Mar 6, 2020 - Wild Rivers and Lake St Clair

Driving along the Lyell Highway we headed to the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. The name sounded very familiar to Dan as she remembered back in the 1980s when the Gordon and Franklin Rivers were the subject of one of Australia's largest conservation efforts.The movement that eventually led to the proposed dam project's cancellation became one of the most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history. This part of the Tasmania like many others is truly unique and beautiful. Much of the landscape has been shaped by...

Mar 5, 2020 - Strahan and Queenstown

Next stop on our trip was Strahan, a small town and former port on the west coast of Tasmania on the shores of the massive Macquarie Harbour. It is the last town on Tasmania's west coast and one of the loneliest and most isolated places on the planet. It was a very touristy place with lots of interesting craft shops along the esplanade. We spent some time exploring The Huon Pine Precinct, especially Morrison's Huon Pine Sawmill, a fourth generation family business, it is one of the oldest sawmills still in operation and had some very old...

Mar 4, 2020 - Cradle Mountain

We had wonderful sunny weather while we explored the Tarkine area. As we weren't allowed on dirt roads in our motorhome we headed back to Stanley for the night. The most distinctive landmark in Stanley is 'The Nut', an old volcanic plug. Bass and Flinders sighted it on their circumnavigation of Van Diemen's Land (now called Tasmania) in 1798 and named it Circular Head. It has steep sides and rises to 143 metres with a flat top. We hadn't realised how popular Stanley was or how few dining options there were. The pub had a two hour wait for a...

Mar 2, 2020 - The Edge of the World and ancient rainforests

We were excited to see 'The Edge of the World' on the West Coast. It certainly lives up to its name, being an eerily wild and windy place. There's no land between this solitary stretch of the Tasmanian coast and Argentina a whopping 40,000kms away, making it the longest uninterrupted expanse of ocean on Earth! The pounding waves here have dragged up thousands of huge driftwood tree trunks on to the rocky, hostile beach. It was all rather otherworldly. There is a monument here that reads 'I cast my pebble onto the shore of Eternity. To be...

Feb 29, 2020 - Penguins

As we continued our Tasmanian touring holiday we realised that there are many quirky towns in Tasmania, Railton has gone mad with topiary and you can't move in Sheffield without seeing another amazing mural, Westbury has a very English country character and some stocks in the town's original Village Green. Burnie is a port city with an industrial past that has reinvented itself as a vibrant and creative city on a beautiful stretch of Tasmania's north-west coast. The highlight for us was we got to see adorable Fairy Penguins at the Little...

Feb 27, 2020 - Seahorses and mines

We visited the historic town of Low Head in northern Tasmania, which is where Australia's longest tidal river, the Tamar, enters the dangerous waters of Bass Strait. We spent a morning exploring the Low Head Pilot Station Museum which was a beautiful old building built by convict labour in 1835. The museum was very hands on and we both tried our hand at morse code and failed. Further along the coast at Beauty Point we visited Seahouse World and Southern Ocean Aquarium. It was fascinating to learn about seahorses and their mysterious...

Feb 25, 2020 - Waterfalls and starry nights

We are now heading inland and have realised that Tasmania is quite hilly with lots of winding roads and deep valleys. We spent a night at Pyengana and had a wonderful dinner at the Pub in the Paddock. We didn't get to see the famous beer drinking pig but they did have the log fire going as the temperature was a wee bit chilly. The night sky was amazing, with no light pollution here we could clearly see the Milky Way. Grae was lucky enough to also catch a shooting star. We stopped at the Pyengana Dairy and tried a selection of cheeses,...

Feb 24, 2020 - The Great Eastern Drive - Bicheno and Bay of Fires

We have quickly adapted to life in our 21 foot motor home. The double bed has a spring mattress and is very comfortable. While we don't actually cook apart from boiling water on the gas stove for tea and coffee, we could if we were so inclined. There is also a weber bbq and folding chairs and table for dining alfresco. We spent a night at the Bicheno Sea View Holiday Park and during the night Dan had to go to the toilet and decided to try the nearby amenities block but changed her mind once she discovered a huge spider was already in there....

Feb 23, 2020 - Freycinet Peninsula - Wineglass Bay

Near Swansea we visited the unusual convict-built Spikey Bridge built way back in 1841. The bridge was made from field stones laid without mortar or cement and the parapet features field stones laid vertically, giving the bridge a spiky appearance. It's claimed that the spikes were designed to prevent cattle falling over the sides of the bridge, though it turns out the real reason is to help the bridge weather harsh winds. There are also the remains of the governor's cottage on the hill overlooking the unusual bridge. We also visited the...

Feb 22, 2020 - The Tasman Peninsular - Eaglehawk Neck

Our two nights at White Beach were excellent, the amenities were very clean. Our unpowered site cost $30 a night. Our RV has a shower and toilet but we both used the site amenities which had 5 minute hot showers. If you went over you had to wait two minutes for the hot water to start again. I was fine I only needed the five minutes, Grae needed extra time. Apart from the Port Arthur site the Tasman Peninsula also has a very rugged coastline much of it forming the Tasman National Park. Looking south we could see Cape Pillar in the distance....

Feb 20, 2020 - Port Arthur Historic site

We spent two nights at White Beach Tourist Park, a lovely spot ten minutes from the Port Arthur Historic site. The Port Arthur penal settlement began life as a small timber station in 1830 and quickly grew in importance within the colonies. Ship building was introduced on a large scale to Port Arthur as a way of providing selected convicts with a useful skill they could take with them once freed. It is a huge place with more than 30 historic buildings, ruins, restored houses, heritage gardens and walking trails. Our entry ticket included a...

Feb 18, 2020 - Hobart

After a wonderful night's sleep on our wool topper bed we headed out to explore Hobart. First stop was the very helpful Tourist Information, then complete with maps and our heads spinning with tips and information we headed to Constitution Dock to see some very old boatsincluding some past winners of the annual Sydney to Hobart epic yacht race. Along the way we visited a replica hut of the Antarctic explorer Mawson with bronze casts of his loyal huskies outside. We spent some time visiting the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. One of the...