 Apr 12 Greens Beach Slept in, did the washing for $2 (cheapest machine we’ve found), had an ice-cream, walked along the beach and collected some more “Cheryls”. Didn’t do much else.
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| Targa Car |
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| Targa Car |
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| Chainsaw Carvings |
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| Carvings Details |
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| Outskirts of Branxholm |
19 Apr 12 George Town – Branxholm Woke earlier than usual with all the traffic activity around the place. Refuelled and made our way to Branxholm via Scottsdale through the usual Tasmanian scenery, forests and farms, sheep and cattle, vineyards. The road was much gentler than we usually experience. In Scottsdale we were able to catch some of the Targa Tasmania cars as they headed for their next leg. Also had a look at another chainsaw carving, all very clever. The weather has become a bit ordinary today with drizzle patches for most of the time; thunderstorm possible tomorrow. Managed to find some big slow hills again as we left Scottsdale; not the worst but bad enough. Checked into the little cheapie camping ground in Branxholm and hibernated for the rest of the afternoon. Day trips will be the order of the day for the next couple of days. We don’t plan to drag the van any further east than where we are now; day trips should see us meet up with areas we visited when we were based on the east coast around St Helens.
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| Painted Rock |
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| "Road" Mt Victoria Reserve |
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| Legerwood Chainsaw Carvings |
20 Apr 12 – Branxholm Thought we’d tackle the Circuit Drive 4 we’d seen in a local flyer. It took us further East on the A3 through Derby where we checked out the Tin Dragon Interpretation Centre showing the history of tin mining in the area including an audio visual depiction of the circumstances surrounding the collapse in 1929 of the dam that provided water for the mine operation. The collapse followed unprecedented record rainfall; the wall of water a hundred feet high took with it scores of homes and killed fourteen people. The rock painted to look a bit like a fish caught our eye just out of Derby. We then travelled on through the Weldborough Pass to Pyengana which we had seen previously when based in St Helens. The Pass was the usual narrow, winding, steep affair; thankfully we weren’t towing, then past the St Columbia Falls (also seen previously) along the “road” to Ringarooma. Road my ar.. foot, nothing but a gravel forest goat track, about 20 k of it. How it can be part of a publicized tourist route is beyond us. Thankfully the valleys were fog bound so I couldn’t see how high up we were, couldn’t see much of the sheer drops either. Lunched at Ringarooma, then on to Legerwood for the chainsaw carved Memorial Trees. The afternoon weather turned out to be much better than expected. If we’re game enough we’ll tackle another of their Circuit Drives
tomorrow.
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| Countryside near Tomahawk |
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| Little Blue Lake |
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| Gladstone Mural |
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| Simpson and his Donkey |
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| Boobyalla Beach (Tomahawk) |
21 Apr 12 Branxholm The weather turned late yesterday, thunderstorm in the distance and a good bit of rain here, we survived OK. Tackled Circuit Drive 3 today, some forests but much more farming country like that around Tomahawk and not many serious hills; a fairly easy drive in fact, for Tasmania. One feature that caught the photographer’s eye was the Little Blue Lake near South Mt Cameron, created as part of tin mining operations, apart from that not much that we hadn’t already seen. The vivid turquoise colour is as a result of the white clay exposed during mining operations reflecting the clear blue of the sky. Another “Muriel”, this time in Gladstone and another chainsaw carving in Scottsdale one that we missed the first time; rather significant given that it is nearly Anzac Day.
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| Park at Scottsdale |
22 Apr 12 Branxholm – Scottsdale Overcast with rain and drizzle most of the day. Late start but an easy run, in the rain, to Scottsdale. Into the freecamp to sit out the weather for the rest of the day. A very picturesque park with ponds at different levels with water flowing from one to another under little bridges. The park is not just for campers but caters for everyone, bbq’s, picnic shelters, boardwalks and nature trails.
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| Lilydale Falls |
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| Near Lilydale |
23 Apr 12 Scottsdale – Lilydale Weather much better this morning, quick food resupply at Woolies and we were on our way. Quite an easy run, a few hills but nothing too serious except for a section of muddy road works where we had the potential to go sideways a bit. Almost over shot the entrance to the freecamp but chose to follow another van who as it happened was also looking for the same camp site. Set up and then drove around the countryside for a bit; usual scenery, easy drive. On our return we walked into the wooded area behind the camp to see a couple of water falls; small but still worth the walk.
