Author Archives: paul

On to Hobart!
So finally back to my travelogue. After leaving Strahen we headed back to Queenstown, then over the mountains to our next stop at Richmond. Its a bit long trip but we plan some stops along the way as we cross through the wilderness regions of Tasmania. The weather is rather cold and wet when we leave but improves slightly as we pass through Queenstown, stopping for some scenic views of the famous moonscape terrain.

Over the ranges and past Lake Burbury, one of the earliest of the hydroelectric dam lakes and through the Wild Rivers National Park. Stop part way for a short walk to view the Franklin River, but by the time we climb to the look out there is horizontal rain and then snow. Once more Siobhan learns a lesson about why we hassle them to dress appropriately. Lunch in the rain in the car then onto Lake St Clair.

The views from a short walk by the lake promise to be magic but when we get there they are magic for a different reason, snow! Wild rivers plunge into the lake and we briefly walk the end of the overland trail, so now we can say we walked both ends of the famous overland track, just not the bit in between.

Lake St Clair has an impressive ranger station and cafe so we settle down for hot chips and hot chocolate to wait out the storm. Then it is on to Richmond and after surviving the traffic jams around the Derwent we eventually arrive at old Richmond town, only to discover we weren’t really sure where our accommodation was. Fortunately Richmond isn’t too big and after 3 laps of the town we eventual find our luxury accommodation amongst the orchards and vine trellises, avail our self’s of their lovely restaurant and settle in for the night on the edge of the country side.

Back down Macquarie Harbour we went towards our next stop, Sarah Island and a visit into the past. Sarah Island was meant to be the harshest penal colony in Tasmania prior to the setting up of Port Arthur prison. It was also the starting point for the story of the “ship that never was”, the last escape from this inescapable prison. Here we once again met the cast from the Round Earth Company who once more entertained us with stories and conundrums from this fascinating past. On a tight schedule we moved from artifact to ruins as they explained the history of the settlement and posed their questions. At the end it seemed Sarah Island may have not have ended up as harsh a settlement as was planned thanks to a little murder, blackmail and creative greed. With the sound of the ship’s siren we all trooped back on-board. Hope we got everyone back, but I don’t remember seeing those Round Earth blokes again?
From Sarah Island we headed further down the harbour and into the start of the Gordon River, grazing on our smorgasbord lunch as we went. A slow cruise up the Gordon took us to the wilderness landing were we had a 40 minute board walk taste of the wilderness rain forest and the mighty Huon Pine – or at least a smallish version of one.
After that it was back on board and homeward bound as we all tried to stay awake. This was helped by an interesting video on the old timber getters, but not by a nice glass of dry white.
Back in town Cath and I felt the need to stretch our legs so we dragged the girls along for a shortish walk up a local creek to a very pleasant waterfall on the vague suggestion we might see a platypus – we didn’t – before consolation ice-creams and back to our cabin for the end of the Grand Final some dinner and an early night. Nice of the Saints and Collingwood to have a draw so we could see the game in Melbourne.

With some excitement we head off to town, very early, for our Gordon River cruise in a light drizzle.
The first stage is a rather tame cruise up Macquarie Harbor to Hells Gate the opening into the bay, said to be only navigable on certain tides and winds in the early days of the colony. On this wet and windy day you can believe it but that doesn’t stop myself and Kiara from adventuring on deck for a better view of all around. As we approach the small gap between shore and island we can see the heavy surf pounding in from outside. Then we slip past the lighthouse on the guardian island. Looking back we see the brown wake of the boat as we squeeze through the tannin laden waters of the channel. We are now in the last smooth patch before passing the sand bars into the storm tossed water of the Southern Ocean. But even in our large modern boat with a relatively minor wind speed it is too chancy and after a few moments the captain decided and we turn around with much pitching and rolling. Cath tells Kiara a I latter that Siobhan spent the time we were on deck catching fruit and glasses as they rolled of the bar’s counter.
Having braved Hells Gate we now head back down the harbor to Sarah Island, were we would meet our friends from the Round Earth company again as they use their own inimitable style to tell the story of this prison colony from history and legend.

