Travelling Around Australia: February 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

Tasmania cont.

Feb 21^st to Feb 25^th

We left Bruny Island today, 25^th Feb, after 4 nights camping on the South Island. We were blessed again to have some great neighbours camp beside us. The first 2 nights we had Belinda and Luke and their gorgeous 18^th month old daughter Lily. Belinda and Luke are from Swan Hill in Victoria. They are on a short holiday in Tasmania and were trying to cram as much as possible into their trip. They saw all the snow that fell in Mt Field National Park on the previous Saturday and showed us some wonderful pictures. It’s hard to believe that much snow can fall in February. We shared a meal with Belinda and Luke at the Hotel Bruny at Alonnah, which is currently the southernmost pub in Australia.

The second 2 nights our neighbours were Col and Jan from Port Macquarie in NSW. They are travelling extensively throughout Tassie and have travelled throughout Australia and shared some wonderful stories with us. Because of their extensive travel they also told us of some must sees. It is really great when people share their experiences with us and give us ideas of where to go and what to see. Jan is an artist and showed us some of the beautiful pastels she has created of the magnificent Tasmanian scenery.

Bruny Island is accessed by the vehicular ferry Mirambeena from Kettering. The trip only takes about 15 mins. Most visitors come for a few nights camping or for a day trip. North and South Bruny are separated by a narrow isthmus call ‘The Neck’. There is a viewing platform on ‘The Neck’ which provides a breathtaking view of the isthmus and surrounding coastline. The penguin rookery is also at this site.

Bruny Island is about the same size as Singapore, but only has about 620 permanent residents. The highlights of our stay on Bruny were visiting the Cape Bruny Lighthouse with its spectacular views over the Southern Ocean and the Bruny coastline. Bruny Island has a really dramatic coastline and some very beautiful beaches, which can be either wild or very tranquil. The Jetty Beach camping area in the National Park is a very peaceful and tranquil camping area and offers a lot of shelter from the wind. The campsite where we camped is on the Neck at the southern end of the beach, and while we didn’t have a view from the campsite, it was only a short walk to the beach, which is of course very beautiful.

Alonnah is on the west coast of South Bruny and this is where the southernmost pub is. However the owner told us it will lose that title soon as the pub in Southport; southwest across the D’entrecasteaux Channel is now licensed and can now claim to be southernmost pub in Australia. The bakery at Alonnah also makes the most delicious Scallop pies.

Adventure Bay is one of the most historic sites in Tasmania. The Captain Cook monument is here and we visited the site of his landing. Mable Bay lookout, just before the entrance to the national park again offers some spectacular views of the coastline over Cloudy Bay and the Southern Ocean. Cloudy Bay beach is really beautiful and the 3 km drive along the beach to get to the camping site at Cosy Corner was a lot of fun. This is the spot where we really wanted to camp, but were told it was too windy and wet at the time, as well as we should only attempt it at low tide. We then found out we could have done it at any time with care. Never mind, we made the trip anyway and it would have been a great spot to camp. It is very remote, secluded and serene, with a great view to the beach. All in all Bruny Island was a great place to explore and you could probably do it all in a day, but to miss out on the camping opportunity would be a shame.

Next we are heading inland a bit to meet up with our friends from Mayfield Bay, Martine and Sean, at their camping spot at Meadowbank, which is a lake formed on the Derwent River, about an hour or so West of Hobart. They have graciously and very generously asked us to stay with them at their very private camping area for a few days and we are looking forward to seeing them again. Cheers til next time.

View from The Neck lookout

The Isthmus from the lookout

From the Lookout, our campsite is on the right at the top of the beach

The Southern Ocean from Cape Bruny Lighthouse

View from Cape Bruny Lighthouse

The Hotel Bruny (southernmost pub in Australia)

Cloudy Bay Beach

Cloudy Bay Lagoon

Jetty Beach

Greg and Captain Cooks Landing

Jetty Beach

View from Mable Bay Lookout

Me at Captain Cooks Landing

Our campsite beach

From Cosy Corner Campsite

From cosy Corner Campsite

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Tasmania cont.

Feb 17^th to Feb 20^th

We had a wonderful day, as you would imagine, with Barry and his partner Carol. Greg and Barry had not seen each other for about 30 years, so there was a lot of catching up to do and over many drinks and 2 meals. Yep, from 12 pm until 10 pm we drank, ate, laughed, talked, drank, and ate, laughed and talked some more. It was a great day and it was good to see two old mates catch up with each other and hear their stories from the past.

