From Zeehan to Longford (South of Launceston)

A week has passed once more and we are getting closer to sailing back to Australia and since my last entry nothing much has happened, we have been taking it easy and vegetated a few days.

Zeehan at High Noon

We left Zeehan on the Monday in pretty wet weather and decided to go back for a few days to Gowrie Park where we had been previously, driving back took us via Cradle mountain valley and some steep terrain and where a 100km on the mainland would take you probably an hour plus this trip was 2 1/2 hours of climbing but in the end we got there ok.

Coffee in the mountains of Cradle Valley

At Gowrie Park due to the bad waether we ended up staying for 3 days and did some local sight seeing i.e. Sheffield, Mole Creek etc.

Both pictures above Mountains behind Gowrie Park (Mount Roland & Mount Claude)

A Fairy House (just wanted to throw this pict in)

Visited a the honey shop, Salmon Farm and general did some walking along some tracks around Gowrie Park.

A show of strength in Mole Creek

Thursday we left for the big smoke of Evandale a town known for its history of the penny Farthing Bike races.

The Penny Farthing Monument

from here we visited a country mansion and spend a day in Launceston.

So you can see we didn't do much we spend 2days Freecamping and are now in Longford at a very nice Caravan park and are here till Tuesday, we are going to some markets on Sunday and wash the Caravan.

Not much more to tell so till next time cheerio

Bianka and Sig

From Wynyard to Strahan (Mid West Coast)

Open Road Tasmania

After arriving in Wynyard and setting up we visited the showground as the Wynyard show was on and if you think this is a big deal, for the locals this is the main event. I am sure the town was empty as everyone was in attendance, there was one stall run by a charity, for a $1 you purchased a ticket and the ticket gave you what you had won We bought 2 first and won 2 bags of unions, 3 more tickets gave me 2 chocolate bars, and a sticky tape with dispenser, my total winnings for the day it was fun

Next day we travelled to Stanley what a quaint town this is it has a point that is called The Nut and you are able to access this via a chairlift the wind was blowing a gale and occasionally it rained and when coming back down it rained and we got soaked.

The nut

The nut from the wharf at Stanley

Stanley Boat Harbour


View from The Nut

At the wharf lots of kids and adults where fishing and guess what, they used Chicken breast for bait it apparently works as they where catching OK.

After Stanley we stopped at Dip Falls (why that name?) and saw one of the biggest and oldest trees (400 years old) in Tassie with a Girth of 16 meters you can well image the size of the walkway and a hight of 60 meters. and as our diary says still raining.

The Big Tree At Dip River

Dip River Falls

Dip River Falls

Shopping in Burnie today and met Sharon and Paul Burges from the club for dinner.

Tuesday and a visit to Gunns plains after all the mountains it was a pleasure to see some plains

Gunns Plains

but no luck with the winding and up and down roads.

Preston Falls

this brought us to Leven Canyon Gorge wow what a walk and I am sure I lost 5 kilos first you had to walk the 2.5 km and this involved 697 steps up and I mean straight up

The famous Steps

fortunately there where benches to rest on these also gave us how many steps just done as well as to do.Informative Steps

but we made it and it was worth it the views in this gorge where magnificent.

Leven Canyon Gorge

Wednesday off to Zeehan the longest drive over the last month and a quarter, 118 km what a long haul and decided to stay here as there are very few camps on this side of Tassie traveling here was the usual up and down and round about (promise not to mention the roads again OK)

We stopped on the way in a place called Waratah and of course a tin mining town but it had its own waterfall in the middle of town how unique can you get.Waratah mining

This time we decided on a caravan park small but OK, parks in Strahan and Queenstown $40 to 50 a night.

We did the Gordon river cruise at Strahan.

On the Eagle our cruise boat

We now can understand the reason of the protest all those many years ago this would have been lost to all if they had dammed this area, the boat took us out o the Pacific ocean through Hells Gate.

