Tassie Travels

Rather than backdate entries, I'll post as one entry.

I have learned that I must prepare each entry each day, which I will do from written notes (I will also keep a paper diary and enter in during the day and tidy up each night) and also be more vigilant at finding wireless Internet sites.

December 28

This includes the previous evening as the two run together.

We finally drove onto the Spirit of Tasmania at 7:45 after starting to board at 6:25. Not knowing the procedure, everything was new. After lining up, we had the car engine compartment and boot searched, got given a “green card” for all OK, and a security tag. Then we lined up again. At the “ticket office” I handed in the security tag, the e-ticket and my driving licence and we received our seat allocation. On board the trip hadn’t finished! We drove down into the bowels of the vessel (well, the lowest deck and right near the bow). After memorizing where DOUG was, we went up to the Ocean view recliners G25 and G26. After settling in, we had tea on board, then walked around and then settled just as the ship left Station Pier (or was that Station Pier?). We spoke to various people around the ship and we settled into our seats. I changed into a tracksuit for the evening and looked through the windows to see us go through the heads about 10:45. I went to “bed” about 11, then woke at 5 and changed. The early morning announcement came over at 5:20, when everyone else woke and got up. Just before leaving we found a toilet bag left from H26 and gave it to a member of the crew. On our call we went down to garage G1 and were into car at 6:40. It was funny that a couple sitting near us couldn’t remember where they had left their car and it ended up being the one in front of me! We were out by 7 and then went through quarantine – not a long experience! We drove around Devonport and had some breakfast at an Ice Cream Café (no, we had a cooked breakfast, not ice cream).
Before we left, I tried to get a small hard drive which was on special at Harvey Norman and I couldn’t get in Moorabbin. Guess what – they still had stock in Devonport! After that success, we did some other shopping at Woolworths and then headed to Ulverstone and booked into our motel.
After we prepared and had lunch, Fran rang her friends. WE made arrangements to meet them – one at Cataract Gorge and one at their home. We drove to Launceston, found Cataract Gorge and quickly met one family. While Fran talked, I went on the chairlift (and read it was made by the made by Arthur Seat Chairlift Co., which doesn’t have the best reputation, but AFTER I got off).
Fran wanted to show me the Penny Royal, but it was closed
We went to the home of her other friend and had an enjoyable chat and afternoon tea with them. On our way out of Launceston we called into the RACT – and they didn’t have a map of Tasmania! Although I had the SatNav to guide me, I wanted to mark the roads we travelled as a souvenir. As daylight saving added quite a lot of daylight at the end of the day, we went to the Devil’s gullet and Fran took her first extended walk. It wasn’t too bad. On our way back to Ulverstone we had tea at the Mole Creek Hotel and filled with petrol at Devonport at a cheaper price than Melbourne. After that it was back to the motel and to bed by 11.

Observations from the first day:
am means anti-morning not ante meridian
an “easy walk” means different things
Many people asked me about “DOUG”
The McDonalds Devonport is open 24 hours.

December 29

On our first real day in Tasmania, we woke at 7 and then were woken again by Fran’s alarm at 7:30. Fran didn’t know how to switch the alarm off, so guess what happened each morning? No, I’m not going to tell you, you will have to read it for yourself. We were finally up before 8 and my breakfast was the leftover cold pizza and coke. After normal ablutions, we were packed and left the motel about 9. We shopped in Ulverstone and were able to buy Melbourne papers and specials at the local IGA the same as anywhere else – a pleasant revelation. We left to go to Penguin and spent some time looking around and taking photos on the waterfront. Then we were off to Burnie and had a good look around. We only had a brief look around Wynyard and then drove straight to Smithton. After booking into our motel we unpacked and went down the street and had lunch in a small café in town. While Fran finished her lunch, I wandered around and got some tablets Fran had not been able to get in Adelaide. We then drove back to Stanley, had a look around the town and then drove to the Nut. We went up the chairlift, did the walk around the top (very windy and cool, despite being warm at seal level) and went back on the chairlift. At the shop there, a woman from Belgium was working, so we had a brief discussion on what to see in Belgium – unsurprisingly, each person recommends their own home area. This was followed by a scenic drive around Stanley district and the town. We headed off to Dip Falls (the Big Tree walk was uninviting) and had a look around these very scenic falls. I started into mum’s habit of haranguing the locals and extracting as much information as I could – the falls were very dry, grandparents were taking their grandchildren there and friends were expected for a barbecue that evening, at the falls. After driving back to Smithton, we had a driving look around the town before returning to the motel, put washing on, prepared and had our tea and I did some computer work while watching TV. Most places seemed to have only dial-up Internet, which was useless to me as I wanted to download a lot of photographs. After finishing the washing (complementary), I wrote some postcards (no-one has yet said they have received them!) and was into bed by 10.

