2/3 Mar – Triabunna

At Bicheno there were a few rain showers overnight, our first since arriving in Tassie, and the drizzle continued intermittently until nearly mid morning. The weather had dried up by the time we stopped for morning coffee at a nice little café/antique shop overlooking the bay in Swansea.

Spiky Bridge - Built By Convicts In The 1840s

 

Even though we have now reached several of the states major tourist destinations the roads are still relatively narrow and winding without much cut and fill to even out crests and dips – just long stretches of double lines. I think the only reason there are not more road accidents is that the chances of running into someone on these relatively lightly trafficked roads is fairly slim.

By lunchtime we arrived at Triabunna, our base for our day visit to Maria Island, a penal settlement from a long time ago ("long time ago" means I didn’t read the brochure to know when).

Next day we spent the day on Maria Island and did lots of walking. The fossil cliffs, the old town of Darlington, various ruins and the painted cliffs were some of the many highlights of our day on the island.

The Intrepid Walkers With The Old Town Of Darlington In The Background

Fossil Shells From The Fossil Cliffs (Where Else?)

A Wombat Doing What Wombats Do

Part Of The Port Area Of Maria Island

27 Feb to 1 Mar – Bicheno

On our way to Bicheno we had the obligatory coffee stop - this time at a micro brewery where we also sampled the product range. Very nice.

We are now staying in a caravan park at Bicheno – so ends 4 days without power, mains water and smelly pit toilets. The highlights of Bicheno required only a short stroll. Chris went on a penguin tour this evening but apparently she scared them all off and was refused a refund.

Our 1^st full day from Bicheno was to Freycinet NP where we walked up the Wineglass bay lookout and then down onto the beautiful beach at Wineglass Bay. This is reputedly one of the best destinations in Tassie.



Wineglass Bay From The Lookout

 

David Having A Well Earned Rest

 

David And Chris At Wineglass Bay

 

Beach At Wineglass Bay

Next morning our calf muscles punished us for the previous days walk. We took a drive back up into the hinterland to St Marys where we found it was coffee time. A picnic in the forest featuring the tallest white gums in Australia then a drive/walk to a waterfall completed the days outing. The waterfall was pretty good considering how dry the country is around here.

We finished off the day with the usual fivsies and then dinner at a local restaurant.
I think we need to ease up a bit - we haven't had time to an afternoon LLD (little lie down).

25/26 Feb – Bay of Fires

With the great weather holding we broke camp and did the tourist thing visiting various points of interest on the way to our next destination,  St Helens. We enjoyed a walk in the myrtle forest and a coffee and pie at the pub in the paddock.

Pub In The Paddock

Our next camp was at Cosy Corner in the Bay of Fires, just north of St Helens. Once again it was a lovely site with very few flies this time. The boulders at various points around the bay are stained red from lichen making for some great photos.

Cosy Corner Campsite

Next day was spent looking around the St Helens area and spending money. Saw a for sale ad on the supermarket community notice board for a Cob cooker so we bought it. Bargain. Accidently blew up the invertor so we purchased another one. 

For our last dinner at Cosy Corner we had a great feed of local oysters and crumbed flathead tails followed by a relax around the campfire with a glass or two.

The great weather continues.

 

23/24 Feb - Stumpys Bay camp No1 (Mt William NP)

We’ve done it again. 

Found a great camp spot on the foreshore, behind a pristine beach, complete with almost tame Forrester kangaroos and kookaburras. Even better – no midges or mosquitos – just one fly with a million of his relatives.

We decided to celebrate the great weather with a quick dip in the ocean. The water was so cold the coolish breeze seemed warm when we got out of the water.

Below are a few pics of  us and our camp at Stumpys Bay campground.

21/22 Feb - Bridport

We have found a lovely seaside village resort and a great camp spot on the foreshore in this beautiful part of the world. Here we met up with David and Christine’s friends Paul and Fiona. Apparently there is a long history between these couple which is not a appropriate to go into at this point.

Dinner At Bridport

Campsite At Bridport

Again David and I managed to punish ourselves with few rides around the area. We had a couple of great fivesies and dinners together before parting ways. So far the weather has been great with mid 20s every day.

Remains Of Old Jetty At Bridport

18 to 20 Feb – Beauty Point

On the way to Beauty Point we decided to have a coffee stop. We found a lovely foreshore camping area with a few spare power outlets so we plugged in our coffee machine and made ourselves at home.

Camped at Beauty Point

Morning Coffee at Port Sorell

 By lunchtime we found a lovely van park beside an arm of the Tamar River just north of Launceston. From here we had a few excursions, including a full day to Launceston where we visited the Queen Victoria Museum and did some family history research at the library.

David and I got a couple of rides in around the area. It was always a challenge to keep ahead of the flies.

Shop Sign In Launceston

Day1 – 17 Feb – Melbourne to Devonport

At Last - We're Loaded 

We left home at some ungodly hour in order to get a good position in the queue with our car and van. The previous day we received a SMS saying that boarding would commence at 6am because the Queen Mary II was docking in Melbourne at 8am.



Queued Up To Board The Spirit of Tasmania

 



Melbourne from The Spirit of Tasmania

 We arrived at Station Pier with caravan in tow before 6am and got directed to a holding queue where we stayed for nearly an hour. Our travel companions, David and Christine, for the trip arrived a few minutes after us and got directed onto the wharf. The stream of cars and van boarding the Spirit of Tasmania seemed endless and we sat there wondering how we’d fit on the ship.

Eventually we were loaded and enjoyed a smooth crossing to Devonport. Unfortunately we couldn’t remember which deck we parked on so when they called for drivers for deck 5 where our car was parked we stood patiently by ourselves waiting for deck 6 to be called. Eventually they called our rego and car make and model over the PA. We made a hurried dash for our car only to find it wouldn’t start due what seemed to be a flat battery. Bugger. I jumped started the motor from the fridge battery and eventually realised that the guys who fitted the snorkel the week before hadn’t tightened the battery connection properly after disconnecting it.

At Devonport we headed directly to a local caravan park and had a huge fill of hot chips.

The girls Enjoyed One Or Three Coffees

Queen Mary 2



Spirit of Tasmania 2 Heading Toward Melbourne