Advertisement
Published: April 23rd 2008
Yes it is true...
but we rather liked the place!On arrival in Hobart (March 30th), we checked into the Youth Hostel for 2 nights. Had an interesting conversation with the YHA receptionist about Tasmanians and their shortcomings (according to her, the gene pool is far too small) - we thought she was rather prejudiced, but on our next outing to a local shopping mall we noted that there were quite a few interesting characters around! We didn’t really warm to Hobart, and the cold weather there probably didn’t help. Went out and bought some trackpants and beanies in the morning, then did a tour of the Cascade Brewery, Australia’s oldest brewery, in the afternoon. Nice beer, especially the stout. The downtown waterfront area and the old part of Hobart around Salamanca Place and Battery Point are very historic and it was interesting wandering around there and the next morning we went up Mt Wellington. There is a sealed road right to the top of this mountain, which is the backdrop to Hobart - quite amazing as it is about 1300 metres high! The view is quite spectacular as you can imagine, but it was also about 2 degrees up there at 9am!
From here we drove down the south
Hobart and beyond
from the top of Mt Wellington coast, the coastal road is very scenic and passes through fishing ports, beaches, the Huon River, and the D’Entrecastreaux Channel (between the mainland and Bruny Island). Stopped at Southport for the night, and the weather was mild enough to eat outside for the first time since we arrived. Next day we went down to the most southerly point on Tassie, then back to Ida Bay where we took a ride on the Ida Bay Railway. A small rickety diesel train that is privately owned by a woman! The train driver was a real character and recounted the history of the area as we went along. In the afternoon we visited Hastings Caves, these are dolomite caves, not limestone, and quite impressive. There is a small thermal pool at the Hastings Caves reserve so we had our first (and only) swim on Tassie! Funny though it was only 28 degrees, not like our hot pools at home.
En route back towards Hobart, the weather became very windy and stormy, so we called into an old pub on the roadside at Franklin, just south of Hobart, for the night. The pub was owned by a German Australian gentleman 60+ who was
Cascades Brewery, Hobart
the oldest brewery in Oz quite a character, as were the 4 locals propping up the bar. The hotel was pretty much original (154 years old!) and we were the only guests. Fresh local (very local) salmon at the restaurant down the road for dinner - yum! Overnight there was a big storm across most of Tasmania, and a lot of storm damage. Our hotel was fine, but the caravan park we originally intended to stay at further north was badly damaged -we went past the next day and all the roofing iron from the main block was stuck up a large tree! Trees, branches and debris everywhere on the road to Port Arthur. Called into Richmond on the way, very historic Georgian town with lots of convict history including the old gaol and the convict built bridge (1823).
The convict settlement of Port Arthur is a fantastic place to visit, it was one of the highlights of our 1975 trip, and we weren’t disappointed this time. They run an introductory tour and short harbour trip first and Wendy our guide was memorable, then you wander at your own pace, with loads of info provided at each building or ruin (all for $25 a
Hobart harbour
liked the sculptures on the rocks! head). Interesting thing is, convicts were only sent there when they committed further crimes after arriving in Australia. After spending the entire day there, we returned in the evening for the ghost tour. Shelley our guide was brilliant, the place is very atmospheric and you wander around in the dark with 3 lanterns for each group, and listen to tales of ghosts seen and boy it is scary! Unfortunately no ghosts sited that night but I was convinced! On a different note, we visited the on-site memorial to the 35 people massacred there in 1996 - it has been created out of the ruins of the café where it happened and very thoughtfully done.
The drive to and from Port Arthur is also very interesting - there are several large coastal limestone rock formations around Eaglehawk Neck, which itself has a fascinating history. Convicts who tried to escape from PA had to cross this narrow isthmus of land to escape, or escape by sea, and so the authorities had a row of a dozen or more vicious and hungry dogs chained across the isthmus.
Next stop was Coles Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula, as we headed up the east
coast. The main attraction here for tourists is Wineglass Bay, a rather perfectly shaped beach only accessible by boat or foot (the Queen had afternoon tea on the beach she visited, apparently, but I don't think she walked over!). The steep track up to the lookout over the bay was worth the walk, but the whole area has some rather spectacular scenery. The next day was my birthday, and we drove up the coast to St Helens and Bicheno, which are nice fishing ports. The coastal rocks here and in the Bay of Fires are covered in orange lichen and look really cool.
We headed inland towards Launceston for the night and stayed at (another) old country hotel in Longford. This was our best deal in Tasmania at $50 double including breakfast, and a nice comfy room too! And what an interesting place - apart from being another lovely historic town, Longford was an important racing car and bike circuit in the 50’s and 60’s and hosted 2 Australian Grand Prix and the track went right past the Country Hotel corner - the hotel bar is a museum of racing memorabilia, complete with a sporty red racing car in
Ida Bay Cemetery
pioneer graveyard the window. Blu was in his element!
(By now you will have gathered that Tasmania was settled earlier than a lot of other Australian states, and consequently has heaps of old historic towns, buildings, prisons and the like - and we visited quite a few!)
In Launceston we stayed in luxury -our Christmas present from Alister and Steph was a night in a really nice hotel, so we stayed at the Colonial on Elizabeth (parts of which were 1840’s but not our room!). Also, a birthday surprise from the kids - an in-house massage which was such a treat! We had a relaxing time in Launie (no one calls it Launceston!) - it’s a rather nice compact city and its main attraction is the Cataract Gorge area. From here we drove up the Tamar River valley to Beaconsfield, which of course is now famous, since the mining rescue a few years ago. Quite a surprise to find a great gold mine museum there - it was very interactive and fun with lots of working model mining equipment to play with.
Our final night in Tassie was spent on the north coast at Low Head - back in
Ida Bay Railway
Blu has a matching top! our tent! The camp cabins were full, but fortunately the weather there was mild, so no worries. We meandered back to Devonport the next day to catch the night ferry back to Melbourne - after a memorable 3 weeks on the Apple Isle. A calm crossing to end the trip - didn’t need the seasick tablets after all. Picked up our caravan from storage and settled back in - nice to be home again!
Postscript: Had a slight accident in a car park at Port Arthur, so our departure from Melbourne has been delayed for at least a week, while we wait for the back door to be fixed. Staying at Crystal Brook holiday park, which is on the outskirts of Melbourne, on the road to Yarra Valley. Did a side trip to the Great Ocean Road for 3 days last week in our rental car (fortunately came with our insurance policy). Watch this space for updates.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.047s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 10; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0245s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Cheryl Horo
non-member comment
WOW - what a time you are having
Hi guys - We are so glad everything is going so well for you - really enjoying the updates and look forward to the next one with interest. Cheers The Horo's