Tasmania

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3 Feb - Strahan

Well our journey begins!
So far our travels have taken us down Tassie's West Coast and to Strahan, which is pretty much as far as we can go, before taking a big left turn inland. We're taking some time out here on the edge of this beautiful harbour before we tackle the next leg on foot.

But first an update of our adventure so far...

The Spirit of Tasmania from Sydney was a very comfortable cruise down. It was a little overcast leaving the harbor, unfortunately not the sunny harbor we know and love, then the wind picked up outside of the heads. We stayed on the top deck in the face of a chilling South-Easterly until we could sight Coogee landmarks. Our homage paid, we descended to the comfort of the rather roomy cabins and explored the ship. The tourist info on board was useful and set us up for all the reading material we needed. Despite the wind, the seas were relatively calm but the swaying on the decks quickly gave away our landlubber status (law of the sea #1: when walking past a person near a bar holding drinks, the sway of the ship will always throw you in their direction - never away from them).

Live music from a baby grand and cold beers looking over the stern was too easy a way to sail. Bar prices were reasonable too! We thought they would hold you for a hefty bounty at sea, but it looked as though we wouldn't need to work off the tab in the galley after all ... another beer? Arrrghhh

The captain had us departing in Devonport an hour before schedule at 1pm Wednesday. A well organised evacuation of the ships garages had us quickly on our way - anticlockwise around the isle. Supplies were needed and we stopped in Burnie to stock up. As it was late in the day, we decided to stay in what was once known as "the dirtiest town in Australia" (it even beat Port Kembla!) The port has done a lot to clean up and has some resident urban wildlife to prove it. Our trip to Fern Glade saw no platapus appear but the fairy penguins came ashore at night.

The next day we drove to "The Nut" at Stanley - being a clear day (and in training for The Overland Track) - we forgoed the chairlift and legged it to the top to great views of the coast. We then drove to Murrawah on the west coast (Ben - missed the steak at the tavern by 12 minutes!) Not much apart from a pub, a shop & two churches. We had lunch on the beach before heading South along the Western Explorer Road that hugs the coast.

The wild west is an apt description for this part of Tassi, with frothing sea covering and revealing jagged, saw-tooth like rocks that have cut many a ships hull. The road is all gravel and the side trips had us driving on grassy dunes and accross sandy lagoons. The landscape is a wind beaten, heath covered with mountainous ranges and peaks rounded by the harsh weather. The effect of the grey skies holding back a determined sun and shear isolation was reminicent of driving through the Scottish Highlands.

Just past the old mining town of Balfour, we had a flat tyre - of the thousand of rocks we drove over, one decided to stick in our tread for a ride! Team Roach, efficient as a F1 pit crew with the change over, were on the road once again. The landscape dramatically changed to the cool temperate rainforrest and we had more time to watch it go past (taking it slow with no spare). At Corrina, a river barge ferried us accross the Piemen River to continue through to Strahan.

Strahan is a small, touristy port town but pictureqe on the water of Macquarie Harbour. We pitched tent in the caravan park just west of town. Yesterday (Satuday) we took a twighlight cruise of the harbour, Sarah Island (a notorious convict settlement predating Port Authur) and the Gordon River.

Today is uncharacteristically warm and sunny - so we're planning to walk out to some local waterfalls and the nearby Henty Dunes. Also the sunset on the beach north of here is meant to be spectacular.

Tomorrow we head to Lake St Clare to spend the night psyching ourselves up for the Overland Track and 7 days without showers (or any number of other comforts!). Mum, we'll be on the track for your birthday, so we'll have to shout our best wishes from the summit of Cradle Mountain.

After recovering in a comfortable cabin and exploring the Russel Falls and Styx Valley we'll head to Hobart for Tim's birthday. Our next update will be from there.

