Travelling Around Australia: Tasmania cont.

February 25^th to 4^th March

Martine, our host, met us at Westerway, about an hour or so North West of Hobart on Friday afternoon and we followed her into the bush for about 15 kms or so, to the beautiful Meadowbank Lake where we have been invited to stay for a few days. I was absolutely gobsmacked when we arrived. A beautiful camping spot owned by the Meadowbank Ski Club, right on the lake which has been formed on the Derwent River due to a dam being constructed further downstream. This area is owned by the Ski club and its members and they maintain the land. A wonderful environment has been created by Martine’s family and others making it a perfect spot for them to holiday with their families. They spend about 8 weeks here over summer and then travel here most weekends until Easter.

A toilet block and showers have been built, to provide a bit of comfort and as they are all water-skiers they each have their own pontoon. It is a beautiful grassy area, but they haven’t sacrificed the bush landscape to create this wonderful space. Their caravans remain here permanently and have all been set up really well, with entertainment areas and fire pits. A nine hole golf course has been created as well as a soccer field and a 3km walking track. While these areas are not world class, and are bush friendly, they are amazing nonetheless. We feel very privileged to have been asked to stay.

The trip here along the Derwent River and its beautiful valleys was a delight. New Norfolk, where we have previously been for a jet boat ride on the Derwent, is the major shopping centre for the Derwent Valley. It is very close to the famous Salmon Ponds, which is Australia’s oldest trout hatchery. There is a lookout at New Norfolk which gives wonderful views of the Derwent River and its valleys. We also passed through Bushy Park which is the hop growing capital of Tasmania as evidenced by the rows and rows and rows of hops we saw growing. The road we travelled forms part of the Rivers Run Touring Route and we experienced many beautiful landscapes, including rolling hills, tall forests and beautiful valleys, with some quaint cottages along the way. This rich area produces cherries, hops and is a prime lamb production area.

We set our camper trailer up on the edge of the lake facing North East and were delighted at 6am on Saturday morning to wake up to the most spectacular sunrise we have witnessed in a while. I took lots of photos and it was certainly worth the early rise to capture such beauty. Martine took us for a ride in her speed boat to where we able capture some fascinating photos on the river, which was like a mill pond. Mirror image photos, created by the reflection in the water are very special and I will treasure them forever.

We have spent our time in this beautiful tranquil area, fishing, kayaking, swimming, boating and we even had a wild ride in the biscuit on the back of Martine’s boat. That was an exhilarating experience, something neither of us had done before. Although Martine claims it was a sedate ride she gave us, I thought it was wild. Martine’s family were here for the weekend as well and they made us feel very much at home. They are a beautiful family and we will never be able to thank them enough for making us feel so welcome. Happy Hour was great and we shared some wonderful conversations and some fantastic campfires. Thank you Martine, Sean, Nathan, Samantha, Lorraine, Denis, Tenille, Dunny and Mikayla very very very much. There are no superlatives that will do justice to your beautiful camping area and no thank you big enough for how very welcome you made us feel.

We drove to the beautiful Mt Field National Park, which is one of Tasmania’s oldest National Parks. There are some very charming little houses along the drive to the Park, with a lot of them having a river in their backyard; simply stunning. At the park, the walk to Russell Falls was short but the falls themselves, beautiful. We then took the steep climb to the top of the falls for yet another spectacular view. It is amazing to see the falls from the top as you can’t see the cascading water, only the edge as it drops away. We then took the Tall Trees walk, which is very pretty, but photos can’t do justice to the height of the hardwood trees. We enjoyed our time immensely in this National Park and again took some wonderful photos.

The trip to Strathgordon in the Southwest National Park, which is part of the Tasmania Wilderness Heritage area, was absolutely stunning. The road is lined almost all the way by trees of every description; Pines, gums and tree ferns, and of course being in Tasmania there were hilly climbs, winding roads and steep descents. Closer to Strathgordon we were greeted by magnificent mountain views. The beautiful craggy mountains that surround Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon were stunning. Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon form the largest inland fresh water storage in Australia, 27 times the volume of Sydney Harbour. The view at the Gordon Dam was truly breathtakingly spectacular and it was well worth the drive to see it. Greg and I intended to walk across the dam wall, which is the highest in Australia at 140 metres, but I had to renege. For the first time in my life I suffered a case of vertigo. So Greg went on his own and enjoyed some spectacular scenery. As I waited for him, there were a number of other tourists who also could not make the walk due to vertigo. It really is a long way down and as you descend the stairs you honestly feel very shaky. No matter, the view from the lookout itself is also magnificent and again we took some fantastic photos. It is unforgettable scenery, so if the photos don’t quite capture its beauty, we will always remember it.

We stopped at Maydena, on the way back, and took a walk to the Junee Caves. The Junee River is narrow and runs very swiftly through some pretty forests. It doesn’t run over land as most rivers do, but at the caves it pours out of the mountain. It is really very pretty.

We have really enjoyed our week here in this gorgeous part of Tasmania and next will be moving to Derwent Bridge, on Lake St Clair in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. Cheers til next time.

The following is only a small selection of photos from the hundreds we took on this trip. Enjoy!