No 10 - 2013 Tassie for Christmas

1/12 We leave after church on Sunday to meet up with Kaye at Williamstown, and have a lovely lunch and walk around the esplanade. I had a seafood pizza which was divine – lots of prawns, scallops and mussels on top of tomato sauce base with smoked salmon and garlic aioli on top. John and Kaye have a good catch up and then we pick up the van and head for the ferry. As we were reasonably near front of queue we had time to get up onto deck 9 which has an outside deck and have a great view of “Celebrity Solstice” a 315m x 37m cruise ship, with 19 decks which sleeps 2850 passengers and crew of 1500, and has a grassed area the size of football field. At 6.30pm it’s horn is tooted 3 times and then it puts motors into reverse and away it goes in about 120* turn then forward it went and we watched it travel down the channel to the horizon over the next hour. It was amazing to see it turn there at Station Pier. The ferry did the same thing 1 hour later when we left. 

When the sun left the sky we headed into the café for a buffet dinner which wasn’t anything special, and then had a drink and went to bed. The day trips haven’t started yet so we have to travel overnight and learn what the cabins are like – ok, 4 bunks with ensuite. I woke about 1pm with the boat bouncing around a bit so we must have left Port Phillip Bay and entered Bass Strait. Wasn’t too bad as I went back to sleep and woke at 5.30am – just in time to have a shower before heading down to car and off we went – bit of a wait in queue for Quarantine people – but nothing too painful. You can’t take any fresh foodstuffs or plant material and dirt into Tassie. It seems strange all these quarantine stations at state borders – once upon a time we had check points at Qld – NSW border crossings but there is nothing nowdays.  We make it out of Devonport and onto highway without any problems and stop for breakfast beside the road at Parramatta river, where the locals must have dumped their roosters because 7 of them came to greet us.

The countryside is very green and once again we are into hills and valleys with little streams meandering along. On through Hadspen, Perth, and Cleveland, and we stop for coffee at Avoca. Then it’s Fingal and St Mary’s and down the pass to the coast and into St Helen’s. We don’t have any trouble finding Beppe and Peter’s place and set up house.

                                                 View from front of caravan
3/12 Today’s exploring starts at Binalong Bay with it’s red/orange lichen covered rocks which continue up the southern Bay of Fires coast to The Gardens – don’t know why it is called gardens -  grass up to the rocks or sand beach. We found some nice camping spots at Swimcart Beach and north Cosy Corner which we will come back to later. You can understand why Cpt Cook named it 'Bay of Fires' - from a distance the orange lichen might look like fires burning on beach. The lichen starts out a very pretty yellow then deepens as it ages and dies.

You have to keep to the Conservation area as National Parks are very expensive - $25.00 to enter and $12 per person per night. Some have toilets but that is all you get for your money. After checking out Grants Point and lagoon and Dora Point we head back through town to St Helen’s Conservation area, which has Steiglitz, Georges Bay, Akaroa and St Helens Point, Island and Light Beacon.

We don’t get too carried away with names around here – there is Dennison Beach, Dennison Point, Dennison River and Dennison Road all in same area. Then you go on to Peron Dunes. Burns Bay had some nice sandy beaches but Beerbarrell beach doesn’t have any sand or beer! We stop at a seafood warehouse and buy some fish and are recommended to the fish and chip boat at wharf so we try out some of the worst food I have ever eaten. Overcooked, fatty and chips have no salt and are soggy – very disappointing.

Raining and cold for next few days so we don’t do any more exploring until 6^th when we head down coast road and find some lovely sandy beaches around Great Oyster Bay.

 Many years ago there was a sales pitch in Victoria selling blocks of land at Dolphin Sands (bit like Russell Island Land Sales) so we venture down sandy road past lots of blocks for sale. Some have huts on but there doesn’t seem to be substantial houses anywhere. Eventually we find a beach to stop and admire the view! The Spiky bridge is much more exciting – convict built but don’t know why they would want to put sharp rocks on top of it. If you jump over the side it is only a short fall into the creek – but still very well made. 

Dinner is with Michelle and Shane at Hogsbreath which is in an old gas works in centre of Hobart, then we have a cuppa at Bridgewater and play with Lotte, their new cat. She is only 8 months old and has already had a litter of kittens but is now desexed and bit sore. She is now in cat heaven and will be thoroughly spoilt and very well looked after. It was good that they had been able to get another pet so soon after Mars died (last Wednesday).

7/12 and we head to Geeveston to meet Miranda and survey our surroundings for next month – don’t know how I will survive – this cabin is freezing and wind is howling through cracks in walls and floors. It is a wooden 2 room cabin that has been extended onto and renovated? In keeping with theme there is no television, no radio, no clocks and a mirror in wardrobe door in bathroom. Hmmm. As it is sporting time we drag out her old tv that is used to play dvds and connect it up to J’s phone to watch the cricket. By Sunday night we have used up our download allocation and it all starts to go very slow and drop out. 

Monday sees us go for a drive to get away from the place and after turning towards the water at Police Point we find Huon Salmon who do retail sales and what sales they are. Cold smoked salmon, hot smoked salmon, different flavours of smoked salmon as well as fresh pieces so we come away with 3 meals for $35 – considerably less that shop prices. They were very informative and pointed out lots of things about the ponds which are moored just offshore. There biggest problem is seals jumping over the sides for free feed so they have now got a ½ roof around edge.

Then it was on to Dover and Southport – nothing like Qld’s city of same name – just a little fishing village but had a very impressive Jetty House. Coming home we pass a farmhouse right on the road with the most magnificent garden. There aren’t many gardens around but those that have roses and geraniums have some very vivid colours.

Wednesday sees us give up on the television and head up to St Helens to pick up our satellite dish and electric heater. Our 2 hour stop is at Oatlands, which is a great example of restored Georgian buildings, including a 1829 Courthouse (oldest in Aust) and an old grain mill which is very impressive. Callington Mill was built in 1837 and uses the wind to grind grain to this day. Also in the complex are the stables, and a stone store as well as managers house (now café) and workers cottages. They have some lovely gardens nearby to complement the old buildings in town. You can buy a bag of flour as a souvenir – unfortunately we didn’t need any and I don’t have room to store it but maybe we will use up what we have before we leave Tassie (if weather doesn’t improve that may be sooner than March). 

Everything is ok with the caravan and we collect up the goods we need and head off to Bicheno for lunch. There is a road to Campbell Town south of Bicheno which goes past Lake Leake so we take it and don’t bother giving the camping area a tick for future investigation. After our coffee stop we discover a park, with a swinging bridge, where they have kept the bases of old red gum trees and carved them into some wonderful sculptures depicting things of note in the area. One near the convict built stone bridge has the bridge carved into it. At the time a log truck was parked in the street so it was rather appropriate.

 In another park we find a rather large red gum log which must have been 9 feet in diameter. Then it was a long 2 hour drive back to Geeveston.

Thursday 12th and I am ready to fly home - it was 3* at 6pm and it is SUMMER!!!

Michelle has us booked in for eye tests on Friday 13^th so we spend 1 ½ hours getting the whole works done on our eyesight. The Optom Greg puts some drops in my eyes to check the macular and says that they will be blurry for a while and he was right – mine were still not focused at 3pm. After lunch at a Thai restaurant with Michelle we head off again and stop off at the Mt Nelson Signal Station. It was once part of flag flying signals sent around Tassie to let powers that be know what boats were approaching. It was very windy and cold but at least the sun was shining sometimes.

Reading the local paper I see that there is an art show on in Kingston over the weekend so on Saturday morning we make our way over there. The Art Show is ??interesting. There are 5 artists showing their creations and some are there painting. One bloke had such dark, brooding, almost forbidding works it was really depressing. I know the weather makes things bit dull and gloomy but you don’t have to have all your paintings like that surely. There was only 1 painter whose works we liked, and the 1 woodworker had some lovely furniture items. Wandering around town we find a Japanese fabric shop which also sold papers and bits and pieces Japanesey. She had some lovely scrap pieces of silk, that I would have loved to stash away for a rainy day, but alas the rainy day was here and I had nowhere to store it and nothing on the agenda to make out of them, so they stayed behind. Seemed a pity as some were $3 per 100 grams and others $5. We enjoy some fish and chips on Kingston Beach while watching the kids race their small yachts.

 After stopping to explore Cygnet we decide to go around the bottom of peninsular and have some great views across Glacier Bay, and Petchy’s Bay to Lymington. A shed across Glacier Bay looked lovely in reality but the photo didn't do it justice.

 A roadside stall near Port Huon has raspberries for sale at $3.50 punnet (chinese container) and the farmer gets talking to J and shows us ‘Sleeping Beauty’ – the mountain range visible on a clear day. When you look at it from the right side is her hair, forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, neck and chest on side profile – can you see it?

Few more cold windy rainy days sees us staying inside watching the cricket – though BB King goes out every morning and comes in, whenever opportunity presents an open door, for a snack then goes out till dark – which here is after 10pm. It is light around 4am so we are getting a taste of midnight sun. Weather Bureau are predicting a few sunny days so we decide to go to the Air Walk on 18^th and Cockle Creek on 19^th when it is supposed to be 35* in Hobart.

We wander around the Forest Centre in Geeveston waiting for Barb to get to Mother’s so I can call and wish her a happy birthday but she is not interested and just looks at the phone. Chatting to Barb she says that she is going to ask Doctor to cut back on sedatives as Mother is not with it at all – seems they put her on some pills to calm her down as she was lashing out at everyone and they have worked well. It is so hard on Barb when Mother doesn’t know her and just keeps nodding off. The Forest Centre is quite interesting telling the story of Huon pine forestry in southern Tasmania and has a lovely applique/patchwork quilt on display. Unfortunately it is behind glass near outside doors so the light is reflected in photograph. 

Thanks to the Greenies most of logging in Tas has been stopped and thousands of people lost their jobs. Towns like Geeveston which was a forestry town have had a backward step but are trying to get tourism underway. They have a few wooden sculptures around town with signs telling you their story which are very good but not much else. There is a Sushi restaurant that is open for lunch on Fridays and Saturdays only. The nearest hotel is at Kermandie a few kilometers away and only a few cafes open during the day. This part of state doesn’t have any motels but lots of B n B’s, and some cabins at Port Huon. I guess if nobody comes down here during winter you would be hard pressed to make any money. The southern furniture design and art centre could be the go as they had some wonderful pieces made from Huon Pine, Tassie Oak, Sassafras, Black eyed Sassafras and Beech. A Tassie Oak bedroom suite for $7500 took our fancy as did some bookshelves. We will remember the design for one to hold our records when we settle down again.

Dr Oswald Kyle

                                          Miss Jessica Hannabury, a milner who gave a lot to charity

Policeman Jim Watherspoon who served in Geeveston for 12 years after returning from WW2.

On our way out to the Airwalk we stop off at ‘Look In’ lookout, and ‘West Creek’ lookout which both have lovely green vistas down river valleys. Except for the Huon, the rivers here are more like creeks and it is amazing how such a small amount of water can produce waterfalls. The valleys are quite deep which makes the trees very tall and you get lots of tree ferns and undergrowth.

