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| Journal | > 2004/05 Trip Index | > Part 1: Perth - Peterborough |
| > Part 2: Peterborough - Sydney | ||
| > Part 3: Tasmania North | West Coast | East Coast | ||
| > Part 4: Victoria |
This page details days 12 - 20 on Tasmania's east coast from Hobart back to Devonport including Bruny Island, Bay of Fires and Mt William National Park.
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This is our second day in Hobart but we really didn't plan to do anything touristy here with our main aim to get our gear dry. Once we'd setup the Chinese laundry (swags, mattresses, etc laid out across the room with heater on full) we took off on a day trip south via Franklin and Geeveston to the Hartz Mountain National Park for some walks (in the cold rain) and also to Tahune Forest Airwalk (very touristy). We made a loop trip by coming back via a back road signposted to the Snowy Range Trout Fishery Road on through small townships of Glen Huon (great scenery and more pleasant than driving the tourist route on the tar and best of all, multiple crossings and views of the Huon river).
Photos: Sandy Jacka
After another day in the rain we were most thankful to have dry warm beds to return to and most pleased to see our gear had dried out successfully. The motel's common kitchen was well equipped and we quickly prepared a meal of minted lamb chops, snow peas, corn cobs and ate in a very civilised manner in our cosy room whilst the rain continued outside.
It was with some reluctance that we left the motel comforts and headed off for a couple days on Bruny Island. Thankfully the weather looked to be clearing slowly. It wasn't exactly sunny, but thankfully it wasn't raining. We noted some good suburbs as we drove south - Margate and Kingston in particular, but by 1.30pm we were leaving Kettering on board a vehicular ferry to Bruny Island - $25 for a return ticket (per vehicle).
On arriving on Bruny Island we drove directly to Neck Beach where we knew we'd find a free bush camp with facilities such as water and toilets. We expected it to be a bit busy but the purpose of staying here was to be in close proximity to the Penguin Rockery about 1km back up the road.
Chardae & Leah, Bonnie with Leah
Leah quickly made friends with a little girl of 7 yrs old called Bonnie. It was a messy, muddy dirty camp due to recent rain but they had a great time playing in the mud. I wasn't too impressed to later find them both playing babies in Chardae's portable cot sucking dummies wearing their dirty clothes!
Dinner: beef kebabs with capsicum, banana (in skin), with rice cooked on David's Xmas kebab maker washed down with a good Tasmania red wine (our favourite has been Tamar Ridge). Too tired to drive up to the penguin rockery so walked to the beach at sunset but after waiting for over an hour we couldn't see any penguins and realised we should go up to the rockery tomorrow night. The camp was filling up with people and noise with a couple of camps playing different music quite loudly for many hours but the loudest group continuing until 1am. Lots of drunks and too intimidating to do much about it.
Since we wanted to be back at the Penguin Rookery tonight, we made a day trip out of our time on the island going to Adventure Bay, Cloudy Bay (lovely), Cloudy Corner, Cape Bruny Lighthouse, Jetty Beach, and back via Alonaha.
There is a very short 4WD beach run at Cloudy Bay to what is known as Cloudy Corner. The campsite here is quite idyllic. The Pines camp, which is low lying had been flooded out and abandoned and the Jetty Beach campsite was popular with families and those that like beach fishing, or kayaking and sailing. The Cape Bruny Lighthouse is worth the short but steep climb to the hilltop but like most lighthouses these days no access inside.
The timing of seeing the fairy penguins is from sunset onwards for about 2hrs. Since this would probably conflict with Chardae's bedtime, the boys offered to stay at camp with her. Mum and I were very keen to see the adult penguins returning from the sea and so we made sure that dinners were prepared and everyone happy to give ourselves time to prepare and arrive.
Leah was cooked her favourite dinner of sausages and Chardae had reheated vegies, a left over chop bone and a corn cob. David also had his favourite - chicken laksa and just to be sure I got my "leave pass" to see the penguins, I even agreed to let him go fishing while "Popo" played babysitter (although David was given a handheld UHF radio to enable Popo to call for help "in case the baby cried").