Until then,
Roaming Roaches (Tim & Leanne)

6 Feb - Lake St Clare

We arrived at Lake St Clair to sort out our backpacks and set up camp only to hear that they were predicting snow down 900m that evening (we were at 750m but it would be mighty cold).
SNOW IN SUMMER!
Anyway, we decided to give camping a miss and sought out the warmth of a fire and beer to keep us cosy for the night. Luckily for us the Derwent Bridge Hotel provided both! And good food to boot. We were very happy campers with our monster roast meal, cold beer, warm fire and a double bed to look forward to.

7 Feb - Cradle Mountain

We caught the bus around to Cradle Mountain National Park. It was a long ride, backtracking to Queenstown, getting off busses and getting back on them after the confused bus service drivers sorted themselves out, and then travelling up the windy roads towards Cradle Mountain. We did pick up some tips from some of our co-travellers about conditions on the track and the worthwhile side-trips to do; and met Ted (who we'll see more of along the trek).

The bus dropped us off right outside of the visitor centre to receive our trekkers briefing: Yes, its bloody cold - there was snow on the mountain...remember to pack those thermals; Yes, people have died on this trek. And always be prepared for bad weather. The last person to go missing was a Swiss girl on her way to Mount Geryon. They unfortunately never found her but there was plenty of tassie devil droppings around that included strips of gortex.
Yes, the weather forecast is for rain and cold weather for the next few days... but, enjoy your trip! It’s wonderful country out there.
Thanks Ranger Alex.

After these warnings we decided to purchase a pair of long-johns for Tim (just in case) before signing in and getting our swing-tag track passes to attach on our backpacks so they can quickly ID us when they find us face down in the snow. Ted was heading out that day, so he'd have to make it to the first hut in Waterfall Valley before nightfall (about 4.5 hours). Go Ted, run like the wind.

Before we left the visitor centre we caught up with Ranger Alex again, this time holding a stuffed tassie devil (no doubt to scare us mainlanders!) He did treat us to a couple of his very witty poems about devil and wombat poo and we discussed the saleability of those poems to a younger generation of kids, ala the wiggles or bananas. Somehow poo poems doesn't have the same appeal as wake up Geoff. Sorry, those millions may yet elude you Ranger Alex.

We then went to find the campground hoping that there would be something available to save us from camping out in the rain (yes more rain was predicted that evening). Thankfully they had an alpine hut available - it was basic, 3 bunks, a concrete floor, but it had a roof and walls and it saved us having to mess around with the tent. We then went seeking a decent meal and beer to give us something to dream of for the next week of camp meals. A tidy little bistro fitted the spec and we stayed a while to enjoy the warmth and beer.

On our way back we caught Ranger Alex's slide show (geez this guy keeps busy!) and were again inspired by the animals, and scenery that was all around us. It’s difficult to comprehend how incredible this place is, but it having World Heritage Status and what that means is a great insight. About 20%!o(MISSING)f tassie is designated as World Heritage. We have seen a portion of it when we went on the Gordon River Cruise at Strahan; the wild landscape, old, old trees and rainforests. Here it is alpine area, shaped by millions of years of glacial activity and enormously important to aboriginal culture. This area meets 7 of the world heritage criteria - 7! Only one other place in the world does the same and it’s a national park in China. So we're talking about an area here that exceeds the Taj Mahal and Ankor Wat for exceptional examples of its uniqueness. Wow.
Overland Trek here we come!

12 Feb - The Overland Track

Well, we completed the overland trek in a record time of 4 days and 4 nights (nah, not even close to the record, which is closer to 8 hours - that really makes you feel great!)

Our first day started out with miserable weather, but at least it wasn't raining, yet. We set foot on the track at 9.00am on the Wednesday morning with a group of 3 others from South Australia, Andrew and Mark and a German ring-in, Felix. We headed up to Marions lookout to see the lack of view... on a clear day you can see Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake and the start of the alpine ranges shimmering blue in the distance. We did get fleeting glances at the lake, but it was mostly grey unfortunately. With the steepest and most difficult section of the entire track out of the way, we continued on past rocky ranges towards Barn Bluff and Waterfall Valley hut.