The Airwalk is 619m long and up to 37.5m above ground. It was built to withstand 180kph winds and the cantilever will hold 12 baby elephants! It is surreal walking around in the treetops, though it is not as high as the treetop walk in WA, seeing wonderful big trees and ferns and some interesting fungi.

                                    These two photos are of same tree - it wouldn't fit in one picture.

My map shows a road through the back way (which turns out to be a logging road) to Judbury and Ranelagh then into Huonville. Coming through Ranelagh we find a strange building that is for sale so get onto the internet to look it up and discover that it was an Oast house and is part of a very old farm that has been converted into a BnB with 10 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms and 10 toilets? It is for sale at $1.75 million if you have the desire to live in lovely old house with income potential. At $175 per night with every room booked for 300 nights per year it will only take 3 ½ years to pay off principal!

Trying to find the seafood warehouse in Huonville we find their wooden sculptures which depict a farmer, woman and girl apple pickers and a Boer War soldier, in memory of a local lad killed in South Africa. On our journey home we see a wooden sailboat coming up the river and try to compare it with Sydney – Hobart yachts that will be coming this way in 10 days time.

 It is sunny when we set out for Cockle Creek so I am optimistic that my decision to wear shorts will be rewarded. Our first stop by Recherche Bay is very pleasant even if the water is a little on chilly side. Venturing on we find the free camping ground on one side of creek and National Park expensive camping on the other side. From what we could see the toilets were better on free side too. Crossing over a very rickety bridge we head to car park at start of Fishers Point Walk and explore there.

A bronze statue of 3 month old southern right whale is rather large but cute, what was worrying was the sign nearby which says that we were closer to Antarctica than Cairns!!! Felt like it to. We go back to our beach spot at the bay for picnic lunch and watch grandad fillet the flathead catch of his son and grandson while they looked on. What was amazing was the seagulls didn’t come in to grab the offcuts that were thrown into the water nearby.

Of course we read that Mt La Perouse has snow on it all year round so when we find a logging road heading in that direction we venture up to top of hill to see some snow. (Bit like the snow we saw on Snowys from Bombala). = Look closely at mountain on left.

As we arrived in Ida Bay the train was arriving back from its trip to the beach, but as it is a 2 hour trip to go 14 klm round trip we skipped going for a ride.

It was sunny the next morning so we decide to go over to Cygnet and along eastern side of Huon river past Eggs and Bacon Bay (couldn’t find out how it got it’s name) and got lost in Randalls Bay but did find Dad & Mum & Dave & Mabel in a front yard. There were a few new houses among the old fishing shacks that have been done up from here on towards Hobart.

At Gordon they have an old monument to Captain DeBruni, Recherche and D’Entrecasteaux who discovered this area back in 1700’s when they landed in search of fresh water. North of Flowerpot is Grandvewe cheesery which made some very yummy cheese from sheep milk. They originally imported milk sheep from Holland but they died from cold in first winter (seems they wanted to be housed in a warm barn) and then crossed the next lot with desert sheep from Middle East who will live anywhere and they now have some tall, curly wooled sheep who give lots of milk. Unlike meat sheep whose wool is very coarse and hard these had beautiful soft wool.

We had lunch at the Pancake parlour in Margate Train which was very tasty but took ages to be served. They have a few train carriages lined up and converted into shops – licorice, and American, UK, German and Dutch imported foodstuffs took our fancy and we came away with some very nice dark chocolate coated ginger biscuits, tinned guavas and licorice for him who likes the stuff. Around Tinderbox we come across some canons in a park and have a better picture of Iron Pot which we later discover is a 12 acre island that was once a farm before the house was moved onto the mainland. Now it has a light beacon which the S – H yachts have to go around before heading up the Derwent river.

At Taroona is the ‘shot tower’ a 58m sandstone tower where they used to drop the weight from above to fill the cartridges with gunpowder. Goodness knows how many were injured during this exercise – can you see WH&S having a field day here. 

We encounter peak hour traffic in Sandy Bay and manage to see the vacuum flask (Wrestpoint Casino) before turning away from all the traffic and heading south.

 Seeing a sign to Fern Tree and Mt Wellington we do a quick turn and wind our way around the mountain and keep going when we reach Fern Tree. About 1/3 way up the mountain we encounter the fog and rain and it reminds us of going driving with Bill & Jan when we got to Drovers Lookout in heavy fog. It clears at the top and we have a walk around and then look over the edge towards Hobart and see you guessed it – whiteout – very thick fog. It was 10* colder at the top than at a lookout ½ way down too.

We team up with Michelle to visit Richmond on Sunday and the sun comes out though it is still a little chilly. Richmond is very old, has convict built sandstone buildings and the bridge which is in all travel brochures. After checking out all the Antique shops, the Teddy bear shop and having lunch we head off to the Wicked Cheese factory to restock our supplies and enjoy a caramel nougat icecream. Yumm

 Monday 23^rd and we defy the gloomy weather and head across Tasman Bridge to Rosny and Lauderdale and down the peninsular to South Arm. Our destination was Opossum Bay which turned out to be a little fishing village with some renovated houses amidst new ones, but all of them were on minimal blocks of land and those on the beach were right on it. (Wouldn’t be allowed in Qld but I guess it doesn’t get too rough in a bay in the river mouth. There is only 1 shop so we brave the fish and chips again and (they weren’t too bad) eat them on waters’ edge of Mortimer Bay.

We drive around Rosny again trying to find the original farm buildings which house an art gallery but couldn’t find them but do find Kangaroo Bluff where they built a fort complete with canons to defend Hobart from the french. The trenches and walkways are all still intact and it would be a great spot for a picnic or Happy hour but not on this day – we hurried back to heater in car.

Government House is visible across the river, from Lookout and looked lovely – will have to find out if it is opened to public at any time in next 3 months.

Tuesday is still gloomy so we decide to try out the ‘famous’ scallop pies at Petty Sessions Café in Franklin and they were pretty good. They have a lovely setting on the Huon river bank with lots of old trees and fishing boats moored in river. Don’t know when they go to work as they didn’t move for the month we were down here. Afterwards we checked out the antique shop but the model shipyard had closed for Christmas and the Wooden Boat Centre hadn’t opened at all.

Di Thorley (ex Mayor of T’mba) still runs the Lady Franklin Hotel which is next door to a great Pizza shop. It must have been a mill of some sort as it has an old wheel at the front and great murals along the walls. 

We head off to church at 7pm and meet another of the part time Priests - Elizabeth who is in a flap because Neville has gone home ill and she has to work the cd player. Bruce (previous priest) is in congregation so don’t know why she didn’t ask him to do it. Bruce, was a member of a brotherhood, whose father lives in Geeveston so he takes turn taking the service and we had met him on the previous 2 Sundays. He was likeable but a bit strange – his duty was outreach to older generation in Huonville, and had received several invitations for Christmas lunch but had declined as he wanted to be on his own! We didn’t so at 9am Christmas morning we headed to Brighton Motel to collect our keys, and then off to Michelle’s to spend the day with her. We had a lovely lunch with far too much to eat and drink, and then Reggie and Phillip came home with Shane so John had a long chat to them about old and new times. Sitting on the lounge afterwards to eat cheese and biscuits with our cuppa kept me awake for a while, but we had to leave at 10pm. It had been a long day for Shane as he had worked till 6am. Michelle loved the cat bag I had made her and put in a request for a Gollywog for her birthday so now I have to get the thinking cap on.

26^th, 27^th and 28^th were spent flicking channels on tv between cricket, tennis and Yacht race because it had turned cold again. It was 30* on Christmas day and then dropped to 13* again – it’s unbelievable.

On Sunday Michelle wanted to take us to New Norfolk to look around their Antique shops which had some great finds including a Corio Whiskey jug from the days when Geelong distilled whiskey which I then had to find room for in the caravan. They also had 2 Oast houses which I had to have a closer look at and eventually we found ourselves in grounds of Corumbene Nursing Home which is built around them. We didn’t go inside to find out how they were being used but it was great to see them utilised. New Norfolk boasts having the longest licenced hotel in Australia and an interesting bell tower on St Paul’s Catholic church across the road. 

Michelle had been feeling sorry for me with all the cold so she bought me a onesey - one piece pyjamas - in eyore style - wont I be the talk of caravan park when I go up to loo in this!

After a cuppa at Bridgewater we decide to go down to Kingston Beach to see if we can see any of S-H yachts coming in. They came up the other side of river so we would have got a better view from Opossum Bay but still with the use of internet on phone we knew that the ones we saw were ‘Venture 2’, ‘Spirit of Mateship’ the Qld RSL boat, ‘Titania of Cowes’ a Brittish ship and ‘Chuzpah’. The RQYS boat was in Sandy Bay but as it was getting too dark to see them properly we left for home.

                                                                Venture 2

                                                            Spirit of Mateship

Titania of Cowes

At 7.30pm Wild Oats 11 came from opposite direction and local told us that they only ever stay for the required 24 hours and then leave for Sydney. As they arrived at 7.15pm on saturday it seemed correct, so we won't get to see it at Constitution Dock on Wednesday. It looked huge but I guess it was closer to our side of river.

Hobart is a lovely little city that has retained their old buildings and not let high rises spoil the skyscape, but one of the University of Tas buildings has me intrigued – it has the strangest walls.

New Year’s eve sees us heading to Bruny Island but not early enough to miss the line up for ferry. We only have to wait for 1 trip across before it is our turn. The marina at Kettering is very pretty with boats moored in blue water and a few houses on hillside around the bay.

Our first stop is at the lookout at the neck where we find a National Parks ranger with a stuffed quoll and whale ?teeth to show visitors – the idea being to make people slow down and take care of environment and not encourage feral animals. Then it was up the lookout for the fantastic view along neck to south Bruny. It hasn’t changed since we were here 4 years ago but still inspiring.

I didn’t know whether I would make it up the hill to lighthouse but the prospect of southern ocean coming from Antarctica kept me going. I can’t imagine how the keepers and their families survived here in winter back in 1830’s. We checked out the museum before heading off on another dirt road to Cloudy Bay and then into Adventure Bay where there is a caravan park and a few shops. Along the way I see an old shed with some character so we stop in middle of road for me to go and get a photo - fortunately no vehicles came along - I will save it up for my "old Sheds" picture series. Maureen I am sure you could make up a short poem about it.

While driving around Adventure Bay we find a memorial to Captain Cook and a globe of the world which was more impressive.

We stop at the Oyster farm and get 2 dozen for tonights' dinner ($8 per bakers dozen) from a Bruny local who is going to the mainland (tasmania) for NYE. With time to spare we head to top of north island for some glorious views over Storm Bay from Dennes Point, and D’Entrecasteaux channel from Killora. Near the turn off to Barnes Bay we find a collection of letterboxes. Evidentally the mailman doesn’t do home deliveries here. While waiting for the ferry we buy a kilo of cherries for $9 and fill in time enjoying them. 

