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A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour ~ Australian Proverb
This blog covers Days 2 and 3 of our trip to the far south of Tasmania… to celebrate our 15th Anniversary.
Franklin I absolutely loved waking up and taking in the early morning view of the misty Huon River from our attic bedroom window. It was like looking into an ever-changing real-life painting. It was a very special and beautiful start to our 15th Anniversary. By the time we had a quick breakfast and got going, the light had changed rather dramatically – the mist had lifted and the light was clear and strong. The only comparison I can make is the cloudless sunny bright day that magically appears after an early morning frost.
I also loved our walks through the small township. The streetscape is full of character and charm, and it was easy to lose ourselves as we admired the architecture. Equally absorbing was the walk along the waterfront. This section of the river is also famous for its mirror like reflections, and I lost count of how many photos I took of the very friendly duckies, pretty yachts and old school wooden boats at the marina. It was stunning beyond words.
We celebrated our 15th Anniversary with a dinner at the small Italian Osteria @ Petty Sessions. We had heard many glowing reports about this eatery and had been ravenously looking forward to our meal. However, the service wasn’t great (on the night we went) and only half the dishes were noteworthy. The pappardelle pasta with lamb ragu was fabulous, as was the tiramisu, but the other dishes were disappointing.
Geeveston Driving south, the Huon Highway to Geeveston took us along the river through Castle Forbes Bay and Port Huon. We were entering Atlantic Salmon farming country now, with trucks and processing plants reminding us how big the controversial farmed Salmon industry really is. However, we detoured off the main drag a few times to explore the patchwork of orchards and small cattle farms that make up the back roads.
We really acted the part of ‘tourist’ to a tee when we kept stopping to take photos of road signs that warned motorists of animals crossing or the particular heavy vehicles – like tractors towing trailers or log trucks – in the area. 😊
As we travelled towards the far south, we loved encountering all the
little road stalls with honesty boxes. They predominantly sold apples, but also had Dutch cream potatoes, garlic and all manner of garden vegies and other fruit. One stall sold rare Geeveston Fanny apples, which not only made me chuckle (yes, I have a juvenile sense of humour) but also made me reflect on the resurgence of heirloom apples that are so local and region-specific. However, our most favourite of all the stalls was the Little Black Fridge road stall, which is exactly as it says – a black fridge on the side of the road (or in front of a house to be exact), stocked with all manner of baked goods. Stymied by a lack of cash (we really seem to be moving more-and-more into a 100%% card-only life), we bought some Monte Carlo biscuits for the hike the next day, with the promise of returning for more goodies later on.
Geeveston isn’t a drawcard in itself, but is a functional hub for the area. Given we wanted to maximise our time at the Toll House, we decided to get Turkish takeaway from Geeveston One Stop for dinner on one of our nights in the far south. We were
there because we’d heard their
gozlemes (Turkish bread filled with a variety of ingredients) were good. So, we stocked up on chicken kebabs, and
gozlemes filled with lamb, and a spinach and feta one. These were very much enjoyed with our ciders on our deck that evening… with a gorgeous dusky view of the Huon River flowing past.
Dover Further south of Geeveston sits Dover. It’s a small fishing town that curves around the picturesque Port Esperance, with a few interesting old-world streets to explore. We drove around until we found a spot to sit and admire the view of bobbing boats with a ballet of black swans and their cygnets in the foreground.
Dover is literally the last place to buy petrol and supplies on the way south, or to put it another way – it’s the last petrol stop before the end of the world! And what a quaint old-school BP petrol station it was too. It’s also the only town in the area with a proper supermarket.
Southport We kept driving southward to Southport, a sleepy seaside retreat that claims the title of ‘southernmost settlement in Australia’. I don’t use
the term ‘sleepy’ lightly. As we drove through the town and its shacky settlement along Kingfish Beach, the only signs of life were the cars parked at the pub. The town wasn’t quite as beautiful as I’d imagined, and even the walk along the jetty on Southport Bay had a strange vibe to it.
