Feb 11^th

Yes – the trout was delicious.  It certainly helps having 1^st class fresh ingredients.

We woke up to yet another sunny day – so, 3 consecutive ones in an area which has 300 wet days on average in a year.  We were so lucky with the weather in Tasmania.  As we left Strahan, the signpost informed us that we had 260kms to drive to get to Hobart, so although we had a lot to see and do en route, we decided to take our time and enjoy the whole day in a leisurely way.

Best view of Queenstown as we left..........

We initially drove on very windy roads with lots of switchbacks which necessitated Mum moving to the front seat!  We armed her with a large plastic bag just in case, but thankfully, it was not used!  We eventually got to Queenstown, which is a large mining community.  The surrounding countryside bears the terrible scars of several hundred years of mining, and we decided to move swiftly on ignoring the enticing adverts trying to lure us into an authentic “wild west” town. 

Suspension Bridge

Nelson Falls

Out first port of call was the car park for Nelson Falls.  A 20 minute return trek through damp, cool, woodland with a fantastic collection of ferns rewarded us with a wonderful view of the waterfall.


 Next was a stroll down to the suspension bridge going over the Franklin River.  An alternative to this was a 2-3 day walk up to Frenchman’s Cap which included a 6km “walk” through the Sodden Loddons where you basically waded through button grass marshes knee deep as a minimum.  No thank-you!

Echidna grubbing up ants

We moved on to Lake St. Claire next, which is Australia’s deepest fresh water lake, created by glacial action.  We had some refreshments there and then did a short walk to “Watersmeet” where 2 rivers merged into one. We passed some very impressive tall trees on the way and decided to take the lake shore route back to the car.  It was only when we got back to the visitor’s centre that we saw the signs warning unwary walkers of high snake activity by the lake – all very poisonous, of course!  We also had our best sighting yet of a wild echidna grubbing up an ant’s nest by the side of the road.  It was so engrossed in its meal that we managed to get to within a couple of metres of this amazing creature – what a privilege.

Russell Falls

At this point, we noticed the road signs to Hobart seemed to have added about 70 more kilometres – so at least another hour in the car as the road was quite windy.  I still wanted to visit Russell Falls in the Mount Field National Park, which was recommended in our guide book.  We decided to go for it and we were all glad we did.  We were rewarded by a lovely walk through a forest full of tree ferns and huge tall trees and then a fantastic tiered waterfall at the end.

Big trees walking to Russell Falls

After this, we had about an hour’s drive to Hobart, where we had a very pleasant last evening in Tasmania.  Our flight time to Sydney the next day was at quite a civilised time so we didn’t need to leave the hotel until 8.30am – hooray!

Feb 10^th 

We woke up to cloud and sunshine – seems that the fair weather pixie is still with us. We headed out to board the “Eagle” a tourist catamaran with bit of recent history, more of that later. The sea was incredibly calm (good for the bad sailors amongst us).  We set off and the narrative started telling us about the town of Strahan and its humble beginnings. It was a base for the forestry industry and the first shop was a tent and it grew from there. In its hay day boasted 1500 people, it’s now 800.

Ski boat "Eagle"

The catamaran then started to speed up and we were advised that the boat was capable of 60kms/hour (35 knots) and that we were currently doing about 45km/hour. The captain then went on to tell us about a recent event involving the boat. Just after Australia Day (Jan 26^th) they had set a new Guinness World Record for the number of water skiers pulled at one time – 145. This improved on a previous record set in 2010 of 114. By changes to the prop they had managed to pull all the skiers up to standing in 23secs and pulled them for more than 2 nautical miles. So we were now aboard the largest ski boat in the world!!

Devils Gate

By now the weather had improved further and was warm and sunny. The sea inside the harbour had remained calm. This was good news as we headed to the very narrow neck of the harbour entrance know as The Devils Gate by the convicts were sent to this area and the seamen that had to sail through it. On the other side of the Devils Gate is the “Roaring Forties”, the wind and waves that have come from half way around the globe from afar as Argentina with no land in between and occur at about 40 deg south. Today the ocean was extremely calm as we slowed to exit. The channel is 20m deep and 50 m wide at its narrowest point with rocks either side.  They can only do this when the sea state is less than 1.5m and this only occurs 1 day in every 6 – we were lucky.

