Richmond to Tasman Peninsular

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The day started with a partly clouded sky, but we have come to realise that by late morning, this cloud seems to open up to beautiful blue skies. And that is how it happened again today.

We drove from Richmond to Sorell to top up both pantry and fuel before heading down the peninsular. Naturally we chose the longer route to White Beach going to the Tasman Lookout. We were expecting a climb to some great vantage point. No, our morning walk was about 20 meters return from the car park to the cliff edge and back. Still the view is great as the rugged formation of the Tasman Peninsular really shows. This coastline has incredibly high cliff faces down to the ocean. There was still some haze at this point, but we got the taste to seek out more interesting things to see. Wild blackberries grow in abundance here, and a sample of (stolen?) berries tasted great!

With names like Tasman Arch and Devil's Kitchen, we were keen to find out just what was there.

However, those spots had to wait while we came to the Tessellated Pavement. Before coming to Tasmania I do not recall even hearing the word 'tessellated', so we were keen to discover what this was all about.

Apparently what has happened on this section of coast is that various rock sediments have been carried here in icebergs, settled and solidified. However, the theory is that the spaces between the sediments had moisture in which eventually salt crystals grew and split the blocks. Well, that's what the notice board said. What is intriguing is the almost rectangular nature of the rocky shoreline. The cracks are also in the horizontal plain, so they become cubes so to speak if broken off the lower rock. You can see a picture of some broken rocks. So it is interesting, thought provoking and worth a picture or two. The surface reminds me of pictures of the old Roman Cobble Roads, except these would be bigger than the cobbles. If you are keen to find out more, look at Wikipedia.

Next we were off to the Blow Hole. This one is a little unusual in that the 'Blow' bit is on one side of a hill, while the cave entrance is some distance away on the other seaward side. There wasn't much swell today, so the blow was modest. A bus load of school kids were happy with what they saw. They were also happy to get their Doo-Lishus lunch from the kiosk. This is Doo town actually where most buildings have a Doo name such as Doo Nuthin' or Dr Doo Little.

Next stop was Tasman Arch. The carpark was fairly full, so we squeezed the motorhome in as far as we could under an overhanging tree. Seemed that the cars adjacent would be fine to get out so we went walk about. It is near impossible to get a good photo of Tasman Arch, not so much the arch itself, but how deep and shear the ravine walls have been cut. Not sure how deep, but probably 80 or 100 mtrs.

There is a good walkway around the arch and this walkway also gives the option of viewing The Devils Kitchen. So we decided to check that out as well. Again very difficult to photograph this crazy slit has been cut into the same cliff face.

As we exited the Devil's Kitchen (The name doesn't match the geology unless it is rather violent with high swell) there was a sign pointing to The Devil's Kitchen car park. We thought we might walk back up the road to get the motorhome. Unlike the other car park, this one was deserted. As soon as we started up the road we could see the motorhome, probably about 200 meters away. As this car park was also level, we drove down for a rather late lunch.

We also noticed another walkway leaves from this car park to Waterfall Bay. The cliffs on this coast get higher and higher finally getting to a shear face height of 300 meters, the highest in the Southern Hemisphere. Not today as we needed to get down the road to White Beach and check into the caravan park.

At the tip of the peninsular, (2 -3 hours walk each way) are some remarkable structures , the Candlestick and the Totem Pole, which slack rope walkers have climbed across to from the peninsular. I think this walk is only for the very fit according to reviews, so we will give it a miss.

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Photos

Caught red beaked
Pinches any food and drinks coffee. White beach.

Gentle breakers
This channel leads to the cave for the blowhole.

Comments

[sohbet]

Sohbet
Sohbet Chat

[Mum & Dad]

Another great effort
The tessalated rocks are an eye opener. Never seen those before so that's a first. Good photos but a very rugged coast line down there. Trying hard to rain here. Off to church now.