Tassie - Hobart, Bruny Island, Richmond

What an adventure we are having. In Tasmania, it is reinforced around every corner.

The historic old bridge at Richmond

As the goose bumps slowly settled from our visit to The Wall, our journey continued on towards Hobart, and on to our next base, the historic old English town of Richmond. The drive down through the Derwent Valley, kept begging us to stop and look, and we just kept making notes of where to come back to if we have time. The area around New Norfolk seemed really nice.
We skirted around the northern side of Hobart, past the infamous Risden Prison, home to Martin Bryant, the Port Arthur mass murderer, and soon entered the Coal Valley, a rich farming and wine area, and into Richmond. We found the Richmond Cabin & Tourist Park, and settled in. It is a rustic Park, set among the trees, run by a very friendly and helpful manager, and is only 2 minutes drive into town.
Being one of the oldest towns in Australia, it is full of history and some of the best examples of early Australian architecture you will see anywhere in the country. Most have been well restored and now house shops or other tourist attractions, or have been converted to B&B's, of which there are a host to choose from. Our timing couldn't have been better, with Sunday hosting the annual Scottish Festival. Time to rediscover my old family heritage. Now where did I put that kilt and sporran?

The Cruise Boat

Suited up and ready for adventure

But first we had to attend to other tourist matters, and our first priority was the Bruny Island Cruise, run by Rob Pennicott. If you haven't read about this trip, you should google it. It is one of the world's great adventure day trips, and we have now been lucky enough to experience it. I will try and do it justice in a few paragraphs. Lynne and Paul's dog Harley, had been put into Doggy Day Care for a couple of days. 

We went through the gap at speed!!

It is without doubt one of the best organised tours we have ever been on. From the time we met the bus driver at the beautiful seaside town of Kettering, we knew we were in for a great day. The bus driver was Mick, a man with saltwater in his veins, and a personality and well practised humour, tailor made for the job. Turned out he was also to be our skipper on the boat. The bus takes the car ferry across from Kettering to Bruny Island, and then on a 40 minute journey down the full length of the island to our cruise departure point at Adventure Bay. The whole thing is a well oiled machine. Arrive at Adventure Bay where hot coffee and muffins are waiting (for a fee), then order your lunch (for a fee) so it will be ready for your return from the cruise, then onto the boats. On our day there were 4 boats, each carrying around 30 passengers. The boats are amazing, purpose built things powered by three 300hp outboards, incredibly fast and manouverable, allowing access within centimetres of the cliff face, and patting distance of the seals!

Relaxation without a care

Our weather was cold (14 C) and overcast, and you needed the orange suit and every thing else under it, as we literally flew along the coast stopping all the while to see caves and countless other attractions always looking up at those amazing granite cliffs looming above, only metres from the boat. Huge gardens of giant kelp clinging to the rocks that in many parts are teeming with bird life.
We reached the Southern Ocean, and a group of islands covered in seals. You smell these buggers before you see them. There are thousands clinging to the rocks, resting, sleeping or fighting. It is quite a show! The return journey is further out to sea, in search of bird life, and we are not disappointed as we see albatross, gannets, gulls and terns, and plenty of the more than 19 million short tailed shearwaters (mutton birds), that make the annual migration from the Bering Sea in Siberia, to have their babies and then return home. Ain't nature grand!!!

Mick, behind John pointing out
the oysters nutritional values.

Back on shore it is time for lunch. We are glad we ordered soup, not because we are hungry, just so we can hold the cup and thaw out! Back on the bus for home, but we make a couple of stops. An Oyster Farm with the fantastic name of "Get Shucked". A small tasting box last seconds, the sweetest freshest Pacific Oysters we've ever had! One more stop at the Bruny Island Smokehouse, for a taste of their fabulous smoked salmon and ocean trout, as well as wallaby and rabbit, which Mick assured us wasn't road kill. It was all good, but the salmon was great, and went into the bag for later on. 
We were soon back in Kettering, and the fantastic adventure was over, but the memories will last forever. We decided to finish off the day with a seafood dinner around the buzzing waterfront of Hobart's Constitution Dock. Two cruise ships departing, made for a carnival atmosphere, and we opted for Mure's Seafoods, Hobart's version of Doyles, as the venue for our meal and a celebratory glass of wine, to finish a great day. Well almost finish the day. We found the ice cream bar on the way out, so wandered the docks with delicious home made ice cream for dessert!

