8 Weeks in Tassie - part 2.

Our hearts were set on a beach-front campsite on the Bay of Fires, so that meant we needed to be there early.  We only had to travel about 40km to get there, but we had also thought we’d take a look at St Columba Falls in the hills above Pyengana before we left.  So we hit the road at 7.30am to drive the 10km or so to the carpark, then made the half hour walk down to the base of the falls.

St Columba Falls is one of the highest waterfalls in Tasmania, being a spectacular 90m drop to the rocks below.  It was cool and damp as we made the walk down and so quiet.  Then a 30 minute walk back up, saw us back at camp before 9am.  Pretty good eh? 

The walk down to St Columba Falls

St Columba Falls

It was the Monday of the long weekend, and we’d hoped that local campers would be packing up and heading home by the time we reached the beach.  We stopped in St Helens to check out things at the visitor information centre, then drove out the road that hugged the coastline of the Bay of Fires.  We had a favourite beach in mind, so thought we’d try there first, with the thought that we could work our way down the list of beaches if we needed to.  As it turned out, we were lucky.

We drove in the road towards Swimcart Beach and parked the car and van.  The campsites were strung out along the beach in a long line and the only thing to do was walk in to see if there were any gaps.  We met a man and his van coming out and had a quick word - “are you leaving? Is there a space for our van???”  It turned out that he and his mate were leaving that morning so there was a big space right down the end.  So we didn’t waste any time.  I ran on ahead to grab the space (I would lie down in it if I had to!!!) and Doug went back to get the car and van.  Half an hour later, this was our view from under our awning.  

Monday was spent reading, relaxing and walking along the beach.  

Tuesday arrived and it also happened to be Doug’s birthday.  We thought we’d take a bit of a look around, and drove out the top of the road at The Gardens, and turned into the Mt William National Park to take some tracks up through.  It was a lovely area of thick bushland, but every so often, a view of a fantastic bay or coastline would appear.  We came out at a place called Policeman’s Point, another great camp spot, before turning around the heading down another dirt road towards St Helen’s.

St Helen’s was our destination for lunch and we wanted to enjoy the local seafood.  A walk up and down the main street gave us nothing.  The local pub looked a bit average, and we were starting to give up hope.  We were passing the local council offices, so I thought I’d just pop my head in and ask where we’d get good fish and chips.  The lady behind the desk couldn’t have been more helpful, and pointed us to a place called Skippers, down on the docks.  What a find!!  It was an old fishing trawler that had been converted into an eatery.  We ordered and perched ourselves at a makeshift table on the front deck.  Ten minutes later we were enjoying the best fisherman’s basket I’ve ever had.  A great birthday lunch.  

We drove back to camp via Binalong Bay, where we stopped to take in the views of the wonderful red rocks of the Bay of Fires.  And it’s not called the Bay of Fires because of the rocks - red lichen (as I thought), but because of all the fires of the Aboriginal camps seen from the ship of the early explorer Tobias Furneaux.  This has to be one of my favourite places ever.

The weather had turned, and the forecast was for wind and rain on Wednesday, so we made the decision to move on.  We’d packed up and were on the road before the storm arrived.  We drove back down through St Helen’s and by that time, the rain was lashing and the wind was so strong we wanted to find somewhere to get off the road.

Little towns in Tasmania are exactly that - very little towns with not much there by the standards of the mainland.  We turned off the main road in a little place called Scamander as we’d seen a sign to a berry farm/cafe.  We drove in the tight driveway, Doug thinking that we may not be able to get the van turned and back down again.  At the top of the farm yard was a little shop/cafe all in darkness.  The storm had knocked out their power, but they welcomed us inside and were trying to do the best they could with a generator and a gas ring.  We were sat at a little table and given a plunger of coffee and a piece of wonderful home-made cake, while the elderly owners tried to hook up a few lamps.  He laughed and likened himself to Basil Fawlty and we smiled cause it wasn’t far from the truth.  But we came away with a bottle of homemade “Fiery Red” sauce, a punnet of strawberries and a tray of beautiful homegrown tomatoes.  Just as we were leaving, the power came back on!!

