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| Australia 3 Tasmania |
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Tasmania - March 7
We arose early to get out of the campground on time. It was a very uninspiring cold, drizzly day. We packed up, had breakfast and took off through the mountains. I suspect that the scenery is beautiful with amazing mountain vistas. It was pretty even through the rain. But everything was covered in cloud.
First we came onto Queenstown. The descent was beautiful - from the top of the mountains down twisty roads into a valley where much of the scenery had been carved out by the local mining activities. It was like being in the Yukon. Queenstown is an old mining town, and the buildings are very colorful; the town's attempt to attract more tourist dollars. There was a small main street, a miner's memorial and everything was a bit rough. We found a little general store selling baked goods, coffee, lunch and renting videos and internet time. After a lunch of a ham sandwich (we had lots of those on the trip) we headed across the street to the local IGA. It was small, carpeted, and sold everything imaginable in 4 small aisles.
Next we headed through to Rosebery, a one-street mining community on a hill. There was a pub, coffee shop, police and fire station, library, post-office, pizza parlour, and of course the Rosebery Mining Historic center. The mine is visible from pretty much anywhere in town. The kids were tough, the shops were seedy, but everyone was friendly. We got a coffee and then headed to Cradle Mountain.
The Cradle Mountain Discovery Parks Wilderness Center was a really nice campground. Each site had some isolation and the bathrooms were super-nice, though completely cold. Sitting on the toilet was a bit painful. Our favorite part was the cook house, where you could build a fire, and do all of your cooking and dishes in the warmth. We ended up spending quite a bit of time in there.
On our first night we did laundry, and then walked a couple of kms down the road for supper. We headed to the "family dining" establishment, but it was at the Cradle Mountain Wildnerness Resort, which was rather posh, like a Fairmont. The restaurant was not exactly your average Swiss Chalet, but was the meal ever good - the best buffet ever. Dessert was the best - date cake with warm caramel covering. Heaven.
We started seeing wildlife almost as soon as we arrived. A kangaroo hopped in front of the van as we were driving earlier, and Paul made a smooth speedy stop. On our walk back to the campground we saw 2 wallabies, and watched a wombat forage in the bush for food - they are so cute...like mini bears. The birds have some very strange calls here - they sound like turkeys and some of the little ones can make a real racket. This is being composed from the caravan while we are trying to stay warm. At least it isn't raining.
First we came onto Queenstown. The descent was beautiful - from the top of the mountains down twisty roads into a valley where much of the scenery had been carved out by the local mining activities. It was like being in the Yukon. Queenstown is an old mining town, and the buildings are very colorful; the town's attempt to attract more tourist dollars. There was a small main street, a miner's memorial and everything was a bit rough. We found a little general store selling baked goods, coffee, lunch and renting videos and internet time. After a lunch of a ham sandwich (we had lots of those on the trip) we headed across the street to the local IGA. It was small, carpeted, and sold everything imaginable in 4 small aisles.
Next we headed through to Rosebery, a one-street mining community on a hill. There was a pub, coffee shop, police and fire station, library, post-office, pizza parlour, and of course the Rosebery Mining Historic center. The mine is visible from pretty much anywhere in town. The kids were tough, the shops were seedy, but everyone was friendly. We got a coffee and then headed to Cradle Mountain.
The Cradle Mountain Discovery Parks Wilderness Center was a really nice campground. Each site had some isolation and the bathrooms were super-nice, though completely cold. Sitting on the toilet was a bit painful. Our favorite part was the cook house, where you could build a fire, and do all of your cooking and dishes in the warmth. We ended up spending quite a bit of time in there.
On our first night we did laundry, and then walked a couple of kms down the road for supper. We headed to the "family dining" establishment, but it was at the Cradle Mountain Wildnerness Resort, which was rather posh, like a Fairmont. The restaurant was not exactly your average Swiss Chalet, but was the meal ever good - the best buffet ever. Dessert was the best - date cake with warm caramel covering. Heaven.