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| Cataract Gorge |
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| Cataract Gorge Bridge |
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| Inclinator |
24 Apr 12 Lilydale Started to rain again late yesterday but was gone by late morning today. Off to Launceston for a bit of shopping and then a look at the Cataract Gorge. Rained on and off again from midday till late in the day. Rain jackets came in handy again. Riding the inclinator was a nifty way to get from one level to the next, still a bit spooky though at the top looking down. Some spectacular scenery at the gorge, a couple easy walks, bridge a bit creepy, some of the walking tracks were a bit high and exposed; I’ll just have to look at photos again. Interestingly, there is no entrance fee, just a couple of dollars to park the car. Launceston didn’t inspire us much, too busy, some ridiculously steep streets, needs a ring road system to get from one side to the other rather than going through part of the CBD.
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| Meander River Deloraine |
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| Grindelwald Entrance |
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| Grindelwald Shops |
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| Farms near Mole Creek |
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| Devil at Mole Creek |
25 Apr 12 Lilydale – Quamby Corner (Golden Valley) A bit cold and windy last night but the morning was nice and clear; looks like the rain has finally left us for a while. Got away at about 10 with the plan being to head to Westbury via Launceston and Exeter. Almost got caught up in the Anzac Day march in Launceston but just made it through before the police closed the road. Relatively easy run except for the almost vertical 2km stretch into Grindelwald which is basically a resort and shopping complex based on Swiss buildings; well worth the diversion. Continued on through Exeter and arrived at Westbury at about lunch time; again not taking very long to get anywhere. We then decided to keep going, on to Quamby Corner, with power and all the usual park facilities. Turned out to be a top spot. Spent the afternoon touring around Deloraine, Chudleigh and Mole Creek and surrounding areas. Chudleigh has a farm/shop with all things honey, including ice-cream; the best boysenberry ice-cream ever. Might go back there before we go home. The area had some of the best scenery we’ve encountered.
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| Great Lake & Gravel Road |
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| Sculptures |
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| Down, Down Going Down |
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| Jeez We're High Up |
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| Train near Perth |
26 Apr 12 Quamby Corner Set off at 10 ish to have a look at the Great Lake and Central Highlands area, travelling without the van. We were keen to have a look because we had been advised that because the road from Deloraine through to Bothwell was not good, part of it unsealed, not really suited to towing caravans. As it turned out the section from here to the top of the mountain (again) although steep in parts was no worse than we had experienced in other places; in fact the road was pretty good, nice and wide for a change. The unsealed section was no trouble at all; better than some of the bitumen we have travelled on. We could have travelled on this road with the van. One unusual/interesting find was the “sculptures” at Steppes. Unusual to say the least. On the return leg we tried out the road back through Poatina to Longford; another road that wasn’t recommended for caravans. It was all good until the last 10k into Poatina; a steep descent from the top of Mt Blackwood (1322m), twists and turns, very high, some sheer drops. The only saving grace was that the road was good and wide and that it was downhill all the way. It would have been a challenge towing, going the other way (uphill). Hopefully that will be the last vertigo stretch in Tasmania; I’m sick of them!!! Other than that a good trip, plenty of very pleasant scenery; checked out a couple camping possibilities for later use. Saw our second train in Tasmania today.
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| Deloraine Countryside |
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| Quamby Corner |
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| Quamby Corner Murals |
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| Meander Countryside |
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| Golden Valley View |
27 Apr 12 Quamby Corner Quiet day today, went into Deloraine, did some shopping, drove around a bit and then back to the park. Took it easy.
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| Not Happy Jan!! |
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| Flash Mutt No 1 |
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| Flash Mutt No 2 |
28 Apr 12 Quamby Corner - Westbury Today’s forecast is for a shower or two and a lot of wind. The day started with a bit of excitement when the clamp on the jockey wheel let go and the drawbar slid down onto the little wheel; all with Lesley still in the van. I thought it was funny. Jacked the van up with the car’s jack, hooked up and away we went. Bought a small wall mounted heater for the van; will be interesting to see it is any better than our present setup. On to Westbury for 2 nights in the low cost park behind Andy’s Bakery. Sat in the cafe, in the warmth, and brought the blog up to date. Tried one of Andy’s wagon wheels, best ever and, he does All Day Breakfasts as well – bonus. After we had refuelled, with driveway service, the second time we had experienced this, we stumbled upon the “Westbury International Dog Show”. Saw a couple of flash looking mutts.