December 30

After waking about 7, we left just after 8 and drove down the road to Woolnorth. At the Wind Farm, there was a bus about to do a tour (it’s on private land, so we took it) and because there were some booked no-shows – we were able to participate. We saw the Wind Farm up close, an explanatory display and later went through the old settlement and had morning tea there. We also went to Cape Grim and Cape Woolnorth so we really saw the north-west of Tasmania. We got back to DOUG about 12:30. Then we drove along to Marrawah and had lunch in the pub. This time it was Fran’s turn to interrogate the locals, who we found cam from – Melbourne! We visited Golden Point beach and camping area, then had a leisurely drive back to Smithton via Dismal Swamp. Contrary to its name, the place was not dismal and certainly wasn’t a swamp. A feature was the covered slide, a 115 metre slope which could be slid down (limit of three slides each in the entry price – put on after one child made 28 slides one afternoon – remember he had to climb back up via the path to slide again). The café there was very good, and the view from the toilets grand! After returning to Smithton and a quick shop at Woollies, we had afternoon tea, walked across and along the river and back before having a light tea, and watching the TV news. After that, I shrank my photos and cleared the memory card in the camera (I had forgotten to bring a card reader) and then went to bed and to sleep.

December 31

We woke about 6 but now Fran’s alarm on mobile went off about 6:45. We packed the car and were off by 8. After settling the account, we shopped at Woollies and filled with petrol (Coles Express – Woolworths didn’t have a discount outlet, but there was no Coles store in Smithton – work that one out!). We were off down the Western Explorer! The first part was retracing our steps through Marrawah and straight through to Arthur River. Here I took photos at the bridge (mistake – I covered my trouser legs with seeds) and then went to the “End of the World” – a point very windy and with the “Roaring Forties” really roaring. Here I met a family from Hoppers Crossing who used to live just down the street from me. From them I had the wisdom of booking things reinforced.
We the drove on along Western Explorer proper – generally very good, though it had a few large metal and corrugated sections and a few tight corners with loose metal (one panicked Fran – I need to get the floor pan put back into its correct shape). We arrived at Zeehan about 1:30 but no suitable lunch place was found. We continued into Strahan, confirmed cruise and got paper tickets. It was very hot (36°) so we got lunch and ate it in the car as we headed off to Queenstown. Here an error with mapping in the SatNav was reinforced, as the street numbers were actually the reverse of those programmed into the SatNav. We did eventually find the motel, booked in, unpacked, had a quick walk around the main street of town (it still very warm, found the Herald Sun but not The Age) and then we had tea. Again I had to clear the camera memory card after downloading the pictures and shrinking them (for downloading to Flickr) and then we were off to sleep.

January 1

I awoke suddenly at 6:25 – no alarm went off. That was a false alarm as it went off soon after. We set off early as the cruise was off at 8:30, and we had already found that cruise operators do not wait for latecomers and, with the curving road to Strahan, if we got behind a slow vehicle, we could not pass. We had a good run to Strahan, although at first I panicked as we were behind a small SLOW blue car (but he stopped to look at something and we could pass safely). A problem arose because the ticket parking machine was not working. Fran purchased a parking sticker, then later in the day we found none of the parking machines was working that day. We boarded by 8:10 and were one of the first few, but buses and walkers quickly filled up most seats. We departed at 8:35 and had a very smooth trip. During the cruise we met a couple from Mexico, woman and her son from Warrnambool and family from Gympie. It was a well-narrated tour and there were plenty of opportunities to go out the front, back and on upper decks to take photos or just look around.
AS was my luck, the batteries in my camera went flat just at an historic landing near a boom, so I didn’t get any pictures of it. LESSON – change batteries each day! We walked around at the World Heritage area, then had lunch on board as we returned. During the return trip I chatted with a Scottish man – he and his wife had been out to Australia twice, once up the east coast and now to Tasmania. I fold him about the Nullabour and the Ghan and Indian Pacific train trips. Back at the wharf, we walked around Strahan as Fran not feeling well and had an ice cream. We ran into a Sydney family again, who we initially met at the Woolnorth Wind Farm. Then we drove back to Queenstown through Zeehan and Rosebery, having a good look around each town. We had tea, then walked around town and I took photos. We saw pet and wild rabbits and talked to some locals.
Back at the motel, it was to sleep after organising our Tasmania travel folder.