By this time (1pm) the weather had cleared and we had a great view of Barn Bluff emerging in the distance. We stopped for lunch in Waterfall Valley hut where we met the volunteer hut warden, Yvonne, who drilled us on hut etiquette, trek etiquette and her trekking experiences (though she seriously lacked host-guest etiquette) until we could finally sneak away and get our lunches from our packs.

After we'd eaten half our meal, she joined us for a coffee whilst she told us more about her adventures and more detail of her tips for trekking - most notably the "couple of Panadol" cure Tim and I now regularly refer to (but have yet to subscribe to). Her story goes that her 70 year old trekking companion was a little irritable near the end of a long hike. Yvonne offered her the advice of her own doctor to "have a couple of Panadol". The lady refused, and got crankier, but after some urging (and we were witness to Yvonne's powers of urging) she took a couple of Panadol and could continue the hike with less pain and less grumbling. It's a tip that may come in handy for me at the end of a long day on the overland trek.

With the weather so nice (and we weren't sure how long it was going to stick around) we decided to push onto the next hut at Windemere for the night. The walking was lovely; undulating tracks that alternated between trees, scrub, boardwalks and rubble, past alpine heath lands, button grass plateaus, and still alpine lakes such as Lake Will. We even got to see some of the local wildlife with a wombat sharing our path with us for a while.

We got to Windemere Hut a little after 7pm and squeezed our mats into the bunkroom (at least this room looked a little bigger than the Waterfall Valley Hut). Our next mission was to get the stove working and dinner on the boil. Let's just say Tim had some trouble with the stove (he's lucky to have his eyebrows I reckon) and was relegated outside to the veranda where the bursts of fire made it look as though you were looking into a fireplace. Anyway after much fiddling and some tips from the ranger and fellow MSR/dragonfly stove owners Dan and Mike, he got it to work long enough for us to heat up dinner. In the mean time I got to meet some of our hut companions including Ted who welcomed us as though we were his long lost friends. There was a family who were camping, who were the most chipper, happy people I think I have ever met (known by all as the happy family), a Swiss couple (known as the Swiss couple), a Dutch brother and sister combo, a young couple from Adelaide, a group of friends from Germany and a group of farmers and their families from Adelaide. Big group. Thank god Tim remembered to pack the earplugs! There was a cacophony of snoring, in stereo!

The next day we headed off towards Pelion Hut via frog flats. Geez this was a long day. I think a few things compounded: our tiredness from the day before, our heavy packs and the rain, and our underestimation of how long it would take to get to Frog Flats (our designated lunch spot) - it was pretty miserable. By the time we got to Frog Flat it was 2.30pm and we were spent. There was still another couple of hours of walking to go! I had a little tanty, and was seriously considering the "take a couple of Panadol" advice, when we saw the sign for the next hut, only 30 minutes away. Phew!

New rules - eat regularly, and bugger the designated lunch spot.

New Pelion Hut is the biggest hut on the track, sleeping about 40 people, and it was chockers. Other tracks in the region also go through this hut so you get allot people from different walks congregating in this spot. After some more mucking around with the stove, and some advice from another MSR owner "to let burn like hell" we finally had the stove sorted. A hearty dinner down (mmm pepper steak - funny how you'd never eat this stuff normally but here it is the best) we headed off to our snug sleeping bags to read and eat chocolate. Mmmm, chocolate makes it all better.