The worst of the storm had passed by the time we were back on the main road, but the clouds looked dark as we continued on the road that hugged the coastline down to Bicheno.  We had planned to stop there for lunch, but as we’d had a lovely morning tea of coffee and cake, we didn’t really need much lunch.  We had a walk around the pretty little town, but it was very busy with tourists everywhere.  We got back to the car just as the next storm came.

Bicheno has a blowhole on the edge of town, and we drove around to the carpark with the intention of walking out to it, but the rain was horizontal by this time, so we looked from the car and drove on.  By the time we arrived at Coles Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula, the last of the bad weather seemed to be moving off into the Tasman Sea.  There is a camp in the grounds of the local golf club for self-contained travellers and this was to be our base for a few days as we explored the area. Coincidentally, Steve and Anne, who we’d met while camping at the Pub in the Paddock were there too, so we said “hi” and had a chat.

Thankfully, it was a much brighter day that greeted us on Thursday, as we’d planned a long hike which included a visit to the lookout over the famous Wineglass Bay.  To avoid the worst of the crowds, we were up and ready by 8am.  

There were a few intrepid souls ahead of us as we started the climb, but not many, but numbers grew steadily as we climbed.  The walk was a circuit, which started with a steep climb over 2km and 300 or so steps to the lookout (several rest stops were had, let me tell you).  Most people just do that and go back down the way they came.  More adventurous travellers walk down the other side to the beach on Wineglass Bay (900 steps down!!!)  A quick swim in the bay, a walk along the beach and, again, most would turn and return the same way.  But not us!!  Oh no.  We had to do the whole thing!!!!

Hazards Circuit map

A bit puffed on the way up

Alright for some!!!

Along with a few others ahead of us (you could count them one one hand - Steve and Anne being among them) we turned and took the track across the isthmus to come out across the other side of the point, on Hazards Beach.  The Hazards are the four granite peaks that form the back drop for Wineglass Bay and are the spine of the Freycinet Peninsula.  

We reached a steep dune and had to cross that before coming out onto the beach.  A walk of about 1km up the beach led us to our lunch stop where we devoured the sandwiches and fruit we’d brought with us on a sheltered rock and gave my poor knees a bit of a chance to recover.

Contemplating what my knees will say tomorrow!

Rest break

Walking across the isthmus

The last section of the walk was a 6km track which hugged the headlands around back to the starting place in Coles Bay.  A nice undulating walk the girl in the information centre had said!!  Undulating!!!! OMG!!  Six kilometres of ups and downs on goat tracks, climbing up and down rocky steps and just when you get around one point, there’s another one in the distance.  But the good points were the wonderful views you got of the bays and peaks on the other side.  I did a lot of stopping to appreciate the views (no other reason, of course).  

Being as fit as he is, Doug found the going easy and he was very patient with me, as by the last 2 kilometres, the legs had gone completely!  If I hadn’t had my walking poles, he would have been carrying me!!  But with a great sense of achievement, we arrived back at the car.  Almost 6 hours and 20,000 steps later.  There was nothing for it, but to have a celebratory ale at the local pub on the way home.  

Finished!!!!

Here we met Steve and Anne, who were thinking exactly the same thing.  We all sat and congratulated ourselves on how well we’d done and complained about how hard it was (well, Steve and I did anyway) all at the same time.  It was decided that no one could be bothered cooking that night, so we booked a table at the pub for dinner for the four of us.  A really pleasant evening to round off a good day - but by 8.30pm I was falling asleep at the table and it was time for an early night.

Doug had promised me a quiet day on Friday, so we went for a drive up into the mountains to visit Lake Leake.  On instructions from my friend Anne, we were to visit there as her family (the Leakes) hailed from that area originally.  