I drove the ExplorOz vehicle to the Penguin viewing platform at 8.30pm where we were the first to arrive. We met up with Lee the Interpretive Ranger who gave a talk about the penguins and showed us where we'd be likely to find them and fitting out everyone's torch with red cellophane. Eventually, about 50 people turned out and most stayed stayed until 10.30pm as we did. On the return drive, we had to be careful not to run over penguins, which would be waddling across the road to get to burrows on the other side of the isthmus. I was driving very slowly and soon noticed that I was being followed. Sure enough the vehicle followed us into camp and a man got out and identified himself as UteMad a regular user of our Forum. He and his wife had been on the island for 2 weeks and had just done the east coast. They yet to do the west coast and were booked to return on the same ferry to Melbourne we would be on. David returned from fishing in time to meet UteMad and we gave him a cap, stubby holder, and sticker which I believe was put on the ute.
We had a terrible night with the rowdy crowd being quite obnoxious. Sandy wasn't happy and stormed off to have words with Mr Loud Mouth but this only inflamed the situation. Mr Loud Mouth made it his mission to stay up all night swearing insults at her at the top of his voice. I don't think Sandy was the only one who lay awake dreading he might suddenly ambush our camp in retaliation but by 4am he passed out and we heard no more.
Bad sleep requires cooked breakfast. I forgot the egg flip so although I cooked an omelette I couldn't get it out of the pan so it became scrambled eggs on toast. Leah was very sad to say goodbye to her friend Bonnie and even cried but we were packing up and moving off the island today.
The ferry can get quite full so we arrived early for the 11.35am departure and although we successfully got on, noticing that half the queue did not.
We had quite a day of driving ahead of us but didn't get through Hobart until 12.30pm. Grocery shopping is a basic requirement when travelling and although time consuming it has to be done and we seemed to use half the day at the shops. Finally, by 4pm we realised we weren't going to make it to Freycinet where we had been aiming, instead, we took UteMad's advice and camped at Nine Mile Beach (Bagot Point) which is directly opposite. The views of The Hazards (Freycinet's main natural feature) at sunset from this location would be awesome if the weather was pleasant enough to allow you time to sit and contemplate. Our weather today was turning foul so we didn't get the opportunity to enjoy this site to its full potential. Not being prepared to get the swags wet again David and I moved our double swag in with Leah and Chardae.
Dinner - red chicken curry with red capsicum, broccolini and rice (forgot to buy coconut cream but used Lite and Creamy evaporated milk that I normally use in pasta dishes and you wouldn't know the difference). Leah ate baked beans again.
Photos: Sandy Jacka
Left camp to head into Freycinet. Stopped at Coles Bay (Iluka Shops) at trendy cafe for gourmet pies and real latte. Checked in at National Park visitor centre to enquire about camping - had read that Robinsons Beach camps were on a ballot system and booking was necessary! None avail. This beach was the only place we could see where the water was calm as weather was foul. Tried to park at walking tracks carpark but full. Sign says to park 2km away during 10-2 to avoid congestion. Not interested in that level of tourism so didn't bother, although we'd been told by all locals to make sure we did do the walk to Wineglass Bay. Leah and Gran wouldn't really be able to make the walk but we thought we'd at least give it a go but it was not to be.
Instead we headed down to Honeymoon Bay and found all the families with very young kids were here - no wonder, it is a beauty! We enjoyed a day of calm water, perfect swimming and snorkelling (if you don't mind the chill) beneath amazing views of "the Hazards" 2 pink granite peaks of Freycinet.
Leah put on another first class tantrum and got a public smack. Given I was in a family location I didn't expect any rebuff from people watching, in fact I think they were secretly hoping this would be my response! Gran and Popo put on wetsuits and went snorkelling but David and I can't get to all our clothes easily and at this point in our Tasmania trip we hadn't even unpacked any summer gear. To find cosies meant David would need to unpack the roof rack, which he declared he wasn't going to do. He went in his underwear and I rolled my cuffs to make shorts.