We turned back into the harbour and headed for Sarah’s Island for a walk around and along the way we passed a large number of aquaculture pens for salmon and sea trout. This is a new and thriving industry for Tasmania. We arrived at Sarah’s Island, which was where the convicts were sent. All trees had been removed (now not the case) and the island was a windy miserable place then. Over time the conditions improved and a successful ship building industry began and several former convicts became ship builders, carpenters, tanners etc.

Temperate forest

As we pulled away and headed up the Gordon River and into the temperate rain forest, lunch was served. Lunch was a wonderful buffet affair with locally produced salmon – yum!

The next stop was for a walk in the forest especially to see the Huon Pine. This is a special pine only found in the forest. It’s a slow grower and can live to be 3000+ years. It has an oil in it that repels insect and restricts the growth of fungi and it is also very strong and grows tall and reasonably straight. As a result it was much in demand for ship building and is now a protected species.

Strahan from the water

On returning to harbour some 6 hours since our departure we stopped off at the local saw mill. This has been in operation since the 1800’s and still uses some of the old machinery (with a modern electric motor rather than steam). Here they are still using some of the old Huon Pine that has either been recovered from fallen trees or old stock – wonderful stuff.

Err that looks like that dodgy tuk-tuk driver!!!

We decided that we would eat in tonight and went looking for some of the local sea trout or salmon.  Note - TJV is about to cook it after imbibing sufficient relaxing lubrication..............

Feb 8^th to 9^th

We woke up to rain, fortunately only a shower as we plan to walk around Launceston before heading to Cradle Mountain via Mole Creek this morning.

Typical Launceston architecture

The walk took us around the main downtown area of Launceston (pronounced “lawn-ces-ton”) which highlighted much of the older properties. Launceston is Australia’s 3^rd oldest city after Hobart and presumably Sydney.  We also decided to do the famous walk up the gorge to the river basin we’d visited the previous day where we caught the chair lift.   It was a stunning and easy walk – spotted some sort of night heron too.   After about 2-5 hours we headed out for Cradle Mountain.

Entally House

We decided to take the slightly slower, but more scenic route out to Mole Creek and went via Entally Estate and Entally house. One of the more interesting thing about the house is that it was originally owned by the son of Mary Reibey. She adorns the Australian $20 note and is revered as a campaigner for convicts and women. No surprise seeing as she came to Australia as a convict herself – initially sentenced to death for stealing a horse at 13, but commuted to exile in the colonies when the realised she was a girl and not a boy.  However, by marrying well and hard work and perseverance  she became one of the wealthiest and powerful people in Australia even starting the Bank of Australia along the way.  The house was owned by the Australian NT and furnished with items for the period which gave you a good idea of what it must have been like some 200 years ago. We also toured the gardens (very traditional English knot garden) and the outhouses which included an impressive collection of carriages.

We then drove along the West Tiers route through a number of old villages some of which had some lovely old buildings (offset by the ugly modern brick boxes with tin roofs on the outskirts).  After Mole Creek which has some notable caves that we didn’t have time to explore, we drove up into the mountain s through some incredible scenery and on some very winding roads full of switch backs.  We passed through a lot of very thickly wooded forests, which appeared to be a mix of Eucalyptus and  myrtle beech forming the top canopy with tree ferns and other shrubs making up the lower layer.  I can’t get over the tree ferns that are literally 10 a penny.

Wombat

We finally arrived at Cradle Mountain with enough time to do a couple of short walks from the lodge where we’re staying. We started with the “Enchanted Walk”, which really is a good description and follows the Pencil Pine creek via a board walk to protect the environment.  It was very dark and shady with lots of lovely moss everywhere coating everything a glossy green.  After that, we walked to 2 waterfalls which were just beautiful.  On the way back to our cabin, we saw a wombat feeding, which was a huge thrill as it was so unexpected.  Chris and I did go for a wander after dinner looking for more wombats but were unlucky although we were almost tripping over wallabies which would have had us in a lather a week or so ago!  Wombats are strange creatures.  They are large oblong shaped animals with square ends with very thick fur, bigger than badgers and with a face similar to a koala’s.

After a superb breakfast at the lodge we set out and revisited the “Enchanted Walk” as Tamsin’s camera had been playing up.  It seems that a reset cured the problem. We ambled over to the Ranger Centre and became a bit confused by how the buses into the park worked. Hmm seems that we would need to go back on the bus to the main visitor centre and then come back again so, we did the thing they are trying to stop us doing and took the car (we’d paid for it). Seems Ozzy civil servants are just as inept as everyone else’s!!!!

