A few days in Hobart

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March 14th 2015

Published: March 15th 2015

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Weggs

Margate Train

This train & carriages sit by the side of the road just before Margate.

Thursday 12^th March 2015

Today was a ‘day of rest’, neither having much energy and wanting to catch up with a few chores. The washing was done and the Blog was up-to-date by the end of the day.

We did get out just before lunch, driving to nearby Kingston to check out the Channel Shopping Centre there. We wandered around for an hour and only purchased a few supplies for lunch and dinner. Overall, we thought it wasn't very pedestrian friendly and wondered how the shops stayed in business as there were few customers about.

On the way home we dropped into “The Margate Train”, a group of tourist-biased shops set in railway carriages with a steam locomotive at the front. Interesting, but we only drove off with a packet of fresh licorice for their effort!

The rest of the day was spent reading and generally doing little, not something we are good at but something we need to do once in a while.

Rags cooked some sea trout we bought this morning, served with mashed spuds and a mixture of vegetables. Nice, but the trout had very little flavour. Next

Margate Train

One of the carriages. This very much a tourist area with cafes & shops.

time it will be salmon.

Judy had an online meeting at 1900, this two hour meeting joined her to other her action learning group who were in a room at Curtin Uni, through Google Hangout. This all worked perfectly with no dropouts. Yay! She seemed to enjoy it in Rags’ opinion.

Friday 13^th March 2015

We had a really interesting and enjoyable day, so much for the Friday, 13^th myth! We set off reasonably early and drove SW through Huonville, Franklin and on to the small village of Geeveston. Here we refueled and drove the 30kms of narow windy roads, shared with logging trucks, through the Tahune Forest Reserve to the Visitors' Centre near the Tahune Airwalk..

Before reaching Tahune Airwalk, we stopped at the Lookout – Lookin, a stop in the forest where we saw a display of some of the old machinery including an old boiler and a steam train- used to pull logs out of the forest. The large stumps there attested to the huge trees which once grew there. Interpretative signs explained some of the stories of the forest and those who worked in them.

Tahune Forest

This was the "Look-in" where we looked into the forest. This is an original train, running on log rails.

These trees, Eucalyptus regnans, or swamp gum, are the tallest flowering plant in the world. Although we didn’t see it, as it was not on display, Forestry Tasmania discovered the tallest hardwood in the world, a 99.6 metre tall swamp gum named Centurion, a few kilometres away. The public were kept away from it as there was an eagle nest nearby.

The Airwalk is a steel walk perched high in the forest canopy and we were lucky enough to catch up to and join a group led by a knowledgeable guide, Tim. He pointed out the different species of trees and shrubs such as the Stringybark tree, which resembles the Jarrah of W.A., and the Dogwood tree which he showed exudes a sap from the leaves which the aborigines used as an antiseptic and balm on wounds.

Tim also discussed different animals and the snakes of Tasmania. His discussions consisted of questions at times, making us wrack our brains for past knowledge. Viz; 3 types mammals – monotrenes, marsupials, and the largest group including humans, the placental mammals. We all knew the first two but he said he still hadn’t met a group who knew the third!

Tahune Forest Airwalk

The end is suspended above the river and forest.

Interestingly, there are only three different species of snakes in Tasmania, the Tiger, the Lowland Copperhead, and the White-lipped. All are venomous but no human deaths have been attributed to the latter. On discussing the snake we saw on Freycinet Peninsula, he said it was probably a tiger snake, as these were black in Tasmania to help them absorb the sun’s warmth.

The AirWalk features a cantilever, suspended 48m above the forest floor. This in itself is pretty incredible, especially when Tim described a time when they had 100kph winds come through and the Airwalk wasn't closed! But the view from up here is pretty incredible with views out to the Hartz Mountains, and below is the joining of the Huon and Picton Rivers. We spent a bit of time on the cantilever making the most of that view.

At the conclusion of this walk we continued on the Swinging Bridges walk, this wound its way through thick forest and crossed the Huon and the Picton Rivers just above their confluence. The first bridge spanned about 100 meters across the Huon River, and it was quite awesome to walk on the bridge swinging in the gentle breeze, with

Eagle hang glider

Coming back in.

the river rushing beneath us. After crossing and taking photos of the views, it was just a quick meander to the next bridge. Luckily, the water was far below us but later we saw photos where the river had flooded and washed over the bridge! Scary! After crossing the bridges we detoured off the track to see the ruins of a former early police house and joined a couple of young ladies from Hong Kong. They took great delight at seeing a pademelon, or wallaby, in the nearby bush.

