TASMANIAN TRIP DECEMBER 2003/JANUARY 2004

Nicky, Lee and Samantha Bond, Carol and Bill Saunders, Jean and Cliff Johns, Tony, Shaun, Hannah Frick and myself Sandra Tee. This was well planned and organised by Nicky and Lee Bond, BIG THANKYOU FROM ALL OF US. 11 members in 4 vehicles joined in this great trip. We all enjoyed ourselves very much and except for 1 flat tyre, a low break fluid light & a crackly CB radio were relatively vehicle trouble free.

MONDAY 15th DECEMBER 2003 - Tony, Sandra, Shaun & Hannah left Adelaide for Ballarat. We arrived 5pm and booked into the Big4 Goldfields holiday park. This park was excellent. It was well laid out and we opted to stay in a cabin for the night. Had a pub meal for dinner and a good nights sleep.

TUESDAY 16th DECEMBER - Drove down to Port Melbourne via Baccus Marsh arrived late morning at the docks and checked out where we would be leaving from. Very warm day. After walking along Pt Melbourne beach (which wasn't too flash), we decided to drive to Lake Albert and have a picnic lunch, then drove along the coast to Brighton and found a huge shade tree where we kept cool until it was time to meet the rest of the group at the terminal. We met and had an early tea nearby. The ferry looked much larger than I had expected and we all queued up waiting to board. As the evening was still warm we spent a long time on deck watching the sunset and the lights of Melbourne turn on a spectacular farewell. It was a magic sight as we left the mainland for Tasmania. We were glad we had taken Nicky's advice to have a cabin and after a hot shower met up with the group for a drink and spent time looking around the boat, shop etc. checking out what was happening.

WEDNESDAY 17th DECEMBER - Not too bad a nights sleep. Tony and I were up at 5am to watch the sunset (bit fresh) met Bill and Carol with the same idea. Had a cuppa as we watched the "Tassy" coastline come into view. I enjoyed the ferry trip very much, always something interesting to watch. We disembarked at DEVONPORT 7.30am after an interesting hour as one hydraulic boat ramp failed and one driver failed to come to his car on time. As he was 3rd in line he held up the line of traffic behind him. He was certainly paid out by onlookers as he finally arrived. The Wanderers all met up in a carpark to have a coffee and plan our day. Nowhere handy to have breakfast. We drove through Port SORELL 31° lots of fields of pale pink poppies. First stop was Exeter on to TAMAR WETLANDS walked part of the boardwalk then on to Riverside for supplies. We needed to stock up with fruit and vegies as you are not permitted to bring them into Tasmania and vehicles and campers were thoroughly searched. Breakfast never looked so good!

Short drive to Launceston, which has many styles of architecture, onto CATARACT GORGE. This reserve covers 160 hectares. We rode on the chairlift across the Gorge and over gardens of rhododendrons and azaleas, walked beneath a magnificent canopy of European trees with peacocks strutting about, then across the suspension bridge. This was a magic place for a picnic, which we had. There was also a swimming pool, tea rooms and information Band Rotunda. Had a great day here then headed off to our campsite arriving 3pm at Myrtle Park (which cost a grand total of $3 for the night. Pitched the tent and Jean, Cliff, Tony, Hannah and I drove up to Bridestowe Lavender Farm. This was a beautiful drive so many tree ferns and tall mountain backdrop lined with native forest and tree farms, veg. cropping and dairy herds grazing the pastures. At SCOTTSDALE would like to have spent more time at the Forest Ecocentre, as it looked very interesting. This campsite had toilets but no showers but was very green underfoot, there was a huge tree, which we measured the girth of and it was 6.5mtrs.

On Thursday we left Myrtlebank travelling east through rural area with isolated farms here and there heading towards BEN LOMAND NAT PK, which is one of Tasmania's two principal skifields. More ferns & blue mountains. Its a large alpine plateau, with the highest peak, Legges Tor, rising to 1573m. Drove back down through Upper Blessington towards Mathinna (now 14°). We went north through a logged area. There were white flowering trees lining the track and cloud still covering the mountain top. Passed Upper Esk then back onto Mathinna track, so we had done a 1/2 loop around Roses Tier track. North towards Ringarooma had lunch Griffin Road picnic area. We then drove through FINGAL STATE FOREST in the rain. Looking for a bushcamp but road closed and its now raining and foggy. Called into Pyengana cheese factory, thought a coffee would be nice. Bill however thought he would order a chicken and cheese pie as well, expected a pie in a bag - it came on a plate and cost him $15.00. We all thought he was going to choke, his face was priceless! This started off a running joke about pies throughout the trip. Arrived at ST HELEN'S C/Pk 5pm and set up in the rain Yeah. It was wet but not cold and there was a good camp kitchen and lots of chairs around an old pot belly stove. We were able to dry off a couple of wet sleeping bags, cook inside and sit and relax.

FRIDAY 19th DECEMBER Had a look around St Helens main street, then headed off to ELEPHANT PASS PANCAKE HOUSE where we had pancakes for lunch. Quaint place to go but I thought the prices were high. There are a high percentage of timber homes in Tasmania as there are no termites. Took the Apsley Link bush track after Bicheno to Harding Falls, which we climbed down to look at. We drove down one track 17k only to have to turn back due to a fallen tree.

Checked into Coles Bay visitor centre 5.30pm. Tonight we have a camp in individual bays each with its own walkway onto the beach at Great Oyster Bay, which is on the western side of Freycinett National Park Peninsular. We set up camp wondering if it was going to be another wet night like last night, but it stayed fine. We cooked tea and went for a couple of walks along the beach, had a paddle and sat outside for awhile.

