West Coast Tassie!
So after successfully completing the Western Explorer road we headed east to Luina, a ghost town on the outskirts of Waratah. We set up camp here for 2 nights as it was just raining and not good weather to sight see anything. When the sun did shine on the third day we headed down the road to Philosophers Falls,. A great walk for all ages, we did it in under an hour return and it was one of the prettiest walks we have done.
We then drove back to see the Whyte Hill lookout which was a view of trees as far as the eye could see. Also popped into the abandoned magnet mine for a squiz. That filled up our morning so we headed back to Luina to hitch up and continue moving on. We made it into Waratah, where we topped up on fuel then hit the highway south, towards Zeehan. We stopped into the Rosebery bakery for a pie, before driving through Zeehan, all the way to Trial Harbour.
There is a great free camp right by the water’s edge out here, but spots are limited. We arrived mid-afternoon and had our pick of all the spots! Setting up and exploring the surrounds on foot. The next day we planned to tackle the popular 4WD track into Montezuma Falls. We eventually made it in after 4 hours one way! We didn't expect it to take so long, so lucky we started early in the morning as it was well and truly late afternoon when we eventually popped back out.
Headed back to camp to relax with a rum and watch the sunset over the ocean. We had a late start the following day, as we were pretty tired from all the action on the track. We eventually got the wheels moving and made our way down to Strahan,. We chose to setup at golf club ($10/night) so we could have a look around town unhitched. We checked out Hogarth Falls, which was a nice pretty stroll. Drove out to ocean beach and had a peak in the information centre. We also had a nice free HOT shower down by the dock! (Its on wiki) Thank you Strahan!
We woke up to rain the next day and had planned to move to Queenstown,. After much deliberation on what to do, we still headed off to Queenstown. It was a nice drive into Queenstown, a little winding at time. Once in Queenstown we topped up with groceries, beers & fuel and a did a load of washing at the laundromat. After getting ourselves all sorted we headed out of town to find a camp.
Enroute to Lake Burbury, we did manage to stop in at the lookout and old mine - the Iron blow lookout for a look. We found a good spot, at the end of the old road, and of course it started bucketing rain while we were trying to set up camp. It actually rained well into the night, which did make good sleeping weather. We both slept in until 9:30am the next day, as it was so peaceful!
We had made a little plan to hopefully catch up with Chris & Vanessa again at Derwent Bridge that night. So we packed ourselves up and continued the journey east. Nelson Falls was along the way and wow! What a stunning waterfall that was. Only a short 200m stroll in aswell. We also stopped in to do the franklin river nature trail. Once arrived at Derwent bridge, we nabbed a spot right next to Chris & Vanessa! We relaxed the rest of the afternoon before playing a game of pool, and then the 4 of us had dinner and drinks, while chatting the night away.
After a great night at Derwent Bridge, we headed east towards Lake Brady. We popped our heads into Lake Sinclair for a quick squizz, then made our way down to the 'geographical centre of Tasmania'! We have visited the geographical centre of the Australian mainland and we can now tick the centre of Tassie off to!
Only a short drive down the road and we found a campsite at Brady's Lake. This is where we finally met up with Kurt's sister and her family (Life Is A Road Trip). They are also traveling Australia and we hadn't seen them all for 11 months. It was great to spend 2 nights here catching up and running amuck with our nieces and nephews.
We then all headed down to Mt Field National park, staying at the highly suggested 'Left of Field' campground. For 2 nights unpowered it cost us $40. This was also the only campground in Mt Field that allowed dogs, so was our only option (not that we are complaining). We used this as our base while we explored Russell & Horseshoe falls, did a day trip out to Gordon Dam and down to Lake Peddler.
Gordon Dam was incredible to see! We climbed down and walked along the top of the wall. Its definitely not for the faint hearted. After having a snack in the rest area, we drove back and headed towards the southern side of Lake Pedder. Stopping in at the creepy crawly nature trail with the kids, to stretch their legs. Definitely a cool little walk if you have little ones, you have to climb up and over the trees along a short boardwalk.
Eventually we made it to the epic Red Knoll lookout which gives you 360' degree views of the surrounds. The weather wasn't the best, but we could still see a great distance around. After our 2 nights in Mt Field, we headed down to Hobart. We set up camp at Sorell, for 5 nights, it cost us a total of $25.40 but you have to be self contained.
Sorell was a great base camp to explore Hobart and surrounds. In our 5 days we managed to see and do alot; drove up to Mt Wellington, visited the cascade brewery, the controversial MONA - Museum of Old and New Art, Salamanca Markets. We also visited the 'Taste of Huon' festival, as it was on over the weekend of our visit. Popping into the Willsmiths cider house for a squiz on our way back to camp. During our stay, Kurt also had the chance to catch up on some car maintenance while Amz did some clothes shopping.
After our productive 5 nights in Sorell/Hobart we headed south to Cockle Creek. We got a great grassy spot and set up camp for 3 nights. Relaxing by the bay when the sun popped out. We also got really lucky with the weather, as the day we did the 'South Cape Track' it was blue skies and little wind all day. Its a 17km return walk but if you get the chance its a really great walk to do. Its pretty much a flat track (no big inclines or descents) and you pass through ever changing scenery as you go. It took us just over 3 hours(return) to complete and that was with a 20minute sit down admiring the south cape.
Tassie you just keep getting better!