Classic view of Cradle Mountain

Walked the 6kms around Dove Lake and had unexpected fantastic weather.  This walk takes you to the base of Cradle Mountain which is the main feature of the park. The walk to the peak would have taken us 7 hours and we didn’t think our unfit blobby bodies were up to it!!! Still we made it back in about 2.5 hours.

Set off for our place for the next two nights – Strahan. Bit of a boring drive from Cradle Mountain, but worth the effort. What a nice place and nice people. I guess it’s a small town as everyone knows everyone else, but it seems kinda nice. The motel is just up from the quay and we’re cooking in tonight – yippee! We’re booked on a half day river cruise tomorrow and maybe a Sea Plane trip before watching Mutton Birds coming into roost in the evening.  

The boat shed at Cradle Mountain

Feb 6^th to 7^th

“Banc” was indeed very nice albeit a bit expensive.

Breakfast was billed as “the best in Tasmania” so we were a bit disappointed that, from our perspective, it failed to live up to the claim. However the choice was fantastic even if the bacon was a bit dry.

Pool at Douglas-Apsley National Park

Hit the road about 09:00 and headed back up towards Bicheno. Just north of there we turned into the Douglas-Apsley National Park. From the car park we walked down to the river crossing which is the start point for most of the walks there. Sadly we didn’t have between 3 and 7 hours to spare and headed back to the car and on towards Launceston. The route we decided to take was more direct and required going along a gravel track (categorised as a “C” road) for part of the journey. We climbed away from the coast and up into the forest of Eucalyptus and pines. The road became very twisty as we climbed before emerging onto a plateau. As we headed into Ben Lomond National Park (Ben Lomond Mtn is the highest point in Tasmania) we started on the gravel road. This required slowing down to about 60Km/hr as we slid around corners at anything faster. Along the way we saw our first Wombat. Sadly this was dead. This confused us as we’d not seen another vehicle for some time and wondered how that could have happened. The answered appeared as we got back onto the wider tarmac road. A huge logging truck passed us in the opposite direction – these look like they stop for nothing.

Platypus frame from a movie

We’d decided not to stop in Launceston and to carry onto Beauty Point north of the city. This was to see the Platypuses that are homed there. The “zoo” is in the marina and also has Echidnas. We had a quick presentation where we learnt that Platypuses and Echidnas are close relations. They both are mammals that lay eggs, both have milk patches rather than glands and have similar skeletal features. We then went into meet the platypuses. The tanks are set up so that you can view them on land and under water. As it was feeding time they were more active than usual. Under normal conditions a platypus will float on the water as they have buoyancy due to air trapped in their fur. If they dive this is expelled. They can stay under water for about 1 minute. If they feel threatened they can drop their heart rate and stay submerged for up to 11 minutes.

Echidna

Next was the Echidna enclosure. This we walked into and were welcomed by 3 spiky fellows. We then learnt that Echidna are not related to ant eaters or hedgehogs. Although the diet is similar (ants etc) and have long tongues (up to 18cm), they are a marsupial as they keep their young in a pouch. If an Echidna is threatened they will use their strong claws to dig down or hold on to anything and at the same time burrow their heads so that they cannot be attacked. They have few enemies as the spikes are fierce.

After all that education we suddenly felt in need of refreshment. We headed off for a local winery called Tamar Ridge. We bought some of their wine some years back and very much enjoyed the Pinot so thought it would be fun to see where it had come from. We tasted some of their wines and have bought a Cab. Sav. Merlot for consumption at a date yet tbd. After this we headed back to Launceston and the Cataract Gorge as we felt we needed to stretch our legs after all that driving. The Gorge is a lovely spot just outside the city and boasts a cable chair lift that spans the gorge (claimed to be the longest single span at 308 metres). We decided to take this and walk back. First time for me (CW) to be on a chair lift while not wearing skis! The walk down is scenic and offers good views and an option to go over a suspension bridge.

As time was getting on we decided to find our B&B. This proved a little difficult as we couldn’t find the street address. A phone call later and we headed a little way out of town (and enjoyed Launceston’s rush minute). We had a warm welcome from Brett and Janey into their home and then headed out for dinner.