After we'd had enough of the beach, we drove up to Cape Tourville lighthouse. The short walk is easy and the views back towards Wineglass Bay and the Hazards, and Friars are wonderful.
Our last option for camping was the Bluestone Bay area which is a decent 4wd track. We were quite surprised to see many 2wds camped here and couldn't work out how they got in. The location is popular with rock climbers who seemed to be young couples with a bit of basic camping gear thrown into the back of a station wagon. Before selecting a site, we drove on a little further to Little Bluestone Bay - an incredibly beautiful place but the area has such a steep slope and is heavily vegetated that there is no chance of camping down this end. Back at the main camp, which I think they refer to as Whitewater Wall, there is an eco toilet and good sites under trees but no grass. It was perfect for us and we had a great time here. It was an early day so we enjoyed hot showers off the car (we use a Twine system) and prepared a roast lamb with pumpkin, potato baked in the Cobb Cooker followed by Sticky Date Pudding (a packet cake mix made up in a glass Pyrex bowl and cooked for 25mins).
Left our camp at Whitewater wall/Bluestone Bay area and took an alternative 4wd track out to the main road. A little longer, but a pretty drive and worth doing the loop for the sake of it. We tried again to get a carpark at the head of the Wineglass Bay walk but even in the early morning we could see it was pointless. Even if we could park, Gran and Leah were going to have troubles with the 600 steep steps and the 1.5 hr walk.
Instead we headed out along a 4wd track out to Friendly Point. We found it to be a relatively long trip (30mins?) only to find a very wild beach blocked by a river so we couldn't really walk far along it. We stayed about 20 mins then doubled back. A campsite here is set back from the beach access and isn't too bad - the main advantage being that it is probably a quiet camp with few people staying here. Vehicle access to the beach is blocked by a locked gate but there wouldn't really be any point in wanting to drive on this beach.
Back onto the main road in Freycinet we headed up to the main track (bitumen) out to Friendly Beaches to find a slightly more protected beach, but lots of people. The camps her are ok and in calmer winds would probably be a good place to stay. We spent about an hour on the beach then drove out of Freycinet and continue north on the main road via Bicheno and St Helens and onto the Binalong Bay Road to Humbug Pt.
Photos: Sandy Jacka
My research indicated that we should find good campsites at Moulting Bay - but we found it was the smelly end of the bay. The campground was certainly nice but crowded and not the kind of beach access I was hoping for. We spent quite a bit of time driving around and investigating all the campsites in the area right up to Dora Point, where we settled. The camps are very good and there is a beautiful swimming area for kids, especially at low tide when the water pools into rock pools. The water was very cool but we all swam. David collected mussels off the rocks and we cooked these for dinner in a tomato and chilli sauce!! Yum!
We didn't really want to leave because finally we felt we'd found a beach that was worth staying at. David however, was in search of the "greener pastures" further north, so we agreed to spend half the day here first and then move on.
Leah made friends with Sarah 4yrs and Georgia 2.5 yrs from Mt Gambier, previously of St Helens and they swam and enjoyed the beachfront until we lifted camp at around midday. Our aim today was to find our final camp on the coast for a 2 night stay.
The Jacka's and Martins have travelled together before. Our last trip together was when Leah was a baby and we spent 5 weeks doing the Red Centre and Kimberley in 2001. Some travel nicknames we picked up then have stuck for this trip too. David is the WBTL (World's Best Trip Leader), I am the WBM (World's Best Mother), Colin is the WCM (Worlds Cleanest Man), and Sandy is the WPP (World's Perfect Photographer), however this has recently changed to One Eye since being in Tasmania and just the other day we improved this to President MegaPixel, which really gives me the giggles. David's nickname was earned because he is a fanatic about leading a perfect trip and keeping everybody happy. He makes it his mission to find the perfect campsite with all the perfect features - no other campers, ideally have fresh water, come at no charge and have no restrictions on making a campfire. If wood isn't available, he will go and collect it.