Sandfly we drive through quickly in case there are any around – why do they give places such names. We manage to stay awake to see in the New Year and then brave the cold and rain and head to Antiques and Collectables Fair in Hobart. An antique (1905) ring catches my eye and when J won't take the hint I buy it for myself. Am told that it is ruby and Spinel (which is same family as rubies and sapphires and in Crown Jewels) so when I get it cleaned it will be interesting to see if it is the same colour as my pink sapphire. Then we head down to Constitution dock to the TASTE - food of Tasmania - and have some overcooked seafood, before wandering around the berths looking at yachts. All but one boat have arrived and 2 were leaving while we were there. The Spirit of Mateship was so small compared to the big maxis. Perpetual Loyal and Wild Thing are SO big - they must carry an enormous amount of sail when you see the size of mast and booms.

With only 1 day left, on Thursday afternoon we brave the weather to go up to Harst Mountain NP. With all rain there were lots of little waterfalls along the roadside but nothing compared to the little stream that fed the falls just visible from lookout. It was wonderful as were the Tasmanian Waratah’s that the lookout had been named after.

Of course with all the moisture around there were lots of different fungi and lichens on the trees and fallen logs.

Across the road is a stone picnic hut/shelter shed which was shrouded in mist and just needed the fireplace to have a burning fire. Being excited by this view we head to Huonville to Homehill winery where the waitress/shop assistant/ tasting steward couldn’t have been more disinterested. We eventually get our 4 free drips of wine to taste while she is busy drying glasses. We decide to buy Michelle a leather bear and are waiting to pay when the phone rings and another employee answers it while our teatowel wiperuperer keeps wiping away while looking at us. If it hadn’t been an unusual bear for Michelle we would have walked out – they need to get customer service operating if they want tourists to call.

 There is a pickers hut on the road near Castle Forbes Bay which is typical of huts that apple pickers used to live in in days gone by. This one is in good repair and has a lovely garden around it but oh the inside !! The bed is a slat that folds up against the wall during the day so you can move around inside. When we were here 4 years ago we went to Enchanted Wood and decided to fill in time and go back again. They don’t have the fairy glen anymore but the wooden crafts and furniture is still stunning as is the view. We ended up buying a huon pine wine bottle stopper for us and a toadstool earring holder for Shannon – don’t tell her it’s a birthday present. Shannon close your eyes and don't read that.

The morning of friday 3^rd we spend packing up and loading the car and end up ringing Tony to see when Miranda was due. As he wasn’t collecting her till 3pm and then they were going to collect Jellyroll we decided to leave and get to St Helens before dark. This time our rest and stretch the legs stop is at Ross, which also has lots of old Convict built Georgian sandstone buildings and their bridge with its 186 intricately carved panels.

The council from Brighton to Campbell Town has some wonderful silhouettes in paddocks beside the road and some wag has put red santa hats on most of them. Lots of smaller councils could take this idea on board.

 In the very early days Tasmania was administered from both Launceston and Hobart with the dividing line being the 42^nd parallel. There are some very informative panels near the town hall with the details and a sculpture in a paddock on the actual line. This must be where the animosity started.

Ross also had some witty town planners back when too as the main intersection as the Town Hall on one corner, the Hotel on another, Courthouse and Church on the other two, and in the middle is the War Memorial.

There are also a lot of restored buildings with the Barracks being used as a BnB – would love to see inside it. John loves the old garage as they still have painting of Holden radiator above the door. When we here last the building was a wooden furniture shop, but it didn't look like it was still operating.

We spend the weekend watching the cricket which was great if you were an Aussie. While we were driving around New Norfolk Michelle was so concerned about Shane Watson’s groin which was the topic of conversation on radio, so she was ‘thrilled’ to learn that it was ok now!

Tuesday 7^th and someone was 21 for the 3^rd time, so he received lots of phone calls and messages. We had a great chat to Lilly and David while driving to Bridgewater to have dinner with Michelle and Shane. They were having coffee while waiting for the car to be serviced – well David was Lilly was having a hot chocolate and loving it. On the road near Swansea is another old shed next to Great Oyster Bay so it got added to my character sheds file.

We did a detour in Orford looking for a beach where we hoped to see Maria Island and of course got lost – but once again I found an interesting gate.

Heading down the coast on a gravel logging track we found 3 thumbs lookout where we did get to see Maria Island and the Tasman Peninsular across Marion Bay. We are going to come back with the caravan and spend some time here and hope to go over to Maria Island then. 

There were signs of the dreadful bushfires at Dunalley last January but the ground was covered with grass and most trees have new leaves shooting. We couldn’t find the ferry at Dodges Ferry so headed into Bridgewater where Shane tells me there wasn’t one. How did it get it’s name? Austins Ferry also doesn’t have a ferry? Reggie joined us for a lovely dinner, complete with pavlova. Once again WH&S intervened and we couldn’t light the ‘6’ ’3’ sparkler candles but they lit 3 candles for him to blow out.

We had seen ads for the Tennis and Michelle told us that the centre was good so we decided to stay an extra day and really enjoyed it. We had seats at the top of bottom section right on net and saw 3 fantastic games. The first between Estrella Cabeza Candela and Elena Vesnina (3 seed) had a 2^nd set tie break and went to 3^rd set.

The second match was between Sam Stosur (top seed) and Kristina Mladenovic and also went to 3 sets with a tie break set.

The 3^rd match was with another young Qld girl Storm Sanders who took Kirsten Flipkens (2 seed) to 3 sets of brilliant tennis. Our $10 tickets were for the 4 day time matches but as it was after 7pm and we were a little sunburnt we decided to head back to motel and dinner. The bottle of wine we had over dinner must have mixed with the sun because we didn’t wake up next morning until the cleaner opened the door at 9.15am, so we had a quick pack up and went up to New Norfolk for breakfast. 

 Our destination was Mt Field Np and then Lake Pedder. The start of walk to Russell Falls has another stone picnic shelter and then a lovely walk through the trees and ferns. Along the way we met another NP education ranger who had a stuffed platypus to show everyone. It had died of old age (or so he said) and is used to show people what they look and feel like. Its’ fur was lovely and soft but the tail had very coarse hair.

Russell falls are 3 tiered and stunning. It was amazing how that little stream fed such a fall of water and then when we walked along the bank downstream it was still a little flow. It is also very moist here to promote the fern and fungi growth. The Filmy fern was just that and growing everywhere as were the Dickensonia Antarctica, otherwise known as Man Ferns or Temperate Tree Ferns.

Next to the information centre they have a large wooden possum from the 1 cent coin which looked quite good too. Seeing a sign for Mawsons’ snowfields we detoured up the mountain to see what a snowfield looks like without snow and it was surprising. There were low shrubby bushes and rocks everywhere so don’t know how they ski over it all. The guide posts on sides of road were 8 feet high and orange so the snow must get quite deep.

The road up here was built over 4 years during the depression and still has the post and rail fence along the side, though not in good repair.

After a brief stop at Lake Lenton (where Hobart gets its water supply) we head off through Serpentine range to Lake Pedder. You can understand why there was so much hoohah when it was first flooded as the original Lake Pedder was a small pond compared to todays’ lake. The 4 dams that make up the Gordon Hydro electric scheme hold 27 times as much water as Sydney Harbour.

What is also stunning is the Gordon dam wall – it is an arc and so high damming off a very narrow stream of water. They abseil off the top of it and when you look at the number of steps down to top of wall and then it is double that to the bottom of wall you would die climbing back to car park. They really picked the right spot to put a wall but why did it have to be so high! I can’t remember how deep the dam is – 58m at wall comes to mind, however the Hydro electric people only use the top 1.8m to generate power! It seemed a pity to have drowned all that area if it wasn’t necessary and when you see the lush vegetation along river valley downstream you wonder what could have been.

There were some Tassie Tigers lurking beside the road near Maydena but otherwise it was a very loooong trip back to St Helens – arrived 10.30pm after stopping in Oatlands to have dinner at the hotel. J had the largest pizza I have ever seen – because we didn’t have lunch he reckons he was hungry – so he ate it all. I ordered a prawn pasta dish that was supposed to have cherry tomatoes and pesto but didn’t so it was rather bland.

Sunday 12^th we went into church in St Helens and were a bit nonplussed with the way we were totally ignored. There was no one on sidesman duties so we didn’t know what books to take. Not much of a greeting from priest who didn’t do much – the LA took all service except sermon and communion. Bill note that she did the Absolution! Gospel and Greeting of Peace! And obviously does so at every service. We went for morning tea but the only people who wanted to talk to us were a couple from Launceston who were here on holidays. Afterwards we headed towards Bicheno to go up Elephant Pass to the Pancake Barn for lunch. This road is famous for the bends that motorbike riders love. It is certainly steep (our new altimeter says 1001m) and winding but only 10K long. When you got close to edge is seemed miles down to the tops of trees and then the trunks went out of view. The pancake special for the day was a smoked salmon, mushroom and camembert in white wine sauce and very very nice. They were at least a foot wide and completely covered the plate so very good value. We had to try a sweet one so shared a brandied apricots, cream and icecream one for desert. It was a short trip into St Mary’s where we eventually found the sign to South Sister Lookout. On the way we found Germantown and Dublintown roads, both of which were very narrow winding steep roads that ended at a farm gate so we figured both of these ?towns are no more. The lookout is at a Telstra tower and is very high up – unfortunately the surrounding trees have grown well and you don’t get a stunning vista but we got the message.

My little mudmap said that the road continued on and eventually arrives at Scamander, Beaumaris or Diana's Lagoon so we kept on the dirt. It was a logging track so reasonably wide but when we turned off onto Skyline Lookout it narrowed and deteoriated rapidly. It must be hairaising driving a loaded logging truck along some of these roads. One of the creeks had water in it but most were dry. After 4klm of narrow, winding, bumpy road we got to last 100m which was so washed out we decided we had seen enough of the coast through the trees and kept on going downhill. After another 20klm and 1 hour later we got to Beaumaris – then it was definitely time to go home and watch the cricket on television – I didn’t have to hang on to do that.

Monday was time to do the washing – no dramas – have done it a couple of thousand times before – just fill the machine up with water and put clothes in and turn it on. All well until it was time to take clothes out and the water was freezing. We get our water out of a 10,000 litre tank here and it must have iceblocks in it. Don’t know how it cleans the clothes – the dirt must jump out to get away from cold.

Tuesday 14^th we head off early to go to Anson’s Bay which is at the top of Bay of Fires and there are more orange lichen covered rocks around. It looked a lovely spot and we could have retired there if it was a few thousand klms north.

I put the GPS on to get to Eddystone Point and Katrina took us up a very rough, sandy, rutted track which we terminated at a 4 foot drop with a perpendicular climb out the other side. After a few more trips up dead end roads we gave up and headed off to Gladstone. Of course a few klms on is a very well graded road to EP, so we did get there. They have a Lighthouse made from massive granite blocks. We guessed they were 3 – 4 foot wide 1 ½ feet high and 4 feet deep. It was 2 feet into the window glass and inside one was an A4 sheet on half the ledge. When you look at the height of it you have to wonder where they got all the blocks from and how they lifted them to the top? Amazingly it was still working – we could see the light rotating inside the glass at top.