Snug is situated on the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, waterside hamlets along the Channel include, Margate, Woodbridge and Kettering, where the vehicular Ferry takes visitors across to Bruny Island. The beautiful Oyster Cove Marina is also situated at Kettering. Along the Channel it is easy to spot the white sails of yachts and fishing boats. Kayaking is also very popular in this area. The Channel Hwy, which we have taken the opportunity to explore, takes you all the way to Cygnet, which is a creative community town on the west side in the Huon Valley. It is a lovely drive and you can take in the sights of orchards, pastures and deep green forests. Along the way there are many wineries, and a beautiful world class restaurant, Peppermint Bay. This restaurant is very popular with visitors and locals alike and can be reached by road or by sea, with a special cruise bringing people from Hobart on a fully guided journey. We would have loved to stop there for a meal but our budget unfortunately doesn’t allow that type of luxury.

There is also many photo opportunities on this drive, with Charlotte Cove, a gorgeous fishing inlet, and Verona Sands, a little seaside holiday destination, with its view out to Huon island being my favourite. We also stopped and picked some blackberries along the way which were very delicious.

Snug is a small town, but it does have a spectacular waterfall and the delightful Snug beach to entice tourists. Some people say once you have seen one waterfall you have seen them all; I totally disagree; each one is unique and they are all beautiful. Snug Falls is no exception; the walk to the falls was beautiful with its steep drops into the forest and some caves and brooks along the way. Coningham Beach is also a beautiful spot about a kilometre away, with its white sand beach and old boat sheds. There are some really beautiful homes there with spectacular views across the water.

Many people stop overnight or for a few nights at the Snug Caravan and Cabin Park. It is a popular stopover for those people in particular who want to take a day trip to Bruny Island or travel to Huonville for a ride on the jet boat. Snug is also not far from Hobart, so it is a good base to explore the whole Huon Valley and Channel region, as well venturing into the city. We met again with some people we met at St Helens, Peter and Cecily, who had just come back from Bruny and did the Huon jet boat ride. Also Llonda and Rosemary, our friends from Mayfield Bay have stopped at Snug for a little while. It was like old home week.

Greg and I have previously been to Hobart and done the whole tourist thing there, including the Salamanca Market as well as a jet boat ride at New Norfolk, so we are avoiding those activities this time around.

We delayed our trip to Bruny until tomorrow the 21st, due to the inclement weather. It was extremely wet on Saturday, the wettest day we have had and we didn’t want to pack up and then set up in the rain. The weather looks like clearing for the remainder of the week, so hopefully our trip to Bruny will be worthwhile. We are really looking forward to camping on the Cloudy Bay Lagoon, as well as taking in the Bruny Island Cruise. We hope to camp there for about 5-6 days, so my next post will be after that trip. Cheers till then.

Charlotte Cove fishing inlet

View at Coningham Beach

Boat sheds on Coningham Beach

Coningham Beach

View over the Huon Valley to the Huon River at Deep Bay

Holiday Shack on the Huon

House at Verona Sands with Tram Balconies

Huon Island from Verona Sands

Oyster Cove Marina at Kettering

View from Snug Beach

Snug Waterfall

Snug Beach looking towards Caravan Park

Snug Waterfall

Fishing Shack at Charlotte Cove

We are currently on Bruny Island and due to poor internet service was unable to post this blog earlier. Bruny Island photos and adventures will follow in next blog.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tasmania cont.

Feb 9^th through to Feb 16^th

Campfire at Cockle creek

Old Cemetery at Cockle Creek

Yachts on the Bay at Cockle Creek

Beach at Cockle Creek

Yachts on the Bay at Cockle Creek

The end of Australia's most southern road

Driftwood on the beach at Cockle Creek

View from our campsite at Cockle Creek

Dover

The old railway line at Cockle Creek

Our neighbours at Mayfield Bay

Beach shack at Cockle Creek

The Southern Right Whale at Cockle Creek

The beach at Cockle Creek

We spent Wednesday and Thursday at Mayfield before moving on. We had a fantastic time at this beautiful campsite and really enjoyed the company of our neighbours. We had a couple camp beside us for one night only on Tuesday night. They are a Tasmanian couple, Fergie and Diana. Yes it’s true. Funny story about that. When we were camped at St Helens, Greg was talking to a neighbour and then came and told me he had just been speaking to Prince Charles. Later when I met Stan, I couldn’t believe the likeness. So when we met Fergie and Diana, particularly with their royal names, we had to have a giggle to ourselves.