We started seeing wildlife almost as soon as we arrived. A kangaroo hopped in front of the van as we were driving earlier, and Paul made a smooth speedy stop. On our walk back to the campground we saw 2 wallabies, and watched a wombat forage in the bush for food - they are so cute...like mini bears. The birds have some very strange calls here - they sound like turkeys and some of the little ones can make a real racket. This is being composed from the caravan while we are trying to stay warm. At least it isn't raining.
Tasmania - March 6
After a MUCH better sleep secondary to our new setup in the campervan we got up to brave the cold. It was awfully hard to get out of the warm sleeping bags. But I had to pee!! The trip to the bathroom required hat and mitts. At this point we had two words to describe Tasmania - cold and wet. I got up about an hour before Paul, so headed to the visitor center, planned our day, and signed us in for the hikes. They have a good system here, where they keep track of hikers as long as you sign in. If you don't sign back out when you return, they go looking for you.
After walking around a bit, I decided it was time to wake sleeping beauty, so started getting my breakfast. It was a pleasant meal, if a bit chilly. Sat on chairs looking out at Lake St Claire and listening to the birds. After breakfast we prepared and then headed out for our hike.
The hike in short was 15k, with the first 5k all uphill through the woods, and the rest gentle, either flat or sloping downhill. Most of it was following tree markers in the woods or scrambling across rivers on logs, but there were a couple of boardwalks that made for nice breaks for the feet. Since it had been raining a lot in the previous days, there were rivulets here and there, which required much jumping between rocks and branches to avoid wet feet. Mucky muck pretty much summed that up.
As we climbed through the rainforest and tea tree swamp at the beginning of the walk, and then continued climbing through sub-alpine forest, I shed 5 of my 6 layers one at a time. At the top, though, I quickly started re-accumulating. About 360 meters above us was Mount Rufus with snow on top, and we were surrounded by what looked like upright driftwood. Pretty cool scenery, actually, but not a whole lot of color. There was very little animal life, though lots of interesting flora. The trees that looked petrified were very cool. There were lots of gum-topped stringy barks called Eucalyptus delegatensis that had peeling bark that left fascinating color patterns. 
After my childhood exposure to craft shows I had always thought that eucalyptus leaves would be rounder, but they come in all shapes and colours. Most around here seemed to be long and thin. This time of year they are starting to turn red and yellow as they fall, though most are still green. Most interesting were the mushrooms. There were colorful little orange ones, and large red ones. Paul found a white toad stool that looked like something from Super Mario Brothers. 
Walking away from the lookout for Mount Rufus, we went through a very cool mossy forest with King Billy Pines and Yellow Gum eucalyptus.
About 5/8 along we came to Shadow Lake, which is supposed to be the point of the walk. It was very clean, with great views of mountains. It was in subalpine forest with snow gums and the lake was fringed with pencil pines. I particularly liked pink and red berries on shrubs everywhere, since they lent a bit of color to the day.
On the rest of the walk we followed river much of the way, or at least the sound of the river. As we descended, it got louder, and from the jumping we had to do over water on the trail, it was clear that the recent rains were being good to the river.
Back at the campground, we tucked into a hot chocolate and then a warm supper. I tried wallaby - not my favorite. After supper we grabbed our books and headed back to the lodge to sit by the wood stove until bed time.
After walking around a bit, I decided it was time to wake sleeping beauty, so started getting my breakfast. It was a pleasant meal, if a bit chilly. Sat on chairs looking out at Lake St Claire and listening to the birds. After breakfast we prepared and then headed out for our hike.
The hike in short was 15k, with the first 5k all uphill through the woods, and the rest gentle, either flat or sloping downhill. Most of it was following tree markers in the woods or scrambling across rivers on logs, but there were a couple of boardwalks that made for nice breaks for the feet. Since it had been raining a lot in the previous days, there were rivulets here and there, which required much jumping between rocks and branches to avoid wet feet. Mucky muck pretty much summed that up.
As we climbed through the rainforest and tea tree swamp at the beginning of the walk, and then continued climbing through sub-alpine forest, I shed 5 of my 6 layers one at a time. At the top, though, I quickly started re-accumulating. About 360 meters above us was Mount Rufus with snow on top, and we were surrounded by what looked like upright driftwood. Pretty cool scenery, actually, but not a whole lot of color. There was very little animal life, though lots of interesting flora. The trees that looked petrified were very cool. There were lots of gum-topped stringy barks called Eucalyptus delegatensis that had peeling bark that left fascinating color patterns. 