The Lighthousekeepers house is still standing though it was hard to tell if it was being used for holiday letting. A shed nearby had our curiousity - we've decided it must be a fishermans shelter.

A short trip into Musselroe Bay was well rewarded with miles of unspoiled beaches all to ourselves – didn’t even have a seagull to share our picnic lunch with. J had a sleep while I watched the kelp laden waves crash onto the beach. 

Then it was off to the north coast to have a look at Waterhouse Bay and camping ground which was disappointing so we headed into Bridport for a coffee éclair and cold drink, which we took down to beach. They have miles of beach here and the caravan park stretches for miles along the waters edge, so we might come back after school holidays finish - it was jam packed with campers. Stopping off at Legerwood to look at their memorials was wonderful. The townspeople planted an avenue of trees in 1918 as a memorial to all the local lads who died in WW1. In 2001 they were deemed unsafe and were to be cut down when the locals stepped in and got a chainsaw sculptur from Ross to come in and create something. They are very fitting – one has soldiers lying on trenches, behind sandbags etc and a lonely woman looking out. This is for a woman Tippy who lived here all her life and never forgot her fiancé who was killed in france in 1917. Each tree has a plaque and notice with the mans’ story on it. 

Of course I said why don’t we go down this road and see if it takes us back to the highway and it did some 54klm and 2 hours later! I can tell you that the back road through Rigarooma and Pyengana is also very steep, narrow and windy. It is so narrow that a sign says ‘single lane road for next 11klms give way to all oncoming traffic’ – how you give way I don’t know because it is a cliff on one side and a 800m chasm on other side. Fortunately we didn’t meet any traffic at all so I didn’t have a heart attack. Ralph Falls don’t have any water falling down and we decided not to go into St Columba’s falls for that same reason – there was one stream with some water in it but it didn’t seem to be flowing so we figured there wouldn’t be any water coming over them. We nearly stopped at the ‘Pub in Paddock’ for a cold drink but decided to come back another day when the cheesery is open. We get home in time to watch Lleyton’s 5^th set loss at Open and then Bernie had to withdraw injured.

15^th Last week at the tennis the stone came out of my garnet ring and as we had seen a Jewellery store I dropped the ring in and it was sent away to be reset. Little did I know that there is a manufacturing Jeweller next to surf store so when we walked past on Monday I went in and dropped off 3 rings to be cleaned. My pink sapphire and peridot rings came up lovely when we collected them 20 minutes later. The old ruby and spinal ring I bought in Hobart had some claws missing so I left it with Knaut to be fixed. He sent a message yesterday to say it was ready and we were amazed when we collected it this morning. He had fixed the claws and it was so sparkling clean it was hard to believe it was the same ring. Talking to him he said that the stones are actually pink and white sapphires and it was probably worth about $500 so that was good to know. We are going to take the opal in to see what he thinks can be done with it, and I will also take in the orange sapphire ring that I lost a stone out of and see if he has one to fit it – have decided to get him to make a silver seahorse with the opal set in its stomach. He had some lovely spiral pendants and filigree zodiac sign settings so hopefully my little seahorse will come up like those. He has promised that we will pick it up on 20^th March so let’s hope so.

16th and I did a mainland thing – thought we could do the 220klm to Low Head in 2 ¼ hours and then spend the day looking around there, go to Georgetown for lunch and then duck over the bridge to Seahorse Farm and Platypus world before heading home. WELL it took 3 ½ hours to get there and we left Georgetown Lookout at 4pm. But had a good day anyway – Weldborough Pass is more winding and steep than St Mary’s and very lush and green with lots of tree ferns and tall trees. We could see that there were trees but the fog had visibility down to 100m – fortunately we followed a Reject shop red truck for 100klm and he seemed to know the road. Derby is a decent sized town with a big Tin Mining Interpretive centre which we will go back to one day. They have painted some rocks on the river bank – but couldn’t figure out the meaning.

 Outside Branxholm is a Tin Dragon Chinese Memorial which had rather inspiring words on it. It told the story of the Chinese tin miners in the area in 1800’s. There is a big chinese cemetery nearby.

 Once we left Branxholm the road flattened and straightened out to Scottsdale which is a large place (by Tassie standards) but we have bypassed the main street so don’t know if they have anything Scottish or interesting. Low Head was settled in 1804 when they decided in Sydney to establish a settlement to deter the French from settling – it was the time of war with Napoleon so they were a bit paranoid. At Low Head which is on northeast edge of Tamar river estuary they built a lighthouse and a pilot station because there is a reef in the mouth of river and ships were being wrecked on it.

 The Governor who established the area decided that it would be good to make it a little England so all the buildings were white with red roofs and around a central village green. With the blue water and blue sky it really looks nice. Along the water’s edge are the 4 pilots’ homes (flats) with a kitchen, lounge and 2 bedrooms and an outside toilet; then the warden’s home and school house. Going around in horseshoe shape is boathouse, Coxswain’s house (now café), Then 4 boatmen’s flats (same as pilots’), 2 free settlers’ houses and the church.

 Further down the Georgetown road are 2 Leading lights and the houses for the lightkeepers also in red and white colour scheme. Most of the houses are available for rent for holiday accommodation and I would love to stay in the lighthousekeepers’ home at the L/H. There is a large penguin rookery on the beach below the L/H and a path down to it so I’m sure that would be wonderful to see. Most of these buildings were built in 1830 – 1835 and are all in really good condition.

 The pilot’s houses have been turned into a museum which has a lot of good artifacts from the seafaring days. A really old wooden tiller is outside front door as is an aluminium lifeboat from Vietnam War era.

Georgetown is the oldest town in Australia (evidently Sydney doesn’t count) and has some very old homes and buildings. They have also chainsawed an old tree into marine figurines etc but spoiled it by painting the dolphin and whale.

 The mural on water tower was painted by the unemployed youth of area during the International Year of Youth and is a credit to them – don’t know how they painted the top but it looks great.

We stop at Mt George Lookout where they had a signal station back in 1800’s – you can see to Low Head from here and the semaphore pole is still standing. It looks antiquated compared to mobile phone towers next to it – but you get a fantastic view over the Tamar and Georgetown to Beaconsfield and Beauty Point. On a clear day you can (reportedly) see a mountain at Burnie – 80klms away.

 Then it was time to head back to St Helens but we did stop at Little Plains Lookout for a  view down Weldborough pass towards the coast. You wouldn’t have seen a thing in the fog this morning.

In a small farming valley we find an Anglican church - St Michael and All Angels which was in need of some TLC. The cross on one end has come adrift and is hanging upside down.

 As it was after 7pm we decided to go to RSL Bistro for dinner. J had a steak with prawns and calamari on top which he said was great, but my crumbed scallops were dreadful. I don’t know whether they had been cut into 6 and then crumbed and frozen for 6 months or if they were minced and had ½ teaspoonfulls rolled in crumbs but they were the size of 5 cent piece and didn’t taste or look like scallops. After our bad fish and chips from the wharf we won’t be eating out in St Helens again. It was really disappointing as we had a salmon and brie pie and curried scallop pie with salad for lunch and they were mouthwatering. The scallop pie had 5 big scallops complete with orange roe and the salmon was in big chunks. Even the pastry was light and crispy. Both meals were the same price so who knows? We will have to see what the fish is like on west coast next week.
It has been in high 20’s early 30’s here since Sunday which has been very pleasant compared to the 40* being experienced on mainland but Friday dawned overcast and cold,  and it tried raining overnight – didn’t do much – just made a mess of dust on car. J spent Friday trying to fix a broken wire in cable from solar panels to Anderson plug and then had a go at trying to find problem with caravan brakes – all to no avail so he went off to town to find an auto electrician. He had closed up shop early and doesn’t work Saturdays so we will have to hope that it is a simple problem that can be fixed on Monday. Why we had to leave it till now to start fixing things I don’t know – we have been here for 2 weeks and have to leave on Tuesday. I wanted to leave on Monday but we have a problem with the phone and can’t get it looked at till Tuesday – why didn’t we get it fixed 2 weeks ago!

The weather bureau says it went from 16* - 17* today and it felt like it. Sunday wasn't any better so we stayed in and watched the tennis and cricket on television.
Monday 20th and we head into town early to get to Auto Electrician and grocer etc. We come home with the cable for solar panels fixed and some ideas on caravan brakes. Heading up to Pyengana we have a taste of 5 very nice cheeses and decide on a Ploughman's lunch and a cheese platter for 1 for lunch. The hunk of cheese that was on ploughmans plate was 4 inches wide and 6 inches long and the rest of plate was overloaded with food. We got to choose the 2 cheeses for platter so we had a carraway seed and a peppercorn one which were very interesting. We ended up buying a herb one and a chilli, chive and onion, and a matured cheddar that they are famous for. We made a big impression on it but still left some. Then it was up to St Colomba's falls to walk some of it off. It is about 10 minutes to walk through the ferns and trees down to the falls which are the second tallest in Tasmania at 90 metres.

We drove into Halls Falls but as my ankle was not good we didn't walk down to them but will note to come back here again.
21st     We get away from St Helen's and head to St Mary's for lunch and just enjoy the countryside through Cambridge where there are 2 old buildings, but we couldn't even stop for me to take a proper photo so have one shot through car window as we sped past. We did manage to stop outside Evandale at the Gourmet Sauce Company that had some delicious sauces. We came home with a strawberry chilli one that had a very strong strawberry taste. Finding the free park in town we had a little mishap when the van collided with gate post on our way in, so now we will have to find a repairer before it rains too much.
22 – 26^{th  January} 2014  We arrive at Terry and Joy's and meet Jack who is to be our faithful companion over the next 3 weeks, and then spend the next 3 days on couch watching Tennis & Cricket.
27^th January -  Leaving Smithton we find someone waiting for the postman, before heading north to Woolnorth where they have an enormous windfarm (some 158 turbines) You can’t get to the coast here as all the land is owned by Van Deimens Land Company. Cape Grim is now the name of a big group of dairy and beef cattle farms, but is also the name of Cape off NW coast where they pushed several hundred aborigines off into the water to get rid of them in early 1800’s. You can imagine why the company doesn’t want people going there, but it is a pity that we can’t pay our respects to those who must have been terrified at what was going to happen to them. 

Turning south through Marrawa and Arthur River, we stop in Ann Bay, which had a lovely sandy beach and great mural on wall of stock feed store, before venturing on to the Edge of World. A plaque really says it all - " I cast my pebble onto the shore of eternity, To be washed by the ocean of time, It has shape, form and substance, It is me. One day I will be no more, But my pebble will remain here, on the shore of eternity. Mute witness to the aeons, that today I came and stood, At the Edge of the World."

Couta Rock was our lunch stop, and we had the whole rocky beach to explore by ourselves, before checking out the fishermens' homes. One had an interesting roofline and another had a putting green on front footpath. 