January 2

After waking at 6:30 and having a cup of tea and breakfast, I wrote up my diary from the last few days. We were packed and ready to leave the motel by just after 8, then filled up with fuel at BP. The drive out was slow, partly because of the winding road and partly because of the other traffic. The scenery was magnificent, especially while we were in the Wilderness Area and we had a good run through to Derwent Bridge (after crossing the Franklin River). We had a stop at Tarraleah and then at Hamilton. Here I managed to get an ice cream and spill a counter display of lollies everywhere while getting a local map. Fran wouldn’t acknowledge me until we left the shop! We then drove up to Strathgordon and, after much searching, eventually found toilets and the information centre. After getting some brochures we headed up further (there really wasn’t too much further to go) and had lunch while looking out over Lake Pedder, at about 2. We went to Gordon Dam, got some photos and I walked across part of the dam wall after doing the 190 steps down and then up. After that, we went through New Norfolk to Hobart. The SatNav sent us to the wrong place (but the correct road) but as a consolation we found cheap fuel. After finally getting to the motel and booked in, we unloaded. We were soon out and had a quick drive around Hobart to get our bearing, then went back to Hungry Jacks at Glenorchy for tea. The next operation was to do a dry run out to Cambridge Airport to suss out for the trip tomorrow morning. It took about 30 minutes. Back at the motel I charged batteries, transferred photos and wrote up diary before going to sleep.


January 3

We were awake at 6:25 and, after ablutions, went over for breakfast. We left at 7:30 to get out on time for our flight with Par Avion – and found that peak hour traffic in Hobart isn’t, by my standards, so we were out well before 8.There were very few others there, so after being weighed, we waited and read. The terminal filled before the flight finally left not long after 8:30. Three planes went out to the same place – Melaleuca Inlet. Three (including us) were on the half-day tour. Four were on the full day tour (which included a four hour walk). The rest were in for either a week or longer, and their packs were HUGE (as there are no supplies of any sort available unless they are flown in). Most were just walking, but one group was a Ph. D. student, his supervisor and the supervisor’s son. They were out for ten days collecting samples for a thesis. One did wear a floppy hat, but none were called “Indiana”, Jones or otherwise. All three planes left full and we flew south over Bruny Island, then along the south coast. At the Inlet, we had morning tea in a bird hide and an orange-bellied parrot arrived outside on cue, followed by his mate. We set off across the airstrip (the topsoil removed to expose white bedrock) and went on a cruise to Bathurst Harbour. This included some dramatic sights. Our return flight was more direct, showing us rugged peaks, tarns, much wilderness and then clearfelled areas of controlled forest. After landing, we went to visit a friend of Fran’s. While Fran chatted, I fixed up my photos and then downloaded quite a few. It was embarrassing then, when the son arrived home and announced that they didn’t have a wireless point – I had just sent about a gigabyte of data through, and now I knew it was through someone else’s connection! We left soon after, went back to the motel, had tea and went to bed, going to sleep while watching TV and after writing up my diary.

January 4

After waking at 6:20 and having breakfast at 7 (we were the first at breakfast most mornings in Hobart), we left at 7:40 to head down south. We had a very good run through Hobart (even though it was peak hour traffic) despite sharing the main roads in Hobart with logging trucks and then had a good run down to Hastings (there were a few houses and very little else there) and on to the caves. There we only a few there, so we booked our cave tour for 10:15 and then walked down to Thermal Pool. This was very nice, an oasis in the forest with excellent surroundings; some families were already in having a swim. We drove slowly down to the caves and then had to wait about 15 minutes before the tour started. Susan was our tour guide (she has only been doing it three weeks) and took our group of 23 through. The cave had nice formations, covered about 400 m to walk, most was up and about down and included 290 steps. We were out by 11:25. On our way out, we chatted with a German family from near Maitland in NSW (they are also coming back on the Spirit of Tasmania on the evening of 11 January). Back at the centre we found it was packed. Morning tea was hot chocolate and then we drove out south down to Cockle Creek, the most southerly point which can be driven to on public roads in Australia. The were many small camps by roadside and a lot of small settlements. We spent a little time at the actual centre of Cockle Creek, then drove back to Geeveston and I got the Melbourne papers and our tickets for the Tehume Airwalk. We looked over the museum of timber there and then drove to the Airwalk. It was very hot, more like Western Australia in summer than Tasmania, so we did the Airwalk and then caught the shuttle back to the centre. After an ice cream and hot chocolate there, we drove out. We went back to Hobart, showered and changed, then went to the Hog’s Breath for tea with the family of Fran’s friend. We had an enjoyable tea and chat, realising that Hobart buildings are designed for cool rather than warm climates. After the meal we drove up to the top of Mt Wellington. Here it was cool and very windy – a dramatic change to the weather only a few minutes before. I walked to the very top, then took some photos from the viewing area. We went back to the motel and changed for bed. It stayed very warm overnight.

