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Published: March 9th 2009
The sign
Come this way !!DAY 122
After 3 nights free camping in the River and Rocks Campground, we were moving on today, it seemed again that half of Australia was on the move, 4x4’s Campers, boats, and trailers, and just about every time of fishing rod we had ever seen were leaving the camp site. It had been the same yesterday but by lunchtime we were told that it had filled back up again.
Our plan is to be back in Cradle Mountain on Wednesday 11th March for the final 3 days as it was just so beautiful and full of wildlife we just feel that we need to see it again before sailing back to Melbourne on Saturday night arriving Sunday morning.
This of course will be to the detriment of other parts of Tasmania, there is so much to see and if we had the time and a one-way ticket then of course we could stay and spend more time in some of these areas. However that leaves us with plenty more to see when we come back again. I would personally like to come back in the Winter to see the snow on Cradle Mountain. I would not
Elephant Pancakes
They are Fantastic be wanting to do that in the Camper trailer though, too cold (sorry Jarrod - great camper trailer but no for cold weather…. Brrrrr!)
So again the trailer had to be packed away with everything else we had a bit of a sort out while packing away, it does help to ensure that our kit is organised so that we know where we can find it. Saves time in the long run.
Free camping is very different to being on a pay site such as Big 4 or Discovery, you have to be so much more prepared, as there is no running water, shower or toilets generally, so making sure you have everything with you is what its all about, as you can find these beautiful little villages who’s mini markets can take your breath away with the prices they charge.
We were packed away in reasonable time, but as per usual we got talking to someone for an hour or so, so we didn’t get away until just after 11.00 o’clock on route to St Helen’s but not before doing a detour towards St Mary’s over Elephant Pass to have a pancake from a place
Bay of Fires
Yes, this is what the beach looked like yesterday, It was hot and sunny with Legendary status.
We had been told about Mount Elephant pancakes long before we had even got to Tasmania and I also found a brochure in all of the tourist information that I picked up on the boat, this place was a must. We were going to have breakfast but because of our chatting it turned into lunch.
The detour was absolutely fantastic driving through the mountain roads, and on cue we pulled in the pancake place just around lunchtime.
A good few motorcyclists had made the same journey up through the mountains and had parked their array of machines out side in the hot sun, a guy’s 999 Ducati caught my eye, but all the other Harley’s could go in the bin as junk (sorry Chris and Willemina).
We put our order in for a Cheese, Ham and Egg Pancake each. When they arrived credit where credit is due they were excellent. After we ate those we felt like something sweet, of course it was our duty to try both savoury and sweet pancakes in the aid of research, so I had a Banana and chocolate Pancake and Caroline had an Apple and Cinnamon for
desert.
I would like to point out that they are the typical European pancake of the flat variety, not the American pancake which are somewhat thicker and sweeter.
When we were walking up Wine glass bay lookout yesterday we had got chatting to some people, 2 who were Australian and 2 who were Canadian, we joked that we would keep bumping into each other and promised not to say “surprise” if we did. Well a familiar looking car turned in to the car park while we were eating. They joked and said, you are late for lunch, lunch! This is breakfast! We chatted a little bit longer and they invited us for a drink this evening at the Hotel they were staying in, in St Helens, which is where we were heading too (not the hotel, but St Helens).
We pushed off again winding our way down another mountain road and past magnificent views of white sandy beaches and turquoise water, Tasmania is just amazing. We arrived at our Big 4 destination at around 3.30 and once again the trailer and thus our bed for the night was up.
Booking a powered site gave us chance
Sign
How much proof do you want !! to charge up all our electronic devices such as mobile phone, I-pods, Power Gorilla, laptop, Camera batteries and any spare batteries.
We thought about having a cup of tea, however we also thought it was the right time to go to the Bay of Fires, which is about 16K’s down the coast, we followed the ocean like we had done for most of the day, and in the bright hot sunshine was just fantastic. I would hope that our photographs do it justice; it would be great for you all to feel and see what we can.
I am staggered at how many free campsites there are around this area it is just so popular. I was discussing it with Caroline and I just think that being British we are programmed to pay for just about everything and do not consider free camp sites, until now of course with our new Camps 5. However tonight we needed power and water top ups (and a decent shower!)
We went along to have a look at some of them today and they were fabulous, right next to the ocean, a great backdrop, and free what could be better?
If you take only one decent piece of advice from anything we say in this blog, it is go and buy Camps 5, at $49.95 we have just had 3 nights free camping, so based on an average camp site of $30.00 a night we have saved $90.00 bucks which more than pays for the book.
The Big 4 Site at St Helens again was excellent, at $31.00 dollars for a powered site less our discount of 10 % was value for money, as it equates to £11.53 for a night plus the use of all their facilities.
It has the best camp kitchen we have found anywhere in Australia to date, with so much gear for the use of.
We had purchased some Pork sausages, (Yes Pork Sausages) and chucked them on the BBQ, along with some veggies.
We sat and watched a bit of TV which we haven’t really done in four or so months, caught up with some world news, had a game of cards and hit the sack.
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Darryl and Sarah
Wallaby Wanderers
Advice Taken!
Camps 5 will be purchased before we leave on the trip! It's just great reading your blog every day and I've already totted up alot of ideas from them. We've only got 46 days now before we head off on Project Outback (as our work are calling it!). Keep having fun! love Sarah & Darryl