After my childhood exposure to craft shows I had always thought that eucalyptus leaves would be rounder, but they come in all shapes and colours. Most around here seemed to be long and thin. This time of year they are starting to turn red and yellow as they fall, though most are still green. Most interesting were the mushrooms. There were colorful little orange ones, and large red ones. Paul found a white toad stool that looked like something from Super Mario Brothers. 
Walking away from the lookout for Mount Rufus, we went through a very cool mossy forest with King Billy Pines and Yellow Gum eucalyptus.
About 5/8 along we came to Shadow Lake, which is supposed to be the point of the walk. It was very clean, with great views of mountains. It was in subalpine forest with snow gums and the lake was fringed with pencil pines. I particularly liked pink and red berries on shrubs everywhere, since they lent a bit of color to the day.
On the rest of the walk we followed river much of the way, or at least the sound of the river. As we descended, it got louder, and from the jumping we had to do over water on the trail, it was clear that the recent rains were being good to the river.
Back at the campground, we tucked into a hot chocolate and then a warm supper. I tried wallaby - not my favorite. After supper we grabbed our books and headed back to the lodge to sit by the wood stove until bed time.
Tasmania - March 5
After our horrible night of sleep, we dragged ourselves out of bed, had a breakfast on the fly and took off on the road towards St Clair National Park. First stop was Richmond, the site of the oldest bridge still in use in Australia. The red brick bridge was built in 1823 and is now surrounded by very cute ducks.
We got Paul a coffee and the drove towards Mount Field through the old town of New Norfolk. The scenery was gorgeous. There were hills everywhere, though they were surprisingly not lush. Surprising because it rained all day. There were sheep in the fields, pitch black cows grazing, and eucalyptus trees throughout. We went along the Derwent river, with cliffs on the sides, and our side had rain while the other side was sunny with a rainbow.
Mount Field National Park is in about the middle of the state. It was lush and green - lots of tall eucalyptus trees and rain forest. We did two walks. The first was to Russel Falls. It was about 40 minutes roundtrip, including pictures. There were ancient ferns that were huge, and looked like parks of palm trees. There were tall eucalyptus trees. The best part was the smell - so fresh.
Next we did a walk called the tall trees. It was just a short jaunt in the forest with narration by sign. The trees were HUGE. They are a type of eucalyptus called swamp gums that sheds bark so that it appears bare and has stripes of colour. They are the largest hardwood trees (the red cedars in North America being the tallest softwoods)and grow up to 90m, shedding branches as the get higher.
We had an amazing ham sandwich for takeaway lunch in our campervan and headed down the road to Something Wild, literally. This was a Wildlife reserve where injured animals are rescued and released back once they are able to cope on their own. At the time they had about 5 koalas, 5 or 6 tasmanian devils, lots of kangaroos and wallabies, 1 adult and 1 baby wombat. The wombats are burrowers, and they need to be able to burrow their way out to get out. There were apparently 3 platypuses, and the guy at the desk said that there was an 85% success rate seeing them at any time of day...we weren't so sure. They were living up to their elusive reputation. The two cockatoos were interesting - one was very angry and kept attacking the shoes of a visitor while asking a very innocent-sounding "Hello??" The kangaroos and wallabies were a treat. Mainly they were sunning themselves, but one curious mom came right up to us with her joey poking out occasionally. Then we got boring and she hopped away.
There were new animals to us - Quolls are spotted, the size of a small cat, the shape of a rat, but furrier with furry tails, and black with white spots. The possums were honey-colored and asleep. Lots of nocturnal animals makes for not-so
exciting days at the reserve. The Tasmanian devils were the stars of the show. Only found in Tasmania, they are becoming endangered even there because of a form of facial cancer that is both contagious and rapidly fatal. The Devils that come into the reserve are not released into the wild because they will apparently acquire the disease more quickly.