Our next day was relatively short, just 3 hours from new Pelion Hut to Kia Ora Hut, but there was the Mount Ossa (Tasmania's tallest mountain) side trip we were really keen to do. Unfortunately, it seems it was also on a number of people's agenda and despite our early start the track was a highway! Bad weather again meant that it was unlikely that we would see any of the spectacular views its renown for, but Tim submitted anyway (I decided at the base of the rocky scramble that it wasn't worth it to stand in cloud). On our way down we caught our friend Ted running towards us and Mount Ossa with his new partner in crime, Paul (the young Dutch guy). Now Paul is 21, fit and revelling in the hills and mountains of the area (something lacking in the very flat Holland) - he has submitted everything on the way. Ted is 60+. And keeping up. And what's crazier is the two of them had just submitted Mount Pelion East before heading up Ossa. If I'm still that fit at 60 I'll be a happy woman.

We hit Kia Ora hut along with what was now a huge group. A few extras joined the group from New Pelion Hut and there were now 24 people staying in the hut (which at a stretch was meant to sleep 20) and several people camping (I think 9 in total). So things were cramped and getting seriously stinky (4 days worth of unwashed people smell - uraghh). There was also some serious turf protection going on with the "trangia" cooking crowd. Usually these guys cook at the table using the metho based trangia stove and then eat and chat afterwards, which is fine if there's plenty of room. Unfortunately that was not the case and it made it pretty difficult to get into eat at the table. Even the happy family weren't too chipper when they couldn't get in to eat in the hut (even though they were camping). (Read: Leanne and Tim getting a little cranky).

And then more serious turf issues went on when we went to bed - I was being bummed out of the way by the bloke next to me on the bunk and Tim was being hit by the guy next to him every time he rolled over (not to mention that he was THE worst snorer in the room).
Our original plan had been to go out to Pine Valley Hut where there are some really spectacular mountain ranges such as Mount Geryon, Mount Olympus, and the Acropolis.
But after a pretty unsuccessful night of sleep, much grumbling and complaining to each other about some of our inconsiderate hut companions, and another day of rain, we thought that we might do another double up day and push onto Narcissus Hut with the hope that it would at least be quieter. (Read: Tim and Leanne a bit fed up, tired and cranky).

There were a couple of great waterfalls as side trips which we got to in the morning before stopping for lunch at the Windy Ridge Hut. Here we fuelled up and chatted with the Hut Ranger. He confirmed that the weather had set in for the next few days and there was a climber’s camp at Pine Valley so it was pretty busy there too. Well that settled it. Sick of the crowds and the bad weather, with neither likely to let up in the next couple of days, we decided to head to Narcissus Hut and get onto the ferry and to Lake St Clare first thing the next morning. Luckily the weather started to clear a little and the terrain was pretty well downhill all the way - wha hoo! It ended up being a great afternoon of walking, through rainforest and eucalypt forest before hitting the button grass plains alongside the Narcissus River. Not a bad way to end our walking.

We got to Narcissus Hut and there was only a family and one other couple staying there - wha hoo hoo! Tim and I settled in for dinner and a decent night's sleep, but we hadn't counted on the rodent problem. We had heard that there were a few rodents (the Aussie kind) in the hut and that you should wrap up your food and hang it. Unfortunately the family hadn't and they were all in bed asleep once we'd eaten so that had a nasty surprise in the morning. We could hear them rummaging around in their bags, but the family were dead to the world. The other couple grabbed the family’s food bags and shook the mice out but I'm sure they came back. Before we finally went to sleep, Tim shone his head torch into the kitchen area and saw them running up the walls. I put my earplugs in and tried not to think of them running over me in the night. eeek

Next morning we were up and out early waiting for the ferry. Our track mates, Dan and Mike made it along in the morning to catch the early ferry too. They told us that they again had to camp out at Windy Ridge Hut and it was packed - but there was a drama we'd missed out on by pushing onto Narcissus Hut. Apparently the mother of the 'happy family' tripped and broke her ankle 100m away from the hut. They had to get a helicopter to come in to take her out. A real shame.