By this time we were hungry and thirsty- both of us had brought water but left it in the car! We had brought a ham and cheese roll cut at home but we supplemented this with a huge mug of coffee from the cafe which we enjoyed in their outdoor area.

After lunch we walked along a trail where there was the most accessible stand of Huon Pines in all of Tasmania. From here Judy saw the cable ride across the river, Eagle hang gliding and after lunch she took the trip. She was strapped into a harness, clipped onto a fake hang glider, and was pulled to the

Tahune Forest

The undergrowth had many of these ferns growing.

other side of the river. On release it zoomed back fairly quickly to where Rags was standing, taking photos. A bit of an adrenalin rush for her but it needed to be longer both she and the instructor agreed.

The drive home was broken by a short visit to the Geeveston information Centre where there were some interesting displays of the timber industry in the past. We also did the mandatory walk through the local art and craft shops.

Saturday 14^th March 2015

One of the best-known attractions of Hobart would have to be the Saturday Salamanca Markets. Run by the Hobart Council this can best be described in the words from their website: “Set between graceful plane trees and the mellow sandstone facades of historic warehouses, Hobart's famous market at Salamanca Place attracts thousands of locals and visitors, every Saturday of the year.They come to visit more than 300 stalls for the food and music, fresh fruit, crisp organic vegetables, hot baked spuds, the warm aroma of a coffee and croissant, buskers singing the blues, stroking a harp or strumming a lively folk song.”

We arrived there at about

Salamanca Saturday Market

It stretched on in both directions.

0930 and already the place was a hive of activity. The markets were larger than most and included locally made wares and also many that sold cheap imported goods similar to those we have seen all over the country and overseas. Objects made of Tasmanian wood did dominate the local input however. Judy reflected on Huon Pine objects she had bought on her previous trip around 40 years ago.

Judy did find a ceramic tile picture similar to one she had admired in the Margate home and we bought this one to display at home.

The Jaguar Club had a display of Jaguars of all different vintages and from different states; these did catch our interest on the way to the dock area where we had a pretty ordinary lunch of fish and chips at a large place called Mures.

A walk away from the harbour had us in the city retail area and here Judy had her needed haircut and Rags bought a pair of walking shoes. Judy also enjoyed a dose of window-shopping.

By now we were ready for home and the afternoon was spent relaxing in our little haven in Margate!

Late

Salamanca Saturday Market

Blueberries were in season.

in the afternoon the heavens opened and the rain that has been threatening to come has finally started. Today's showers were the first real rain we have had since coming to Tasmania.

Sunday 15^th March 2015-03-14

Wow, we’ve been here for 2 weeks already and it feels like ages since we were in Victoria. We’ve done lots, there are still lots to see, but we’re also ready to just put our feet up and take it easy!

After a “sleep in”, we were up and about by 0830 and after breakfast Judy got stuck into some housework and Rags escaped outside to wash the car. By then it was time to have a coffee and to discuss what to do for the rest of the day.

On a whim we went to a local establishment “Homeland Delights” which specialises in food from other countries. We walked out with a nasi goreng mix as well as some spices we can use here and when we are in the van.

From here we continued to nearby Kingston where a morning market was advertised. This was more a swap-meet type of market

Blackmans Bay

Beautiful views.

and we didn’t find anything we wanted.

We followed the road to Blackmans Bay (they wouldn't allow that name in W.A.) and walked along the cliffs overlooking the Derwent River with Hobart in the distance.

The winding road took us to Tinderbox Marine Reserve where we stopped in the carpark next to a marine park. Signs told us that this was Tasmania's only snorkelling trail and species such as seadragons could be seen here. Here a scuba diving group were being trained, with divers coming and going into the very cold water. No-one seemed to be suffering from the cold so we assumed the wetsuits they wore were much thicker than the ones we have. But we still decided, better them than us! Brrr...it was 15 degrees maximum today.

Further around the peninsula we came to the area of Howden, and from here we could look across the water and see the house we were living in. Rags found the rocks were covered in oysters and soon tasted a few after chipping them off with a piece of stone. This may be another place to visit, armed with a screwdriver and a container!

We

Howden

View across the bay from Howden to Margate. The mustard colour house amongst the trees is where we stayed.

detoured back to the Kingston shops giving us fresh bread and a few other needs so that when we returned home we could enjoy a late lunch of bacon and eggs.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing around and doing the Sunday thing.

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