We finished up at the wildlife park and drove to Lake St Clair Wilderness Resort. It wasn't as much of a resort as it was a campground. It was cold. And it was wet. We were really glad that we hadn't brought a tent. We got our site, and went for dinner at the lodge. Everything was soooo expensive. A burger and fries was $20. We spent the rest of the night trying to stay warm, which included reading and journal writing under the cover of a sleeping bag. In for come chilly days!
We got Paul a coffee and the drove towards Mount Field through the old town of New Norfolk. The scenery was gorgeous. There were hills everywhere, though they were surprisingly not lush. Surprising because it rained all day. There were sheep in the fields, pitch black cows grazing, and eucalyptus trees throughout. We went along the Derwent river, with cliffs on the sides, and our side had rain while the other side was sunny with a rainbow.
Mount Field National Park is in about the middle of the state. It was lush and green - lots of tall eucalyptus trees and rain forest. We did two walks. The first was to Russel Falls. It was about 40 minutes roundtrip, including pictures. There were ancient ferns that were huge, and looked like parks of palm trees. There were tall eucalyptus trees. The best part was the smell - so fresh.
Next we did a walk called the tall trees. It was just a short jaunt in the forest with narration by sign. The trees were HUGE. They are a type of eucalyptus called swamp gums that sheds bark so that it appears bare and has stripes of colour. They are the largest hardwood trees (the red cedars in North America being the tallest softwoods)and grow up to 90m, shedding branches as the get higher.
We had an amazing ham sandwich for takeaway lunch in our campervan and headed down the road to Something Wild, literally. This was a Wildlife reserve where injured animals are rescued and released back once they are able to cope on their own. At the time they had about 5 koalas, 5 or 6 tasmanian devils, lots of kangaroos and wallabies, 1 adult and 1 baby wombat. The wombats are burrowers, and they need to be able to burrow their way out to get out. There were apparently 3 platypuses, and the guy at the desk said that there was an 85% success rate seeing them at any time of day...we weren't so sure. They were living up to their elusive reputation. The two cockatoos were interesting - one was very angry and kept attacking the shoes of a visitor while asking a very innocent-sounding "Hello??" The kangaroos and wallabies were a treat. Mainly they were sunning themselves, but one curious mom came right up to us with her joey poking out occasionally. Then we got boring and she hopped away.
There were new animals to us - Quolls are spotted, the size of a small cat, the shape of a rat, but furrier with furry tails, and black with white spots. The possums were honey-colored and asleep. Lots of nocturnal animals makes for not-so
exciting days at the reserve. The Tasmanian devils were the stars of the show. Only found in Tasmania, they are becoming endangered even there because of a form of facial cancer that is both contagious and rapidly fatal. The Devils that come into the reserve are not released into the wild because they will apparently acquire the disease more quickly. We finished up at the wildlife park and drove to Lake St Clair Wilderness Resort. It wasn't as much of a resort as it was a campground. It was cold. And it was wet. We were really glad that we hadn't brought a tent. We got our site, and went for dinner at the lodge. Everything was soooo expensive. A burger and fries was $20. We spent the rest of the night trying to stay warm, which included reading and journal writing under the cover of a sleeping bag. In for come chilly days!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Tasmania trip - March 3 and 4
Our great trip started in a very non-descript manner. We spent the morning getting ready, the afternoon getting to the airport and on the flight, and then evening to the airport hotel. The hotel wasn't really worth mentioning, and we spent the night watching TV before going to bed early...so to be ready for touring tomorrow.
On the fourth, we were up at 9 for check-out at 10, and headed via shuttle to the Britz campervan rentals. After a fairly painless transaction and rather helpful video on the campervan and where to find all the little knick-knacks and doo-dads that they hide on board, we headed in to Hobart, the Tasmanian capital.
Hobart reminded me of a combination of small, inland, Croatian towns and the mountain towns of Washington or BC. There were great views of the Tasman peninsula from the many hilltops, and sweet little houses all around. The business district was fairly blah, but the area near the waterfront was full of historic character. Hobart is right on the sea, and has a very cool marina where fishing boats dock, and you can chat with the local fishermen. Apparently, if you are early enough, you can buy the fish directly. Paul and I were never going to get up that early.