Luckily, we decided to keep driving around until we found a walking track to Roaring Beach on the north eastern side of the Bay. A short distance from the car park, walking through coastal banksia shrubs and under beautiful eucalyptus trees, we suddenly descended onto Roaring Beach... and it was absolutely gorgeous! There were swirling masses of bull kelp in the deep blue water, white sand squeaking underfoot and gorgeous little rock pools. And best of all, we had it all to ourselves. This was one of the highlights of our trip.
I don’t t know if everyone holds the same view as me about beaches, or if it’s an Australian thing…but to me, the quality of a beach is determined by the quality of its sand. Pebble or rocky beaches just don’t do it for me. The sparkling soft white sand on Roaring
Beach was some of the most beautiful I’ve seen, and it was just heavenly to walk on.
They say it isn’t an Australian road trip without something BIG! Among the famously kitsch BIG things in Australia are BIG Banana in New South Wales, the BIG Pineapple in Queensland, the BIG Penguin in Tasmania etc. And in Southport we came across a BIG abalone overlooking the shacks of Southport! It was as hilarious as it was odd. 😊
Cockle Creek The road further south took us past Hastings (famous for the Hastings Caves and thermal pools) and Lune River, which is home to the miniature Ida Bay Railway. I had expressed a desire to ride the comically tiny carts on minuscule tracks… Andrew was VERY relieved to discover that it was no longer operational.
We had designed this road trip and minibreak around driving to Cockle Creek (where the southernmost road in Australia literally ends) and then walking into South Cape Bay (the southernmost beach in Tasmania). I was very excited that we were finally here!
We were now in the coastal lands of the ancient Lyluequonny people. The drive into Cockle Creek is dreamy,
with the distant mountain peaks and soft waves and coves of Recherche Bay for company. Cockle Creek itself is a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ small settlement that comprises a handful of houses and shacks. It also has camping areas right on the water. I could absolutely see the appeal of camping here, because apart from its ‘end of the road’ status, it is actually very beautiful. The sand is impossibly white and the water impossibly blue, there are little tannin-stained fresh water streams trickling into the sea, and best of all – hardly any humans.
The South Cape Bay Walk in Southwest National Park When the road ended, we crossed a small bridge into the Southwest National Park to begin our day hike. The South Cape Bay walk began with a chirping bird chorus in surround sound at the walker’s registration hut, not far along the track. The topography on the walk was very varied – starting with a sunny eucalyptus forest, where we walked past a chubby little pademelon grazing on the track. It wasn’t at all fazed by the humans walking past, however, the click of my camera made it hop a few feet
away to observe us through a screen of tall grass.
The light dappled forest morphed into a mossy undergrowth and dark canopy as we navigated the gentle climb up the rocky tracks of Moulder’s Hill. I loved the old world feel of this section of the track, and it’s not something I had expected on a coastal walk.
We eventually arrived at an open button grass marshland with duckboards. This was supposed to be the easy and flat part of the walk, but the track hadn’t been maintained and we were walking in knee-high (or waist-high for this shorter pawed human) grass and shrubs. And to make matters worse, the deteriorating duckboards kept sinking into the boggy spongy marsh as we walked. Regardless, it was a beautiful experience... and it added to the feeling of being very, very far from humanity.
Sadly, this feeling of deep-seated wellbeing didn’t last long. I heard a rustle at my elbow and looked to my left… just in time to see the belly and tail of a great big fat Tiger snake disappearing into the overgrowth – about 30cm away from my elbow! It had been sunbaking ON TOP of the
shrubs – we had no idea snakes did that! My adrenalin level spiked drastically and manifested itself in a squeal and a gallop along the duckboards. It took a few seconds before I realised Andrew wasn’t following me, as we’d been separated by the snake. After making sure the snake was definitely gone (we probably scared the poor thing more than it had scared us), we continued on. However, what had been a leisurely amble until that point turned into a semi-sprint along wobbly duckboards until we got out of snake country – with its levitating snakes!
