Tasmanian Trip December2003/January 2004 - Concludes

TUESDAY 30th DECEMBER 2003 - After a cooked breakfast we picked up the key from the Ranger then headed off to the MT. McCALL 4wd track for a day trip. Passing through Queenstown we were able to watch the steam train leave on a day trip. The scenery on this 22k m drive is superb. The Mt. McCall track is in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage area. Access from Queenstown is via Mt Jukes Road, then Kelly Basin Road to where the Franklin River Road branches off 37kms from Queenstown. This track ends abruptly at the top of an old haulage way with a drop of over 300 mtrs down to the Franklin River. We stopped here for lunch. As Jean had decided to have a rest day at camp, Bill took Cliff in his car & Carol went along with Jenny just for a change. When we got back to camp Shaun & Hannah's tent had collapsed in the rain & Jean was trying frantically to reach us via radio for help. We were lucky in that the sun came out and dried everything off by bedtime. That night we all sat on the boat ramp, hoping for a repeat performance of the previous nights sunset, but the cloud cover was heavy. It did however, give us a beauty all its own. Standing on the rocky bank we started to play "boat ramp boche'". We were having fun when Carol cracked us up with the line for the day declaring she couldn't find a rock!!!! There were nothing but rocks everywhere.

WEDNESDAY 31st DECEMBER 2003 - Packed up camp and headed off to ZEEHAN. Here we drove through the spray tunnel, which was used to cart ore. At Rosebury Jenny left the group to meet up with family , whilst the rest of us traveled on to MONTEZUMA FALLS.

The track follows the old North East Dundas Tramway (closed in 19932), through rainforest, to the spectacular Montezuma falls. At 104m, one of the highest falls in Tasmania. From Zeehan we took the B27 for approx. 5k, then on to the Murchinson Highway then turned north. Another 5k on is the Melba Flats railway siding. Turn right here onto the 4wd track. It is approx 14 kms to the "carpark" (not much space) and a few hundred metres walk to the falls. We all took delight in crossing the footbridge, which was constructed across the falls to link up with the walking track and viewing platform, on the Williamsford side of the track. There is also an alternate route out through the Ring River track, which comes out near Rension Bell. We took this track back down. It’s graded hard and is sign posted not to be attempted when there is high rainfall.

I found the whole trip up and back down exciting and really enjoyed watching our drivers use their skills and showing the love of what they were doing. The time spent at the falls was great too and we all had a great day. Lots of photos and videos taken. Carol was doing her Hollywood director impersonation all trip, looking like she was having a ball filming anything and everything. Can't wait to see the video. We set up camp at Lake MacIntosh. Not too many camp sites and had great difficulty getting the tent pegs in. We built a fire beside the lake and saw out 2003 & welcomed in 2004.

HAPPY NEW YEAR - THURSDAY 1st JANUARY 2004 - Left Lake MacIntosh 10ish, all a bit quiet this morning, on to STRAHAN and found tent sites were filling fast. Booked in for 2 nights. Needed to spend time catching up with laundry etc. and needed a shower sooooo badly! We then looked around Strahan, sawmill, bakery, found out where to board boat for cruise the next day. Camp was close to the beach which was good, lots of walks and relaxing, even more sunset shots!

FRIDAY 2nd JANUARY 2004 - 8.30 am cloud cover and showery, arrived at Strahan for our World Heritage boat cruise day trip. We cruised across Macquarie Harbour, visited Hells Gate, the harbour entrance from the Great Southern Ocean and had an interesting tour of SARAH ISLAND Tasmania's most brutal first penal settlement. This was great, the tour guides made the stories interesting and fun and we had a good look around the island.

We were lucky enough to pass a fish farm at feeding time. The commentary on board was also very good and so was the "all you can eat lunch" (wasn't it Tony). Large areas of holding nets containing Rainbow Trout or Atlantic Salmon are fed 2 or 3 times a day with pellets, which are sprayed from large hoses into the tanks. The fingerlings grow from 120grms up to 3 kilos in approx. 12 months. Who's new hat blew off and landed in the lifeboat and had to be rescued later? We all loved this trip and were able to spend a lot of time on the top deck.

