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Published: December 20th 2010
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Sunday 12th Dec – We arrived in Launceston and stayed at the Penny Royal Motel, home of the famous Gourays Sweet Factory, they sell olde fashioned sweets ! Second only to Uncle Joes Mint Balls!
Monday 13th Dec – Set off for the famous Tasmanian East Coast, to the beautiful Frecynet Peninsula National Park to our next destination Coles Bay. We drove the beautiful coastline stopping off at unspoilt beaches which stretched for miles and nobody around ! We stopped at Elephant Mountain and had lunch at the Elephant Pass at the famous Pancake House – beautiful ! We went to Denison beach and Bechino a sleepy seaside town before we arrived at the Edge of the Bay Resort in Coles Bay. We were in a log cabin on the beach with magnificent views across the bay to the national park and the mountains where we planned our 11km mountain hike the following day to include a visit to the famous Wineglass Bay, based on the amount of wine John has consumed so far on this trip he should easily spot it ! Had a lovely meal at the restaurant overlooking the bay watching the sunset. It was perfect.
Tuesday 14th Dec – We stocked up with supplies (plenty of water !) and set off across the mountains to Wineglass Bay. The bay is considered one of the best beaches in the world and can only be reached either by a hike over the mountains or by sea. The weather was fantastic, gorgeous sunny day as we climbed the mountain to the lookout, giving us fantastic views to the beach. We then walked down to Wineglass Bay for lunch and when we arrived found that a massive P&O cruise ship had anchored up ! Spoiled our view !! Carried on to Hazards Beach and then a rugged 6km bush walk back, though again offering perfect views. The whole walk took five hours in the hot sun. We chilled out back at the cabin with a bottle of local sparkling wine Jenz which is made by the Methode Tamoniose ! Well deserved. We relaxed on the deck and admired the views and were joined by a friendly wallaby and her babies. She was the first live wallaby we had seen on Tasmania – we have only seen road kill and plenty of it!By the way we think the famous things
we have seen are only famous in Tassie (pronounced Tazzie) as the locals call it...not world wide.
Wednesday 15th Dec – Set off early for the 200km drive to Hobart, stopping first at nine mile beach (no prizes for guessing why its called that !), unbroken sands and again not a soul in sight ! We drove through various quaint seaside towns such as Swansea, Pontypool....just like going on holiday to Wales but without the Welsh ha ha. Stopped for lunch in the lovely Georgian village of Richmond, the centre of the winemaking region of Tassie (being locals now that’s what we call it) (surprise,surprise !), John sampled a few Riesling and Savignon blanc as Vicky was driving ! Arrived in Hobart late afternoon and checked into the Old Woolstore. We walked around Hobart in the evening, taking in the delightful marina. All the action takes place on Salamanca Street, we found a buzzing outdoor pizza bar unfortunately we can’t remember what it is called as we quaffed a couple of bottles of wine, watched the locals and entered into the spirit of the nightlife ! Hobart is a very pretty city with lovely buildings in the colonial style,
more English than England !
Thursday 16th Dec – We spent the day at Port Arthur 90km from Hobart on the Tasman Peninsula. Port Arthur is a beautiful town built with convict labour, the impressive architecture, delightful gardens and chilling prison facilities survive today. The Port Arthur site contains more than 30 historic buildings and it is a short ferry ride to the Isle of the Dead cemetery and the Point Puer Boys Prison. Established in 1830 and from 1833 was used as a punishment statement for all repeat offenders from all Australian colonies the “Separate Prison” at Port Arthur was based on the Pentonville model and every man who came to Port Arthur had to spend time in solitary confinement. The regime was designed to achieve the most intense isolation and control. Each prisoner was kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and had to wear a mask outside the cell to prevent communication. Dozens of rules and rigid routines rendered the inmates powerless and they effectively lost their identity. The result was that the system sent people slowly insane rather than provide any cures and the prison was closed after a few years, walking round
the place was scary.
On the way back from that cheery place, we then visited various natural phenomenon of the island including the Tesselated Pavement, Devils Kitchen, The Tasman Arch and John’s favourite – the Blowhole ! All geological and quite magnificent. The Tasman Peninsula has the largest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere.
Friday 17th Dec – Up early for another day out to Bruni Island for a powerboat cruise to see more geological wonders of the region together with the sea life that exists off Tassie. We spent three hours powering up and down the coast in a fully air conditioned boat !! Dressed in our finery and observing such sights as “The Monument” which we sped through at a great rate of knots ! It was like the log flume at Alton Towers, only scarier ! We also saw a huge colony of seals and dolphins playing and riding alongside the boat, it was awesome ! We hope the photos give you a feel for our day out, it was quite an experience !! Dinner at the Victoria Dock in Hobart where the local fisherman land their catch and serve this up at Mures Restaurant
by the dock, we had local fresh fish including ocean trout, kingfish and superb scallops, all washed down with a bottle of the local sav blanc, of course !
Sat 18th Dec - Set off at 7.30am to embark on our 400km journey across the island to Lemonthyme Lodge at the foot of Cradle Mountain. Cradle Mountain is an iconic feature of Tassie standing at 1,545 metres it presents a great challenge to any keen hikers and bush walkers such as ourselves, we were determined to conquer it !! Along the way to Cradle Mountain we stopped at Hamilton at the heart of “The Highlands” – lots of Scottish names used for places, mountains and rivers in the region. One day you are in Wales the next Scotland whatever next. Vicky was looking for any family heritage here, though they are probably all at Port Arthur ! We did however find a bacon and egg pie (no relation of Vickys)!! We declined, though we have noticed that you can get whatever you want in Australia in a pie ! It is very similar to Wigan in that respect... they also love rugby! We made our way to Lake St
Clair in the Highlands and completed a two hour walk over a historic aborigine route through the bush. We went to Nelson Falls a spectacular waterfall in the rain forest followed by a stop for lunch in Queenstown the copper mining capital of Tassie and when we arrived we realised that it must be twinned with Coober Pedy ! (see previous Outback Blog). Moving on swiftly from Queenstown we continued through Rosebery and onto Lemonthyme Lodge, experiencing fantastic views of the mountains along the way. Lemonthyme is 8km from the main road down a dirt track in the middle of the rain forest. We stayed in a tree top lodge – no TV, no signal no contact with the outside world for three days, which means that we are going to have to actually speak to each other for the next two nights....
Sun 19th Dec - So much for conquering Cradle Mountain...it rained all morning, we eventually set off for the mountain and after much deliberation decided not to climb the mountain but to do the much gentler and safer 6km Dove Lake, with spectacular views of the mountain and a wonderful waterfall. The rain stopped during
the walk but the day was generally cold, we actually needed woolly hats ! It was all made worthwhile though because we managed to spot the most famous wildlife that Tassie is known for and have included pictures for you of the Tasmanian Devil,the duck billed Platypus and yes the Tasmanian Tiger...unbelievable! Back to Lemonthyme for a chill out in the bar and an evening meal before back to our cabin and early to bed.
Monday 20th Dec - Up early to a beautiful day (typical !), packed up and on the road again back to Launceston for our last night on Tassie. We walked the Cataract Gorge in the afternoon a deep ravine cut by a raging torrent that has been converted into a beauty spot with spectacular views.
Back to Adelaide tomorrow for the Christmas holidays.
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