We ran into some VISA issues in September and were not sure it would be wise to depart Australia again this year. Nothing serious, just a matter of not being able to get back into Australia if we left. Australia cannot keep you here but they can refuse you entry or re-entry. That being the case and having a fairly big gap of time to fill with travel, we elected to go to Tasmania, or Tazzie as the Aussies call it. We have always wanted to go there and this was the opportunity we needed to make it happen. We had three options regarding travel. One; we could fly to Hobart, rent a car, drive around Tasmania, fly back home. (yawn) Two; we could take our caravan, camp all the way down to Geelong (the port the ferry to Tasmania sails from), take the caravan across on the ferry, caravan all over Tasmania, take the ferry back and caravan all the way home. (Hmm $$) Three; we could drive down to Geelong, making the trip in two days and staying in a hotel at night, take us and the Tucson (our car) on the ferry across to Tasmania, drive all over Tasmania seeing the things we wanted to see and do, take the ferry back and drive home. also give us the opportunity to do some touring in southeast Australia on the way back.
Flying and a rental car did not appeal to us. That is the way we normally go to far away places and it did not appeal to us this time. I guess because Tasmania is not that far away. Taking the caravan nearly doubled our time on the road because of the reduced towing speeds. Gas mileage also gets cut in half so the expense of gas, campgrounds, and time ruled that one out. So we went with number three.
We chose the two different routes because the inland route has less traffic and fewer tourists. It allowed us to make maximum miles each day … our goal was to get to Geelong. The way back was following A-1 or M-1 all the way home. The M designation is for motorway where it is upgraded to be an interstate type highway. The A designation means its often two lane, undivided, with access from all sides. Both ways were very interesting. We didn’t know how fast we wanted to return home after getting off the ferry on our return so we had no hotel reservations on the way back. We would decide where we wanted to stay each day. We had no idea how we would feel or what the weather would be like when we got back to Australia so we left it all open.
A quick note about the pictures. They are worse than usual because my camera was acting up. It’s gone now (the camera) but I can’t retake the pictures so you will just have to put up with these.
The Ferry
We spent a pleasant evening in Shepparton and a great dinner at the RSL (like an American Legion Club except very nice, well attended, great meals). We were tired after two very long days so we hit the sack early. The next morning we sort of slept in because we only had about a hundred and fifty kilometers to go to get to Geelong and the ferry. That was the way we planned it to ensure we had time to deal with any delays before boarding the boat. We took our time and got to Geelong and the ferry terminal just after noon. The ferry didn’t board until three thirty or so which gave us some down time. At three thirty we started boarding the ferry and by four thirty we were parked and on our way to our cabin. The crossing departs at six PM and arrives in Devonport, Tas around six AM. You don’t have to get a cabin, they have lounge chairs you can sleep on, and cinemas for movies. We decided to get a cabin and get some sleep. All this had been reserved a month ago with firm dates and no changes allowed. Our schedule was centered on the ferry crossings, both ways. Only traffic problen we had was meeting OVERSIZED loads. Some filled up the entire road … both sides!
We arrived in Devonport, Tasmania at six in the morning of 26 October. We had enjoyed a good nights sleep with the gentle rock of a smooth crossing and were ready to go. Here is our plan for our two weeks in Tasmania:
We drove off the ferry and headed out for Launceston. From there we proceeded to Scottsdale, then over to St Helens where we had a hotel room booked for the night. The trip was about three hundred and fifty kilometers but was over many small mountains with steep roads and curves.
It was our introduction to Tasmania and it was quite remarkable. The first thing that hit me was how green it is. Because Tasmania is so far south, the temps never get that high so it has a pleasant moderate climate. It gets cool but snows and freezes mostly only in the mountains. The rest of the country enjoys pleasant weather and ample rainfall … thus green, everywhere. Where we live in Queensland, everything is brown most of the time unless you come across a large area that was burned off in the last year or so. Even that browns out during the hot dry summer.
Many cattle and sheep stations, farming, and small communities. Because the land is so lush, ranchers can put many more head of livestock in an area than other parts of Australia. Consequently, you see much bigger herds of cattle and sheep. Here are some shots from along the way. As the map shows, we drove from Devonport (upper left corner, to the east coast via Launceston and Scottsdale.