The weather as we left Coles Bay was quite pleasant, but by the time we’d pulled off the road to view Lake Leake, the temperature had dropped 6 degrees and the rain and mist had come down.  Unfortunately, Lake Leake looked more like Lake Bleake (sorry Anne).  And what can I say about the township?  It’s a little community of fishing shacks each with its own distinguishing “features”.  Hmmm - I swear I could hear “Duelling Banjos” playing somewhere in the background and Doug wanted to get out fast before we were shot!  It turns out Mr Leake was a prominent citizen of Campbelltown, a much nicer place further on.

Lake Bleake

Back down the mountain, we called in for lunch at Devil’s Corner Vineyard and enjoyed fantastic views over Moulting Lagoon and a fabulous wood-fired pizza and coffee before heading back down the peninsula and taking a drive up to the Tourville Lighthouse. 

The view over Moulting Lagoon (the Hazards in the background)

This lighthouse is on the ocean side of the peninsula and guides ships through the dangerous waters of the Tasman Sea.  A short walk to the top (just to keep the muscles from completely seizing up, Doug said) rewarded us with the most fantastic views back around to Wineglass Bay and the Hazards.  We both agreed the view was better than from the top of the lookout the day before.  So glad we went up there.

We were moving on on Saturday, but not very far.  Just over a hundred kilometres down the road, we arrived at our next stop, the little town of Triabunna.  Just an ordinary little fishing town on the coast with not much to recommend it (except great fish and chips from the van by the docks).  But here we were to catch the ferry to take us across to Maria Island.  So we pulled up in the free camp opposite the pub.   

Friends of ours, Dave and Kathy, were also in Tasmania on a trip organised by their Mustang club, and we had been following them down the coast that morning.  An impressive sight, 35 Mustangs travelling in a pack.  We caught up with them and their news while enjoying fish and chips from the van in the sun for lunch.  

Our tickets were booked on the 9.00am ferry to Maria and we were down at the wharf early, ready for the 30 minute trip across to the island.  Maria Island was the site of a convict settlement in the mid 19th century and a lot of the buildings and features of the island still stand and are now a World Heritage-listed site.  

Darlington Penal Station

Fossil Cliffs

Old brick kilns

Millers Cottage

As well as all the history, the island is a beautiful place to explore and has wildlife galore, with wallabies and roos, wombats, Cape Barren Geese and even a colony of Tasmanian Devils (although we didn’t manage to spot any of those).

We spent a great day on the island, doing a lot of the walks, exploring the old buildings and historical sites and speaking to the locals.  We were weary as we headed back to get our return ferry at the end of the day and yes, you guessed it - fish and chips was the meal of choice that night!!!  And another quiet night in the free camp.  It’s a funny place; a lot of vans and motor homes all parked up in rows on a dusty, vacant bit of land in the middle of town.  It wouldn’t have been our choice for a couple of nights, but it was super-close to the ferry for Maria (read, across the road) and it was free - so it served its purpose.

Week 2 in Tassie down and lots more to come.  We’re just loving it here.  You have to come here, really you do.

8 Weeks in Tassie - part 1.

As it turned out, we turned left.  After an uneventful crossing, we came off the boat at 7.30pm in Devonport and headed quickly to a nearby free camp, where we settled for the night.  It was on the edge of a recreation ground, and we slipped in beside the other 8 or so other vans/motorhomes which had set up.

Waiting in the mustering yard

Driving on

The next day, Tuesday, saw us turn left and make towards Launceston.  Part of the decision was due to the fact that we needed some work done on the car (courtesy of Opposite Lock in FTG not fixing things right the first time).  But we were happy to be here and didn’t really mind which direction we took.  

We drove the hour of so to Launceston (pronounced Lonceston, not Lawnceston) and found our campsite at Old Mac’s Farm.  This place had been recommended to us, so we checked it out and it was great.  Low-cost camping so close to the city in a lovely setting and a cafe right next door - what’s not to like?