Time to pack up and get on the road to Strahan.
Bit of a driving day which tended to be rather boring except for a stop at Queenstown where a visit to a local museum in the old Royal Hotel yielded many treasures and much fascinating trash.
At Strahan our accommodation was spacious if a bit patchy and rather expensive. Ah well been good so far, and we can cook here.
Having arrived with time to spare and having pre-booked our Gordon River Cruise for the next day we started to look around the place to stoke up on groceries and organise some dinner. It was rhen we spotted a local institute (so we found out later) in the theatre of the Round Earth company, and booked to see their play “The Ship that Never Was”. This was a classic two handed play which seemed designed to drag as many members of the audience into the action while telling the story of the last escape from Sarah Island. Very funny,entertaining and educational and definitely worth the couple of dollars it cost, blankets included.
As it happened we would see more of the cast from the Round Earth company the next day.

Today was the day we were off on the big walk to Crater Lake and Marion’s Lookout! Well that was the plan.
Given we woke to drizzle and the threat of snow the plan changed dramatically. First up it was a bit of washing to see us through, then check the weather. Then a visit to the Information Centre and check the weather. Finally it was a reschedule and off for a few short walks around the rangers station at the entrance to the park, in the wet, much to the girls disgust.
A bit of trudging here and there resulted with the expected showers and complaints, but it was really quite magical aided by the occasional local visiting and the sight of the King Billy Pine, thought to be thousands of years old.
Of particular interest was a guided walk were we learned about the native plants and the rain forest succession.

Day 2 in Tassie and we are now fully set up for our stay in Cradle Valley. After a recce and some planning we hope to do a half day walk around Dove Lake before the walk to Cradle Lake tomorrow. Or at least that was my plan.
Waking up to a bit of a drizzle and Kiara’s attempt at pancake without a recipe slowed things down a bit but we eventually got things organised, loaded some lunch and convinced Siobhan to, almost, dress appropriately.
We hoped on the bus to Dove lake about 10:00 and arrived at the car park in drizzle but the walk soon made it worth while despite the occasional whinge and whine.
The walk was mostly easy with some impressive views to the peaks. We even managed to find the odd native critter scuttling around the track. The only trick was keeping warm when we stopped to eat, but at least we where below the snow line.
The hike below Marion’s lookout also had some interesting sections as we clambered along metal tracks seemingly pinned against the side of cliff faces. When we finally got back near the car park the classical view up the lake from the boat house made it worth while.
To finish off the day we visited the Devil Experience to get a close up view of some devils and quolls from the Tasmania night life. Here are some pictures to cruise through from our day of adventure.

Officially our trip began on Tuesday 21st as we drove on board the Spirit of Tasmania. Having spent a morning on rushing around and last minute jobs we drove to Port Melbourne, only getting slightly lost, before joining a queue to wait.
The cruise was relatively uneventful which was just as well as our cabin was about the size of our bathroom with two double bunks and a bathroom stall squeezed in. The smorgasbord board dinner wasn’t too bad though and the cruise up the bay was impressive.
Waking early we found ourselves in Devonport at 6:30am and desperate for breakfast, which ended up being something unforgettable in a little bakery.
Now we were at a loose end in Tassie at 8:30. After a quick shop it was off to visit all the sights we could to fill time before going to our cabin at Cradle Valley. After a stop at ???? the Topiary capital of Tasmania we arrived at Sheffield the mural town. Despite some grief trying to get Siobhan to buy some sunglasses we did see some great murals, an impressive old merchants store and the alpaca man and it wasn’t even lunch!
Lunch was down by Lake Windamere? then on to Crater Valley via a few short cuts.
The Wilderness Village were we stayed was very comfortable with evidence of snow so we convinced Siobhan to buy a beany at the rangers centre as we planned our trips for the next few days and had our afternoon snack of hot chocolate and chips. Strangely there was no mobile phone reception but unfortunately plenty of television reception plus the odd visitor.
Thus we ended day one, tired but sated in some comfort with the promise of a fine day to come, or maybe some snow and rain.

Over the coming weeks I hope to post a summary of our trip to Tassie in the September holidays, together with some photos.