January 5

Today was a relatively relaxed day, with rising being delayed until 7:30. It was time to put washing on and have sufficient clothing clean for the rest of the holiday. We had breakfast while washing continued. I wrote up my computer diary and worked on photos while waiting for the clothes to dry. We eventually left about 9:30 and drove into Hobart. After finding a parking space in Macquarie St, we walked to markets. Hot! It was very hot and certainly made things uncomfortable. We walked around and did a little shopping, for ourselves and for others. Like all markets, after a while the thrill wore off and the mundane took over. We drove out to Richmond, had an ice cream and photographed the old bridge. Here we met up with another family from the Spirit of Tasmania. We looked around the town for a model village Fran was after (no success) and bought some other souvenirs. We returned through New Norfolk, did some shopping at Northgate and then went to Fran’s friends for tea and a pleasant evening on a Sandy Bay verandah. Having our hosts water their garden was an experience we on the mainland have not had for years now. We left about 9:30 to return to our motel and retired to sleep.


January 6

After getting up at 6:30 and having our now usual breakfast, we were off to Bruny Island. We arrived at Kettering about 9:30 and were about sixth in line. We paid our $25 ferry fee and then waited until next crossing. I got a paper in the kiosk while waiting (but couldn’t get Melbourne ones) and chatted to others also waiting. I drove on and then got out while crossing. Fran couldn’t get out as the cars were packed in and she couldn’t open her door. The crossing was 15 minutes and we left the ferry as the second vehicle and drove to Dennes Point. The coastal road gave excellent sights as we went across the neck and looked at the penguin rookery and beach. We visited Allonah; there was little there but it had an excellent historical society display. There was no food outlet, so we went on to Lowawannah. We had light lunch there and proceeded down to Cape Bruny lighthouse. It was very windy and cool outside – no cars were in the car park when we arrived but five were there when we left. A pleasant and slow drive through the forest to Adventure Bay gave us a good look around. We headed back to the ferry and had to wait for a return trip (between the scheduled crossings) to get back. We were again on the upper deck and there was enough room for Fran to get out and look around as we crossed. During this time I had a chat with a Lion from Clarence. We should have been about tenth off, but the vehicle in front got a flat on the ferry and the spare he put on was also flat when he went to drive off. The master got him to move up a few metres so all of us in the starboard line could get off. By the time we got back to Hobart it was too late to get the Melbourne papers, but filled up with petrol and got a final car wash as DOUG had accumulated more dust from driving over unsealed roads. Fran rang and changed our bookings so we will stay in Hobart another evening to minimise our driving on Tuesday. Once we were back at the motel, we had tea in the dining-room and then spent some time fixing up pictures, completing diary entries, doing some magazine competition entries and then watching a video on my laptop before going to sleep.

January 7

We followed our now established routine of up at 6:35, breakfast at 7 and leaving about 7:40, heading for Port Arthur. We arrived at 9:10 and moved through quickly, parking in the lowest parking area (the parking bays are far too small) and converting our prepaid tickets into day tickets. We set off on a walking tour almost straight away; this was very good, but very different from the talks when we were there as students in the early 1960s. We looked over the monument at the Broken Arrow café, which was very moving as the events were certainly still fresh in my mind. We went on the harbour cruise at 11. We spent over an hour wandering around and through the buildings and eating lunch and then watched a performance of players behind the penitentiary. We left after putting in a suggestion about water saving. Stops on the way back included the Blowhole (where I gave parents suggestions about how to embarrass young schoolchildren), Tasman’s Arch, Eaglehawk Neck and the Tessellated Pavement (which we did walk down to). Once back in Hobart (Glenorchy) we picked up the Melbourne papers and then went back to our motel. We went over to the dining room for our last tea there (the meals were generous and reasonably priced), then back and packed before going to bed.

