Taste of Tassie (Part 2)
- jmsrtldg
- Apr 27
- 11 min read
Welcome back to my travels in Tassie! There were three things that I wanted to achieve while in Hobart, the first (and closest to the Hobart Showgrounds where I was camped) was visiting the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). Despite the quirky modern design, architecture and layout of the museum itself, there was very little that was actually old AND art, and the 'new' art was mostly pretentious nonsense that I struggled to understand or appreciate! This was despite a clever application that I downloaded onto my phone that used bluetooth technology to ascertain my whereabouts within the various galleries and spaces and identified the installations around me. Unfortunately the descriptions provided were essentially the artists' names, where they were from, and what the name of the piece was called....seldom did any of the information provided shed any light on what the artist was attempting to portray (and often with little apparent artistic skill!).
While there were a few clever pieces and installations (see above mini gallery), I was a bit disappointed overall, although I did enjoy lunch on the grass auditorium and watched a good jazz/funk band during the afternoon.
Salamanca Street Market, Hobart Hobart waterfront Maritime sculpture, Hobart
The second and third things on my 'to do' list for Hobart were to visit the famous Salamanca Road Market (held every Saturday) and take a stroll around the Hobart waterfront. The market was a vibrant collection of literally hundreds (or so it seemed) stalls selling a wide variety of food, produce and products....and even more hundreds of people! I also enjoyed strolling around the colourful and compact waterfront which was both interesting and historical.
I left Hobart for Port Arthur stopping at Richmond to check out their famous bridge en route. Despite having paid a not inconsiderable sum for an "annual, all (national) parks pass" while travelling around Tasmania, the set-up at Port Arthur demanded a further $45 to visit the heritage convict settlement site, and a further $10 for a 45-minute tour of the principal buildings/sites. As it was a generally cold, rainy and miserable day, I passed on the expense and lunched in a park nearby.
Despite the gloomy weather, I did find the Port Arthur peninsula and surrounding countryside/beaches most appealing.
I subsequently wended my way to a couple of 'free camp' overnight spots - firstly behind the Dunalley Hotel (Dunalley), Ye Olde Buckland Hotel (Buckland) the following night and finally stopping at a low-cost camp in Triabunna. Triabunna was a delightful small port town, heavily reliant on tourism and the place from which tours to nearby Maria Island departed. Unfortunately, on setting up my campsite, my 12v water pump decided to give up the ghost, so no running water for cooking, washing up or showering (in fact I was obliged to fill up a container with fresh water from the fresh-water tank drain valve underneath the moho for cooking and heating up to wash dishes - most undignified). Fortunately there was a laundromat across the road with both toilets and showers, so I didn't have to go completely 'feral'!
Maria Is - Geological formations Maria Is - Exterior limestone stalactites Maria Is - Painted Cliffs
The Maria Island cruise comprised a circumnavigation of the island, stopping in at various locations of interest, mostly geological, however, the knowledge and enthusiasm of the boat skipper (and owner of the cruise boats) made it much more interesting than I thought it might be. We also managed to spot some wildlife action, the most interesting of which was watching a sea eagle take off from its perch on a tree, swoop down over the water, snatch a fish and return to land to eat it - unfortunately too far away for me to capture it on my mobile!
On return to Triabunna the boat skipper provided me with the contact details of the electrician he used for his boats (my water pump was fundamentally designed as a marine pump), as I had had no luck trying to find an automotive electrician available in the area previously. He did manage to get the old pump going again, however, it did not last. Luckily I had a replacement water pump in my spares kit that he subsequently fitted and set to work, but the biggest surprise was that he only charged me $50 for a couple of hours work - top bloke!
The Pondering Frog Cafe Selfie at Wineglass Bay Lookout Honeymoon Bay, Freycinet NP
From Triabunna I headed northwards up to Freycinet National Park, staying at a donation campsite at the back of a cafe called 'The Pondering Frog' for a few nights over a holiday weekend...and from where they served homemade ice cream and asian food (...there does seem to be a theme emerging here with the features of the free / low-cost campsites that I elected to stay at!). After the weekend, and with Freycinet National Park-run campsites still completely booked out, I walked up to the Wineglass Bay Lookout to take a photo as I was not going to do the 1000 steps down to and 1000 steps back up from the beach, however picturesque/famous the beach was! I did, however, stop to swim at a picturesque small beach, Honeymoon Bay, nearby - most refreshing!
Selfie at Cape Tourville, Freycinet NP Blowhole at Bicheno
Heading northwards I also stopped in to check out Cape Tourville and Bicheno, where I tried in vain to photgraph the Bicheno blowhole, but my timing was terrible (hence the underwhelming photo above) and the tide was out. I free-camped overnight at Little Beach in the Chain of Lagoons area and then spent a couple of days at Scamander for the obligatory weekly 'dhobey run'.