So, with that explanation covered you might appreciate what was involved for us to check out all campsites from here up to Mt William National Park, making GPS recordings, notes and photographs as we do of every thing. I am just about going crazy with the amount of research we have collected and although its all going on the computer in the first pass, I know it will need a lot of work before publication is possible when we return to the office.
Some of our finds today are worth noting here - just around the corner from Humbung Point is Binalong Bay. It's a picture book perfect place with white sand, azure blue water and the granite rocks are speckled with orange lichen that gives the view an attractive glow. These rocks are nicely rounded and protrude from water on low tides - a photographers delight!.
When we first spotted Binalong Bay from a lookout at Skeleton Pt, it appeared quite large, but on arriving it was only housing, and we couldn't find a single shop. We were only hoping to buy milk and bread but what we did find was a very trendy Cafe called Agostinos? The construction was so modern it was almost out of place in Tasmania. It had all the trendy stainless wire and tubing balastrades, cafe blinds, red shade sails, and undoubtedly the best view in town overlooking the main beach and the views to the north along the Bay of Fires. I wasn't going past a latte here!
Inside, we found they sold basic supplies such as loaves of fresh bread, fresh milk, various juices, soft drinks etc and chips whilst the trendy kitchen pumps out quality cafe style meals and lunches plus a take away option is avail. Before the boys had a chance to complain, we had ordered fish and chips ($10) each, and settled back on the balcony overlooking the best view in Tasmania. We were brought a highchair for Chardae and chilled bottled water on arrival etc. It was just all very civilised and everything just tasted sooo good - funny what travelling and camping does to you. Tom the owner (young) loved our car and pointed out his Troopy and told us his story of travelling around Oz for 10 yrs before setting up his cafe and now he just works 2-8mths per year. Tom let us fill up our water tank from his tank, and let us dump our rubbish in his commercial bins out the back. So far, we have found the Tasmanian's to be really friendly, down to earth people who have a wonderful attitude to travellers and don't treat you differently because you might have a dirty vehicle and have grubby clothes!
We dragged ourselves away and headed north to the Gardens (dead end) via Cosy Corner (perfect) and Sloop Reef camps (not so good but views good). If you go out to the Gardens (not really worth it) you need to double back a bit to pick up the track (signs says 2wd with care, but I wouldn't take my 2wd car on it!!) to pick up the main unsealed road C843 towards Ansons Bay. We were told Policemans Point was the best of the camping here but although we drove all the way out there, we found it was very windy and the best of the camps were taken. We were getting very fussy to find the perfect last camp so we continued on up to Mt William National Park.
At the junction of the Eddingston Point turnoff we met up with a group of fire workers in 75 series utes and asked their opinion of whether the camping at Eddingston was better than at Stumpys and they said Stumpys so taking local advice that's where we headed. Indeed, we found perfect campsites, setback from the beach under shady canopies of she-oaks but close enough to still have a beach view. Stumpys Bay has 4 campsite areas spread about 1km apart with each area holding about 10 groups comfortably. We were the only people at camp ground 2 and there was firewood everywhere etc. We arrived at a civilised time of around 2pm which gave David time to break down the vehicle for a handbrake tightening exercise in the campground using a tree stump as a jack to rest the diff on because the sand was so soft. Later in the afternoon one more vehicle arrived and since they young kids it turned a great camp into a perfect camp because now Leah was fully occupied.
The only complaint was that the beach was not safe enough for the kids to swim and Dora Point was probably better suited for that, however as an overall area the kids really enjoyed this place and there was more to do in general. In particular, there are nocturnal animals creeping about. I took Leah spotlighting with the torches but you can see just as many animals sitting at your campsite. We saw wallabies, (one with joey in pouch), wombat on beach, pottraoo, owls and rabbits. Fairy wrens and wattle birds were prolific during the day.