The ferry arrived at the dock - and when we say ferry we mean a small enclosed boat with a big outboard and burley Tasmanian ferry driver to boot. Quite the character: had one arm that "doesn’t work so good no more. Took most of the nerves out of the top of me arm with a shotgun accident. Couldn't feel too much after that and kept chopping fingers when workin' for the forest department. Went to Hobart where the doc, he took them off before the gangrene set in up me arm. Got me ticket for these boats...and here I am."

Dan asked him if they got newspapers "up here" and he cracked, "'course we bloody do. Wha'dya think we are in the sticks up here. I've got me other head hiding under me shirt here!" Funny guy.

We had a coffee and hot breakfast with Dan and Mike at Lake St Clare before departing, each of us on a mission for a hot shower.

Well, that big milestone done, we now had the rest of Tassie to do!

With some rest and relaxation on our minds and a hot shower needed for what was "on the nose", we headed for New Norfolk choosing to bypass the seemingly overpriced accommodation that surrounds peak tourist areas in peak tourist seasons. We found a B&B that no longer did breakfast (so should really only call itself a "B") called Saints and Sinners. The room was warm, large and had an ensuite. We trudged our sodden bodies up the 19th century steep and narrow stairwell (easy for hardened overland trekkers) to showers and a soft mattress (on the antique bed raised 1.5 metres from the ground - easy compared to climbing 2 metres over a line of other hikers to scramble for space on overland track hut sleeping platforms!)

The Bush Inn was a great spot for a decent steak, cold beer and passionfruit pavlova; at the right price too.

13 Feb - Styx Valley

Following the directions of a printed mud map to the Wilderness Society's Global Rescue Centre, we were headed for the Styx Valley. The GRC was prominent during the last federal election (2004) where there was much publicity surrounding the visits by Mark Latham (and the catalyst for his ill-fated, but well intentioned, forests policy)and the subsequent "rabbit out of the hat" hand spun rescue policy mooted to the forestry unions by John Howard. Whilst the damage that is yet to be done to Tassie's old growth remains to be seen, this did have the positive outcome of the Styx Valley's "Big Tree Reserve" being protected.

The GRC is adjacent to the Forestry Commissions reserve and we could walk through the base camp of the conservationists and the tree - Gandalf's Staff - where a dedicated few protesters spent three months living in its canopy. The height and girth of these swamp eucalypts speak their age and the value of their conservation. These are trees to be marvelled for generations to come. The FC's reserve has a boarded walk that allows easy access to what is possibly the tallest tree in the world (that is of all the tall tree forests on this earth that are presently known). The information boards provided tend to spin the positive aspects of the FC's token conservation efforts.

The Styx is not far from the entrance to Mount Field National Parks whare we would stay
at the "Land of the Giants" camping area for the next two nights to explore the National Park that is the most easily accessible from Hobart.

14-16 Feb - Hobart

Tuesday 14-Feb (valentine's Day): took a romantic walk through the alpine area of Mount Field past the crystal clear alpine tarns (mountain lakes created by the moving glaciers of the ice age) pandani fern forests (Gondwana heath species) and along rocky tracks through the weather-mangled snow gums. There are alpine ski-club runs with generator driven rope tows and what we can imagine as short, exiting runs now covered by the miniature alpine blossoms of summer.

Wednesday 15-Feb: after two nights of good sleep beside a river with its babbling water lulling us to sleep we were ready for the big city lights and pace of the urbanites once more. We headed for Hobart. We were not necessarily, too overwhelmed after all.

Like in Jaws when Roy Schneider says, "We're going to need a bigger boat!" It was now the same for our tent and our mission was to find one we could stand in and sit it out in the inclement weather. Mission accomplished: we now had an overlander 4 - the "superdome".

Finding some reasonably priced accommodation close to town was not easy and after careful contemplation over strong coffee with chicken and camembert pie, we settled on a pub called the Warratah with $90 B&B. The room was OK but the room became hot with the heat of the day and so remained throughout the night. It was tough to sleep with the warm room and the overfull feeling we still had from the Greek food feast at Metzeses Restaurant in Salamanca Market.