Fergie and Diana are from Sisters Beach on the North West Coast of Tasmania, near Burnie. After chatting to them for a while and also learning a lot about their travels and insightful views on where to visit in Tasmania, they invited us to spend our last few days in Tassie with them at their home, which is only 80 km’s from Devonport. It is a very gracious offer and one we might just take them up on as we will be in that area towards the end of our seven weeks in Tasmania

Our other neighbours at Mayfield, Llonda and Rosemary, as well as Martine and Sean and their kids, Nathan and Samantha made us feel like part of a family. We were very lucky to have met them as they all gave us some good information about what to see in Tassie. Thanks to Martine, instead of heading inland on our next journey, we have decided to go to Cockle Creek on the rugged South West Coast. Before we left however, we all shared a wonderful meal around the campfire, a few drinks and some great conversation. Thanks to Llonda and Rosemary for the very nice bottle of Tasmanian Sauvignon Blanc, I enjoyed it very much. They are all great company; we will miss them all, but will keep in contact to let them know how our travels are going.

Cockle Creek is a beautiful little camping ground, and after spending the most part of the day travelling and stocking up on essentials, we were able to finally find a spot and set up camp. The day was spent travelling through, Sorell and Hobart, which was a buzz of activity due to the Wooden Boat Regatta. We had to drive straight past Constitution Dock, which was extremely busy and made the traffic heavy. But we got through okay and headed towards the beautiful Huon Valley on our way to Cockle Creek.

During our journey along the Huon Hwy we drove beside the Huon River and its rural valleys, against a backdrop of forested hills, with an abundance of farms and orchards, producing such goods as cherries, apples, cheese, hops and wool. There are plenty of roadside stalls selling everything from pink-eye spuds to rhubarb jam and blueberries. It truly is an extraordinarily scenic region and a delight to drive through.

We also passed through the coastal and very pretty town of Dover and the seaside communities of Ida Bay and Moss Glen. Ida Bay houses an historic railway line. After we had travelled along the last few kilometres of the pot holed road, which is Australia’s most southern road, we found our beautiful camp site at Cockle Creek. Cockle Creek is on Recherche Bay in the Nature Recreation area and just borders the South West National Park. We have a beautiful site, overlooking a gorgeous sheltered white sand beach with a backdrop of rainforests. Unfortunately it was very wet when we were setting up camp; in fact it was one of the coldest nights we have experienced so far in Tassie. However we got through it and woke up to a cool but fine day.

We went for a walk along the beach, through part of the National Park to view the mighty Southern Right Whale Sculpture. We saw the remnants of the old timber mill and further along , a little way into the South Cape Walk we saw the old crude wooden remains of the rail line that the serviced the mill. Back towards camp we came across the old Cockle Creek Cemetery in the coastal scrub, with tombstones dating back to 1886 to the early 1900’s. It was a very lonely, rugged and hard life they lived back then, with most deaths caused by timber mill accidents, drowning or suspected murders.

We were sitting at camp in the early afternoon, when we heard the sound of an ice-cream van no less. True, an ice cream van on Australia’s southernmost road, a goat track of a road at that, and blow me down if an ice cream van didn’t arrive. People came from everywhere; they must have made a nice little profit from that journey. And yes Greg and I bought one each, couldn’t resist.

Speaking oz slang such as ‘blow me down’, we came across a couple of steep hills on the way to Cockle Creek. One was called ‘break me neck’ hill and the other was called ‘bust me gall’ hill. We can understand why though, as the cruiser, with all the weight it was carrying and towing, struggled a bit at times. We must have travelled uphill all the way to Cockle Bay. At one point we were 376 metres above sea level. Can’t remember going downhill at all, but we must have as we are on the sea, but WILLDO made it.

We woke to a very wet and miserable day on Sunday, a shame for all the Tassie campers, who were utilising their long weekend holiday, so the day was spent cooking and playing 500. The weather cleared considerably during the afternoon, so we were able to go for a walk along the beach again. That night was a very clear night and we, as usual, set up the campfire and sat around it with our dinner, a drink and one of the most beautiful starry nights we have ever witnessed. Being so far south, the night sky was a marvellous spectacle.

Monday was warm and sunny so we took Portabote out into the bay and had successful day fishing. We caught 7 Flathead. It was the first time we have had the boat in saltwater and it went like a beauty, so did the fish. A nice feed, a delightful starry night again and a beautiful campfire enticed us to get the computer out and watch a movie under the stars by the fire. Ahh! Perfect.

Tuesday was yet again a beautiful, warm and sunny day. After another walk along the beach we started to pack up, ready to move on. Michael, who owns a shack at Cockle Creek came and chatted with us for a while. He was very interesting and again gave us an insight to the area. The gorgeous, blue beach shack you can see in the photos has been owned for some years by a man who had to have it heritage listed so that it couldn’t be taken from him. Michael also told us that the population in the area was once around 6000, due to the timber mill and the whaling industry, but in recent years it has reduced considerably and probably less than 80 residents now. It has become a very popular camping area in the past 10 years or so and prior to that only a few summer campers would take up residence there. Now people come and go all year long.