Old Mac's Farm at sunrise

We had contacted Opposite Lock in Launceston and they were super efficient and had us in that very afternoon to have a look at what needed doing.  We spent the couple of hours while they had to car walking into town (which as a bit further than we anticipated - and a bit hotter!!).  We got a feel for the city centre and visited the Information Centre to get the low down and what to do and what to see.  Parts were ordered for the car and it would have to go back in later in the week.

Wednesday was another beautiful day - sunny and warm - 27degrees.  But did you know…..there's is a hole in the ozone layer above Tasmania and so the heat is more intense?  So a 27 degree day, which in Melbourne would be quite pleasant, is really hot in Tassie.  And you can burn badly on a cloudy day of 17 degrees.  Lots of warnings to wear sunscreen and hats!!!

We had learned at the Information Centre the day before that the Queen’s Baton Relay for the upcoming Commonwealth Games was passing through Lonnie on Wednesday, so we made our way into town in the hope of catching a glimpse as it passed by.  Almost all parking in the city is ticket/permit parking and it varies in price, but we parked over the river at the museum and got all-day parking for $3.  We didn’t think that was too bad.

As we walked back towards the city centre, we came right slap-bang into the procession for the baton, and were perfectly placed to see it changing hands from one runner to the next.  Lucky eh?  We followed it to the Civic Square for a few hurrahs and speeches.  

Queen's Baton Relay

We continued walking around the city.  It’s such a great place, such wonderful architecture.  In fact most of Lonnie has wonderful buildings.  There’s so many beautiful old houses - thousands of them - and they’re mostly in really good condition.  I just love them.  I could live here if it wasn’t for the hills.  San Francisco has got nothing on Lonnie!!

We walked down to the Tamar River and along the waterfront, right round past Customs House and back to the museum again, stopping for an iced coffee on the way (it was hot, I told you that!!).  

Customs House

We then headed for a shady tree in City Park to have lunch on the grass.  This beautiful old park is right in the city and gives you a piece of quiet and stillness on a hot day.  They also have a section dedicated to dahlias.  I was taken right back to my childhood - my grandfather used to show dahlias and his back garden was full of them.

Giant Sequoia - City Park

After lunch we had booked ourselves on the tour of the Boag’s Brewery, a Tasmanian institution, and something Doug was particularly looking forward to.  It was a well-run and professional tour, with PPE handed out and a really informative guide.  We got to see the whole process of brewing from go to whoa and then happily had half and hour or so in the tasting room, where we got to try three of their most famous beers (two of which you can only buy in Tasmania) and had three different cheeses paired with them.  So afternoon tea was taken care of!  A big day!

Ethel in the tasting room

We had plans to visit the Tamar Valley on Thursday, but weren’t in a particular hurry to get on the road.  We spent a nice morning just chatting to fellow-campers and having a coffee in the sun.  We left mid-morning and headed up the west side of the river.  We stopped to investigate the Tamar Wetlands and walk out to Tamar Island.  It’s a popular spot for bird enthusiasts and we enjoyed the walk across the boardwalk.  We stopped further on to look at the little “Swiss” town of Grindewald (very weird - like Disneyland but without the entertainment factor), and took a long look over the whole valley from Brady’s Lookout.  We got to the little town of Exeter and were stopping to have some lunch when we got the call that the parts for the car were in, and we’d need to get it in that afternoon to get done, as it was a long weekend coming up and Friday they were booked solid.

View from Brady's Lookout

We were to have the car in to them by 3pm, so we decided to cut short the trip further north, and cross the Batman Bridge and drive back down the east side of the Tamar River.  We took a few side roads, and stopped to fill any available containers with the beautiful blackberries growing wild at the side of the roads (brambles for my UK friends).  We also stopped at an orchard to buy some new-season apples and at a berry farm to pick our own strawberries and raspberries.  Oh wow!!  This was superb - one for the bucket, three for me.  We were well fruited up so we headed back to Lonnie to drop the car off.  It was another hot afternoon and we didn’t fancy the long walk back to the city, so we found a nearby pub and settled in for a couple of hours.  That was ok, right?