SATURDAY 21st DECEMBER Richardson Beach. It was great to fall asleep listening to the waves last night. After we had bacon & eggs for breakfast we headed off to hike up the 600 bush steps to the Wineglass Bay lookout. This was an excellent track and well worth the effort. Part way up, we took a break on an interesting seat designed and made by 2 architectural students. We met Bill coming down the track, then later, Carol, who was enjoying filming as she walked along. The view was spectacular and we had the viewing platform to ourselves and took "1 or 2 photos". As we walked down (which was much easier I must say) we met a lot of people coming up, so we timed it well.

We all packed up & met at 12, then headed south for a lovely coastal drive. We stopped at Spikey Bridge picnic area, had lunch then took off for Raspins Beach C/Pk - Orford, where we had booked sites. Orford C/Pk was awful, so we decided to drive down to Louisville & found a nice camping park. We sat in the Bistro after dinner altogether & caught up with how everyone had spent their day & were spoilt with chocolates, compliments of the management.

SUNDAY 21st DECEMBER We left Louisville, turned off Tasman Highway at Orford through Spring Beach and Wielangta Forest and did a great 15 minute walk at ROBINSON’S BRIDGE, through remnant rain forest, on a board walk. The bridge was made out of huge tree trunks in 1988, just a great little spot. As we continued, we could see Marion Bay through the trees. Tasmania is such a beautiful place, very clean and the tourist information centres are very good. We found a bakery at Dunalley & stopped for morning tea. Drove through Doo Town, which has a row of beach houses all with Do in their house name e.g. Rumdoo, Doo Me, We Do, Do Nix, Do Us, Xanadu, Love Me Do, Much A Doo, Do All, Just Do It, Do Right, Gunnadoo, Doodle Doo. We looked at Tessalated Rocks which is a rock shelf with geometric erosion patterns, then on to more spectacular coastal rock formations, as we toured Tasmans Arch, the Blowhole and the Devil’s Kitchen. It was very cold as we looked at all the tourist stuff. At 1pm spent ½ hr lunch break at Eagle Hawk lookout, took a short walk to panoramic views, to a place where hang-gliders take off from. Took track through Tasman National Park, Taranna State Forest to get to a planned bush camp, only to find the road closed due to bush fire.

We decided then to continue on to PORT ARTHUR. This turned out to be a great camp spot with bush shelters fitted with BBQ & fireplace and lots of rustic seating and a great camp kitchen. That night Tony, Shaun, Hannah, Bill, Carol, Lee, Nicky and Sam, went on the Ghost Tour of Port Arthur, which they all enjoyed, while Jean, Cliff & I opted to go to Carols by Candlelight in the ruins. This was a great experience for us as the ruins were lit up on the outside & we of course had candlelight on the inside. Magic. We booked for 2 nights. The first night was very windy with lots of rain. Port Arthur began operating in 1830 as a timber station, but became a prison settlement for male convicts in1833. During the 1840’s with its captive resource of convict labour, Port Arthur became a self sufficient secondary punishment prison settlement, producing ships, sawn timber, clothing, boots & shoes, bricks, furniture, vegetables & other goods. This productivity waned in the 1850’s & 1860’s and the prison closed in 1877. Many of the settlement’s main features were gutted by fire during the next two decades. A very interesting place to visit especially if you love Australian history.

MONDAY 22nd DECEMBER - Spent the day dodging the rain. Enjoyed an interesting guided tour with lots of historical facts. Looked through some of the buildings and even though it was still raining, went on the cruise anyway around Dead Man’s Island. As my grandfather was a stonemason, I loved looking at the stonework on the buildings. There are approx. 1100 graves on the island in an area of 1 acre. Free settlers were buried on a higher level than the convicts and children, depicting the social standards of the time. Children as young as 9 were also deported to Port Arthur. We had a good day here, the whole set up was well organised and you need to allow plenty of time to do it justice. Back at camp Tony & I explored the tracks either side of the camp. One track let to the sea at Port Arthur, the other side led to Garden Bay with a lovely beach.

Whilst sitting in the shelter shed altogether, with a roaring fire, we just reflected on things we have enjoyed so far. Carol braided Sam, Nicky & Hannah’s hair (just because she can) & loved every minute of it. We all relaxed by the fire and enjoyed a couple of drinks.

HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR :

NICKY     Everything I’ve seen on this trip has been new to me. (Nicky has been to Tasmania before.)

BILL      --------------------------!

JEAN      Robertson’s Bridge. It felt like we were the first people to go there. It was as if it wasn’t real somehow.

CLIFF     Cataract Gorge. The chairlift, rapids, every minute of it really and finding Louisville after the disappointment of Orford.

CAROL     I enjoyed the history of Port Arthur, especially Dead Mans’s Island as "dead men tell no lies".

LEE       I enjoyed my night because I’d had a shave!!

SAM       I liked Todd on the Ghost Tour.

TONY      The ferry trip, the lovely night & sunset & the early morning sunrise.

SANDRA     I enjoyed the walk up to Wineglass Bay (I was glad I was actually able to climb it) and see the magic panoramic views. I loved the walk at Richardson Beach and the huge tree and grounds at Myrtle Bank.

We thought this camp was well set up for backpackers and campers alike and was very well maintained.

More to come next newsletter - Sandra

I must thank Sandra for parting with her memoires for me before they were finished.      Ed

Disclaimer : please note