Wednesday we packed up and moved onto Snug. Our plans were to head straight to Bruny Island but we are meeting an old friend of Greg’s on Thursday. Greg was in Western Australia about 30 years ago with Barry. Barry is originally from Tasmania and when we were in St Helens, Greg happened across someone who knew Barry. He was able to give Greg Barry’s phone number. As it happens Barry is in Hobart for a week and is driving down to have lunch with us.

We set up camp in the Snug caravan park. Snug is situated on the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, not far south of Hobart. From here it will only be a hop, step and jump to Bruny Island. While we were preparing dinner, one of our neighbours, a Swedish man, called Ben, started to play the Piano Accordion. Along came another neighbour, Dutchy, and he had a harmonica. They played some wonderful music together and so we were serenaded while we ate dinner. It felt as though we were on the Mediterranean. The sound was beautiful. We will be here in Snug for a couple of days and then head to Bruny Island. Cheers till next time.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tasmania cont.

February 4^th

Today after a few days in St Helens we packed up to head further south along the coast. We hadn’t any real plans but just wanted to find the right spot. We passed through Scamander, and then stopped at Chain of Lagoons, hoping to find a campsite, but there weren’t many available. We then stopped at Bicheno, which is a very pretty little town, but we were looking for a good free campsite and it doesn’t offer one. We headed further south to Swansea which is surrounded by vineyards and picturesque groves of olives and walnuts. The coastal areas on the East Coast are so very pretty; it is hard to make a decision about where to camp. 15 km’s past Swansea we came upon the most beautiful campsite at Mayfield Bay, which is in the Coastal Reserve on Great Oyster Bay.

To say we got a good position is an understatement. Our campsite must be the A1, King of the Hill Spot. We are about 10 short steps to the grassy picnic area which is right on the beach. We have a campfire right in front of us with a brilliant view over the bay. Included in that view is the Freycinet Peninsula and it looks spectacular. We can see across to the Freycinet National Park, Mt Freycinet, and to the Coles Bay and Wineglass Bay area.

This is a very popular camping area and we have some lovely neighbours. We met Rosemary and Londa who are also travelling around Australia, and Peter who is a local, but camps here to do some fishing. Peter took Greg up the road to a mate’s farm and gave us a good supply of firewood. And then we have Ernie and his 3 little dogs. Ernie is a widower, from NSW, who is halfway through his tour of Tassie and has given us some valuable information about what to see and what to avoid.

Feb 4^th to 8th

Our days at Mayfield Bay have been some of the most relaxing of our journey so far. This campsite is extremely popular and we have since been told that it is often very difficult to get a spot. Shaun and Martine from Hobart are camped here with their children, Nathan and Samantha. They have seen of lot of their beautiful state and have given us a lot of ideas on where to go. It is really great networking with the locals, because you can learn so much and avoid mistakes.

Ernie cooked us a beautiful lunch on the open fire, Paraguayan style, before he left. It was delicious. Londa and Rosemary shared their Lamb Curry with us one evening, again it was delicious. I am sure I will run out of descriptive words before I finish this journal.

As earlier mentioned, we are camped right on the beachfront at Mayfield Bay. It is easy to pop on the beach and go for a walk or do a spot of surf fishing. We haven’t had any luck with fishing so far, but the fun is in the trying I guess. The other night, when attempting to cast, I stepped in a gutter and fell AOT into the water. Thank God for our hot water service, I was freezing by the time we went back to camp.

The sun rises directly in front of us over the peaks of Freycinet and reflects on to the water. It is a delightful way to wake up every morning. The campfire is lit every night and is a great way to end the day, with a chat with the neighbours combined with a drink or two. We have been in Tasmania just over 2 weeks now and are really starting to wind down.

Greg and I took a drive to Freycinet National Park on Monday. This truly is a most beautiful area of Tasmania. We had a look around Coles Bay and Honeymoon Bay and took the drive up to the Cape Tourville lighthouse lookout. The views from there were spectacular. We then drove up to the Wineglass Bay car park and walked to the Wineglass Bay lookout. The walk is quite steep at times, but the track is very well made with lots of steps and rails and lookouts along the way. It is about a 1 ½ hour return walk, but the view when you get there is worth every step you took. It is breathtakingly beautiful. You can’t access Wineglass Bay from the road. It is only accessible by boat or via another walk down the mountain. The Wineglass Bay cruises are very popular. There are many different walks you can take in Freycinet National Park, but we chose only to do the Wineglass Bay Lookout walk. The others are much longer and although I’m sure they would be fascinating to attempt, it wasn’t for us this time. Freycinet National Park is certainly worth the trip.

We will stay in Mayfield Bay for another day or two and just chill. Then we intend to travel away from the coast for a bit, so we are going inland for awhile, before heading down to Bruny Island. Cheers until next time.