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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 covers our first 5 days in Tasmania's north from Devonport to Arthur River via Cradle Valley, King Solomon Cave, Devils Gullet, Borradaile Plains, Lemonthyme, Lorrinna Track, Leven Canyon, and then a through route from Wynyard to the West Coast without travelling on main roads. Use the links above to read on for the West Coast and East Coast parts of our trip as we circumnavigated the island for 20 days in an anticlockwise direction.
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Today we started the 2nd leg of our camping trip by travelling from Sydney to Tasmania with the Jacka's (Michelle's parents, Colin and Sandy) onboard the largest of the passenger and vehicle ferries to Tasmania - the Spirit 111. Our departure from the Sydney terminal was due at 5pm with check in from 3pm.
We arrived just before 3pm but in hindsight we should have arrived at 4.30pm as we spent over an hour waiting to even see the boat, and then another hour waiting to board.
 Photo: Sandy Jacka |
Unbeknown to us, a harbour regulation meant The Spirit 111 could not
enter the harbour until after the last yachts starting the Sydney to
Hobart Yacht Race had passed through Sydney Heads.
We didn't even see the boat until after 4pm, and boarded a little after 5pm which made it a bit uncomfortable for the kids who were waiting in the hot sun all that time. |
| The crossing of Bass Strait was fairly uneventful, even though the rest of the world was waking to news of the devastating effects of a Tsunami. Our crossing last night was relatively comfortable in our cabins (more so for Sandy & Colin who didn't have kids in their room) after watching a great sunset from the decks as we cruised down the eastern coastline. |
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During the day, which was sunny and warm, we based ourselves upstairs with wonderful views out the back of the boat at the vast ocean of Bass Strait that seemed to stretch in all directions for eternity. Quite an experience for anyone whether you like the open ocean or not. |
Our arrival in Devonport at 5pm was a few hours later than planned due to the delay in departing Sydney yesterday. We felt a definite change in weather, having left a very hot 30 degrees in Sydney to a breezy, cloudy day of only 19 degrees in Devonport.
The procedure for disembarking the ferry was relatively painless with passengers called to their vehicles in the final stages of docking. There were 3 parking levels used by travellers and we all disembarked in queues and were directed into the Quarantine checkpoint. Gas bottles (which are removed before boarding and stored separately from the main hold) were then collected and our small convoy assembled on a large grassed area to prepare the vehicles (attach aerials etc) before hitting the streets. However, this simple task took us 30 minutes because we dropped the allen-key nut that is required to mount the UHF aerial to its base. All four of us (Colin, Sandy, David and Michelle) crawled around on the grass trying to find this "needle in a haystack" and we eventually did at 6pm.
Due to the Quarantine regulations, we did not have any vegetables or fruit with us so we also needed to stop in Devonport for fresh supplies, further delaying our progress towards Cradle Valley. It proved to be a time consuming stop once packing all the supplies into the vehicle and performing necessary comfort stops for the kids. It was well after 6.30pm before we left Devonport and therefore 8pm before we rolled into Cradle Valley only to find things were not as we expected. There is no camping at the National Park proper - but a commercial caravan park just outside the park entry. We were tired, very cold (it was actually sleeting outside) and the worst news was that they had no vacancies. The weather had suddenly changed (as we soon learned it does frequently in Tasmania) in the final approach to Cradle Valley and we were not prepared for the sub-zero conditions so we were happy to ask for a cabin but of course they didn't have any vacancies of those either. Nor did any of the other lodges in the area. Determined not to accept the advice of the caravan park that we would need to drive back to Devonport, we insisted on some advice for bush camps nearby and found an incredible place.
We were told to drive back towards Moina, take a left track (un marked), and drive along a formed dirt track through paddocks to Lake Gardiner. Look on the left for a gate marked " Camping, but please shut the gate" in a paddock at lake edge. Without our laptop and OziExplorer leading the way on NatMap Raster maps we could not have found it (and yes, the waypoint and information will appear in our new Trek Notes when published).
Photo (right): Sandy Jacka
The most surprising thing of all was that we were not the only campers, with 2 large groups of local campers setup along the lake edge - each with an above ground pool setup as a hot spa using pumps to bring the water up from the lake and generators to heat the water! They had music and all sorts of raucous behaviour including fireworks. It was quite a shock to the system for a 5 degree night but we kept to ourselves and struggled to find some wood in the dark and long grass. David's first priority was to get a fire going and mine was to get the kids to bed.