Bay of Fires Dora Point, Binalong Bay
One of the highlights of touring Tasmania, particularly in summer, is the area known as the Bay of Fires on the North East coast, characterised by stunning sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and bright orange lichen-covered rocks. They were all of these things, but the congestion caused by the sheer number of campers in the four most well-known free camping areas along the Bay was overwhelming, so instead I took refuge in a beachside free camp called Dora Point, in Binalong Bay to the south, followed by another at Policeman's Point, in Ansons Bay, to the North. Both of these free camps had spacious and clearly marked sites and plenty of them vacant (....although many campers would have been deterred by the length of the dirt roads to access them and the inevitable corrugations!).
Weldborough Hotel The Blue Lake Scottsdale
Following a quick dash across the top of the North East coast (mainly because the weather was turning windy and cold) via Weldborough, Gladstone, Bridport and Scottsdale, I made my way down to Launceston, staying at a low-cost campground called Old Mac's Farm.
Cataract Gorge Wallaby at Cataract Gorge King's Bridge, Cataract Gorge
From here I 'scooted' into town to do the famous Cataract Gorge via chairlift. As mentioned in my previous blog, Tasmania is characterised by a high proportion of twisting and steep roads. This was evidenced in Launceston by my e-scooter's inability to tackle the steepest road - at least with my bulk on it - and I was somewhat embarrassed to be obliged to walk beside the scooter....clearly I was no longer close to the nominal 75kg passenger weight that had been used to derive the scooter's principal specifications!
Jacobs Ladder, Ben Lomond NP Selfie at the top of Jacobs Ladder, Ben Lomond NP
The following day I ventured out to Ben Lomond National Park to tackle the infamous Jacob's Ladder road. I had been told that it was a potentially treacherous trail, however, taking it cautiously / stopping at each corner to give way to cars coming downhill (thankfully there were none!), I managed it all in 2-wheel drive (recommended to me in order to avoid making or exacerbating ruts that can occur if you are in 4-wheel drive. Sadly, the road and mountain-top were shrouded in a cold mist that day, but the photos and videos still manage to give a reasonable representation of the road.
The next section of my tour of Tassie took me southwards down the inland Heritage Way (SH1) back in the direction of Hobart. I started off at a free camp behind the Prince of Wales Hotel in the delightful historic town of Evandale, perhaps most well-known nowadays for its annual penny-farthing bicycle race (...and which I missed by a month or so!).
Scenes from Evandale
As was to be the experience in most of the towns on this route, the historical buidings were mostly beautifully maintained and presented - many associated with either penal settlements, their associated garrisons and even buildings and bridges built with convict labour.
Ross Bridge Oatlands Oatlands
I stopped at the similarly historic small towns of Ross and Oatlands, and subsequently passed through Kempton and Pontville on my way back in a northwesterly direction to Hamilton, where I stopped in a low-cost campground beside the River Clyde.
I then continued up to a campground at Miena beside the Great Lake, where I stayed overnight (another dhobey/laundry run). Continuing northwards through the Central Plateau Conservation area the following day, it was clear that it had been a desperately dry summer, and the lake levels were very low.
Bridge over the Meander River, Deloraine Duck posing on the Meander River, Deloraine
It was a short hop from there up to Deloraine, where I stayed for a leisurely three nights (at the whopping cost of $3 per night!) in a well-appointed campground beside the Meander River and only a short walk across a suspension bridge into the town centre itself. I then pressed on westward to nearby Mole Creek for a night's free camping at the back of the hotel.
Mole Creek Monotreme at the Mole Creek Pub Tulampanga Lookout, Alum Cliffs
Apart from a very good meal in the pub, I FINALLY managed to get up close and personal with a couple of platypuses in the stream running behind the pub. Very cool and unique little monotremes, they were, too!
Selfie at Dove Lake The boatshed, Dove Lake Wombat Pool and Lake Lilla
The next stop was at another famous Tasmanian landmark - Cradle Mountain (in the National Park of the same name). Despite a very cold start to the day, the weather was glorious and sunny and, having procured my shuttle bus pass to the walk sites, I changed into shorts, grabbed my trusty walking poles and backpack, and bussed out to the first of the major walks (about 10 km from the Visitor Centre car park). As well as walking around Dove Lake (the most popular of the short walks), I managed to also include walks to Lake Lilla and Wombat Pool. I nearly made it as far as Crater Lake, but seeing the very steep track (including a number of steps up) and knowing that I would have to come back down the same route (as the track from Crater Lake down to the Ronny Creek shuttle bus stop was closed), my knees directed me to head back down the Lake Lilla track to the shuttle bus stop, completing about 12km of walking in total. Yet again the walking poles had proved a life-saver.