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| Cricket at Westbury |
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| Container House at Bishopsbourne |
29 Apr 12 Westbury Tested out the All Day Breakfast; passed with flying colours. Toured the back roads, checked the location for Agfest in readiness for our visit on Thursday. Agfest is Tassie’s answer to the Paskey Field Days. Nearly full sunshine today so the solar panel is doing much better; still think we’ll add another one when we get home. Had another wagon wheel. Looks like cricket is BIG in Westbury.
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| Unusual Building in Perth |
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| Church in Evandale |
30 Apr 12 Westbury – Evandale Very cold last night, 2 degrees inside the van this morning. Hooked up, emptied the cassette, refilled the tanks and set off. Easy run as we had travelled most sections previously. Did a quick circuit of Perth, walked around Evandale shops and historical buildings and set up in the free camp.
1 May 12 Evandale – Longford Much milder night last night, quite a good camp spot despite there being no facilities except water. Headed off towards Longford via another back road, checked out the new shopping centre, set up in the caravan park, drove around a bit, refuelled and then took it easy for the rest of the day.
2 May 12 Longford – Bracknell Started raining last night and didn’t let up much until late in the day. Packed up and headed for the Bracknell Football Ground; to be used as a base for our assault on Agfest tomorrow, some 10k away. Found a spot near an enormous pine tree that offers some protection from the weather.
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| Just a Bit Muddy |
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| Sheep |
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| Tractors |
3 May 12 Bracknell Rained most of the night and was still going this morning as we arrived at the Agfest site. The roadways were already muddy at 8:30 on the first day. Massive set up with apparently some 700 exhibitors; all things agricultural, crafts and food, even saw Tony Abbott!!! It took a while but we were successful in finding the “Hot Spud” man; and they went down a treat. The rain stopped and the sun came out after about an hour; much better but the roadways were still very muddy. Apparently there is 5k of roadway within the site; so I guess we each walked 5k. We had a good day out, along with about 14,000 others.
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| Countryside near Harford |
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| Beach at Port Sorell |
4 May 12 Bracknell – Port Sorell Slept in a bit, packed up and as we were about to set off we discovered water dripping from the ceiling light in the bathroom – just great!! Mopped up and set off, another job, along with the boot lid and the front window, for when we get home, Easy run to Port Sorell, very scenic again, checked in and set up staying hooked up for a quick getaway on Sun. The park is quite large but we were one of about 6 vans so plenty of space and nice and quiet.
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| Near Devonport |
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| Inside Cabin |
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| Another Shot of Cabin |
6 May 12 Port Sorell – Devonport – Melbourne Easy run to Devonport, there by 11:00. Walked around a bit, had lunch with Barry and Maureen Walker and then positioned the car and van in East Devonport ready for boarding after 5:00 pm. We joined the queue at around 6 but didn’t get on board for another hour and a half. Our cabin this time was a little larger and set out differently; felt much better. Watched the movie The Cup to kill some time; wasn’t bad. Got lost getting back to our cabin – AGAIN.
7 May 12 Melbourne – Willaura Good trip across Bass Strait but still didn’t get much sleep. Fairly slick getting off the boat; 25 minutes and we were on the West Gate Bridge heading for Geelong. Didn’t stop as the weather was looking a bit ordinary, instead headed for a low cost park in Willaura; small town with a few shops, the “park” is part of the oval complex with 4 powered sites and access to toilets etc. Just the thing for an overnighter after the trip on the boat. We enjoyed the flat, flat roads.
8 May Willaura – Keith Refuelled at Ararat, then on to Keith; easy enough run, although a little lengthy by Tasmanian standards. Fair amount of traffic, particularly semis and B Doubles.
9 May 12 Keith – Goolwa Refuelled at Keith as I wasn’t confident we had enough fuel to reach the cheap diesel at Tintinara. Turned out we would have made it and saved ourselves 10 cents per litre as well. For future trips we will have a 20lt jerrycan of diesel on board just to increase our range by a bit over 100km. Very windy and quite warm making the last leg of our trip seem much longer than it was. Home.
Trip Map