The next section of the walk was a gentle uphill slope. It was open woodland at first, but we soon found ourselves surrounded by dense coastal scrub and man ferns. This section of the track was also overgrown, so we navigated it rather quickly. With much relief we finally reached the sand dunes. The almost claustrophobic forest quite suddenly and magically opened out onto stark and rugged stone cliffs, with sweeping ocean views beyond.
The walk along the dramatic dark grey clifftop entrance to South Cape Bay was one of the most spectacular ways to end a hike. A steep
stone staircase took us down to a beautiful squeaky white sand beach, with the famed Lion Rock on the other end. It looked slightly hazy through the surf mist, but its crouching animal shape was very clear. As we walked along the beach, it was quite amazing to think that the next land mass beyond the surf to our left was Antarctica… even though it was about 4,000km away.
We walked towards Lion Rock, then sheltered from the sun and breeze against a cliff with beautiful little rock pools all around us. A beach picnic of delicious leftover Turkish
gozeleme and the sensational Monte Carlo biscuits from the Little Black Fridge in Geeveston made for a memorable 15th Anniversary celebration.
The surf is normally roaring at South Cape Bay, and we had been warned that the howling Antarctic wind can be so bracing that it’s often impossible to navigate the steps down to the beach. However, we were incredibly lucky to get such a warm, sunny and calm day. In another lifetime Andrew would have probably carried his surfboard in, but these days he claims he needs a carpark less than five-minutes’ walk from the surf. 😊
With the snake experience still fresh in our minds, our walk back to the car was far swifter and much heavier footed. We’d picked up walking sticks to ward off any other shrub-surfing snakes that may have been out and about. We also felt marginally safer knowing that there was a noisy group of four people walking about 10 minutes ahead of us. Happily, there were no other snake sightings that day.
Apart from the pademelon, the tiger snake and a few birds, the hike was sadly devoid of other wildlife. However, there were many deposits of the unique square wombat poo on the tracks – so we knew they were definitely about. 😊
The South Cape Bay walk is a 15.4km / Grade 3 hike, and it took us about four hours (including our beach picnic). Despite the levitating snake incident, it was one of my most memorable day hikes! There is not much that can beat the raw and powerful beauty of this wild southern land, with the equally wild Great Southern Ocean constantly thrashing at its frontiers. For a few minutes we were the southernmost (land) people in Australia! 😄
On our return to
Cockle Creek, we rehydrated and then walked a short distance to the bronze sculpture of a southern right whale at Adams Point. The whale trade flourished here at one point, and as with many such places around Tasmania, the town declined when the trade ended. Sad for the town, but good for the whales!
Forestry Roads The last day of our mini break didn’t quite go to plan. We drove towards Geeveston with the aim of doing a walk in the Hartz Mountains National Park.
Despite having driven down this way numerous times, including very recently for work, we got lost. We ended up on a forestry road that took us off-roading in a way we hadn’t intended. Tasmania’s forestry roads have been created purely for logging trucks, and they crisscross a vast section of this part of the world.
When we realised that we weren’t where we were supposed to be, we decided to stop looking at the map and enjoy the drive through old growth and regrowth forests – and it was extremely beautiful. We stumbled upon a few waterholes that were so picturesque I lamented the fact that we didn’t have the
time to spend a few hours here. We agreed that we should always have a picnic rug and a goodie-filled picnic hamper in the car for all future road trips.
We eventually looped back to our intended position about an hour or so later. Despite being a bit nervous after twice having to reverse the car from impassable tracks, I thoroughly enjoyed this unexpected detour. It should also be noted that for the second time in two days, I was grateful we were carrying a Personal Locater Beacon with us (but thankfully we didn’t have to use it!).