Pipe Band on the village green
at Richmond

Next day we were back in Hobart, as it was Saturday, and the famous Salamanca Markets were on. Everything from fresh produce to souvenirs, clothes, crafts and jewellery, this market is well able to make claim to being Australia's biggest and best. The day just disappeared. Lynne & Paul headed off early to pick up Harley, so Carol & I decided to hag around and watch the transformation, as Salamanca quickly returns to being the vibrant night scene of galleries, bars and restaurants, for which it is equally famous. The whole area reminds us of Sydney's Rocks and Circular Quay, and we felt right at home. We enjoyed browsing the galleries, had a couple of drinks at a lovely bar and then had dinner at a lovely little Indian restaurant at the far end of Salamanca Place. We have another week in and around Hobart over Easter, and will really give the place a going over then.

Not Happy Jan!

Upside down Tassie Devil!

Sunday was Scottish Day in Richmond. The weather cleared after some heavy overnight rain, and the bag pipes were in full swing early. There was a pipe band contest, tents with Scottish Clan information, a grand official opening by the mayor, followed by a mass band showing, and a dancing dog display that seemed to be a bit of a work in progress. Nonetheless it was all good fun. With the sounds of the bagpipes still ringing in our ears, we headed out to a local zoo to see what it was like, and hopefully get up close and personal with some locals, the Tasmanian Devils. We weren't disappointed. The zoo had some beautiful white lions, including a new cub which was full of fun, as well as a couple of Sumatran Tigers. In addition there were some good bird displays, a farm animal nursery and an interactive area where you could feed the wallabies, goats and sheep. We did get close to the devils at feeding time, which was most interesting as the young keeper introduced them as some of the dumbest animals on earth, and then set out to prove his point!
We have also done a day at Port Arthur, but really did not get to see it all, so we have been given convict "tickets of leave", which allow us to return at a later time to finish our experience, so I will do a separate story at a later date. We will also be back in Richmond, as Carol still has lots of shops to explore!! 
So off to Bicheno we go. Last stop with Lynne & Paul. Can't believe how fast it has gone.

Tasmania - West Coast Wilderness

We left Ulverstone and headed for the West Coast, and our next stopover at the beautiful village of Strahan. By Tassie standards, this is a long drive at just over 200km. We had been advised to follow the B18 from Burnie, and approach Strahan from the town ship of Zeehan, thus avoiding the long, steep, and very winding approach, from Queenstown. For caravanners, this is excellent advice, and we were very grateful, especially for our big caravan.

The village of Strahan

The drive was lovely. Firstly heading through beautiful farming country, before hitting the hills and tall timber. Our morning tea stop was the small mining town of Rosebery, where the cheese & bacon sausage rolls at the bakery proved a huge hit! Washed down with a good (not great!) coffee, and we were soon on our way again. The active Zinc mine, looms above the town. The mines of this area are supposedly Tasmania's richest, having estimated revenues in excess of $8 billion!


We are soon at the next mining town, Zeehan, named after the explorer Abel Tasman's ship. Once upon a time "the Silver City" was Tasmania's 3rd largest city. Now it still hosts an active mine, and a small population. There are some great old buildings such as the 1000 seat Gaiety Theatre, and the West Coast Heritage Centre that tracks the mining history of the region.

On the West Coast Beach near Strahan

From Zeehan it is only a short distance into Strahan. The countryside changes dramatically into scrubby coastal plains, which really surprised me. I had expected tall trees and forest all the way!  We pulled up at the Strahan Holiday Park, where our booking had been lost, and they had to do some fast work to rectify the problem. Thank God for Lynne's thorough bookwork! We were unable to be together, but just a few sites apart. It proved to be a very busy, pleasant caravan park, but very tight for big vans, with very limited parking. There was a lot of car juggling as people moved in and out!

Gordon River Cruise

In Strahan, we were blessed by the most beautiful weather. Given what we had heard about wind and rain and cold, we were so lucky! The two big local attractions, are the Gordon River Cruise and the West Coast Wilderness Railway. There are two operators running the river cruises. We chose the "red" boat, as we had been advised it was more informal, allowing access to the wheelhouse, and freedom of movement around the vessel, rather than a reserved seat for the day. What  a day we had!