Wooden Waterwheel, Waratah Waratah Waterfall
That same afternoon I drove westwards to spend a couple of nights at Waratah, a remote pioneering tin mining town built on a river, with a series of dams and a waterfall in the middle of the town to power the various equipment associated with mining and stamping tin. Although there were more platypuses to see here, the water in the dams was not sufficiently clear to warrant any further photos.
After Waratah I needed to head back towards the East coast and find a town with a laundromat, but the only one within cooee of my planned track was back in Deloraine! Amazingly, while strolling through town, I bumped into Ian and Marcia Carpenter - the very same couple that were already bogged in the mud at the same free camp area south of Charters Towers that I described some eleven months ago - quite a coincidence, indeed! It was here in Deloraine that, on checking my booking for my return trip to the mainland on the Spirit of Tasmania, I realised that I had a week less than I had originally thought. Given this, I elected to head back to St Helens via Fingal, principally to visit a remarkably well-run small maritime museum with a comprehensive collection of artefacts that was recommended to me by a fellow traveller. It is well worth an hour or two of your time if you happen to be in the vicinity...and have an interest in maritime/naval history, of course!
snailspace at Diana's Basin, St Helens sunset at Diana's Basin, St Helens
I stayed in a small free camp nearby at a place called Diana's Basin. It was a terrific little spot with plenty of spacious sites to choose from, but I managed to snag a great little site right beside the water as I arrived early in the afternoon. Having 'turned in' for the night, I was rudely awakened half an hour later by a big jolt as another rental campervan backed into me! It was driven by a young woman from Austria travelling with three other companions. Luckily there was no apparent damage to the moho (apart from me hurting my back leaping out of my bed after the impact!), but I do wonder why tourists/travellers are trying to find somewhere to stop for the night at 10pm - it's not as if there is anything to see once it gets dark, anyway!
Despite a marine wind warning for the area, the next day I headed up via Gladstone to a free camp at Petal Point in Cape Portland. I had previously bypassed Petal Point because of poor weather, particularly the rain and the impact it would have had on the dirt road, so now I was contending with 80km/h wind gusts instead! I was the only camper in the area and managed to find a comparatively sheltered spot overlooking the beach - but I still spent much of the night being rocked from side to side in the strong wind gusts.
scenes from East Beach and Low Head
From here I headed across to East Beach at Low Head for a night and although the wind had abated significantly, it was still cool. To cover as much new ground as I could in my remaining time in Tassie, I headed to the small town of Cressy, renown for its trout fishing. I had chosen the town mainly because of a free camp on the sports ground that also had a pub nearby, only to find that it only served meals from Wednesdays to Sundays....and I was there on a Tuesday - b*****r!
The inevitable dhobey/laundry run saw me stop in Legana on the western side of the River Tamar. Despite being quite pricey, I found it to be well worth it because of the clean modern machines (which included and automatically dispensed detergent and softener) and super-efficient driers. Having previously dispensed with/disposed of my washing machine in Alice Springs because it could only manage a 2-2.5kg load and used precious fresh water from the moho, I would then try to find a caravan park with the necessary amenities each week to the laundry. This was both time consuming and required a ton of $1 and $2 coins to be carried. The more modern laundromats (such as the one in Legana) enabled me to wash and dry two full loads in the space of an hour and a half and all conveniently paid for by card, so this has now become my preferred method.
Beauty Point foreshore snailspace at Batmans Bridge Gravelly Beach foreshore
I stayed for a couple of nights at Beauty Point (terrific fish and chips!) - very picturesque, but really only at high tide (as per foreshore pic above!). I then headed across to a low-cost camp in Narawntapu National Park, but via circuitous route that included checking out the Batman suspension Bridge and then following a route down the western side of the River Tamar, through Deviot and Gravelly Beach - a beautiful and scenic area with some lovely riverside homes.
Leaving the Koybaa campground the following morning, I also completed the nearby trail to Archers Knob (another one of the top recommended short walks in Tasmania). There were expansive views on the ascent, but not at the summit itself, where any potential views were obscured by the growth of vegetation.
I spent my last night in Tasmania in a low-cost camp in Latrobe and my last day giving 'snailspace' a much-needed clean at a local carwash before the inevitable queuing that evening to board the Spirit of Tasmania for the return trip to Geelong. Unfortunately, my recliner seat was beside an older gentleman who snored both loudly and incessantly - so I didn't get much sleep on this crossing either! After the now familiar nightmare of driving through Melbourne, it was lovely to arrive back at Henri and Kate's place on Raymond Island to chill for a while, commemorate Anzac Day and prepare for the next leg up to Cape York.
Until the next instalment, hooroo to one and all!
Jimmo (James)
+61 400 068 257
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