Category Archives: Tasmania 2010

After a reasonable nights sleep it just remains to greet the dawn at Port Melbourne, drive home for breakfast and collapse after another successful family holiday.

Our last day in Tasmania so what should we do?

Head off to Elephant Pass for pancakes of course!

Various other options and plans were discussed but mainly we just headed back to Devonport and saw what we saw on the way. A short stop to wander the beaches north of Bicheno and marvel at how whit the sand was and how remote it all seemed. Winding our way up to Elephant Pass for the well promoted pancakes which were worth it. Then slipped down a back lane, or maybe a goat track, to look at a local craftshop.

We tried to visit some old growth forests near Avennue River and Mathinna Falls but the roads looked better on the maps and we mainly found rutted tracks, plantations and clear fell sites. Pretty depressing really.

Eventually back on the main roads we zoomed – sort off- towards Devonport, stopping briefing at Ashgrove Dairy to stock up on some lovely Tasmanian cheeses. Unfortunately the chocolate shop was shut.

The its back into the queues and onto the Spirit of Tasmania for our return trip.

What else to do on the east coast but walk in Freycinet National Park, through the saddle to Wineglass Bay. The natives are so friendly the sand so white, the water so clear, the climb so steeep!

After puffing our way back up from Wineglass Bay we ambled home for a rest and relax before doing a night tour of the local penguin colony. The girls were impressed at being able to see the penguins up close and personal, sometimes very personal as they seemed to not worry about us peeking into their boxes or waddling along next to you on the tracks, but they do smell.

Wake up to a sunny day in Richmond but can still see the snow on Mt Wellington.

As today is going to be a travel day we start by pottering around Richmond looking at all the historical buildings. Girls are a bit reluctant and Siobhan is mortified we might go near the school especially as it is a school day in Tasmania. Still we visit the Catholic church, the old gaol, walk down by the bridge and view the golly shop. We even manage to time our visit to the bakery for branch to avoid most of another torrential down pour. Despited stated reluctance the girls seem to quite enjoy the whole outing.

Having toured around and bought more sugar at the lolly shop we headed off to our last stop over at Bicheno on the east coast. The trip across and up alternated between boring and scenic. On arrival, again in the rain, we found ourselves in a nice cabin with excellent facilities. Kiara found her self drawn to the lake and managed to convince Cath to supervise her as she tried out kayaking with some success! Cath and I then managed to escape for awhile with a walk along the foreshore rocks to view the blow hole and the famous red rocks of the east coast.

A bit of shopping at the local gave us sustenance as we planned our next day. I hoped for a decent walk at Freycinet and Cath eyed of the local penguin tour.

Having settled in at Richmond we planned a tourist adventure around Hobart in and out of the rain.

First stop the Cadbury’s factory “tour”, very scripted basically a cruise around the shop with a little demo and video in the theatrette. Not much of a tour of the factory but plenty of free chocolate and cheap chocolate. We come away laden with calories and sugar. The kids loved it.

On to the Cascade Brewery with lunch in the car. Far more of a traditional factory tour including the safety instruction, yellow vests and safety goggles. Got to peek here and there, some interesting stories and free samples after. Who knew there could be so many varieties of beer. Also the bottle line was amazing with dancing lines of bottles snaking around the place. Nice little cafe where you can get your tastings and a bowl of chips as the rain sleeted down.

With a break in the weather we wind our way up Mt Wellington. Don’t get near the top as the snow starts to fall and we decide we needed to escape the car. Have a great time running around in the snow, throwing snow balls and trying to make snow men, until Siobhan realises canvas shoes aren’t good in the snow and her feet are freezing. Head back down the hill to chilly Hobart and Salamanca Place. (Sure I saw the ranger closing gates as we drove down)

Wander through the wind and rain of the docks looking at interesting craft shops and argue over what to do about dinner. Finally decide we are all too cold to think rationally and drive back to Richmond for takeaway and getting warm in front of the TV.

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.