Cradle Mountain

After recuperating from colds and dawdling along the east coast, we realized that we running short on remaining time in Tas so we got up nice and early in Launceston and made our way west to the highly recommended Cradle Mountain area. Cradle Mountain National Park is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and is so popular that vehicle access is limited and bus service is strongly encouraged. We took a picnic lunch and caught the bus up to Lake Dove and marveled at all the tourists wearing heavy winter coats because it was only 10 degrees with some light rain. We took a short walk up to glacier rock and drank in the scenery in the changing light and conditions.

From Cradle Mountain we headed southwest through the mining town of Queenstown, through the mountains and then up over some more ranges to the southeast to circumnavigate the wilderness area. There is a very popular internationally renown trail called the Overland track that winds its way south six days over 65 km from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair. By road the route around is over 200 km and a few hours drive so we opted for the quicker method given our limited time. We may have to come back and do it the longer way some time.

Making time while the driving was good, we made it all the way to Ouse for a traditional pub meal and then for something different we decided to stay in the oldest continuous operating hotel in Australia: The Bush Inn. What it lacked in quiet modern accommodation it made up for in charm and character. It was also inexpensive and included breakfast. A big day from the north of Tasmania most of the way back down to the south.

The East Coast

We spent two and a half days travelling up along the east coast of Tasmania. We left the Tasman peninsula Sunday morning and splurged by staying the night in a motel in Swansea. It was an interesting little seaside town with a shearwater colony which is quite an impressive bird that spends the summer around Alaska and winters in south Australia. Somehow we could relate to that effort more than we could a few summers ago.



Monday we travelled over to the Freycinet peninsula and explored beautiful Freycinet National Park. We enjoyed a nice picnic in the park and then went up to Cape Tourville lighthouse for some spectacular views of the ocean and Wineglass bay. The weather warmed up nicely so we spent the afternoon on the Friendly beaches and watched some impressive surf and wind turn fine white sand into finer white sand. We then headed north up the coast and spent the night camping in St Helens.

Tuesday we spent the morning exploring and caching along the Bay of Fires which we discovered later was the place where a girl was bitten by a 5 m white pointer shark just a few days earlier. With the multitude of beaches and surfing in Australia, its really remarkable that more people aren't turned into fish food but given the prevalence of flake (shark) in fish and chip shops perhaps it is clear who is eaten more. Anyway it certainly adds an element of excitement to swimming in the sea, similar I suppose to the excitement that Aussies get hiking in the bear infested woods of North America.

Realizing that we were burning up too many days on the one side of Tasmania we bee lined west through the hills toward Launceston stopping only for a pretty waterfall: St Columbia Falls, a couple of geocaches at scenic vistas, and resisted a stop at the pub which boasts a beer drinking pig. We had a bizarre experience along one highway that switch backed up a very steep hill that had been in the sun all afternoon in the 30+ degree heat. The pavement tar was so hot that it was slick and we nearly came to a standstill spinning tires without traction. Perhaps the mix was a little heavy on the tar as most Tasmanians aren't used to temperatures in the 30s. For that reason I imagine that Tasmania is probably the most compatible Australian state for most Canadians.

Port Arthur

Tasmania had a sad start as a colony when the British decided to settle it as a penal colony for convicts. I just finished reading a book that I borrowed from Darryl that talks about this tragedy, For the Term of His Natural Life, detailing the horrid conditions on the convict ships and the desperate existence these men and women lived upon their arrival in Tas. While it shapes and colours the history of the place, it seems so far from the modern streets of Hobart, where fashion and eateries prevail. So safe and utopian is the place now that the excitement of a rebel convict in their heritage is a source of pride.

We spent the good part of the day at Port Arthur exploring the grounds, taking a harbour cruise and listening to a guide describe life in the area. We also observed the memorial from an event we were unaware of, but which almost all Australians know, when a madman decided to bring the misery of the past into the present. All in all Port Arthur proved to be an interesting place.

We then spent the rest of the day exploring viewpoints and a beach on the southern end of the Tasman Peninsula.