Thursday 16-Feb: only had time for a mouthful of cereal at breakfast so we could make the 8am departure for the Bruny Island Cruise we were booked on. Heading south in the Bruny Island Adventure Company bus to the ferry point we drove through the scenic Battery Point and towns with names like "Snug". Ferried to the North part of the island we bussed it once more South to Adventure Bay where they served warm blueberry muffins and coffee.

Sound all rather tame to this point - a trip suitable for the grey nomads even. We boarded the newly constructed vessels with a hull shape bolted in front of three large outboard motors that suggested they could push the boat along at some great rate of knots. This company has obviously thought of everything. Following the entertaining safety spiel, herbal sea-sickness tablets were highly recommended and handed out to all. Rob is the owner of the company and skippering our boat. We had managed to secure seats right up front for the trip, when we noticed that only the first two rows had safety belts. We swallowed the pills, pulled on the gortex jackets, secured their hoods around our heads and strapped ourselves in.

This was the best way to see Bruny. Most of the south island in fairly inaccessible and these boats are designed to get you in close to see it. We guessed that as the owner of the company Rob could push the limits of his boats and so we found ourselves riding an ocean swell up the rocky outcrops and travelling with speed in between the eroded pillars and sea cliffs along the edge of this island. Far from the expectations one normally has when booking a cruise.

The commentary was brilliant with in depth knowledge of local plant life, weather patterns, birds an fish species. We followed sea birds to a pod of over 100 dolphins feeding in a school of trevalla. The boat was expertly steered un-obtrusively into the middle to view the spectacle up close. As we were watching, a herd of seals porpoised in from the horizon. It was as if it was choreographed and only needed a soundtrack like "Flight of the Valkeries" to convince us it was. The seals happily joined the dolphins in the feeding frenzy and there was a photographic frenzy on board our boat.

Continuing down the coast of the island the whistle on our boat blew as we crossed into the southern ocean; nothing between us and Antarctica now. On the rocky outcrops at the southern tip are the Australian fur seal colonies, with hundreds lazing on the rocks, big bulls to the small pups, feeding and resting.

The ocean swell was much bigger out here and we headed back North toward our origin of Adventure Bay, Pausing along the way to watch the dolphin pod at play after feeding, jumping to great height off the wake of the outboards.

Just as the stomach was beginning to turn, they passed dry pizza shapes around which helped settle the belly until the calm waters of the bay were reached. There they had a sweet tim-tam for everyone which reset the body perfectly for returning to land. After the included lunch, we were ferried back to Hobart satisfied that this was worthwhile and good value.

Returning to Hobart for a beer at Nopwoods Retreat (Cascade Blonde & Hoegaarden) and great seafood chowder with Fish & Chips at Fish Frenzy on the Elizabeth Street Wharf.