The trip also cruised on to the GORDON RIVER, to the Heritage Landing. This was just beautiful. How much more beauty can a person stand, it was overwhelming at times. At the end of the day when we arrived back, we all did our own thing, just driving around looking at Strahan and what it had to offer. The sawmill was very interesting. Lots of timber available to take home (if you had the space). We went and looked through the cemetary too and some headstones were very old & carved out of Huon Pine. Tuts Wittle Wonders, where imagination & humour in carving pieces of bush wood, displayed a 20 year collection. We found Strahan to be an interesting town with a variety of things to do.

SATURDAY 3rd JANUARY 2004 - Left Strahan 9am. Lots of K's to travel today. Took the Corinna Road and crossed the Pieman River on the Fatman Barge (cost $20). Corinna consists of half a dozen wooden cabins and kiosk and reminded us all of a scene from Deliverance - da da da da da da da da da. On to Waratah for lunch stop. Cliff had a flat tyre. Quaint little town with museum, waterfall, slab hut. Must be cold there as the piles of firewood followed the fence line. Arrived at CRADLE MOUNTAIN, set up, looked and walked around some small tracks. After tea Tony, Shaun, Hannah & I decided to walk around DOVE LAKE. We started at 7.40 pm and took 2 hours to walk it. This was a lovely boardwalk with some rocky sections towards the end. Great walk to do, recommend it, even if someone kept saying "are we nearly there yet". Not sure, but that may have been me ... Beaut reflections of the mountains in the Lake, great plants. Arrived back at carpark just on dark. Who left his car lights on? Encountered wombats, possums etc. in the dark drive back to camp.

SUNDAY 4th JANUARY 2004 - Tony & Co. & Cliff & Jean took off for a drive for the day. Cradle Mountain looked purple in the distance driving through white flowering, trees which lined the road. Passed by several Tasmanian Blue Gum plantations. Everything so green. It was a cool morning and very pleasant driving through rural hilly areas. The town of WILMOT hosts several quirky letterboxes and very narrow roads. At LEVEN CANYON walked half hour track up to the lookout, which gave a spectacular panoramic view. Purple mountain backdrop, young Tas. Euc. plantation, hills and a sheer rock face leading down to the river. It looked magic and was impossible to capture on film to give it justice. Drove back on to the B15 and detoured along some smaller roads through market garden area, passed through Paloona Power Station at Barrington on to SHEFFIELD, the town of murals. This town is beautifully situated, surrounded by mountains and with a real sense of community. When we were nearly back at camp it started to rain. Great camping grounds, with huge camp kitchens, which were also used both evenings to show slides of flora and fauna by park rangers. Enjoyed our stay.

MONDAY 5th JANUARY 2004 - On leaving Cradle Mtn. we headed up to the northern coastline through Hellyer Gorge, had a short walk. Shortly after this our party said goodby to Carol & Bill, who were lucky enough to stay on for a further 11 days. We moved on to BURNIE & PENQUIN. Found a cherry outlet at Ulverstone, looked around LATROBE ,Hannah & Shaun found a great Toy Shop, complete with glow in the dark room, and many teddybears, dolls etc. so much stock.

Arrived at DEVONPORT & met Lee, Nicky & Sam and had pizza for an early tea. There was a long delay in loading the ferry. The trip back was a bit cold to be out on deck, as we had been on the way over, so we just sat inside as we left Tasmania.

TUESDAY 6th JANUARY 2004 - Arrived back on the mainland and left the ferry by 7.30 am. Jean & Cliff drove down to spend time with their daughter before coming home, Lee & Nicky made a detour to visit family and Tony & Co. drove straight home.

This was a great holiday, with a great group of people. We were all able to do our thing when required & enjoyed our together times also. Again special thanks to the "Bonds" for all the time & preparation that went into making this a good trip for all of us, especially Nicky who travelled the whole trip with a "library" file at her feet, just in case we asked something she didn't know. LOVED IT!!

THANKYOU EVERYONE - SANDRA TEE

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