Temma was as far south as we went before heading back to Sumac Lookout, and Edith Creek. Today we saw lots of signs asking people to be on lookout for Devils as this is one of few places where they are free of the facial cancer that has been killing hundreds of them.

28^th January  -  We have a lovely drive over to Penguin, where they have another great mural along wall of park with a rather large 'little' penguin.

 Passing the 3 Sisters and Goat Island, we do a quick tour of Ulverstone before heading south where we ended up in Leven Canyon.

It is rather spectacular with the river winding its way along the floor of canyon so far below. There were some interesting fungi as well.

Gunns Plains is a fertile area of flat land nestled amongst the mountains where they do some intensive farming.

31^st   Flowerdale had an interesting sign at the front gate of a dairy farm which also showed that they were suppliers to Cadbury’s.

 Our destination was the Lobster Farm, where we had a good time being shown around the ponds by volunteers. They also went to great lengths to get a rather large giant freshwater lobster out of his hiding hole to show us one up close and personal. I wasn’t leaving my bare toes too close to him.

 They live for about 60 years so this bloke was quite old/young (60 isn’t old is it) and can get up to 3kg. These lobsters are only found in this area and therefore quite rare, so we couldn’t eat one for lunch but had a lovely meal which was also cooked and served by volunteers who are trying to get the place re-established as a tourist destination. On our way to Table Cape L/H, we find a house with a windvane on the roof! along with a commercial lillium farm next to some poppy fields.

The lilliums you buy have long stems so these were strange given that they were only 3 inches high – wondered whether these were first years and they grow bigger next year. They all seemed to be red with a few orange ones thrown in. One of the Lighthouse keeper’s sons drowned when he was 9 years and he has a lonely grave overlooking the water that claimed his life.

 A local farmer has developed his own wind powered generator and Terry told us that there are quite a few around.

Boat Harbour Beach was where we decided we could have a summer house, it has a lovely sandy beach and the water wasn’t too cold. Sisters beach is nearby and not as lovely. There is a great bike ‘statue’ on highway near Boat Harbour. J would love to have him in front yard.

 Rocky Cape NP is in two parts, the eastern side left a bit to be desired especially the roads, but the western side was rockier and more interesting to sit and look out over.

1^st Feb   Passing over the Black River near Mengha, our destination is Dip Falls with some intriguing rocks. You wonder how they were made in such perfect cylinders?

 We spend some time checking them out before venturing to the Big Tree. A 68m x 16m browntop/stringybark, which must have been 500 years old.

 This is one tree that had been felled by hand and has a platform built over the middle so you can stand on top of it in awe!

There was another one on the ground which was just as spectacular, but my favourites were the live ones still standing watch over everything.

 After fish and chips on wharf in Stanley I am rapt to spend time at Seaquarium looking at potbellied seahorses along with cowfish, southern rock lobsters, moray eels, gummy sharks, starfish, abalones and more seahorses. They were incredible just hanging on with their tails or letting go and fins on back waving frantically to move them along.

We drive around town and find a bridal party having their photos taken amid the ruins of convict barracks. The nut really seems to stand guard over the town. It is a volcanic plug that covers 26 acres and hasn’t eroded away and used to grow potatoes before making way for a chairlift and tourists.

3^rd   J has been most put out because the ‘Western explorer’ road has been closed and you can’t do an adventurous 4WD trip to Corinna so we have to take the sissy route through Calder to Waratah, where we find Philosopher Smith’s hut. He was a geologist who discovered tin in the area. He didn’t have much of a house but at least his dog was warm (if it was in it’s kennel) and he didn't have to go outside to use the loo. Calder is another ?big town with only 2 buildings and some nearby farmhouses.

Waratah seems an old town with some lovely buildings.To this day there is a big mine near here and we find the bitumen road ends at ‘Donga city’. Having lunch beside the road the fog and rain move in and I wonder at the wisdom of believing the weather bureaus prediction of a fine sunny 26* day!!!

 After winding our way around the mountains and trees we arrive at the ferry over Pieman river at Corinna – it pays to read the sign first! The ferryman arrives and tells us that the road to B had several big landslides during the last big wet, and a couple of bridges were burnt out in the subsequent bushfires, and the government has no intention of spending so much money fixing the road when it is closer for locals to go to Zeehan to shop.

Crossing over Reece Dam we are amazed at the spillway – how much water does it hold?

After nearly freezing with other Qld tourists at Mt Whaleback L/O on Pieman reserve, we head back to Hellyer Gorge for a walk along the riverbank where Dad and 2 boys were fishing for trout. They reckoned they could see them in water but I could only find a collection of rocks.

 Winding our way home the back way we find a magpie on a very small power pole near Monumana.

4^th   We had heard about Dismal Swamp and decided it sounded like a place to visit – don’t know where it got its name from but it was lovely amongst the trees and shrubs. It was a crater lake that drains away quickly so is very lush. The owners had artists create statues etc to fit in with the theme and there were some very good ones.

Eyes looked at you from all sorts of places, doors to another world with metal dinosaurs and some concrete lobster chimney stacks.

 We chose to walk down to the bottom but you could have taken a 200m slide. Even the Huon pine frames for the shelters were magnificent. We were there for 2 hours and had to leave when they shut at 4pm.

Winding our way home the back way we take a turn which means we take the long way and end up seeing Irishtown from 'above'. This is mainly black and white dairy country with all milk going to Devondale factory in Smithton. Terry tells us that most farmers would milk over 300 cows and some up to 900!!!! They are all very automated and the cows milk themselves 3 times a day. What would Dad think?

6^th    As it is nice and sunny we head back to Stanley to look over ‘Highfields’ an historic property on the edge of town. It was the original farm and has sweeping views over the Nut and Bass Strait and some lovely old convict built buildings. We look over the house with its grand rooms downstairs and small bedrooms upstairs. They couldn’t have had many children because there weren’t enough rooms.

The Chapel is a stone building with some wonderful polished wooden pews, and the schoolroom on first floor. Don’t know how the kids learnt anything – you would have spent all day gazing out the windows.

 The stables were also very impressive and the barn/granary has been turned into a conference centre where we spoke to a couple from Qld (where else) who were setting up for their wedding on Saturday. The stallion stalls showed that male chauvenism was alive and well back then too.

On our way into Smithton to get groceries we find the lookout and marvel at how close to the water you are. In town you aren’t aware of water unless you head over the Duck river bridge to the pub or Woolnorth, but Bass Strait doesn't register.

7^th   As our time here is nearly over we head to Burnie to visit the Makers Centre, where local artisans make and show off their creations, and there is some very interesting crafts going on. We buy some earings for Barb & myself from a lady doing glass beading. 

We miss the next paper making tour so have lunch and wander down town to the museum to fill in time till next one. The museum was great – the have an indoor street with all the old shops decked out in their finery and wares of the day with placards telling you their stories. I know we’ve been to lots of pioneer villages but this set up was very well done. Then it was back to the Makers Centre for a paper making tour which was fantastic. We were shown over the factory and then had a go at making some ourselves. We had to stir up the mixture and then coat a mesh screen with the pulp and then plonk it down onto a felt placemat with the watermark embossing into it. All very gooey but fun and the resulting paper is too good to use. We come away with a few different pieces and ideas for making our own paper when we retire! They have some very lifelike statues around the gallery as well.

 Stopping off at Edgecumbe Beach to stretch the legs has us exploring all the rocks on their edge – how did they end up like that? It is incredible to think of the earth’s forces pushing rocks up at such angles after the molten lava has set in perfect cylinders in some cases. 

9^th and Relle’s 30^th birthday so we had a chat to David, Jayden, Lilly, Jayden, Relle, Jayden, Zahra, Jayden & Dave on our way south. 

We didn’t leave Irishtown until noon after having coffee and several chats to Terry & Joy who arrived home just after 9am, so only made it to Roseberry before we stopped for the night at Stitt River Park. A very pleasant spot amongst the trees and mist and overnight rain, which was lovely to hear on the roof. Unfortunately there was enough rain to flood the little bridge that led down to the waterfall so we didn’t see that. The Lions Club have dedicated the toilet block to all deceased Lions and Lionesses which is novel? 
Montezuma Falls, the highest in Tassie are nearby so we hope to see them on a daytrip from Zeehan or Strahan wherever we make base for a few days.

10^th Not knowing what the road from Zeehan to Strahan was like we opt for the highway and it is steep and winding though 2 lanes and eventually get to Strahan, where we find out that you have to book in advance at the caravan park. They do have an unpowered, unwatered site way down the back so we take it for 2 nights and then go exploring. This is a very pretty place – all green and trees, with the mountains behind and the harbour in front. It is a sunny day so the water is blue and it looks a picture. After buying our tickets for the cruise up Gordon river tomorrow, we look through the history display at Information centre which tells the story of convicts, pining, conservationists and tourism of Strahan which is its’ history.

 After walking through Peoples park on route to Hogarth's falls we meet up with a lady from Roma who knows Ros well so it is getting to be a smaller world. There was some interesting fungi and cobwebs along the pathway.

Sarah Island seems to have been an awful convict settlement for 12 years – you can’t imagine how one human being can have been so cruel to another. Then it was a drive around town to see the sights – pretty good from the lookout, though there were plenty of rotting boats and jetties that could have been salvaged for their timber or something – and then we were off to the Theatre to see a play.

“The Ship that never was” was built by the convicts on Sarah Island and then hijacked by 10 of them and sailed to Chille, where they lived for 2 years before 4 of them were returned to trial in Hobart. It is hilarious and very well done by 3 actors who rope in a dozen or so members of the audience to play the other parts. One 20 something male wasn’t too keen to get into the spirit of it but the other people helped carry it off really well. I was one of the convicts who mustn't have been too popular because whenever they mentioned my name everyone had to boo.

 Because the ships papers were lost when the ship was scuttled off Chille there was no official record of it so there was no proof that mutiny had occurred or that a ship had been lost, so the survivors’ lives were saved and they went on to become worthwhile citizens of state. It is an open air theatre and was quite cold – even J had to put his jacket on afterwards. Then we decided to go to the Hotel for dinner and waited in a queue to get a table – they did about 3 sittings – before ordering a Blue Eye Trevalla for me and J had a steak. They both came sitting on top of ‘smashed’ potatoes and mine had salsa on top – about a dessertspoon full. I cube of mango, 2 cubes of tomato and some sliced red onion and all for $27.00. We had ordered some garlic bread as we thought with the full house it might have taken a while – and it did, so we weren’t left hungry – just disappointed. Then it was home to caravan and our little section was full of campervans, motorhomes and tents.

11^th and it was up early to get to the catamaran for our cruise. We had spoken to the lady in tent next door and offered her our little table and a chair as she was sitting on the ground eating breakfast, and learned that she was from Alaska so we will have to have a longer chat when we get back. We have seats on the upper deck in the centre – all that was left – but as they are offset and there are huge glass windows we could see everything. All through the trip out the Captain gave a running commentary and invited people up to the bridge to see how the ship is run – with several cups of coffee and a tiny little joystick and a few small computer screens. There are 7 cabin crew to feed the full complement of 222 passengers. We have morning tea on our way out to Hells Gate the 66m wide 20m deep channel out to the Southern Ocean. We are so lucky with a calm sunny day so he goes right out past the breakwater into the ocean near Cape Sorrell, and it is very calm until he turns around to head back in and then you can notice the swell. Today it was about 1m whereas it can get up to 20m. There are 2 lighthouses in the channel and one on Cape Sorrell.