Hell's Gate Lighthouse

The cruise starts by heading out to "Hell's Gate", the entrance to the waterway, known as Macquarie Harbour. Once through those gates, the next stop is South America. That's right, not South Africa, which shows how far south we are! It is a huge harbour, but it has a narrow (8metre), shallow (5metre) opening, restricting the size of vessel that can enter. Consequently it is not a commercial shipping harbour, other than for fishing and tourism. There are a lot of fish farms anchored in the harbour, some 280 of them, each one holding up to 12,000 fish, either Atlantic Salmon or Ocean Trout. That Tassal or Huon smoked salmon you buy at Woolies or Coles, probably comes from here.
The first white "tourists" to the area, were in fact convicts, who arrived in 1823 from Hobart, to start a Penal Colony on Sarah Island, a small island inside the harbour. This was pre Port Arthur. Their job was to be harvesting the huge huon pine from the forests and to build ships. These were the ones who named the harbour entrance, for obvious reasons. We enjoyed a wonderful tour of Sarah Island, with an animated guide, who ran the show like a play, with members of our group assigned characters from the history of the day, all as we moved among the ruins. It was a huge amount of fun. We could not believe how many people were housed on this small island. It closed in 1835 and everyone was transferred to the new penal colony at Port Arthur.
From Sarah Island, we headed for the Gordon River, along the way enjoying a fantastic buffet lunch of among other things, local smoked salmon and cheeses, washed down with some lovely local wines. As we headed up the Gordon River, we were reminded of the protests back in the 1970's, that eventually lead to the stopping of the proposed Gordon/Franklin River Dam, and the establishment of this World Heritage Listed wilderness area. At a spot called Heritage Landing, we all got off for a walk through the magnificent forest, and a look at a 2500 year old Huon Pine, recently having fallen in a storm. It is hard to imagine trees this old. These monsters grow at the rate of 1mm per year, so it is no wonder they are now protected. Cut one down, and wait 15 generations or more, to harvest its replacement!!

The ABT Steam Engine on the West
Coast Wilderness Railway

Along the banks of the King River

Next day, it was our turn to take the train. This time it was just Carol and I. We had booked the "Premium Class" carriage, which gave us better seating, and included all our food and lovely Tasmanian wines and beers, plus a pick up and drop off at our caravan park. We reckoned it was well worth the extra. It was another picture perfect day, we had some great company on the train, and had a ball. The journey is one way between Strahan and Queenstown by train, with return coach transfer. We opted to do the train from Strahan, with a coach trip back from Queenstown. We left under diesel power following the King River as we wandered through the rain forest. This is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, having had millions of tons of heavy metals washed down from the mines, up until the government finally forced the mines to build tailings dams. Some sections of the river bank still cannot support vegetation! When we pass the junction of the Queen River, the rocks turn a bright orange, further evidence of that pollution. There are stops along the way, and walks into the forest to view the bridge structures and other points of interest.

A stop along the Wilderness Railway

Lunch is at the station known as Dubbil Barril, where the engine is swapped to the ABT Steam engine. This engine uses a third rail that has a cog system allowing the engine to climb steep slopes, similar to what operates in Europe, and we know as fernicular railways. It is quite amazing to look out the window and realise just how steep the hills are. This is an unbelievable engineering achievement, and as we reach the station at Queenstown and look through the museum, we learn just what an achievement it was.

Tutts Whittle Wonders

Outside the big two attractions, we took a walk through the Peoples Park to Hogarth Falls, drove out to the west coast beaches and drove along the beach to "Hell's Gate". Not much to see except a few fishermen. We took a look at "Tutts  Whittle Wonders" a local eccentric guys look at life through driftwood and some 300 plus wooden sculptures he has collected and made. Most of them are just bits of wood he has added some eyes or slightly carved. It was a lot of fun, and if his wife is any guide, Tutt is surely an eccentric, with a warped sense of humour! For an entry fee of a gold coin, it was a very worthwhile stop!

Valentine's Day Dinner at Strahan

Last day in town was Valentine's Day, so four old romantics headed into town for a nice dinner at the local pub called Hamer's Grill. It was a lovely way to end a fantastic few days.


Next morning we headed for Richmond. We stopped in Queenstown for breakfast. It really is mining town. For those of you who know the beautiful Queenstown in New Zealand, this one couldn't be more far removed! Barren mountains of gravel, all scarred from decades of mining, still active mines belching dust and steam, tailings dams and their hectares of reclaimed sludge, and no trees. From town it is up that steep, winding climb, and back through the mountains and the Gordon & Franklin Wilderness Area, as we make our way towards Richmond.

Entry to The Wall.