When we arrived at St Helen’s we were delighted to find our room was ready and we could check in even though it was just shortly after noon (remember we started a six!). We made dinner reservations at the hotel, moved some of our stuff in, and decided to see Binalong Bay where the rocks were on fire and the sand was like sugar. We drove along the bay, got out several times and walked on the rocks and beaches. We drove all the way out to the tip of the bay and back. Everything they said about the area is true. The rocks along the beach are covered with an interesting red alge that makes them look red hot. The beaches were pure white where the sand had pushed back the rocks providing beautiful places for people to sun and swim.
We wound our way back to our hotel in St Helen’s for a bit of cleaning up and reading befor dinner. There was some interesting scenes behind our hotel.
The area behind the hotel was partly marshy and it turned into a harbor for the city. Many kinds of water foul in the marshy area.
We enjoyed a pleasant evening with a delicious dinner at the hotel we stayed at. A young couple from Chile ran the bar and restaurant. They worked very hard and made everyone’s evening enjoyable.
The next day we were up, had some breakfast, and headed south. Our destination was a small town called Swansea. We had booked a room there so off we went. Here’s the route and some scenes from along the way.
Our drive was very interesting. We wanted to stay near the ocean (The Tasman Sea) so we stayed on the scenic byways. One turned into a gravel road as it crossed a small mountain. The road was steep and curvy but we did fine. Many farms, many forests, some seashore, little towns … an interesting drive.
One the way we diverted to Freycinet National Park. It is a peninsula that forms a large bay. Very nice. There was a hike out to Wineglass Bay that we decided to take. Took several hours but was very scenic, steep in places, many steps (400) carved into the rock, but we made it. Even passed some younger folks.
So here’s the drive, the hike (two actually, the second was a short hike out to a light house) and the place we stayed in Swansea.
Freycinet National Park is one of Tasmania’s most famous and best cared for parks. The hike was challenging but very rewarding in the views and terrain we enjoyed. We left the park and went on to Swansea, checked into our little Chalet, had dinner at a local pub, and go a good nights rest. Hiking will help that happen.
The next morning, after a leisurely cup of Joe, we loaded up the car and headed south. The plans for today are to get to Hobart, Tasmania’s largest city and Capitol, and divert over to Port Arthur on the way. Here’s the plan:
Again, it was not that many kilometers but slow narrow roads. We made it to Port Arthur late in the morning, parked and started our visit.
Port Arthur was one of the early and main prisons where they sent people from England as punishment. It was actually a sadistic plan by the crown to get cheap labor to the new areas of the realm. No one wanted to go to Australia or Tasmania, so the crown sent them to Tasmania for whatever crimes they could cook up. Once there, they were used as slave labor to cut trees and harvest whatever else the crown wanted shipped back to England. Anyhow, we decided to visit the old prison site.
We finished up our tour, had a bit of lunch, and drove off to Hobart. We have several days booked at Hobart because there are several things we want to see there. The trip from Port Arthur ro Hobart was uneventful, we had an apartment right on the marina so we were downtown but away from the traffic and had a nice view.
One of the things that was recommended to us was The Mona (Museum of Old and New Art). It was supposed to be in an impressive building on the shore of the Derwent River which Hobart sits on. Right across from our room was a pair of snazzy looking ferry boats that took people to the Mona providing an viewful trip with snacks and cocktails served. We arrived in Hobart late on a Monday so we planned to go to The Mona the next day and take advantage of the ferry. The next morning we were not feeling like a ferry ride so we decided to drive out to The Mona and have a look what all the excitement was about. We were greatly surprised when we arrived that the Mona is closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We were leaving on Thursday so the Mona came off of our “Must See” list. We later found it was a modern art kinda place and while we don’t do many museums to begin with, a modern art one is even lower on the priority list. Instead we decided to drive to the top of Mount Wellington, a very big 4,200 foot high mountain next to Hobart. Off we went. We also wanted to see a wildlife sanctuary Nancy had read about so we could eye ball some of the interesting species of animals they have in Tasmania only. Lastly, we walked about the city, the marina and port mostly, just to see what was there. Interesting place. Here are some pictures of our adventure:
The shelter was a bit of a disappointment. The few animals they did have were very difficult to see. I understand giving animals their space but it would have been nice to at least see them. It was like trying to read a book without opening the cover. Some you could spot amongst the grass and brush but it was difficult to get a picture of them. Lots of kangaroos though.
Our last full day in Hobart we decided to take a break and just hang out for the day in our apartment. It had a washer and dryer so Nancy did a load of wash so we didn’t have cart our dirty laundry around … plus I didn’t want her to get out of practice! We walked to a nearby coffee shop and enjoyed a couple of Flat Whites with a sweetie. We walked around the marina and explored the shops and other establishments.
