TASMANIA
We set sail for Tasmania on the Spirit of Tasmania on 17 February, choosing to do the overnight crossing. After a night in our luxurious cabin, we arrived at 0600 the following morning. We decided to set up camp in Latrobe which is about 7 km out of Devenport, a nice little rural town with lots of old buildings.
Our first excursion from Latrobe was to visit Narawntapu National Park, just a short drive away.
Yellow tailed black cockatoo
Track back along the beach
Another day trip was to the town of Sheffield, which is famous for its murals. Almost every blank wall has been painted with a mural depicting the history of the area.
Inside The Corner Store with its old system of transferring money in little wire cages along a wire system on the ceiling (that is not a real person)
This is the 'original' Coles store
Another day trip from Latrobe was to a cute little town called Penguin, then on to Leven Canyon
Brian with the biggest penguin we have ever seen
View over the countryside on the way to Leven Canyon
View from lookout at Leven Canyon
On a walk through the rainforest at Leven Canyon
From Labtrobe we went to Stanley which is on the north coast and famous for "the Nut", a volcanic plug
Main street of Stanley
The famous "Nut" was originally called Circular Head by Joseph Banks, but it's still the Nut to the locals
Stanley Beach from the Nut
On the Nut. We walked up and took he chairlift down
The Van Diemen's Land Company built Highfield House for the first manager. They were granted 250,000 acres in the area. The house was extended many times as they had 10 kids
Highfield House with the Nut in the background
Highfield House
Grafitti back in 1934!
Jill and Sue - this could be one of our relatives
These photos are for Peta -check out the satbles
... and the tack room
Three stalls behind each doorway of the stable building
Customs House Stanley
From Stanley we did a day trip to Arthur River, on the wild west coast, for a river cruise up the Arhtur River
Seas at the river mouth
Along the Arthur River
On the river cruise we saw a family of white bellied sea eagles
Brian got some good photos of the adult birds fishing, trying to teach the young how to do it
We celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary at Montagu Park, a campground on the water about 40 km west of Stanley where we spent three nights
Cheers
Our anniversary dinner was a rack of lamb cooked in the camp oven - delicious!
On our way to Cradle Mountain, we stopped for lunch at Hellyer Gorge and took a short walk through the bush along a stream
Cradle Mountain is one of our favourite places, and it hasn't changed a bit since our last visit
Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain
Our first hiking trip was to Crater Lake, via Marion's Lookout, ending up at Ronny Creek - just a short stroll of 9 km
Alpine lakes
A sign of things to come!
Part of the Marion's Lookout track
A welcome and encouraging sign - just so you don't give up
Cradle Mountain from Marion's Lookout with the cloud closing in
Dove Lake from Marion's Lookout
Looking up at Marion's Lookout - picture taken the following day
Crater Lake
Crater Falls
Just rewards - a drink at Cradle Mountain Lodge after our long hike
The next day we did the Cradle Valley boardwalk from the ranger station to Dove Lake, about 8.5 km. On the way we met some of the locals
Eddie Echidna
Willie Wombat
Willie wasn't at all camera shy
The boardwalk was constructed to carry all the necessary piping and cabling hidden underneath
The following day we did the Dove Lake circuit walk, 6.5 km
The old boat shed on Dove Lake
Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain in the background
Standing on Glacier Rock on Dove Lake circuit
Glacier Rock is on the left
Lunch stop
From Cradle Mountain we went to a "free" camp at Lake Burbury near Queenstown
view from the van
Lake Burbury
morning cloud
still trying
From Queenstown we took the Wilderness Railway to Stahan,which is the restored original rack and pinion line built by the Lyell Mining Company
We're on the original No 3 engine
Relics of a bygone era
At one of the stops we panned for gold - no luck
View of inside the carriage
The rack and pinion sysem for getting up and down the mountain
One of he wooden trestle bridges, all of which had to be rebuilt
The King River
The steam engine on the turntable to be turned around
Changing engines half way from steam to diesel
Lots of steam!
At this stop we did honey tasting - the leatherwood honey is very distinctive
The train journey ended in Strahan where we had an hour to explore the village
We stayed in this white cottage with Bob and Cheryle on our last visit
We stayed in this white cottage with Bob and Cheryle on our last visit
A beautiful purple berry - no idea what it is
Franklin River nature walk
That's all for now, more magic from Tassie soon.