At a little town called Derwent Bridge we come to one of the most amazing artistic wonders we, or anyone else, will ever see. It is called "THE WALL." Sculptor Greg Duncan has commenced, what will ultimately be, a 100 metre long wall of scluptured Huon Pine panels, each about 3 metres tall, depicting the rural, mining and construction workers of the Western Wilderness. At present, The Wall is 50 metres long, or in fact 25 metres back to back. It is housed in a new iron building, which from the minute you pay your $10, and step into the subdued lighting, takes your breath away. The sculptured wooden raincoat and hat are so life like you feel you could put them on! You then turn and look down the first side of the wall and are blown away by the scope of the work and the detail in it. It is like being in a cathedral, so quiet and reverent, as we all just stand and look at what is being created. We will have to come back, just to see the end result in 2015. What a remarkable piece of work.


We continued our trip to Richmond, knowing that we had just seen something very, very, special, all in the middle of nowhere! 

Tassie Here We Come!

Here we are back on the air again!!

January was a blur. After Gloucester, we spent the rest of the month catching up with family and friends. It would seem that absence does make the heart grow fonder, and we had some lovely times, celebrating a belated Christmas with John's family, as well as a few birthdays. We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family, and our time in Sydney and surrounds, sharing time with you all is a wonderful memory we take on our continuing journey.

Here's to Tassie!

Driving on to Spirit of Tasmania 11.

February 2nd was departure day to leave the mainland and head to the south island of Australia, otherwise known as Tasmania. We spent the night and day before at the Big 4 Ashley Gardens. It is only 20 minutes to the pier, and is the park recommended by The Spirit of Tasmania staff. We had to make special arrangements to stay on our site after normal checkout time. The staff were very helpful, especially as the park was not busy. The GPS came into its own and we made it to the wharf easily. The loading was smooth, and quite exciting, as we made our way up the ramp to the top level, and disappeared into the bowels of the boat. On checking in, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we had been upgraded into a private cabin, which was extra nice. We found our way to our cabin, checked out the layout of the ship, ordered a couple of drinks and went out on deck to watch Melbourne disappear behind us and the sun set in the west. We enjoyed a light meal, watched a little TV (Carol and Desperate Housewives!) whilst John played the pokies and won $60!! Yay!!

War Memorial and Clock Tower
at Ulverstone.

Next morning we were up at 5.50am for our 6.30am landing. We found out that our deck was to be first off. We were the 4th vehicle off the van, did our quick quarantine check at the gate, and were out in the streets of Devonport at 6.35am!!! We headed for our first stop at Ulverstone, some 30kms to the west, and at 7.05am were sitting in a lovely cafe in Ulverstone having breakfast. Couldn't believe how smooth it had all been.
After breakfast we found the Apex Caravan Park on the western side of town right beside the ocean. Our site was large and grassy, and once we had shooed the rabbits away, we set up camp for the week. Our friends Lynne and Paul were arriving on the 5th, so we spent a couple of days having a look at the local sights.


Lynne & Paul have been to Tassie a few times, but for us it is all new. Our plan is to do a circuit of the island together, and from that decide where to go in more detail after they've headed back. They will be with us for about 4 weeks, after which we have another 8 weeks.

Port Sorrell at low tide.

We took a drive out to Port Sorrell, which is a lovely beach side area to the east of Devonport. Being a lovely day, the water sparkled, and there were lots of locals at the beaches. We called in at Ghost Rock Winery on the way, and sampled some of the delicious local wine. A couple of bottles went into the fridge. Not cheap at the cellar door, but excellent wines. We found our way over to Latrobe, another quaint town, and home to platypus and the Axemen's Hall of Fame, beautifully located on the banks of the Mersey River. It was well worth a visit, though 50 axemen wouldn't have been heard above the noise of 100 women having a luncheon in the function room!! Back in town is the amazing store called Reliquaire. It is unbelievable, with over 20 rooms crammed from floor to ceiling, with dolls, stuffed toys, teddies, toys, furniture, produce, hardware, and much much more. You could spend a week here. We lost 2 hours, and then couldn't find the front door!!


Nearby is Anvers Chocolate Factory, and also the Cherry Shed. Believe it or not, Carol opted for the Cherry Shed. It proved an excellent choice, with the plumpest fresh cherries and raspberries to buy, and a fresh cherry/raspberry ice cream where a guy put a handful of each plus a scoop of ice cream into a machine, and the most delicious soft serve arrived in a waffle cone. Yummmo!