January 8

We woke at 6 and got up at 6:45. We packed, had breakfast, settled bill (surprisingly low given the time we stayed and the meals we had) and then left to go to Cadbury’s (only about five minutes away) and parked, then divested ourselves of all extraneous things. Once in, I paid for the tour and we only had to wait a short time before we started. Everyone had to put on paper hats and those with beards also had to put a snood on. The tour was quite good, but not as comprehensive as the last time (1971 with Sunshine West High). We left after buying a few (okay, quite a few) seconds and samples. DOUG was filled with fuel, we got the Melbourne papers and we set off through Sorell for our run up the east coast. We had a look at Swansea, when Fran had been before, and then through to Coles Bay and Freycinet. We looked at the Visitors’ Centre, but the walks were too long for Fran. We returned and looked at Friendly Beach, and went on to Bicheno. We had a quick look around after booking in for a penguin tour for tomorrow night (no spaces available for this evening), I had a milk shake and then we went on to St Helens, where we booked into our motel. After unpacking we had a look around, then did a little shopping and had a rest for a while before having tea at the hotel bistro. I met and chatted to a father and two children from near Midland (WA) and Fran chatted to a woman from Nandaly (near Wycheproof) – small world! The motel has a pool in the centre of the rooms we are in. We had tea at the motel and walked along the beach after, went to bed and watched TV before falling asleep.

January 9

We woke at 6:45 to Fran’s alarm (she still doesn’t know how to stop it!) and then the telephone alarm, which some kind previous resident had left set. I got up and showered and dressed, then walked along the street to the newsagent to get the papers. We had breakfast while reading the papers. We left about 8:40 and drove north to Binalong Bay. It is a typical small seaside settlement – small, cosy and spread-out. We drove out to see some lookouts and at Skeleton Point a couple told us of an exhausted dog which had followed them out of the bush. They left and I got the dog to follow us until there was mobile phone signal. Fran rang the local St Helens newsagency which gave us the local council number. We rang them and gave them the tag number. Five minutes later the owner rang and said she would drive out and pick him up – his name was Boof. In the meantime he drank nearly a litre and a half of water. When she arrived, he readily jumped into her car and went home.
We went to St Marys to see the local scenery and then enjoyed pancakes at Elephant Pass. After that we explored Bicheno and saw our first penguin chick there, only a few metres from the water and next to a public path. We had tea and then I downloaded some pictures at the local café. Then we waited for the penguin tour. We were waiting for “no-shows” so we could join an earlier tour, and made it to a 9:10 tour. It was good as we saw the penguins walk around our feet and there were at least a few hundred that we saw. It was a slow trip back to the motel at St Helens as I avoided a few wallabies and a possum with a baby on its back.

January 10

We slept in a little as time was not so critical now. After a shower and dressing, I walked down to get the papers, then had breakfast. A little shopping at the local Chickenfeed store and we were ready to go. We took the highway to Scottsdale and visited the visitor centre. There was some useful information there, so we digested that and headed off to Bridport. This was another seaside town, but with more commercial fishing. We went back inland and visited the local lavender farm (Bridstowe) – another example of a person with money indulging a hobby and at the same time providing enjoyment for many and employment for a few.
We took the East Tamar Highway and visited George Town – a very pleasant town. After sightseeing, we travelled south and called in to see friends on the outskirts of Launceston. Semi-retired, they live on a few hundred acres in a new home they designed. Then we headed into Launceston and found our motel, booked in and then had tea. After some calls, we headed out to visit friends of Fran’s in the suburbs, then went back for our final night in Tasmania.

January 11

We rose a little later so we could visit the Macaque monkeys in the park opposite where we stayed. After booking out and making sure nothing had been left, we parked at the park and saw the monkeys doing their “monkey” things. Then we drove out of Launceston, picking up the papers on the way. We went along the West Tamar Highway and called in at Brady’s Lookout, then at the museum at Beaconsfield. This was interesting as it was next to the still-operating local gold mine (famous from the recent tragedy). We went to Greens Beach to visit other friends of Fran in their holiday shack (which they are renovating) and had morning tea with them, on the beach (about 40 metres from their front gate, through the bush).
We left, had lunch, and then leisurely drove to Devonport. After a little browsing in the local shops, and then a relaxing time under the trees on the esplanade, we had an early tea and went to the Spirit of Tasmania by 6. After the quick inspection, we lined up and then boarded the ship not long after 6:30. This time we were on G6, so expected to get off more quickly. Our seats were A21 and A20, so we had the entire window view of the stern to ourselves. The forecast was for a slightly rougher night, but in the end the voyage was quite smooth and we entered the heads not long before 5 and docked on schedule at 6. We were off before 6:20, filled the car with fuel at the foot of West Gate and then headed off to Adelaide to drop Fran off.

Our Tasmania holiday was over.