Chardae was the first to bed but it was already 9pm. Leah was excited to be out camping again and helped build the fire but we got her into her swag at 10pm when we started to cook dinner. We managed to make pasta with fresh ham left over from Xmas Day, fresh mushrooms, uht cream and pesto but by 11pm the lot of us stumbled off to bed confused about where we were and not thinking pleasant thoughts about our visit to Cradle Valley!
It was exceptionally cold and I think this is why Chardae was unsettled during the night. I had to go to her 3 times - each time unzipping myself from the swag, adding additional clothing to enable myself to crawl out without freezing, open her tent and sit with her to settle her.
We didn't have a lot of luck keeping any wood dry enough to use for the morning so we settled for cereal for breakfast and accepted a hot plunger coffee prepared on the gas cooker by Colin and Sandy. We don't carry our 2 burner gas cooker any longer, and instead use a single burner that can be easily attached to the top of our gas bottle, which we rarely use as we favour a campfire. For times when we can't use a fire we are trialling a Cobb Cooker, but if just boiling water of course we wouldn't use it. In fact, David leaves the gas bottle tied to the roof rack and boils anything up there - he is tall enough to manage that somehow!
After breakfast, we had a good look around the delightful Lake Gardiner and watched in fascination as the hot tub revellers packed up their gear and moved off early.
The paddock we camped in lies on the low side of a small road with a wood bridge a few metres along. We found another camper on the other side of the road in the area beneath the bridge on a small creek. It's a delightful place and probably just as good (probably better) than Cradle Valley. The Jacka's and Martins abhor crowds and our experience yesterday with the place put us off altogether.
We plan to take things as they come on this trip, however I (Michelle) had prepared a short itinerary to ensure we could circumnavigate the entire island and see the major sites and drives we had ear-marked with enough time to get back on board the Ferry on 16th January. To most people who come to Tasmania, there is a feeling of it being such a small island, but as we had been told (and later discovered first-hand) even the 3 weeks we allowed is not enough to be able to experience all the wonderful 4WD areas around the island.
After leaving Lake Gardiner, we drove along the C138 (Tasmania has a good naming system for roads) and took the turnoff to Mole Creek taking a shortcut via Liena to King Solomon Cave (Gads Hills Rd) near Mersey Valley. We seemed to have timed it perfectly for the next cave tour starting in a couple of minutes (next one in 2 hrs) but the signs indicated we needed to have pre-arranged our tickets in Mole Creek. Another walker however, told me this wasn't the case and if we went to the head of the walk a few hundred metres along we could pay by credit card if they had any vacancies. With kids, cameras, jackets etc to get organised there was a lot of fuss going on at the cars, so I grabbed Colin's hand held UHF and ran down to the cave entrance and radioed back to confirm the status and in doing so we managed to all make it in time. (Note - no flashes or torches allowed in the cave).
After a lunch in the carpark we drove towards the Great Western Tiers area, specifically to the Devils Gullet, which involved a 500m walk in the freezing cold wind with a bit of rain splashed in for added enjoyment to a lookout perched high above a cliff face with extensive views of the area.
Photos: Sandy Jacka
Whilst Colin and Sandy enjoyed this walk at a leisurely pace taking many photos and enjoying the wonderful wildflowers along the side of the track David and I took turns to do the walk so one of us could stay in the car with the kids (asleep). I tried to run most of the way, although I was forced to walk in sections as it is a very steep track. Unfortunately, the sky wasn't clear enough to get a wonderful photo either.
Sandy is an obsessed photographer. Nothing living or inane passes without scrutiny from behind her lens, so we have nick-named her "One Eye". Between the delays of waiting for everything in her path to be photographed, my baby needing a nappy change or feed; and David wanting to explore every 'short cut" and faint line seen on the NatMap, we don't make a lot of progress in a day!
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We ended up at a fantastic riverside bush camp alongside the Parangana Dam not far from the Devils Gullet. The camp is hidden just off the C171 and we found huge stockpiles of wood. It was a fabulous quiet place, much warmer than last night, and a great view. |
For dinner we prepared pepper steaks, mashed pumpkin, potato, tomatoes, Dove chocolate and plunged coffee. Sandy and Colin do not have to create meals that a 4 year old will eat, so they get to enjoy slightly more exotic, spicy dinners and I note my mother has quite a fascination for anything Asian that can be cooked quickly.