Some of our haul

Friday saw us heading for Cataract Gorge.  This geological wonder is right in the centre of town and Launceston has made a great job of integrating it for use by the locals and by tourists alike.  We parked the car and walked down towards the gorge.  The gorge boasts one of the longest single-span chairlifts in the world and spans the huge natural basin of the South Esk River and it gives you great views up the gorge.  We decided to take the chairlift across, walk up the gorge and back and then gently glide back across to the picnic ground on the chairlift again in time for lunch. We picnicked with the peacocks (and the wasps) and finished the last of the strawberries before heading back to the car.

View of Cataract Gorge from the chairlift

Alexandra Suspension Bridge

In the afternoon we took a drive out to Liffey Falls.  Tasmania has a lot of waterfalls, and this one makes the list of the top 10.  It was a great drive, up through winding mountain roads, with the GPS taking us the scenic route through the state forest.  After an hour or so, we arrived at the carpark at the top and prepared to take the 2km track down to the bottom of the falls.  

The carpark was busy, with a lot of backpackers (we call them Berts) spilling out of a couple of old Magnas and our hearts sank at the thought of sharing the falls with them.  There was also a mobile coffee van parked up offering its wares - this place is popular and must get seriously busy.  

But we set off on our walk and were surprised that we didn’t hear anyone following us.  We followed the river down, stopping at the various cascades on the way, until we reached the bottom.  The water levels were low (Tasmania is in the grip of a drought - everything is very dry) but the river was still running the falls were still falling.  It was beautiful to sit and enjoy the cool and the quiet and listen to the clear water running over the rocks around us.  And we were all alone.  

We enjoyed the serenity for half and hour or so, before peace was shattered.  The Berts had finished their lunch and had arrived at the bottom, complete with a boombox playing music and shrieking girls.  Ah well, at least we enjoyed it for a while on our own.

Back up the track and as we walked we couldn’t get over the size of the wonderful tree ferns and the sassafras trees covered in moss and lichen - it was another world.  Long cool tunnels of ferns made for an almost magic feel as we made the climb back up.  A real fairy dell.  Home via a stop in Deloraine for an ice cream (hot day again!!).

Tree ferns on the walk into Liffey Falls

Saturday was cooler, and we had been recommended the Launceston Farmers Market in town.  We headed off there to grab breakfast and indulge in some of the local produce.  We came away with fresh veggies, bread and cheese and full stomachs after a delicious breakfast.  

Farmers Market crowds

We then we decided to finish what we’d started on Thursday and see the upper reaches of the Tamar River.  We re-traced our steps of the other day, up the west side of the Tamar River, until we reached the little mining town of Beaconsfield.  

They had been mining gold in Beaconsfield for over a hundred years, but the town hit the world stage in April 2006, when an earthquake caused part of the mine to collapse on a team of 14 miners working down the shaft that day.  Most escaped but three were trapped.  One miner, Larry Knight, was killed instantly but the other two, Todd Russell and Brant Webb were trapped in a small, wire basket 925 metres below the surface.  The story of how these two were rescued is living history and was such a huge and difficult operation.  It took them two weeks to eventually get them free and the world watched and held its collective breath while the rescue took place.  

I remember this all taking place, but when you visit this little town (and it is a very little town - at that time the population was around 4000 - less today) you get an understanding of how this must have affected every single person who lived here in one way or another.  Just the media circus that arrived and set up camp in town while the rescue took place would be enough to impact on things, let alone that it was three of their own that were involved.

The mine closed in 2012 with the loss of 150 local jobs, but since then a really good Mining and Heritage Museum has been set up on the site.  It’s really worth the entry fee ($27).  We spent a few great hours in there - lots of “hands-on” exhibits, not just about mining, and a fascinating section devoted to the 2006 rescue.  About 40,000 people a year visit the Centre, so “Well done” Beaconsfield.