It was a cool day, and the rain spit on our heads several times, but we enjoyed walking around and taking in the city. We started with breakfast at the Retro Cafe ($30! for toast and eggs!!) then walked through Salamanca place, a set of old fishing warehouses that have been converted to the arts district.
Next we headed up to Battery Point, a historic neighborhood on a hill (of course) with cottages from the 1800's.
It used to include the red light district, and was frequented not only by sailors, but the the recently released convicts. We stopped briefly at a quaint roundabout - it was surrounded by non-gabled cottage houses with pretty gardens. Paul took pictures while I made use of the swing hanging from the tree in the middle of the roundabout.
Next stop - Parliament house. It was dull, so we crossed the street to the pretty St. David's park. This used to be an old cemetery, but is now a park where yuppies in tight spandex roll across the lawns doing aerobics and pilates. But we did like the flowers, the pagoda that you couldn't walk up, and walking through the old memorial tombs.
Next stop on our walking tour was the Tasman Museum of Art and History. It was free. This somewhat made up for the 5 times that we had to refill the parking meter in Hobart. The museum was worth every non-penny. Excellent exhibit on aboriginals in Tasmania, and the history of their land loss, the war with the colonizers, and the concentration camps run in the 1800s. There were also excellent exhibits on local rocks, animals, and the antarctic. So much cool trivia!
Walking next along the waterfront, we saw the bronze statues of animals and explorers commemorating the first expeditions to the south Pole, the anti-whaling ship "Steve Irwin" and a Mystery Machine, a la 1980's iconic show Scooby Doo.
We made our way back to the van, then drove through the city on the way to Mount Wellington. The mountain towers over the city from the northwest, with Hobart facing the ocean to the south. The city looked like any city away from the water front, except for the very cute school children in their pinafore uniforms with straw flat-topped hats that made the girls look like Anne of Green Gables. The drive up the mountain offered wonderful views of the city and surrounding islands. We drove through tall pines and eucalyptus trees with pretty pink flowers strewn throughout.
Half way up it started to rain, and we got rainbows, but almost at the top it started to hail. On top we ran to the observatory, trying to get out of the cold but, with the wind blowing the rain almost vertically, got soaked to the bone. We met with 3 motor-bikers on top - brave souls. The views were great, though, and there were two rainbows!
After getting through the rush-hour traffic, we headed to our campground at 7-mile beach. It was a beautiful beach in a quaint seaside town that looked more like cottage country than a place of permanent residence. The campground was very clean, and very close to the ocean, but we were packed in to the campground like sardines. Fortunately, it was quiet and everyone seemed to go to bed at dusk. We walked down the road to dinner at a place that looked like a bar, but had the best fish and chips ever. So good with a Victorian Cabernet.
We stolled on the beach - 7 miles all to ourselves and the birds. The dusk cast beautiful shadows, and watched a seagull playing in the waves. He may have been looking for food, but I like to think that he was enjoying the rush of the surf on his legs.
Our first night of sleeping in the campervan was a bit rough. It was cold, and the bed was hard - not much sleep to be had for either of us.
On the fourth, we were up at 9 for check-out at 10, and headed via shuttle to the Britz campervan rentals. After a fairly painless transaction and rather helpful video on the campervan and where to find all the little knick-knacks and doo-dads that they hide on board, we headed in to Hobart, the Tasmanian capital.
Hobart reminded me of a combination of small, inland, Croatian towns and the mountain towns of Washington or BC. There were great views of the Tasman peninsula from the many hilltops, and sweet little houses all around. The business district was fairly blah, but the area near the waterfront was full of historic character. Hobart is right on the sea, and has a very cool marina where fishing boats dock, and you can chat with the local fishermen. Apparently, if you are early enough, you can buy the fish directly. Paul and I were never going to get up that early.
It was a cool day, and the rain spit on our heads several times, but we enjoyed walking around and taking in the city. We started with breakfast at the Retro Cafe ($30! for toast and eggs!!) then walked through Salamanca place, a set of old fishing warehouses that have been converted to the arts district.
