Heading east to Lake St Clair

It was time to say goodbye to the wondrous West of Tasmania's wilderness. We drove East, passing through stark Queenstown. We stopped to join the rememberance of the diggers at their ANZAC Day memorial service.

Onward we drove, admiring the countryside until we reached Lake St Clair in the afternoon, with time to camp and walk two trails around its serene and beautiful lake. Along the walks, as dusk approached, we looked out for platypus at the lake's edge.

Tomorrow, our next stop would be Port Arthur in South East of Tasmania.

How two halves are not better than one

To top off my day, I took a small detour on a beach road squeezing through some tight dirt roads surrounded by tall bushes. Then, when we were back at our campsite, after our brief adventure,  I discovered the price to be paid was a broken fishing rod, as it was tied to the side of the car!

Time for the super, super glue!

The case of the vanishing spotlight

As we drove down the dirt road to Macquarie Heads, Robyn heard a thump. Thinking nothing off it we drove on. On the way back from our day trip Robyn's eagle eyes spotted a remarkably similar spotlight to the one we thought was still attached to the car!

Strahan - last outpost in south-west

If you read the last post, you would have been left wondering if the Ralh family would find accommodation at Easter in Strahan, or would we be left homeless, getting the kids to perform, busking for food and lodgings. Luckily it didn't come to that - there was plenty of spots at the Macquarie Heads Campground - 14km North of Strahan, next to the harbour, We got ourselves a great large spot, shaded by trees for the very considerate price of $6 a night... and they threw in a communal pit dunny too!

 

Helping to set up the tent!

 

The bay at Macquarie Heads Camping site

Easter egg hunt

Strahan

Yet another idyllic photo at Strahan

 

We took the Gordon River World Heritage Area day cruise which stopped by Sarah Island, a harsh penal colony. It also included a magnificent walk amongst its damp, untouched forests full of Huon Pine. 

Gordon River Cruise

Sarah Island

Touring the remains of the penal colony

Along the Gordon River World Heritage Area

In the evening we saw the thoroughly entertaining play The Ship That Never Was, which encouraged audience participation. Adam and Jasmine took part, steering the ship.

Adam & Jas participating in The Ship That Never Was

One of Robyn's highlights was to find a laundry so we could all get fresh clothes :)

Doing the laundry

Mum helped too!

A magical drive through the Tarkine Wilderness

We put on our explorer hats, and drove down the Great Western Highway to view the spectacular Tarkine Wilderness. The stark white sandy gravel road wound it way through the harsh yet brilliant country offering one spectacular view after the other, leaving you feeling that you were the only travelers visiting its shores.

Roaring Forties at the Platform at the Edge of the World - Arthur River - Bloody freezing and Bloody windy!

We ended up camping at Corinna, at a campsite adjoining a hotel in time for happy hour. A stunning place to put down roots for a few days. A roaring outside fire, and new friends were made with Keith and Paul. They provided lots of great advice on where to travel to while we did our tour.

Happy hour!

Huon Pine

Mud - glorious mud!

Visitors for breakfast

Paul and Keith... and "the bums"

I bought some bait and again tried my hand fishing at the Pieman River. As I returned to camp, Adam gleefully informed me that I was the worst fisherman - ever! Ah - don't you love kids.

Again, as we left in the morning, true to form, it rained again. The inside of the tent was covered in  mud, as were we and the camper-trailer. Damp, downtrodden, and a little miserable to say the least, we managed to leave this rainy paradise, crossed, the ferry and headed south. On the way to Strahan we did a detour to see the enormous Reece Dam.

Reece Dam

As it was the Easter weekend, would we find accommodation or were all the campgrounds full?

Northwest Tasmania

We escaped Devonport after filling up with supplies, and traveled to the North West corner of Tasmania to stay three nights in the tranquil Montagu Park, looking across Robbins Island. I tried my luck fishing on the beach, but without bait, I tried lures and even bacon - note to self - fish don't seem to like bacon!

The exporer

Time to catch up with homework

Fish and chips at Brunie

The Big Penguin at Penguin

We took day-trips to some spectacular sites - Stanley with the Big Nut, a great big mound of volcanic rock crying out to unsuspecting tourists to climb its very steep hills. The beautiful town has come out of a picture book, full of old world charm. The kids staggered up, feigning tiredness, but mysteriously their energy returned whenever we reached a flat point.

 

Time to play

Do we have to climb the Big Nut!

 

Steeling themselves for the steep slopes!

Relaxing at the top of the Nut

That photo will never come out!

Day trip to Dip Falls

Boat Harbour beach was a highlight with beautiful white sandy beach and calm, turquoise blue seas. The shoes and socks were taken off, the jeans rolled up, and a quick dip into the refreshing water ensued, followed by chips and ice-cream on the beach. It will probably be the kids highlight of the trip so far!

 

The weather remained fine for our stay until we decamped - when it absolutely poured and poured! Ah, there's nothing like packing up in the rain to put a other problems in perspective.

Tasmania, Devonport

After a calm sea and no sea sickness, we managed to get across the Tasman Sea in one piece. Strict quarantine restrictions added some delays to boarding... apparently they don't like backpackers being smuggled onboard - 3 were caught last week stowing away! A quick overnight stay in Devonport which I put to good use, learning how to embed Google Maps into blogs :)

Having to add the roof-rack to the camper-trailer!

 

 

Approaching the Spirit of Tasmania

 

 

 

 

A tiring journey for mother and daughter

Driving to melbourne

An unexpected bonus while driving to Melbourne was Captains Creek Organic Winery. Fantastic wines from a lovely cellar, Carolyn & Doug who will be taking 3 months off themselves to go to the Kimberly's. Alas, we succumbed to temptation and bought more wines than we should, and traveled with them between our legs in the car! Does anyone else get headaches from the preservatives in wine? Organic has lower sulpher content.

We went to probably Robyn's & the kids highlight, the Chocolate Mill outside the tranquil Daylesford. Great story on how it started, the sacrifices to follow your dreams, & a satisfied group of customers.

Jordan the chocoholic!

We're staying in Big 4 in Coburg... In a 6 berth cabin with heating - not just body heat for a change!

To get onto the Tasmania ferry and its 2.1m height restriction, we have had to move the roof rack from the top of the 4 wheel drive to on-top of the camper trailer, rearranging our luggage. Two hours of fun before dinner!

A treat was Vietnamese with George, Megan and family in Melbournes inner city.

Tasmania, here we come.