Just inside the entrance are 3 houses that once housed the pilots who brought the ships in and out – today they are owned by locals who have to bring everything in by boat. On the inside of Hells Gate is a long rock wall built in a curved shape to channel the water through the passage. It was built by convicts who had to quarry the rocks from the surrounding hillsides and cart them down to water and onto a boat and then take them out to place them in a 7 klm long wall, which was 7 meters wide at the bottom and about 1m at the top. The wall is still there today and intact. Outside they have continued it along to form a breakwater which is also still there but with a few small gaps where the waves have pushed them over. When you think of the power of waves coming in from south west it is amazing that any of it is still standing. Nowadays it is only cruise ships with all their high tech navigation gear who come and go so it pretty safe and if the sea is too rough they don’t go through the ‘gate’ or past the end of breakwater.

Coming back in we head for Sarah Island where 3 guides take groups around explaining what all the ruins are from and life on the island – it was harsh. They did an amazing job to survive there and build ships for the colony – but over 1200 managed to escape, some were recaptured but quite a few disappeared into the bush never to be seen again. That was better than life on Sarah Island? The ruins of Governors house, ovens and brick kiln are there along with the solitary confinement cells and penitentiary – all in great positions overlooking the water. I guess it looked idyllic in the sunshine today but would have been the opposite on a cold, wet, windy, winters day in early 1800s.

While we were wandering around the island the crew put lunch out and we ate very well. Ham, Corned meat and Smoked Salmon, with salads of every shape and taste, and Camembert and Cheddar. After everyone had been served it was time for seconds and thirds, so we went back for some biscuits with camembert and salmon. With a glass of wine to wash it down with I was feeling very mellow by the time we got to a fish farm. One round tank held 18 – 20,000 trout or salmon. This one held trout which are bred in a hatchery in Hobart and transported out here when they are 18 months old. They live here for a year in which time they grow to the length of our forearm and are then taken out and sold. Salmon are 2 years old when they come out and live here for 18 months by which time they are the size of our leg and then they go to restaurants on the mainland or in China. These contraptions are automatic fish feeders.

 Then it was time to cruise up the famous Gordon river and it looked pristine – you could imagine being the first human to ever see it. We stopped off at Heritage landing to go for a walk through the forest and ended up at the remnants of a 4000 year old huon pine tree.

Our trip ended at a sawmill on wharf in Strahan which uses a 100 year old saw to cut through salvaged huon pine logs. Amongst a pile outside on jetty was one signposted as being 900 years old. Huon pine doesn’t rot as it has an oil which also gives it that distinct aroma.

12^th   John gets talking to our neighbour Fancy who has had her visa card compromised and is waiting for her new one to arrive from USA, so we invite her along with us when we go for a drive – don’t know what she will think of our drives? The Henty dunes are between us and southern ocean as we head north towards Granville Harbour.

It is just a small group of fishing huts so we head back to Trial Harbour which has a few more houses and a welcoming statue in the front yard of one. There is a seafarers museum as well as a lost walrus. 

 There are some lovely sandy beaches but it is very windswept, which means you have to look for flowers among the heath and rocks. 

After lunch in Zeehan we have a quick trip through the museum which has been written up as being something special but lacked a lot from my point of view. With time to kill we decide to go to Montezuma falls. The sign at turn off says that it is a moderate 4WD track over 14 klms and will take 1 hour  - that’s ok let’s have some fun. The more frightened Fancy got the more she talked and I didn’t want to look out the windscreen as we were bumping quite badly. An hour and half later we slid off a rock in a creek crossing and got stuck. No amount of pushing was going to move the boulder between axle and rear bumper so we unloaded everything out of the back onto road, jacked the car up so bumper was above rock and accelerated off quickly – wala we were free. Leaving everything in middle of road we continued on and found the falls and they are spectacular – and so is the suspension bridge that you have to cross to get a good view of them, and get to other side of river (2ft wide at top and 6 inches wide at bottom so you have to walk like a model which makes it sway more). Crossing over we are amazed to find 2 other couples who have walked in over 2 ½ hours from the Roseberry side. The old railway line has been turned into a walking trail which might have been better than the road we took – we passed another sign which said ‘adventurous 4WD track’ – goodness only knows what it was like, but I wasn’t going to find out – besides we had to go back to collect up all our goods and chattels and then try to find our toeball, as it was missing when we got stuck. There were no mishaps on the return journey and we even found the toeball lying in middle of road 10 klms away. All we have lost is the cotter pin that held toeball in place which we will have to replace before we can tow caravan out. With daylight saving and long twilight here we even get home before dark (9pm).

14^th   Left Strahan after promising to catch up with Fancy –we go back up that twisting, steep road to Queenstown where we stop for lunch. Someone said that there were 99 bends and I believe them. Reg & Lyn Brown from my Nashua days grew up here and I know why they left - it is a very stark landscape but people are upset that the trees are slowly growing back and the tourists won't come to see it.

 Heading east to Derwent Bridge we stop at the Wall. A bloke has built a large ‘shed’ with 100m sides and has covered them and 2 centre walls with huon pine slabs about 4 feet wide and 6-8 feet high and then carved them in various themes. It is a marvellous sight and although not finished would have taken many thousands of hours of work. He doesn’t let anyone take photos and hasn’t got any brochures so you will have to come and see it for yourself. Wedge tail eagles are very popular down here so he has two at the front of the building.

 Then it was on to Tarraleah for the night, with lots of bike riders clogging up the roads. They must have known we were behind them but couldn’t be bothered moving over so we could pass – it is no wonder they get run over. This village was built as home for builders of power station and is very pretty with lots of trees amongst the mountains and streams, but rather foggy and cold. This is the ‘Highland’ ecumenical church next to the resort/caravan park.

15th   We stop at Hamilton for a pie as they had been recommended to us and then it was over to Triabunna as Michelle didn’t want to see us. J was rather disappointed and felt that it was just duty that made her see him, so he solved it by drinking heavily. There is a lighthouse here but after lots of trips down dirt roads and around in circles we gave up and went to look over Louisville, Orford, Shelley Beach and Spring Beach. Pretty spots but not much sand mainly shells.

17th Beth’s birthday and as I was feeling down I rang Ros and had a lovely chat to her.

18th   We have to drop off the car mirror in Sorell to get a new one so decide to head over to Tasman Peninsula for a drive. Nearing the Denison Canal Bridge at Dunalley we get held up in a big stream of traffic all at a standstill, so I get out and go for a walk to find out why. The bridge is a swing one and it was open to let two sailboats through. As soon as they were past the bridge swung back into place (very quickly)and we all moved on. 

Our first stop was the Tessellated pavement, which is fascinating – rocks have formed into square tile shapes. You look out over Pirate Bay – don’t know why it was called that because it looked so calm and peaceful.

Stopping at the officers’ quarters on Eaglehawk Neck we have a walk around the buildings, but I am more interested in the Dog statue so we soon move on. They have a bronze statue of a guard dog at the neck and he looks very ferocious. The dogs were also out in the water in Eaglehawk bay so that the prisoners couldn’t swim across the bay to freedom.

After such barbaric treatment we try Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen for some refinement. The arch as you can imagine is a hole eroded in rock wall and the kitchen is a steep sided inlet where the ocean comes roaring in. It was very calm so we didn’t see any violent crashing of waves here or at the blowhole. While we were there 2 coachloads of tourists arrived and most of them didn't even bother to walk around and look at everything. Don't know why you would pay to go on a tour if you aren't going to check out everything on offer.

With time to spare we venture down to Fortescue Bay, where there is a lovely sandy beach and lots of paddymelons hopping about. We went for a walk along with 50 teenagers on a school camp and then it was time to head home along the dirt from Copping to Rheban.

19th   I have a chiropractors appointment in Huonville so we head back down to Geeveston to see Miranda beforehand. The tourist brochures list a mushroom farm at Glen Huon; so thinking we might get some cheaper mushies we go in – but no they do not do tours or have sales anymore. After a delicious scallop pie at the bakery we have a lovely chat to Miranda, Jellyroll and BB King and then Helen and her dog call in so we catch up on the gossip from her American housesitters too. They weren't the best and not friendly to us either. Miranda would like us to come back in October to sit while she goes to NZ for a holiday – don’t know if we will make it. The Huon river was glassy as we passed by - pity it is so cold down here it would be lovely to wake up to this view every morning.

20th   Put car in for a service and went to MONA (Museum Old & New Art) which had some very strange pieces that made you think that some people were completely warped. Evidently that it why the owner puts them on display – once an item gets a few likes he takes it away and puts something more controversial in its place. One item has a very particular smell and consists of large glass containers connected with clear tubes and it represents a human digestive system going through the phases until something brown pops out the end! Another more interesting piece was a waterfall of words made out of drops, and a set of pulse lights that worked when you squeezed two handles. There were revolting pictures – one of Burke & Wills with some kangaroos licking his backside. Hundreds of different lounge chairs with each one having its own ethnic video playing. Outside was a chapel of sheet steel that had xray pictures mounted inside. Not really to my taste but it made you think!

 Once my ankles had died we waited for a bus to take us back to car which had had its service but we have to take it into Hobart next week to get some photos taken of the damage to see if Mitsubishi will cover the warranty. It was still pleasant when we got to Buckland so we looked inside the church which has lovely stained glass windows, but only has 1 service each month. At the front gate was a large tree which when felled they carved it into John baptising Jesus, which I liked. 

Checking out the cemetery we find all one back corner is one family. At one stage there must have been something contagious because 3 kids die and then their mother – all in 4 month period. Ye old Buckland Inn is the only other notable building and has been so since 1831. They didn’t do meals so we didn’t stay but went into hotel in Triabunna for a very nice meal. It is amazing that you can get a really top class fancy meal in a little country pub for $20 and in anywhere touristy it will cost twice that for half the food. Two other guests came up to greet us and it turned out that they were at the theatre in Strahan and he played the ‘Governor’. They came from Bribie Island and wanted our photograph for their travel album. They were staying in one of the rooms at our caravan park so we went in to have a nightcap and chat with them afterwards.

21st   Fancy arrives back from her trip to Stanley and Cradle Mountain complaining about the wet and cold - which was what I thought Alaska was like all the time. I guess you need warmer clothes.

23rd     Late Sunday morning Michelle came over for lunch and we enjoyed fish and chips from the fish van on wharf and chatted the afternoon away. Calling in at the Christmas shop, Michelle bought some material for another bag so I have a sewing job. She has been having a terrible time with the takeover by OPSM and the backward step to operate their computer system.

24th   We trekked up to Coles Bay L/O with a million other tourists, but didn’t go all the way to Wineglass Bay- it would have been very Japanese. 