Into the Jaws of the Devils

At Christmas Sylvia gave us a book called: “Carnivorous Nights - On the trail of the Tasmanian Tiger” in which three Americans travel to Tasmania with a hope to learn more about the Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger, which was last documented alive in 1936. It fueled our interest in carnivorous marsupials and Saturday was our big adventure down the Tasman peninsula on the trail of the notorious Tasmanian Devil. We headed to Sorell for brekkie and started off at a brisk pace, only to be pulled over and reminded that we should be more mindful of the speed limit. There is a focus on road safety in Tasmania due to the narrow winding roads and numerous accidents. We tempered our enthusiasm and speed to comply although mumbling that the limits weren't terribly well signed. Along the route there were a number of scenic pullovers which we discovered through geocaching and exploring. At a large blowhole we found some fresh squid, fish and chips for lunch and were amazed at how tender squid is when it hasn't been frozen.

We wandered further down the peninsula toward Port Arthur and found a very busy caravan park to spend the night at and set up our tent. This worked out well then to backtrack a short distance to the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park where we came face to face with the notorious devils. Devil populations are struggling in the wild due to a cancerous facial tumor disease that is transmitted by biting. Biting is something that comes very naturally to a devil as we were able to see first hand when we dangled Aiden over the edge as bait, just kidding, it was kangaroo and the caretaker dangled it for three hungry sub-adult devils to consume. With very powerful jaws and designed to be an efficient scavenger, the devils made short work of the food including all the bones which they noisily cracked with earnest.

We also enjoyed a free flight demonstration at the park with a myriad of birds including: a gallah who opened the show, a corella who would fly to people's hands and pick up coins to return and drop in his handlers shirt pocket (and then return them to their owners), a tawny frogmouth who tried to blend in and be a stick, a peregrine falcon with one wing, and a brown falcon who flew under a line of people's legs. All in all an impressive show.

There were also spotted quolls, small carnivorous marsupials about the size of a large squirrel and a few other animals that you would only likely spot in Taz. The only place we spotted Thylacines though were on the licence plates on vehicles and a little booth that showed videos from the Hobart zoo in the 30s.

A Mountain of Chocolate

Up and in search of food by 9 am. It was a great way to start our holiday with breakfast on the beach. After an enjoyable brekkie and a little beach combing we headed off in search of The Chocolate Factory. I think Aiden believed it was going to be like a chocolate world or like a scene from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They no longer give tours of the actual factory-health concerns; regulations and such. They have a film that explains the history behind Cadbury and how the chocolate is made. It was a little disappointing not to be able to see the actual thing but Aiden was not disappointed with the amount of free chocolate we walked out of there with. Five days later and we have barely put a dent in it.

We spent the afternoon up at Mt Wellington taking in the views and searching for some geocaches. Aiden is into geocaching today so we need to make the most of it. Mt Wellington lifts you up to about 1270 metres and since Hobart is at sea level, it was quite impressive. We had supper at a small pizza shop in Sorell, grabbed some groceries for breakfast and then headed back to the campground for the night.

Off to Tas

Off to Tasmania today, after stopping in Ararat to see a doctor. $90 later, some antibiotics for a cough and drops for an eye infection I was set or at least I hope. We were into Melbourne in good time and decided for convenience to pay the $112 and park at the airport. The flight was an hour and 15 minutes and we arrived in Hobart about 10:35 pm. We were lucky to arrive early. This allowed us to pick up our rental car before we left the airport. With booking online we were unable to indicate a pickup any later then 10:45 and that was when our flight was to arrive, so it would not work. This was much better and we were on our way shortly after 11 pm. We had no troubles finding the campground we booked into, quickly set up the tent and crashed for the night.

The New Year

Out with the old and in with the new – year that is. New Years Eve was a pretty quiet one this year. We headed out to Tammy and Marty's, friends from Sean's work, for a get together with friends and a bonfire. We had had a few late nights so we were all ready to head home by 9:30 pm and were in bed by 10 pm.

Up early on New Year's Day to pack our gear as we headed to Bendigo with the Buckmans. We spent a leisurely day geocaching our way to Bendigo. The Buckman crew stayed in a cabin and we camped behind them. It was a nice caravan park with the playground right across the road from where we were camped and there was also a pool and spa (hot tub). We spent two days in Bendigo geocaching, shopping, visiting and relaxing around the caravan park. The highlight of the weekend was the hour we spent at the ice rink. We talked the Buckman's into giving ice skating a go. The kids were easy, the adults took a little more convincing but we got them all out on the ice and had no injuries to report.

Sunday on our way home we stopped at the quaint little town of Malden where the men and kids went for a geocache while Roz and I took a tour of the shops.