While we were in Hobart we ate at several places. They were all good. Abundant seafood, great Mexican, then conventional Aussie food at the Brick factory which once was the location of a factory that made bricks, and the Ball & Chain which was built by prisoners (they didn’t become restaurants until later). We found Hobart to be a pleasant place with welcoming people and a mild climate. It is notably cooler this far south. Tasmania is only the size of West Virginia and is a little farther south of the equator as West Virginia is north. Plus it is surrounded by waters that flow up from Antarctica. The Seafarers Mission I mentioned is a world wide organization dedicated to providing a welcoming place for the crews that come in on the ships. Kinda like our USOs are. There are 200 of them located in fifty different countries around the world. I mentioned it because I volunteer as a driver at the Seafarers Mission in Gladstone near where we live. The big ships that bring in coal and oar to the smelters here and haul off the Alumina and Aluminium, as well as other freight like grain, beef, etc all have very international crews. They are paid very little and don’t get much time off. The Mission runs a center here that provides books, clothes, CDs, Movies, and a small rec center for them to relax in. We also transport them to a nearby mall where they can do some shopping. You can google it if you want to know more. The next day we left for Strahan on the west coast of Tasmania. There is a famous water fall along the way that we want to see. It is in Mount Fields National Park. There is a short hike out to it and back.
As I have said before, It’s not that far across Tasmania but the roads are narrow and mountainous so we are planning to use the entire day to cross the country along with stops at Russell Falls and other spots. Here we go:
That road got us to Strahan in mid afternoon. We checked into our hotel, found where our cruise was leaving from, had a beer and some early dinner, and settled in for the night. We came to Strahan because of an ad I saw for Gordon River Cruises. It’s a nine hour cruise (includes lunch) that takes you all over Macquarie Bay and the Gordon River that feeds it. One of the earliest prisons were establish here on Sarah Island. The men were forced to harvest trees and make ships. It was closed down when the prison at Fort Arthur was opened. We got up the next morning, found a coffee shop and had a bit of breakfast and prepared to board “The Big Red Boat”. The Big Red Boat is a modern tour boat with two levels of seating with comfortable chairs. The engines drive thrusters rather than props so it is much quiter. The Captain narrated much of the trip and also gave us time just to look and enjoy what we were seeing.
That was our cruise. Very pleased we did it. Extremely interesting and entertaining. When we got off the boat we spent a few minutes looking at the saw mill and goft shop. Nancy bought a nice piece of Huan Pine that we are going to do something with. I think make a car … when you step on the accelerator it will go “wooden, wooden!” I make joke! Anyhow, after we finished shopping we dove around a bit to make sure we had not missed anything. Low and behold we discovered another waterfall with only a two kilometer walk out to see it. Off we go!
We walked back to the car, had dinner in the only pub in town and got ready to shove off in the morning. Our next journey takes us from the southwest corner of Tasmania to the Northwest corner of Tasmania, via the interior, to a small town named Burnie. The western part of the state is far more undeveloped than the east. Mostly forests and mountains it is thick and quite tropical even though the weather is so cool. A few shots from the drive:
Burnie is right on the ocean and had a long sandy beach with rocks along the back side where the land starts. This beach and these rock are home to a unique breed of Penguins who live here. The adults all go out every morning into the ocean and don’t return until the sun is setting and twilight is approaching. The penguins are known as Little Penguins (how original is that?) in Tasmania or Blue Penguins in New Zealand and Fairy Penguins in mainland Australia. They are the worlds smallest species of Penguins and stand just 10 or 11 inches high. When we got to Burnie we turned west and went along the coast a little ways just to see what it was like … Rocky and sandy with beautiful water. We then returned and checked in and took a walk on the beach. Cold and windy but sunny and fair. We found where we could see the penguins later that evening. As it started getting dark we walked out on the boardwalk to watch for the Penguins. They live in little burrows amongst the rocks above the tide line. The chicks hatch and remain in the nest while the adults are gone all day. They get hungry towards evening so you can see them peeking out to see if Mom is coming yet with dinner. All the talk about dinner made me hungry so we had dinner and waited for it to get close to dark. Then we walked out on the boardwalk looking for little penguins.