Lunch was a picnic on Richardson’s Beach with a few Pacific gulls before walking around Cape Tourville L/H with a few Bennetts Wallabys. 

Then it was a stop at Fortescue Fish Farm for a dozen oysters with salmon & brie and a bottle of Kelvedon sav blanc wine, and 2 dozen oysters for dinner. On the way home we stop at Devils Corner Winery for some tastings. They also had some very nice wines and would have had a great view over Great Oyster Bay but alas it was raining. We came home with a mixed carton of shiraz and chardonnay.

25th   Maria Island was our destination and on the way past we saw Triabunna Lighthouse! The land is owned by woodchip mill and has been closed off to public.

In no time we were on the jetty and offloading all the ferry passengers and their luggage. While this was happening the day tourists had 30 minutes to check out the Commisariat’s store and the mussels growing on jetty pylons before reboarding and heading around Cape Boulanger and across Fossil bay to a sea cave with thousands of fossils on roof and walls. 

On the way we passed a small waterfall high up on cliff face, along with a few big rocks covered with guano and a few shags – guess it must be a favourite resting spot. The moisture was enough to enable plants grow too.

Bishop and Clerk is the mountain on very edge of island. If the weather is calm they would go around to Riedle Bay for lunch but it was far too dangerous so we went inside Mercury passage and stopped for lunch at Shoal bay. I am sure it was just as lovely with their painted cliffs and it was very calm.

Fancy jumped in to see how deep the water was – but I wasn’t going to be wet and cold for the rest of day. After another superb lunch with lots salmon and camembert as well as other salads the pilot gave everyone a turn at the helm which was interesting and since we didn’t come to grief lots of fun. 

Back at the jetty we had an hour to walk about Darlington looking at the buildings. If you are staying over you have to bring all your own food as there are no shops. Some of our passengers took the scraps from lunch as they were staying the night and coming back the following afternoon. That would have been good as there are several walks that you can do. One goes to sea cave and another to the bay where we had lunch. Another one goes inland to Mt Maria and if you have several days and very fit you can walk to the southern point at Barren Head. There are some interesting buildings at the end of a lovely tree lined avenue and lots of cape barren geese wandering around.

 A sign on one of walls says it all, but I'm glad I didn't stay for afternoon tea - it might have been a little cold.

26th   While car was being photographed and front shockies replaced in Hobart we walked down to Salamanca place to find the good earth shop, which sells Bruny Island cheese and Matthew Evans’ products. After morning tea we watched a chef prepare some salmon that tasted even better than it looked. Not being hungry we opted to do the red bus tourist drive around Hobart to see where we might like to get off and explore. The bus was full of American tourists who had only arrived this morning so we got to chat to those near us. When we arrived back it was 3pm and being a little hungry we popped into a pizza place and had a decent wait for a very nice meal. Next door is Mawson’s hut – a replica of the hut in Antarctica which you can do a tour through. It was also fascinating – how you could live in such close proximity to everyone for a year and for some of them 2 years baffles me. The building has a hall around three outer sides which housed the stores and the dogs and there are two inner rooms for living and Mawson’s bedroom/office, with the workshop against the fourth side. It was all heated by one little heater and had gas lamps for light. Some of the men had little shelves above their bunks for books etc.

Then we had to trudge back up the hill to the car. They say that they will send the photos and an explanation to Mitsubishi in Adelaide so we will just have to wait and see what the outcome is. We stop off at the Buckland church for Fancy to have a look around and then head home to a warm caravan.

27th   Our idea today was to see the fairy penguins at Bicheno so we took the long way through Buckland, Woodsdale and Whiteford to Oatlands. On the way we stopped for Fancy to photograph some kookaburras on powerlines and me to take pictures of a nursery in Oatlands.

We stop at the Ross bridge for the same reason, and as Fancy wants to go to the Wool Factory we pull up outside the Uniting church nearby. Out of curiosity I wander inside and am amazed at the beautiful carvings and woodwork, to say nothing of the paintings of Lords Prayer, Creed and Ten Commandments. 

Outside the wood craft studio they have a tassie devil at his friendliest. I bought some lovely wool for Michelle’s dolls hair at the Wool shop, and Fancy bought a cute beanie for her granddaughter. 

On our way into Bicheno we find our spot to watch the penguins near the blowhole, and do a tour of town before stopping at the hotel for dinner, which is very pleasant with its view over the Tasman Sea. We have plenty of time to see the penguins but only two turn up so at 10.30pm we give up and head home. After the first five possums are seen I decide to count them and by the time we get home we have seen twenty-six between guide posts. The two who were copulating in middle of road didn’t even bother moving. Some of them were very reluctant to move so we had a few quick brakings but didn’t hit any. It is no wonder that there are so many dead on side of roads.

28th   Heading back to Tasman Peninsular we drop Fancy off at Port Arthur for the day and we go and explore Maingon Bay and Remarkable Cave. The view from boardwalk to Cape Raoul is stunning and is complemented by the flora growing nearby. 

The steep climb down into Remarkable cave is worth it when you see the ocean through a hole in rock. There must have been over a hundred steps back up to the car. This is looking at the outside wall of cave.

Looking from cave seawards -

Inside the cave towards the sea -

 While heading to our lunch stop beside Carnarvon Bay we have to go down Dog Bark road but there were no dogs barking at the time. Enroute to White Beach and Nubeena we pass a blue gum plantation. The owner had received lots of awards (according to a sign at gate) for his tree plantings and these will look stunning when fully grown.

With time to spare we head north to Lime Bay reserve which had some beaches but not much of a camp ground. Seeing some signs for Coal mines convict settlement 1833-48 we drive in to see what it was about – literally a coal mine worked by the Port Arthur inmates on detention. The solitary confinement cells were open for you to walk through and were barbaric. In some of the ruins you could see where the cell bars had been gouged into the walls. We found a convict made brick with its mark lying beside a path – amazing someone hadn’t stolen it. Don’t know what George Taggart did or didn’t do but he earned the nickname ‘useless’. 

The kitchen chimney had a lean on it but J says that is to give better draw. The building used as a church had an elaborate decoration along the front and two rooms. We couldn’t tell if one room was for prisoners and one for soldiers etc but why else would you have two rooms. I have since been told that one room could have been chaplin's bedroom. The hospital had the better view over the water but I hope they had glass in windows as it would have been a bit drafty without it. 

Then it was time to head back to Port Arthur to collect Fancy who had a great day. We stopped at Dunalley Hotel to see their fishermen at work, on way home.

 1st March  We were going to leave today but Michelle is coming over tomorrow so we stay home to clean up and have a rest.

2^nd  After church we met up with Michelle and Shane for lunch at our favourite scallop shop, and were chatting over a cuppa when Barb rang in tears to say that the staff think Mother is dying. It was 2.30pm and at 4.30pm Shannon rang to say that she had gone. It seemed so surreal – I don’t know what I expected, but after 2 hours? We have to thank God it was over so quickly for her, but no one else got to say goodbye.

3^rd   We cancel our trip to Bridport/Deloraine and book flights back to Qld in a daze.

5^th     After an uneventful flight we were met by Barb, who took us over to Hendra to pick up a hire car. She wouldn’t come over to Zillmere so we arrange to meet up tomorrow, and we head over to Bill and Yvonne’s.

6^th   Barb’s birthday so while she is delivering Tyler & Liam to school and daycare we checkout Spotlight for some buttons etc, buy subway for lunch and head over to Shannon’s to try to cheer her up. At 3pm she collects the boys and we meet up at the pool where Tyler has swimming lessons. He is very good and won his race across the pool. The lessons were completely different from what we had as kids. Tyler greeted me with a big scream 'Pet' and hug at the door but Liam is still a bit shy and just sat on the seat eating his afternoon tea. Afterwards we went back to Shannon’s for a pizza dinner before heading back to Zillmere. It would have been nice to have stayed with Barb but since we can't trust Bob it doesn't happen.

^7th   And we were off to Toowoomba to see the Public Trustee, Heritage Funerals and lunch at Shingle Inn before going out to Pittsworth to see Garth and Jan. Public Trustee nearly caused a heart attack when they said their charges would start around $4700. Fortunately there should be $9000 in rent by then so we shouldn’t have to pay out anything beforehand. How they can charge that amount and take 6 months to close 1 bank account and transfer the house and some money to us? Jane at Heritage was her lovely self and we made it through the proceedings with only a few tears. The interest on moneys we paid 3 years ago covered the extra costs and we will get $250 back. Barb enjoyed her meal at lunch but I didn’t think much of mine and J didn’t like his and had to wait for a cold coffee which did nothing for his mood. Garth and Jan were lovely as usual and soon all was over and we could head back to Brisbane.

8^th    Penny calls in so we meet Lily and Piper. Lily enjoys dressing up grandad and J as well as herself and Piper tries to join in but has the dolls’ house to keep an eye on.

9^th   After church we head over to Maureen’s but she isn’t home so we wander up to Wivenhoe dam for a picnic lunch before going over to Laidley for the night.

10^th  Up to Pittsworth where we meet up with those friends and relatives who made the trip. Jamie came with Shannon and the boys and is still as handsome as ever. Leiba and Brian bought Malcolm and David with them. David is tall and dark – like Malcolm in his younger days and not at all like Leiba or Mirriam. Don & Alan Neumann also came up from Gatton. Of course Kevin & Joyce, and Beris and Doug bought Val over from Oakey so with Lyndsay thinking of us from England we had full contingent of Gordon cousins – though there aren’t many of us left. It was hard seeing Billie and Shirley who were so close to Mother.

Barb wants a copy of The Sentinel so we go down town and end up having a coffee with Jeanette Krinke who fills us in on the happenings of the Hook family. It was a sad trip down to cemetery to give Dad some flowers - it always is and then we bid farewell to Barb and her car full of flowers and head to Frosty's for dinner. It is a long night but was good for Steve to have a chat to J about some problems. 

11^th    Leave Frosty’s and call in to have lunch with Barb before going over to Zillmere, where I promptly fall asleep and leave J, Bill & Yvonne to drop off car.

12^th    Very early start has Bill & Yvonne dropping us off at the airport at 6.30, but after the plane disappearance on Sunday security was heavy – I took my shoes off in advance and they didn’t beep so go figure. We get through security in time to buy a paper and walk onto the plane. Coming into land in Hobart my ears were on fire – it was so painful. We stop at Sorell Fruit farm for some jam and wine tastings and buy some tayberry jam and apples. We have to come back here in Dec/Jan to try some of their berries - some I have never heard of. The rubbish man has dropped a bottle from bin when emptying it and has broken one of our solar panels but otherwise caravan is ok so we thank Tony and pack up to leave early tomorrow.

13^th     Head up Lake Leake road to Midland H’way, and stop in Perth at Devil’s Bakehouse for the most divine gourmet scallop pie for lunch. As they were still in the oven when we arrived we had desert first – pecan pie and it was lovely too. We couldn't stop at Cambridge Inn for a proper photo and look around so I had to take a flying one as we sped past. We have been at Apex Park in Deloraine when we were here 4 years ago, so it was familiar.