17-19 Feb - Port Arthur

After our few days in Hobart, next on the agenda was Port Arthur. Here we got to try out our new "Taj Mahal" tent - yay, no more horizontal dressing!
Now we're camping in style.
Port Arthur is much smaller than I expected - there's a few houses, 1 coffee shop a mixed business and the ruins. With not much else to do we headed to the Port Arthur penal colony ruins for a day of exploring for Tim's birthday. Our introductory tour wasn't great but the interpretation centre was really interesting and well thought out.
There were fewer ruins than I expected, but at least we got to see everything at a leisurely pace - we had a crisp, clear blue-skied day - perfect for a stroll. We did take our cruise around the ominously named "Isle of the Dead" but didn't find out a whole lot about what was on that island except that it’s where they buried prisoners and free folk alike from Port Arthur (the prisoners were on the "low" side of the island). We had a flashy dinner at "Felons" restaurant that evening to celebrate Tim's birthday and as a treat we went on the Ghost Tour afterwards.
Now this could either be really tacky or really scary but luckily it was more of the later. We picked up our guide and lanterns (oooh, very atmospheric) before heading towards the church. The birthday boy got allocated one of the 3 lanterns and was positioned behind the group to make sure everyone kept up; the problem was that I reckon this was the scariest spot to be.
The tour took us through the church, the pastor’s house, the doctor’s autopsy room and the penitentiary. One of the scariest stories was in the pastors house and I’ll share the "cliffs notes" of it here: a few years back the pastors house was being renovated to its current condition (and they've done a good job too) by group of two builders and their young apprentice. Originally they had booked into the Country Comfort Hotel just up the road, but they were offered the opportunity to bunk down in the house itself to save on accommodation costs. The group of builders took up the offer and two set up in the front room and one set up, on his own, in the back room.
In the wee hours of the morning the builders were woken up by 3 really loud banging noises - the one in the front got up to see the apprentice with his hands around his neck, kicking his legs against the wall. By this stage the other builder (from the back room) came into the front room and between them they tried to lift the apprentice up, thinking he might be experiencing night tremors, but he was so heavy, it was as though there was a tonne of weight on the young apprentice. Try as they might they couldn't lift him and all the while the apprentice is still banging his feet against the wall.
Getting a bit freaked out themselves, the builders tried to drag the young apprentice away from the wall and with great difficulty they got him to the hallway and towards the front door when the weight lifted and the apprentice finally screamed out. He later explained that there was a large women dressed in blue sitting on his chest trying to choke him. He couldn't scream or push her off but he could kick his legs. The older builders thought he was having them on but the young apprentice swore it was true and never slept in the house again, instead staying in his panel van outside.
The next night the 2 builders went off to sleep in the house again - one in the front room and one in the back room. Later that night they were woken up by a bright light pouring down the stairs from the upper part of the house. Now this was a pretty intense light, and they thought maybe something had gone wrong like a fire had started (but there was no smoke) or the electrics were playing up. The 2 went to investigate and saw that the source of the light was behind the door of the old pastors room (the room he died in and had to be carried out the window because he was so big). Once they turned the door handle to go inside the room, the light disappeared. After that one of the two remaining builders checked himself back into the Country Comfort. The other builder decided to stay in the house and witnessed no further incidents over his time there.
Now this isn't that scary sitting at your office desk in broad daylight, but when your standing in the actual room, huddled around the lantern while the guide is telling you the story punctuated with sound effects (banging his foot on the floor) it's enough to give you the willies. Okay, so maybe I'm a bit of a scaredy cat here but by the end of the tour, and several very scary stories, I was pretty spooked.
After all that spooky talk we headed off through the dark night to our dark campground and dark tent to try and sleep!
The next day we took a tour around the sunny south of the Tasman Peninsula and treated ourselves to a caramel tart and coffee in the one and only coffee shop. hmm, miss Sydney coffee!
L

20-21 Feb - Freycinet Peninsula (including Wineglass Bay)

After Port Arthur we headed north up Tassie’s east coast towards Freycinet National Park. When you see pictures that typify Tassie more often than not you'll see a picture of beautiful Wineglass Bay. What you don't see as often are The Hazards, which from Coles Bay are more spectacular, particularly when you're watching the sunset cast its last light onto these craggy mountains from our campsite on the beach, with beer (Cascade of course!) in hand.
Ahhh, life is tough.
The Hazards are a group of 5 mountains that straddle both Wineglass Bay and Coles Bay and form the barrier between day-trippers and Wineglass Bay. Our second night in the National Park we spent at Wineglass Bay after hiking up and over The Hazards with our overnight packs (which felt allot like our 6 day overland track packs). Far from being alone, there were about 10 other groups who had decided to do the same so there was no skinny-dipping for the roaming roaches. We did have our dinner sitting with one of the local wallaby’s and her Joey... she tried pretty hard to get a share of our dinner but afterwards she was content to sit back and scratch her stomach like she had eaten a big meal. We had a good chuckle watching her but she ignored us.
The next morning we took the long way back to see some of the other less popular bays including Hazards Beach before jumping in the car at midday and driving north via Bicheno to St Helens.
L