Next we headed up to Battery Point, a historic neighborhood on a hill (of course) with cottages from the 1800's.
It used to include the red light district, and was frequented not only by sailors, but the the recently released convicts. We stopped briefly at a quaint roundabout - it was surrounded by non-gabled cottage houses with pretty gardens. Paul took pictures while I made use of the swing hanging from the tree in the middle of the roundabout. 
Next stop - Parliament house. It was dull, so we crossed the street to the pretty St. David's park. This used to be an old cemetery, but is now a park where yuppies in tight spandex roll across the lawns doing aerobics and pilates. But we did like the flowers, the pagoda that you couldn't walk up, and walking through the old memorial tombs.
Next stop on our walking tour was the Tasman Museum of Art and History. It was free. This somewhat made up for the 5 times that we had to refill the parking meter in Hobart. The museum was worth every non-penny. Excellent exhibit on aboriginals in Tasmania, and the history of their land loss, the war with the colonizers, and the concentration camps run in the 1800s. There were also excellent exhibits on local rocks, animals, and the antarctic. So much cool trivia!
Walking next along the waterfront, we saw the bronze statues of animals and explorers commemorating the first expeditions to the south Pole, the anti-whaling ship "Steve Irwin" and a Mystery Machine, a la 1980's iconic show Scooby Doo. We made our way back to the van, then drove through the city on the way to Mount Wellington. The mountain towers over the city from the northwest, with Hobart facing the ocean to the south. The city looked like any city away from the water front, except for the very cute school children in their pinafore uniforms with straw flat-topped hats that made the girls look like Anne of Green Gables. The drive up the mountain offered wonderful views of the city and surrounding islands. We drove through tall pines and eucalyptus trees with pretty pink flowers strewn throughout.
Half way up it started to rain, and we got rainbows, but almost at the top it started to hail. On top we ran to the observatory, trying to get out of the cold but, with the wind blowing the rain almost vertically, got soaked to the bone. We met with 3 motor-bikers on top - brave souls. The views were great, though, and there were two rainbows!
After getting through the rush-hour traffic, we headed to our campground at 7-mile beach. It was a beautiful beach in a quaint seaside town that looked more like cottage country than a place of permanent residence. The campground was very clean, and very close to the ocean, but we were packed in to the campground like sardines. Fortunately, it was quiet and everyone seemed to go to bed at dusk. We walked down the road to dinner at a place that looked like a bar, but had the best fish and chips ever. So good with a Victorian Cabernet. 
We stolled on the beach - 7 miles all to ourselves and the birds. The dusk cast beautiful shadows, and watched a seagull playing in the waves. He may have been looking for food, but I like to think that he was enjoying the rush of the surf on his legs. Our first night of sleeping in the campervan was a bit rough. It was cold, and the bed was hard - not much sleep to be had for either of us.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Heading to Tasmania
Today we head off on our first trip within and around Australia. Stop #1 - Tasmania.
It will just be a short flight (about 50 minutes) to the airport in Hobart, and we start tonight by catching up on sleep! Then tomorrow we will pick up our cool caravan.
Our journey will have us spend two nights near Hobart, two nights in Derwent Bridge near Lake St. Clair, two nights at Cradle mountain, then two nights in Freycinet National Park. Our last night will be spent on the Tasman Peninsula, amongst the ghosts of convicts.
View Larger Map
Hopefully lots of pics and stories when we get back.
It will just be a short flight (about 50 minutes) to the airport in Hobart, and we start tonight by catching up on sleep! Then tomorrow we will pick up our cool caravan.
Our journey will have us spend two nights near Hobart, two nights in Derwent Bridge near Lake St. Clair, two nights at Cradle mountain, then two nights in Freycinet National Park. Our last night will be spent on the Tasman Peninsula, amongst the ghosts of convicts.
View Larger Map
Hopefully lots of pics and stories when we get back.
Pictures from February
Here are pictures from our apartment building and some new ones from inside the apartment. Paul and I walked around the city some more, I took a bike trip to St Kilda's and spend an afternoon reading in the park. Here is the pictorial evidence. As you'll notice there is less sun, but we are sleeping better!
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| Australia February |
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