Famous minehead at Beaconsfield

Water wheel - interactive display shows it working

To lend support to the rescue effort and show solidarity with the miners, the people of the town set out to knit a scarf 925m long.  With contributions from knitters all over Australia, the scarf ended up 2.5km long.

We left Beaconsfield after having lunch, and drove back across the Batman Bridge, but this time turned left and headed north up to Georgetown.  It’s a quaint little fishing village on a very exposed coast and we were glad we’d brought jackets. 

Seafarers Memorial in Georgetown

We carried on a bit further up the coast to Low Head, to visit the lighthouse at the head of the river where it meets Bass Strait.  All along this coastline, the Little Penguins come in to their burrows on the beach in the evening and as we walked up to the light house, we were checking in all the scrubby bush.  We were lucky to find this little guy, sheltering from the wind and waiting for mum and dad to come back from the sea.  He didn’t seem too fussed by us - I think he was sleeping.

Lighthouse at Low Head

As I mentioned earlier, it was a long weekend in Tasmania.  Our next planned stop was to be the Bay of Fires on the east coast, but we thought it might be hectically busy.  We left Launceston on Sunday morning and decided to fill in a day just moseying across the east of the state in the general direction of where we wanted to end up.  There’s that “coddiwompling” again.

We climbed the long climb out of Lonnie and headed towards Scottsdale.  We took the back road so we could call in on Bridestowe Lavender Farm.  This is a huge operation and very slick, with an eye on attracting the new breed of Chinese traveller.  I knew that they had already harvested the lavender (missed it by a month), but can you imagine how beautiful these hills would look when they were all purple?  And it also gave me the opportunity to try lavender ice cream.  I had been curious for a while and tasting confirmed that yes, it does taste vaguely of lavender.  

A sea of lavender

We drove on through lovely little towns, and stopped to explore Scottsdale.  We grabbed a few supplies from the Woolies there, and low and behold, there was a micro-brewery that needed a visit.  Little Rivers Brewery operates out of a corrugated iron shed (although I think they like the “industrial” look) and Doug enjoyed his tasting paddle and take-away six pack.

The road from Scottsdale to St Helens was steep and winding, and the going was slow with the big van on, but we weren’t in a hurry and Doug wasn’t fazed by the sometimes tight corners.  The tourists in rental cars coming the other way in the middle of the road was another thing!  

We stopped in a tiny place called Legerwood where we’d heard about some trees that had been carved into memorials.  It was sad to read about the local men who’d been killed in WW1.  The trees had been planted in 1915 by each local family who’d lost a loved one, but in the early 2000’s, the trees were declared unsafe and they had to be removed.  It was lovely that they had been able to keep the trees and ensure that each still represented the men they were planted for.

Little Blue Lake outside Derby

Onwards and upwards (with a fair bit of down also) we crossed the mountains.  Doug stopped the car at the side of the road at one point to let the brakes cool down - you could smell burning rubber.  Before too long though, we’d reached our destination for the night.  The little hamlet of Pyengana lies in a beautiful valley, famous for its dairy cattle.  Before we reached our campsite, we stopped in to visit the Pyengana Dairy Co. and sample their cheeses.  Suffice to say that they were very good - we’d bought our happy-hour nibbles and a bottle of wine to enjoy with them and were back in the car in record time.

Camp that night was in the grounds of the Pub in the Paddock.  The pub offers free camping in their grounds for self-contained travellers.  The pub closed early on Sundays so we weren’t able to repay their hospitality and so we settled in with our “picnic” from up the road, and only had to share this view with one other van.  Pretty good eh?

Well, that’s our first week gone already.  Eight weeks is going to fly.  After a visit to St Columba's Falls in the morning, we're off to the coast tomorrow, and hopefully grab a beachside campsite.