Feb 5^th to 6^th

We woke up to light drizzle which turned into a steady rain as we left Hobart for Port Arthur.  However, as we got near to the peninsula, the rain dried up and the sun appeared from time to time through the clouds.  Our first port of call after the breakfast pizza at a small town bakery was to visit some sea landscape features which included a blowhole, an arch and a small fjord called the Devil’s kitchen.  We passed through little village on the way out called Doo Town and noticed that all the houses had names which incorporated “doo” in them.  So, we saw “Gunnadoo”, “Doolittle”, “Digderidoo”, “Ickledoo” and inevitably perhaps, “Doo F*@k All”.

Tasmanian Devil

Our next stop was the Tasmanian Devil sanctuary where we arrived in the nick of time to see the Tasmanian Devils being fed.  Boy, was that a spectacle!  They are strange little creatures – huge bear-like heads on small furry black bodies with long tails - that snort like pigs.   They are quite cute as they are very short sighted so are constantly peering around sniffing the air for possible food scents.  When they are presented with food however, they turn into snarling, snorting very aggressive creatures – apparently the 9 month old ones we were looking at have a bite as strong as a fully grown Rottweiler.  We also saw the Eastern Quoll (a sort of spotted chipmunk with a snout) and were treated to a bird show which included parrots and various birds of prey.

Penitentionary

So, by lunchtime, we finally arrived at Port Arthur.  It is a fascinating large site which took us most of the afternoon to wander round.  Due to previous bush fires, only the stone buildings remain – just walls which are open to the sky.  We saw the ruined remains of the main penitentiary, the hospital and military barracks as well as the still complete Commissionaire’s residence, the Doctors house, the RC Priest’s house and a rather dull looking accountant’s house.  As we finished our tour, the heavens opened again so we drove on to Richmond, a very cute little town with some very old Georgian buildings where we were staying the night.  Our B&B was delightful and apparently the oldest earth walled building in Australia and was registered with the Australian NT.  We had dinner in an Aussie pub and very good it was too – only about the 2^nd time that all of us have managed to clear our plates, but I do think we were very hungry after all the exercise we’d done.  Mum then went to bed and Chris and I stayed up drinking the complimentary port at the B&B with 2 Australian couples, who were just lovely.  I tell you that Australians must be one of the nicest and friendliest races on this earth.

Today (6^th), we woke to blue skies much to our surprise as it had rained hard in the night and we had heard very strong winds.  We drove up to the Freycinet peninsula, which is famous for the steep walk up to wineglass bay viewing point – a classic view of Tasmania which appears on a lot of any tourist information.  In the event, the walk wasn’t nearly as onerous as we’d feared.  We took it slowly and steadily with plenty of breaks and were very impressed by my mother who made the walk look relatively easy.  We walked through stunning countryside - lots of huge rocks and stunted Eucalyptus trees interspersed with huge Leucodendron shrubs or small trees all in full flower that towered over us by several metres.  We were lucky enough too to see some wild wallabies, white skinks and I even spotted an Echidna by the side of the road earlier in the day – a marsupial very like the European hedgehog but about 3 times the size.  We did a couple of other walks too in the National Park that all gave you stunning views of the beautiful coastline.

Wineglass Bay

We’re now back at our B&B in Swansea.  When I booked it, I had read about the wonderful choice of gourmet restaurants in the town.  However, some have close since then, some are shut on Mondays and most other places seem to shut at 7.30pm.  So, we’re left with just one called “Banc” – sounds nice enough, so we’ll see!

Feb 3^rd to 4^th

Lighthouse at Airey Inlet

After a pleasant breakfast we left our accommodation heading towards Anglesea and Torquay. The road from Apollo Bay gets very windy with few passing points so consequently our speed of travel was much reduced. The scenery is fantastic and quite wild. We stopped at Aireys Inlet to have a look at the lighthouse. When the lighthouse was still manned the enterprising keeper had worn a hole in the back of the lantern so that he could ensure the lamp was still lit from his pub seat! We set off after a quick walk around as we were conscious of the time it would take to get to Melbourne Airport.

In the event, we turned up at the airport with plenty of time to spare, so after hanging around for a while we boarded a Jetstar flight to Hobart.  58 minutes later we landed, collected our luggage from the only baggage carousel (a hint perhaps of how small Hobart is) and collected the rental car and set off for the city. Found the motel with no problems. The St. Ives Motel apartment rooms are excellent. Beds very comfy, small kitchen with all you need and located very close to the trendy Salamanca Place and the harbour area. We strolled down to Salamanca Place and found a pub that took our fancy. As always the portions are huge. Did I say the portions are huge?