22-23 Feb - St Helens and the Bay of Fires

Ahh, pretty St Helens - shame the weather isn’t too great. We stop in town to stock up on food supplies to take out to our bush campsite at Swimcart Beach in the Bay of Fires National Park. Here we find our new favourite dip: mushroom and cabernet dip (we’ve since found out that it is most elusive; and so every time we see it we stock up on tubs of it - yes life is hard).
The bush campsites are packed but we manage to nab one right on the dune opposite the beach - when the weather fines up this will be primo spot. Shame the weather didn’t fine up at all and our primo spot also had us up all night with the sound of the waves crashing against the beach. We did spend some time in town at a great little café between updating our blog at the local library and perusing the local newsagency (yes the weather was pretty bad). It’s a shame because the little we did see of the area seemed beautiful: white sandy beaches, rocky outcrops with the orange lichen on top like icing on a cake, and the blue ocean.
We’ll just have to come back again.
The Bay of Fires was as far north as we were planning to go, so our next port of call was Launceston.
L

24-26 Feb - Launceston

We were hoping for a better night sleep on the second night in the bay of fires but the weather whipped up more ocean noise (so much for beachfront living) and we awoke to worsening rain & wind. Stopped once more in St. Helens for lunch and then drove west toward Launceston. The drive was through pleasant pastoral areas interspersed with thick forest on steep and winding mountain passes. We passed a sign for “Pub in a Paddock” but did not stop - wish we did - although the Lavender Farm was visited at Leanne’s insistence.
Set up the tent at the Treasure Island Caravan Park (aahhhaarrgh!) 2 km South of Launceston - no where near water actually but very close to the main road into town. A little car noise could be easily handled by us ex-city dwellers.
Saturday (25-Feb) - Some good morning views down the Tamar valley from our tent site cut high into the hill. We explored the town and went in search of a pub playing the first Sydney Swans pre-season cup game. The Commercial had a big screen in the beer garden and a lunch that was very average - also appropriate to describe the Swans performance.
We were close to the Boag’s Brewery and its “Centre for Beer Lovers” which was closed for the weekends. This is like closing the church on a Sunday!
Sunday (26-Feb) we walked along Cataract Gorge to the state’s first hydroelectric power station then drove out to the Tamar Island boardwalk. A good value dinner at The Tasmanian Saloon Bar - Bee’s Knees on tap (6.40 a pint!) - to Irish Murphy’s (Hoeggarden & Cascade Pale Ale) then caught a film (walk the Line).
T

27 Feb - Devonport and onto the Spirit of Tasmania

Monday (27-Feb) packed up camp then rewarded ourselves with a lazy breakfast at The Mill Café on the river before driving to Devonport. Stopped by the raspberry farm (overpriced tourist draw) and drove through Deloraine (nice town).
Arrived in Devonport with way too much time to kill before our ferry departed. Beer and dinner in the Irish pub helped a little. We boarded Spirit II just before 8pm and set sail for the mainland. Facilities on board were not as good as Spirit III from Sydney and the “Business Class” seat was only barely comfortable if you could hang your legs over the row of seats in front.
T

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Photos

Waiting for the Spirit of Tasmania
The journey begins...

Barn Bluff
on the Overland track, from Waterfall Valley Hut

Mt Odessa
on the Overland track, view from New Pelion Hut

Waterfall
on the Overland track, beautiful waterfall

Narcisuss Hut
at the end of the Overland track

Mt Field National Park
it was this big...

Mt Field National Park2
alpine tarns

Wineglass Bay
more beautiful sunsets

Comments

[patricia]

visiting tas
isnt tasmania the most beautiful place EVER