Hells Gate (rough)

Hells Gate Smooth

a narrow strip of entrance an rough as hell when the tide is running but as you can see we survived than onto

Sarah Island

Sarah Island, one of the nastiest and cruelest peanal Islands Australia had.

We also visited the Salmon farming rings

Salmon farming in rings

Salmon Feeding

Gordon River

up the Gordon into the Franklin and visited a cold weather Rain forest. all in all a great day.

On the way to queenstown

Queenstown

Queenstowns Football oval, Carlton played here some years ago.

Friday we rode the steepest Railway ever built in Tassie from Queenstown to Strahan

Our Train

Map of the RailwayTrack

Gold Panning

again a whole day and saw some great sights on the way and this time for the past 2 days great weather this train ran aling the Queen and King rivers which are totally defunct of fish life due to early depositing the palings from the tin mines into these but it sems that there are signs of recovery it is estimated to take another 100 years befor you could say it is recovered.

Saturday rest day we washes and sat and did absolutely sweet nothing and the tempeture was 27 great day for a chardonay as well.

Spray Tunnel, our Prado could barely get through, part of a mining tram sytem approx a foot either side of us

It rained all night last night but who cares, we did a leisurely drive of approx 120km and saw some nice dams and towns.
Reece Dam

Prado half way up the dam

All in all we had a great week, especially since all our backyards so far have had mountains in them

Fitting close of this Chapter: Sunday on the Rainy West Coast

(believe it or not the West Coast gets rain on an averageof 3-4 meters per year and it rains 300 days of that year)

Bianka and Sig

Coles Bay to Wynyard, North West Coast

It has been 14 days since our last entry and it was time I let my fingers glide over this keyboard, well I mean two fingers, since my last entry we certainly have not sat still, we have moved from Coles Bay on the East to Wynyard in the West.

The weather in this time has been from outright freezing to nice and warm so we could swim and yesterday I fullfilled a desire by swimming in the Gorge at Launceston but I am getting ahead of myself.

So to fill in the spaces, here is where we have been. We traveled from Coles Bay to a free camp just past St Helen called Cosy Corner, a great spot if the weather had been nice and it would have been just that cosy but alas cold wet and no sun.

Cosy Corner rough Seas

So we went sight seeing and saw a few great places and interested houses

Mathina standard housing

in a place called Mathina as shown, went over some fairly rough terrain and logging tracks to see a great waterfalls.

Logging in Tasmania

Mathina Falls

Tuesday 3rd of march Scottsdale and the weather changed to sunny but cold at night we had 0 degree on one of our stays here, but who cares.

Scottsdale Free Camp

Tree Carvings Scottsdale

Chinamans Tin Mine Memorial

Chinamans Tin Mine we spent an interesting 2 hours here soaking up the history of the ways tin was mined and how the chinese where the main miners in those early days.

Pommier Ghost Town

Top right corner the size of the town of Pommier in those days

Visit to the Blue Tiers, what acountry side this was with the town off Pommier, the size of Melton in the 1850 and now only a treeless vally where houses used to be and the Wallybies now keeping the grass short see photos, a ghost town.

During this drive we also visited a water fall and a tin stamper great day.

Stampers in the bush

Well of to Devonport into a park, washing cleaning etc for the day.

Travel from here to Cradle Mountain and visited Sheffield the town of Muralls,

Tasmazia the Great Maze

on to Gowrie Park for two days the park with a backyard of Mountains,

Murals depicting the building of the Hydro Scheme this mural is 93 meters long

visited Cradle mountain

saw the Tasmanian Devils fed

Devils feeding

Back to Launceston to visit George town

Wood Chipping

The Wood Chipping Mill

George Town

and the Cataract Gorge to swim as I have already mentioned on a great warm day have now left that behind and moved to to the west and are in Wynyard in a small park after a day of very haevy rain but more next time.

End of a busy day