After a good night sleep we woke to find Hobart bathed in sunlight. We set off early (for us) and discovered that there was a Saturday market in Salamanca Place. We happily walked around and looked at some beautiful local wood products – bowls, plates, mats etc. Sadly we didn’t buy any of these as we still have a long time travelling around Oz and didn’t want to risk breaking them. As it was now about 11:30 we decided to stop for brunch. After a wait (chill guys) we were served a very nice toasted sandwich on sourdough bread – yum! We continued to the harbour area taking in the old buildings (circa 1850+) and the accompanying information about the area and what was there and who did what - built by convicts and lived in by poor fisherman until a huge fire did everyone a favour and destroyed the slums.  They were replaced by big warehouses which are now trendy hotels and restaurants.

We went back to the motel for a quick rest and cup of tea and also to drop off our coats that we didn’t need. We took the car to the botanic gardens that are just outside the city. There we spent several hours enjoying the gardens and the plants.  Note from TJV – lots of exciting plants some of which I have in Portugal and realise grow much bigger than I thought!  We’ve now come back to motel for a quick shower and freshen up before heading out to one of the excellent local restaurants.

We love Hobart – small and intimate with a stunning setting by the Derwent river with mountains in the background.  The houses are reassuringly solid and “Brtiish” in style with some unexpected but fantastic examples of Art Deco architecture.  So far, we’ve been underwhelmed by the average Aussie house which seems to be a boring one storey “box” with a tin roof and a worryingly temporary look to them.

One of many art deco buildings

Hobart harbour

Tomorrow we’re off to the former penal settlement of Port Arthur and hopefully to come face to face with a Tasmanian Devil!

Feb 1^st to 2^nd

From Robe you start to enjoy the scenery more. The Great Ocean Road doesn’t start until you get to Port Fairy which is some 250kms away, but you start to appreciate what’s to come. The route took us through Mount Gambier which is located on the side of an extinct volcano. We stopped there for lunch for two reasons; it was about lunchtime and also because I had “arranged” to meet up with a friend of a friend. Bev is a South African friend of an old school friend of mine. She moved to Australia a while back and has set up a cafe in Mount Gambier. We found her cafe with little trouble and entered. Derwyn (the mutual friend) had told her we were coming. We got a warm welcome from Bev and, I have to say some excellent carrot cake and chicken Panini plus some freebie hand made chocolates. If you’re ever in Mount Gambier visit Molten Chocolate and do some damage to your waistline!

Yup, really is THAT blue!

We went up to Blue Lake which sits in the extinct caldera and is a beautiful shade of blue. In the winter months it turns grey.  We strolled around the perimeter which took about 50 mins and gave great views of the waters and the surrounding countryside.

Everyone had said that Robe was a delight and that proved right. As we strolled down the main street we could imagine the streets full of horses and carriages. Someone commented that it felt like a combination of small town America, England about 20 years back all with an Australian twist. We stayed in a small cottage apartment at the Comfort Inn and were met by the hotel cat – a beautiful Chocolate Burmese boy.

In the morning we wandered around the port at Port Fairy and enjoyed the boats, the waterside properties and the ambiance before heading towards Warrnambol. About 13kms outside of Warrnambol is Tower Hill Game Reserve. It’s an extinct volcano and a great place to see Kangaroo, Emu and Koala. Standing outside the Centre a couple of Emu strolled past. We decided to do a short walk around a lake enjoying the scenery and the occasional Kangaroo. Just as we were about to leave we decided to have a look at some trees and noticed two Koala up one of them.

The Grotto

London Bridge

Just outside of Warrnambol the Great Ocean Road starts in earnest. You turn right of the main highway and start to follow the coast. After Port Campbell we stopped to see the views of coast, places like Loch Ard Gorge where the Loch Ard 3 months out from Gravesend ran aground with only 2 of the 58 people on board surviving. Also London Bridge, an impressive double arch where the landward arch had collapsed some 20 years ago, stranding 2 people on the remaining part and The Grotto a fantastic natural arch where we had lunch. Where we bought lunch the lady serving us suggested that we visit Melba Gully in the Otway Park. This we did and the reward was brilliant. We walked through temperate rainforest with large Tree Ferns, massive Myrtle Beeches and many other ferns clothing everywhere you looked.

12 Apostles

Loch Ard Gorge

Next stop was our destination for the night, Apollo Bay. The actual place booked was just outside way up on the hill side overlooking the sea. Dinner was in the lovely dining room that provided views over the sea and the trees below.