14^th   Chudleigh Honey and Silk Tasmania was our first stop, with 50 different varieties of honey to taste it was amazing we made it through the day.  Some Cajun honey, lime honey, nougat and bee pencils made it into the car with us. Silk Tasmania had some lovely scarves as well as other craft items. The townsfolk have planted roses alongside the road and they would have been wonderful when in full bloom – at the moment they were towards the end of flowering but still quite spectacular. Devil’s gullet was our next port of call, and is a valley between mountain ranges and alas was very misty and foggy when we arrived so didn’t get to see too much, but there were some spectacular bright flowers beside the road. 

After a slow crawl through narrow, winding dirt road we can see Walls of Jerusalem NP – a pretty spectacular rock wall so we stop for our picnic lunch and admire the view through the trees. You cannot drive into the park - have to walk in carrying everything.

 Coming out our altimeter says we dropped 750m in 14klm. Fisher river L/O and Mersey Valley L/O have some lovely views after you climb back up 690m. 

We wind our way to Cradle Mtn nestled beside Dove Lake and it is crowded with people who must have done day walks and were waiting for the bus to take them back to resorts. It is a very serene place if you could divest yourself of all the crowds, and I would like to come back another day and walk around the lake. 

 There were some more incredible flowers along the roadside as well as a pitiful excuse for a river.

We find some letter boxes near Lower Wilmot, on our way through Nowhere else (nothing there), Lower Crackpot (has a very expensive maze), Mt Rowland, Sheffield, and Railton with all their topiaries.

 While checking out the ones we saw last time to see how they had grown we find a few more.

 On roadside near Kimberley we find some statues waiting for someone to stop and say Gidday and a trotter who probably wished he could stop for a chat.

15th    Yarns Artwork in Silk and museum in Deloraine was our first stop and it is amazing. They have the most spectacular silk patchwork/applique murals around the walls of auditorium. They depict the local area and its’ flora and fauna, people and activities over the four seasons of year. They have a tape telling you the story of it and then you have a short while to view it before the lights go out.

Some of the details are stunning - wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to do patchwork/applique like this?

We wander around the museum enjoying their display before taking the Lake H’way to Alma Pass and into Interlaken and have a picnic lunch beside Great Lake but it was blowy and overcast. 

Nearby we find John Beaumont’s grave – he was a surveyor who found the Lake and is buried looking over it – bet he is happy. Our first Tasmanian tiger snake slithered across the road as we were leaving and then we found an echidna who buried his head in ground in preference to having photo taken. 

 Then we tried to find Jericho before stopping for afternoon tea at Elm Café in Bothwell. They had lots of crockery and bits and pieces on display to browse through before enjoying a lovely citrus slice. 

On our way home we found the Steppe Stones, large rocks with statues attached. They were very well done.

We tried to find the monuments to Yvonne’s grandfather Sir Walter Lee but only found the Quamby corner caravan park which we will have to come back to.

16th  I am in seventh heaven today as we find Seahorse world and Platypus House in Beauty Point. We have a tour of the seahorse tanks and they have an amazing array of the little creatures. At the end they have a tank with pot bellied ones in, that you can hold – so I got to hold one. The shell/skin was quite rough but as you can imagine they are very light and he just lay there on my fingers. J got a good photo of one of their octopus too. We did a tour at Platypus house too and saw several, as well as a few Tasmanian echidnas. After lunch we walk into West beach at Greens Point before heading home through the countryside where a guy seemed to like sitting on his tractor.

17th Westbury Maze had us lost a few times but we found the lookout and climbed it to see how to get out. 

The Copper and metal art gallery in Carrick was a fascinating place where we bought some leafy seadragon earings and a guitar for Frosty & Tracey’s music room.

Travelling through Hagley we find Grindelwald Swiss Village and stop for lunch (not much choice or taste) before checking out the buildings and gardens of resort which were a lot nicer.  

Ashgrove cheese had some cows to welcome us along with 2 bus loads of tourists so we did the circle of cheese  tastings, bought a few and left for Anvers chocolates, who had less tourists and lots of chocolates to buy – so I did. 

Through the countryside to Port Sorell where we went for a walk along beach and checked out the crabs, before going to Squeaking Point - didn't hear anything noisy; heading back to Paradise - couldn't find anything except the sign;  and home through Railton where we found their War Memorial.

18th   Ben Lomond NP was today’s destination and was cool, overcast and high up in the clouds. We stop at Jacobs Ladder in awe of the rock formations. 

 There is a scout camp nearby and must have been wonderful for the kids to go exploring. You can walk cross country to the ski resort if you are mad enough. 

19th   We have to have a look around Launceston so I pick out Clockwise, 1842, and the Old Umbrella Shop for us to visit. Clockwise had hundreds of different clocks and I would have loved to buy several. 1842 is a furniture store inside a shop built in 1842 where we found some lovely furniture. The Umbrella shop has always been one and they had lots on display as well as some for sale. The building is owned and operated by National Trust so we had a chat to the 2 ladies on duty before finding a Mexican restaurant for lunch. We had fun at Tin Shed Pottery near Aurora stadium where they had lots of different artisans at work. We stopped to watch a young girl making fancy buttons and bought 2. We loved some of the ceramics that had a special glaze fired with them. Then it was time to find the wineries at Reilba. Josef Cromy was very classy but the girl doing the tastings was down to earth and very informative. They had some nice wines too so we came away with a box of shiraz. Down the road was where a lovely young guy had us in stitches with his deliveries and knowledge. This winery was very basic but in process of being upgraded and they also had some nice wines. Driving around Westbury we found the Uniting church and it's memorial to Sir Walter which was very informative - his granddaughter must have inherited his get up and go.

On our way home we found some ‘men’ looking over the fence at a golfer and swaggie and some more wonderful silhouettes in the garden of farm next door.

20th    We have to go back to St Helens to pick up my pendant and on the way we stop in at the Tin Centre in Derby, where they have built an interpretive centre with lots of information and a film of a big flood which wiped out much of the town and surrounding countryside. It was so peaceful on verandah looking out over the tiny stream it was hard to imagine it could have been the raging torrent we had just seen. Then it was off to Knaut to pick up my seahorse pendant and it is lovely. He only wanted $220 for it and a chain which was a big surprise. Up to St Mary’s for lunch at Elephant Pass pancakes and home through Cressy and Bracknell brought a long but satisfying day to an end.

21st    Fancy went off to Chudleigh to buy some honey so we went to lunch at 41* South Salmon & Ginseng farm. They had lots of ginseng products on sale and salmon tastings, so we settled on a shared plate and washed it down with a bottle of their sav blanc. There is a festival on in Deloraine over the weekend and lots of people have set up tables in main street so we wander along looking at the arts and crafts and statues that are a permanent part of streetscape. I bought a pink bag for $10 to match the blouse I bought in Toowoomba. Bonney's Inn is now a B n B and the oldest building in Deloraine.

22nd     ‘Stringfest’ in Deloraine is at the end of caravan park so we have bacon and eggs from Lions for breakfast and check out all the stalls where I buy an owl t-shirt and Venison burger for lunch, while listening to several bands and singers. Then it was off to Lions v Hawks in Launceston – didn’t think we would win but they played reasonably for 3 quarters. I did my bit to support them! John has fun explaining the rules to Fancy who we hope has enjoyed spending time with us as we have with her.

Driving around Launceston we find Jack climbing up a beanstalk growing up the front wall of his house.

23^rd   Sunday morning has us bidding Fancy a tearful goodbye and turning up for church at 9am and no one else, so we went back to caravan and finished packing up and wandered up to music area  of “Stringfest” and sat in the sun for a few  hours listening to some good musicians. When it was time to head to Devonport and the ferry we discovered that the speedo wasn’t working but with ‘Katrina’ on we were ok. After 20klms the speedo starting working again. Made it to Ferry with plenty of time to spare so found a seat and watched the world go by – well Devonport and Mersey river. This is the bridge at one end of the ferry.

 After sunset it was off to another tepid dinner then we roamed boat trying to find a tv showing the cricket – it was 20 feet from where we had dinner!! 20 of us watched Australia lose to Pakistan in World cup T20. Let’s hope we have better luck against West Indies. The Captain had said that we were to have 1 – 2 m swell but I didn’t feel anything.

24^th   Getting out of Melbourne proved trying as we missed a few turns – GPS wasn’t too accurate and we couldn’t get into correct lane, but eventually we made it to Hume H’way and arrived at Regal caravans at 7.50am. It was still dark at 7.15am also wet, foggy, cloudy and cold!!!! how could anyone live here? John spoke to Dean about all the warranty and insurance claims and also got them to put an extra water tank underneath. Then we headed off up the highway a bit before stopping at a roadside rest area for breakfast – was it noisy! J rang the Mitsubishi dealer in Seymour (closest) and got car booked in to see about the speedo which wasn’t working again, and a motor light that had come on in the dashboard; so we headed into Seymour to offload the caravan. I managed to have a sleep in the afternoon before ringing the garage, only to find out that they couldn’t find the problem and would need the car for a few days!!

25^th  After a leisurely breakfast we walk towards town before stopping for some groceries at Aldi – of course the shopping bags were still in car. The staff at the information centre were very friendly and helpful so we filled in some time there and checked out the art gallery in old courthouse. They have lots of old buildings with plaques on to tell you what they were. The town is quite big – 6,500 pop and runs along the Goulbourn river.

26^th   We spend time trying to ring Tyler to wish him a ‘Happy Birthday’ and eventually get Shannon who informs us that he is running in his ‘cross country’ at Kindy. Can you believe it – 4 year olds running 300 meters. Anyway he came 7^th and was thrilled to tell us about it when we managed to talk to him after lunch.

 After getting the good news from garage we collect the car and spend the afternoon at Puckapunyal Tank Museum. There weren’t any buildings around from 1971, but J did recognise a Centurion tank, and a Leopard tank as well as a few bits of radio gear that he had used. They have 90 tanks on display and a few more being restored. The owls roosting everywhere must do the trick as there was no bird poo or even sightings of birds. One tank had an 'unusual gadget' on the front that caused some mirth when pondering its original use.

We also found a WWi train carriage that had carried horses to the boats, with a horse in situ to show how cramped it must have been for them.

 Then we wandered along the ‘Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk’ and found Graham, Rob, Gary and Trevor’s names in Army section, and Tug, Russell and Bob’s names in Navy section.

I should have looked for Mick Purcell's name - one of the good guys from Nashua, who had some big problems with the war. Maybe one day we will go back there.

The walk is very poignant – well done and surrounded by gum trees.

 All the new recruits for National Service came to Pucka for initial induction, and all soldiers to Vietnam trained here so it has meaning for hundreds of thousands of men.There is also an Australian Light Horse Memorial Park which was having work done on it when we called. 

Another old building in Seymour is the lockup - talk about man's inhumanity to fellow man.

Since we are back on mainland you will have to log onto no 11 to read the rest of our travels.