Next stop was Lake St Claire where we had a great campsite overlooking the lake.
View across the lake
Pump house commissioned in 1940, no longer in use
This bridge was called Waters Meeting - not much water this day
Just 24 hours later the water was rushing under the bridge
One of the local residents getting the last of the summer sun - tiger snake
We took the ferry to Echo Point and then did the 11km walk back to camp. This is the Echo Point hut, followed by a beautiful rain forest walk
Mt Ida
The following day we did the Shadow Lake walk
View from our lunch spot at Shadow Lake
Relaxing at Shadow Lake
View of Mt Olympus
From Lake St Claire we headed to Hobart where we caught up with Shane and Julene, a couple we met at Coral Bay. They looked after us extremely well and we had a wonderful day on their boat. It was sunny and warm.
Boarding their 6.5 m cruiser
View of Hobart's Tasman Bridge
The infamous Sea Shepherd
One of a pod of dolphins which kept us entertained
Skipper and First Mate - Shane and Julene
Gordon Dam on Peder and Gordon Lakes
It's a long way down!
Another view of the dam
Mt Field National Park - Russell Falls
The pinnacle on top of Mt Wellington which overlooks Hobart
View from Mt Wellington
Back to Mt Field National Park - looking up at one of the tallest flowering trees in the world - a 78 m swamp gum
The tree ferns at Mt Field grow 10 cm per year, so this one is very very old
From Hobart we drove south to Surveyors Bay where Julene had arranged for us to camp up at her sister's place. Virginia and Darren were very hospitable and we had a lot of fun with them and Shane and Julene who joined us for the weekend.
We drove to Cockle Creek and did the South Cape Bay walk - 15 km return - had lunch at the bay which was beautiful. Followed up with a great dinner with Virginia and Darren
Start of the walk
View of South Cape Bay from the cliff
South Cape Bay beach
Brian at the beach
You can't drive any further south in Australia than this
We drove out to the the Tahune Forest Air Walk and also did the swinging bridges walk
The cantilever part of the air wak
At the end of the air walk
The first swinging bridge
Brian swinging about
They do a lot of Atlantic salmon farming in this area
They pull the pens in to suck the salmon out
Shane and Julene at Surveyors Bay
Virginia and Darren
All of us after a very heavy night at over RSL followed by pool and drinks back at the house
From Surveyor's Bay we headed north again and stopped off at Richmond where they just happened to be holding their annual fair.
The Queen and her corgies were guests of honour at the opening
There are many historic buildings at Richmond
... and the oldest operating bridge in Australia
Richmond Bridge
We then headed on to Coles Bay where we did the walk to Wine Glass Bay.
A relaxing seat along the walk
The famous Wine Glass Bay
Brian relaxing on the way back
View from the lookout at Cape Tourville
Another view from Cape Tourville
The water was a beautiful blue in this bay
A close up of a Pacific Gull
We camped at Lagoons Beach where even the generator had its own tent
We spent an afternnon at the Bay of Fires where the red colouring is caused by lichens
Relaxing at Bay of Fires
Sloop Rock at Bay of Fires
From St Helen's we went to Bridport, where we played golf at Barnbougle Dunes, rated the No. 1 public access course in Australia and No. 35 in the world. It is a typical links course, much too hard for Helen who only played 9 holes, but Brian played the full 18 and loved it. This day also marked the anniversary of our leaving Perth.
Looking down the first hole
Looking across the back nine
Moon rise at Bridport
Sunrise at Bridport
We took a day trip to Liffey Falls which were quite spectacular
We spotted a nice rainbow trout at Liffey Creek
Where's my rod when I need it??
Brian said this was one of Helen's best photos
We spent Easter in Hadspen, just south of Launceston, and did several day trips from there. Then we headed south again along the Midland Highway, stopping off in Ross, an historic town halfway to Hobart.
Ross
Ross post office
Very old bridge at Ross
Ross Bridge again
From Ross we drove to Bothwell to play Ratho Golf Course, the oldest course in the southern hemisphere - 1822
It is still a working sheep farm so no fertiliser needed on the fairways
The club house and pro shop
View of the course
Bunker at the ninth
The paddock fences are part of the course with no relief
Our camp at Bothwell was next to the cemetery - no ghosts!
!
From Bothwell we drove to Miena on the shore of the Great Lake. First night was 0.4 deg C
Our camp at Miena
Early morning sun burning the mist off Great Lake
From Miena we drove into Latrobe where we will be boarding the ferry back to the big island tonight. We have had a wonderful time in Tassie and would certainly recommend it as a great holiday destination.
From Melbourne we are heading along the Great Ocean Road and then straight home to Perth, arriving there on 22 April. Look forward to catching up with everyone.
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