Poppy crop.

The Forth Valley is a rich vegetable and fruit growing area. You cannot believe how much is grown here. I am convinced from what I have read, that Australia would starve if not for this region. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, beans, peas, all kinds of berries and cherries, fresh flowers, tomatoes, and they grow heaps of poppies to produce codeine. In addition, the white daisy that produces pyrethrum is grown here in such volume, that 30% of the world's supply comes from this region. How about that!!

Lynne, Paul, Harley and the camper trailer

On Sunday 5th February, the day Lynne & Paul were arriving, the weather took a huge turn for the worse. We had taken a lovely drive and walk up to Leven

Penguin's big penguin.

Uniting Church at Penguin.

We took a leisurely trip along the coast to the quaint little town of Penguin. Guess what it's famous for? That's right, seals! Only kidding, the cute little guys nest all along the coast around here. The town street scape is all about penguins. The garbage cans are even covered in penguins. There are some nice cafes, and we had a lovely lunch at one called Renaessance, a play on the owner's name, not my bad spelling! There is also a terrific old wooden Uniting Church. Further west along the coast are the port of Burnie, and the town of Wynyard. We will cover theses in more detail later in our travels, as we are now in the middle of plans for a visit by John's sister Jenny and BIL David, when we will explore the north west and Cradle Mountain in greater detail. We did visit Table Cape just out of Wynyard, where the Lighthouse sits on the point of the cape surrounded by the tulip farms. Alas it isn't tulip time. The photos we saw were spectacular. We just saw more dead poppies!

Carol, Pedro and the bushranger!

Sheffield, the mural town.

A trip to Sheffield, Mole Creek and Deloraine, was another great day out. Sheffield is the Mural Town. The buildings of the town are adorned with some amazing artworks, and they are regularly refreshed and/or replaced. They are well worth a visit. In the middle of town we found Pedro the tame alpaca. His owner, an enterprising Dutchman with a surprising similarity to Pedro, eagerly invited you over for a pat or a photo, for a gold coin. I reckon by the time he went home he'd have weighed 200kgs he was collecting so much gold! Guess that's when Pedro earns his dinner! There is also a fantastic marble shop. Round marbles, all painted and showing some incredible designs, and there is The Emporium, a shop you could spend weeks in, full of memorabilia or just plain junk, call it what you will. 


At Mole Creek, the area is famous for its caves. We have seen a lot of caves, so didn't do any spelientology, just had a great lunch at the Guesthouse and Cafe. One of the best Ploughman's lunches John's ever had! Carol had a fantastic spicy tomato and red lentil soup, which was equally delicious. Further on was the town of Deloraine. We stopped for an afternoon coffee at the famous deli, and it was good. The town looked very interesting and will warrant a more detailed examination at a later date.

The Nut looking across Sawyer Bay.

On another day we headed out to Stanley, a beautiful village nestled under the quite famous landmark called The Nut. We were absolutely blessed with a gorgeous day, so saw Stanley at its absolute best. This is a quaint fishing village famous for its lobster and fish. Unfortunately our timing was bad, being the most expensive time of the year to buy lobster. The new quota season starts 1st March, when the volume increases and the prices come down. We'll see, when Jenny and Dave are here!

View looking west from The Nut

The iconic thing to do is take the chairlift to the top of The Nut, which we did and were rewarded with some amazing vistas. The village itself is a wonderful collection of restored cottages, many with historical significance, and may of them   B & B's. There are some lovely cafes and restaurants. It seems a lovely area to spend a few days, and we will later on. We enjoyed a huge feed of fish 'n chips at Hurshey's down by the docks. It was excellent. You can't miss it, it has a huge lobster on the roof, and even if you don't want to eat, it is worth a visit to see the live tanks full of "pet" fish, friendly examples of what they sell commercially, including gummy sharks, striped trumpeter and a huge crab!


Our last day was spent having a look around Ulverstone, which is a lovely seaside area, surrounded by rich agriculture, and home to one of the worlds most modern potato processing plants. The next time you have a chip, think Ulverstone. It probably came from here! I must give a  plug to the Visitor Centre. It is always our first stop in town. The lady we spoke to was so full of passion about the area, in fact all of Tasmania, and she gave us a bag full of ideas and places not to miss. What would she be like if she got paid?? Thanks for all the help.


The afternoon was spent packing up, and the evening was spent at the pub where we had a great farewell dinner. On to the West Coast, and our next stop at Strahan.