When the adults get together with the chicks, the chicks assault the adults looking for food … it’s a real food fight once Mom starts burping up the fish she has been eating all day. Anyhow, that was it. Something you can see only in Burnie, Tasmania.
Our next destination is Cradle Mountain.
One of the highest peaks in Tasmania and a very popular hiking area. We had reservations at a lodge type resort and spent one day and two nights there. Unfortunately it was raining the entire time we were there. To make it even worse, there was a heavy fog that hung over the mountain so you could not even see Cradle Mountain. We did see it the day before driving in but that was it. Here’s the trip to Cradle Mountain and a small hike we took close to the resort.
It was a nice stay. Bit cold and rainy but you can’t have sunshine all the time. From here we are headed back to Launceston for a couple days. We booked the ferry some time ago and have three days before we depart so we will be exploring in the Launceston area and getting some rest.
On the way to Launceston I wanted to stop at Tazmazia (not misspelled) & Lower Crackpot Village. It was advertised to have miniatures of famous landmarks and an amazing maze. We got there early and it was still closed but looking through the hedgerow it became obvious to me it was for little kids. I swallowed my disappointment and we visited a lake that was not too faraway that was a training camp for international rowing competitors. No one was there but it looked like a nice facility. We pressed on to Launceston.
We made it to Launceston right around noon because we didn’t spend any time in Crackpot village. Our room was ready so we moved in and decided to take a tour of the James Boag’s Brewery. The tour was very interesting but much like many other brewery tours we have been on. Beer is made pretty much the same way everywhere. What was interesting was the history behind the brewery. Every brewery has an interesting history so that’s why we go on the tours. Best part was the sampling after the tour. There was just one other couple on the tour, a couple from Canada so we visited and enjoyed the different kinds of beer James Boags makes.
We ate dinner in a downtown restaurant that evening. Actually, we had dinner at a downtown restaurant all three nights we were there. Two were great, one was marginal. The next day we decided to take a river cruise on the Tamar River. Actually it was just a harbor cruise that lasted about ninety minutes. We did get an interesting history of the city and some good ideas where to go next. The next place was a place called Cataract Reserve Gorge. We were not sure what it would be like but decided to check it out anyhow. It was great. The pictures, first the Harbor Cruise:
That was our river cruise. The guide talked about the Cataract Reserve Gorge so we loaded up the truck and headed out that way. What a great place!
That was it. We had a lovely time, took a long walk, had a coffee and a sweetie, enjoyed the flowers and peacocks. Well worth the visit. That was our morning. We decided we wanted to drive north all the way to the sea along one side of the Tamar River, come back down to the bridge that crosses it, drive back north on the other side to a Platypus place, then a distillery, then back to Launceston. So we did.
Interesting drive. First time we’ve actually seen real Platypus plus they had some Echidnas which were very entertaining. Then we stopped off at a wine cellar door to sample some wines, followed by a tour of a distillery, (very little consumption at either), then back to Launceston. Quite a day. Here’s the pics … order is kinda screwy but from two cameras … just enjoy the pictures.
That was our day trip. Very enjoyable. the next morning we left for Devenport and our ferry. Again, plenty of time to get there. No new pictures for this part. Just the route.
The trip back across was just like the one coming. We had a cabin, had something to eat on the ferry for dinner, listened to a guitar player for a while and turned in. Soon the lady was announcing it was five O’clock and we should be getting ready to disembark … so we did.
The trip back to Tannum Sands (where we live) from Geelong was interesting. It was foggy when we left the port and was still foggy when we drove through Melbourne. Fortunately it was early so there wasn’t much traffic. The next day we drove through Sydney, it was Sunday so again, not real busy. The rest of the way was a piece of cake. We stayed in three different places. All coastal towns with beaches and resorts (they all kinda look the same). We were going to stop in Byron Bay but it was another rainy, foggy day so decided to press on. Made it home safely. One interesting thing we saw along the way was nets and posts they put along the road for flying squirrels. Most of the area we drove through was either coastline or forests. we kept seeing these narrow little nets strung high above the road but from one side all the way to the other. Curiosity got the best of Nancy so she googled it. The nets and posts are put there so Flying Squirrels can get across the highway without becoming crow food. Here’s a couple pictures. One is the net and the other is a set of three posts that the squirrels jump from one to the next.
That concludes our trip to Tasmania. I again apologize for the quality of some of the pictures. I have discarded my camera and will use my iPhone from now on … promise. Hope you enjoyed Tazzie as much as we did. It was a great adventure.
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