Tahune Forest Reserve At this point we were close to the Tahune Forest Reserve, which is popular with tourists for its Airwalk – a 600m steel walkway through the forest canopy that follows the banks of the Huon River. The Airwalk provides an immersive treetop experience, and it ends with a precarious section of walkway that cantilevers over a bend in the river – giving a bird’s eye view of the tannin-stained water and remnants of Huon pine logs that used to be floated down river in times past. Despite the Airwalk’s critics (myself included), we have taken
many of our interstate visitors here over the years. Sadly, the whole area – including the Airwalk – was badly damaged in the 2019 bushfires that swept through the region. The bushfire also destroyed precious strands of ancient Huon pines.
The Huon pine is a conifer endemic to Tasmania, found only in wet temperate rainforest and on the edge of rivers. Its Australia’s oldest living tree and one of the oldest living organisms on earth. Individual trees have been known to reach an age of 3,000 years, but sadly its pest repellent properties made it extremely sought after for boatbuilding and furniture, and it was mercilessly logged. While logging of old growth and harvestable timber remains a considerable aspect of the Huon Valley, thankfully it’s now illegal to cut down live Huon pine trees. Consequently, Huon furniture and crafts have become quite valuable.
Huon has a fine-grained buttery brown orange colour, and a distinct aroma from its high natural oil content. On a related note, a previous owner of our Schoolhouse was a craftsman, and one of his Huon pine benchtops remains a much-loved feature of our kitchen. Being rather haphazard in his projects, he never got around
to building the remaining benchtops.
Another beautiful native tree that was a victim of the 2019 bushfires was the Leatherwood – an understorey rainforest tree. It’s thought to be the single most important nectar plant for bees in Tasmania, and it takes about 70 years to grow to nectar-bearing maturity. I was extra sad about this devastation, because Leatherwood honey is my all-time favourite. 😞
Lake Esperance Walk in Hartz Mountain National Park Having eventually found our way, we set off on the walk to Lake Esperance – a glacial lake about half way to the peak on Hartz Mountain. The walk began as a short gradual climb on rocky steps through scrubby bushland, before opening up into beautiful alpine heathland.
It was such a beautiful clear day, and within minutes of getting to the open heathland we found ourselves above the tree line with stunning views of Hartz Peak, D’Entrecasteaux Channel behind us and Mt Wellington off in the distance. The walk was easy and duck-boarded for almost its entirety through the flat sections. The duckboards were even being replaced in parts by two Parks and Wildlife personnel, and I really have to sing
the praises of the rangers and volunteers who do such an amazing job to give us safe access to our unique wilderness.
The plants of the heathland were beautiful. Mostly small shrubs with a few pandani standing tall. The pandani is the world’s tallest heath plant, and it is distinctively Tasmanian. I find pandani quite comical… I once thought of them as short blokes with overgrown bushy beards, and now I can’t unsee that image! I was also on the lookout for cushion plants, which are only found in certain alpine environments.
We eventually veered off the Hartz Peak trail to Lake Esperance. The track took us right to the lake’s edge where there were a few welcome seats for a snack break. Lake Esperance is a gorgeous glacier-formed lake, and I suppose technically it can also be called a tarn (as it’s a mountain lake). Either way, it is beautiful. The sun was throwing sparkling reflections off the crystal-clear water’s surface, and it was also casting beautiful patterns on the rocks below. After a welcome pack of Tiny Teddies and Shapes, we were ready for our return walk.
I can’t emphasise enough how much I absolutely
loved this walk through the heathland. The views were spectacular, the air was crisp and clear, and apart from the sounds of our footfall and the occasional twitter of a bird, the only other sound was the ever-present trickle of water running below the duckboards. It was nature at its very best! 😊
The Lake Esperance walk is a 3.4km / Grade 3 hike, and it took us just under 1.5 hours. We both thoroughly enjoyed this walk along beautifully maintained tracks and boardwalks, and it was the perfect way to end the first trip of our Tassie Travels.
See you on our next Tassie adventure!
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Brodie
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Travel Itch
I was looking at Intrepid Trips to Nepal and thought to check out if you had been and written about it. Couldn’t find any, perhaps not looking in the right place? Nice to read about good old Tas, our pristine apple isle.