Photos: Sandy Jacka
Dinner - no fresh meat now, so using left overs and adding bits to make it interesting. I made a favourite easy dish by cooking some rice, roasted blanched almonds by wrapping them in foil before putting on coals, and mixed this altogether with freshly chopped green and red capsicums, the chopped left over minted lamb roast, and drizzled a Thai lime and coriander salad dressing over the top. Mum served up hot plum pudding and custard for desert.
Photos: Sandy Jacka
A much needed rest day at Stumpys Bay not moving the car. Saw real sun today and needed to wear sunblock with our swimmers. Leah had great time with 5 yr old Alec particularly and his sister Sophie. Their parents were very nice and we could easily have enjoyed a week staying here. Leah is aware we are leaving tomorrow and is already unhappy about it. Chardae has just started to crawl and pull up to knees so we are all very pleased for her.
Diiner: Tuna mornay, mum's falafal in wrap with yoghurt. Fresh mango for desert.
Departed camp and drove around Forester Kangaroo Drive to plot it, then up to Musselroe Bay etc, nice clean beach and calmer inlet for boat launching etc but camps nowhere near as nice as at Stumpys as they don't have the tall trees or shade.
We then drove to Gladstone and onto Bridport where Member John (Vic) caught up with us. He had also been in Tasmania for a few weeks but hadn't seen us till now as he had been mainly camping in caravan parks and base camping and making day trips.
Part way through the day we came to a group consensus to see if we could find accommodation in a backpackers or similar for tonight in Devonport to ensure we could make the ferry checkin at 7.30am. With our track record this trip we have found it difficult to lift camp any earlier than 10am so we were all nervous that it couldn't be done, well not without significant sacrifice to our sleep.
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However, after some phone calls it became evident that everything was booked out and so we agreed a better use of money and time, would be to switch our ferry sailing to tonight, rather than tomorrow morning. I remember when I booked the ferry that they mentioned that changing dates was no trouble so I gave them a call and had it all sorted in a few minutes. This just meant we had to avoid "Exploring" and make a direct path to Devonport. |
In many ways we were all glad that we had come to the end of our Tasmania trip as it has been quite a challenge with the kids and the weather. But it had been a fantastic adventure. We all agree that we could easily have stayed another 2 weeks to cover the same itinerary and this would have given us more opportunities to stop for a few days at the good sites we'd found - and there were lots of them as you've just read. Tasmania is a great place to visit - we'd just like to have seen better weather!
In hindsight, it was not the ideal place to take the kids camping. It would have been more comfortable in a caravan/camper but then many of the wonderful places we visited could not have been accessed. Because we like the flexibility of travelling light and being able to camp wherever we end up, we pay the price of being caught out occasionally in the comfort factor. Consistent wet and cold weather is something we don't typically encounter as we usually opt for desert trips so we have focussed our setup for a different climate and one that is predictably dry and warm.
We have also learned some things from this trip - particularly how we cope as a family on such a long haul adventure. With one child it didn't make much of a difference, but with two, we have found that there is no time left to do anything/go fishing, relax, read a book so more time is needed in each area we visit. So, planning single-destination trips to places where we'll setup camp and stay for 4 days is what we'll plan for the future. It would have taken us a year to get to Tasmania if we'd done it that way, so this obviously means we'll only be travelling locally for a while. Luckily, we've seen more of this huge country than most but very little of what lies close to home.
Sounds like the end doesn't it... but our trip is far from over. We are now continuing onto Melbourne on the ferry where we will head into the Great Alpine National Park for some serious High Country 4WDing. We expect to spend about 5 days there and then we have allowed a week to get home to Perth, which we plan to do via the Murray River through to SA, picking up the Eyre Highway but then taking the Cocklebiddy to Rawlinna Track up onto the final stretch of Trans Australian Railway line into Kalgoorlie.
Read on - Part 4: Victoria