Maybe my theory about the cold isn't the only reason for Chardae's unsettled nights. Last night was at least double the temperature of the night before but she still had me up through the night!. This morning it was 10 degrees at 7am, then 30 degrees by 9am! Tasmania has a strange climate!
Leah loved this camp. She spent as much time as she could by the water just throwing stones. I had to convince her to wear her spray jacket as she hasn't yet developed much of an arm when tossing stones into the water and ends up soaked. She was content to spend hours skipping her stones across the top of the water just like Dad.
We collected water at our site and found it perfectly clear and potable, as we had heard we'd find most of Tasmania's rivers and streams. Fishing however is popular in the dam with other campers further back using motor boats so there must be some level of pollution.
Breakfast today was prepared on the campfire so we enjoyed fried eggs and toast, although Chardae is still too young for eggs so she had mashed bananas with kiwi fruit and a bottle.
Our 10.15am departure certainly wasn't early but we are enjoying ourselves. We headed out on Mersey Valley Rd, briefly went into Mersey White Water Forest Reserve, Arm Camp/Falls area but backed out to pick up Bare Hill Rd? to enter Borradaile Plain track as detailed in Chris Boden's book "4WD Tracks in Tasmania" (available from the ExplorOz Adventure Shop).
We found this track easy, but mostly uneventful although we enjoyed the views at the start of the trip as we ascended steep and winding hillside through a working forest with dense fernery undergrowth. We didn't feel is was worthy of making a Trek Note from as the campsites noted were not appealing and the drive very short but it was a good through-track to get to where we were going as we veered off to the left on another track rather than complete the main Borradaile Rd and descended to Lemonthyme Powerstation.
We tried to follow the Paton Rd, which leads off to the left of the Powerstation, but found a locked gate just past the first bridge so we took the Lorrinna Track (thankfully detailed in Chris Boden's book) and found this to be a very pretty track high along cliffs above Lake Cethana, which eventually enabled us to take a turnoff down to the dam wall, making a shortcut to Cethana bridge and onto the main road where we made a late lunch stop at 2pm.
From here we headed via bitumen roads towards Leven Canyon via Moina, Wilmot, Nietta etc but first we couldn't resist the temptation to stop for wine tasting (and buying 7 bottles) at Wilmot Winery (highest vineyard in Tasmania). This drive, although on the tar, was beautiful for we meandered through rich farming country. Leah seems fascinated in how many horses she can see as we drive along and now she is playing games like who can spot the first "white" horse etc.
We came to Leven Canyon by 4.30pm and both kids were asleep. I sent David off for the 570m walk to the Canyon lookout with Colin and Sandy, while I stayed with the kids in the car. They seemed to be away forever and since we had no idea of what camping was in the area I decided to take a look around before they got back. I found the most delightful grassy grove nestled in the ferns and set back behind the main picnic area. There were no signs indicating no camping, but the place was so pristine and deserted I hesitated. Eventually, I found some faint tyre tracks on the grass and a small campfire so figured it was ok to camp. I moved the vehicle and began to setup camp so when everyone returned they were rather impressed. We all agreed we'd found another fantastic campsite and that Tasmania was going to be full of them.
Photos: Sandy Jacka
With plenty of water collected from Parangana Dam, we all did some hand washing, had showers, and Chardae had her first bath in Tasmania. Dinner tonight was cooked on the Cobb Cooker - I roasted a pork fillet then sliced and sautéed this in beef stock and udon noodles and added a tomato and garlic sauce. We read the instructions in the Cobb to use the remaining heat after cooking your main meal to cook a desert, so we made a chocolate pudding packet mix into a glass Pyrex bowl. It was superb! Even after cooking the pudding, there was plenty of heat left in the heat beads to boil the water for washing up, formula bottles and coffee.
We woke to a misty cool morning and needed to wait for the sun to hit our grove to dry the swags and tents. It was my turn to see the canyon so I took my girls for the walk, Chardae in backpack. The sun eventually hit the camp around 9.30am but the clothes that had been washed last night were still not dry by 10.30am when we left camp.
Photos: Sandy Jacka
Leaving Leven Canyon we attempted access to Loyetea via Alstergren Rd but found a thumping big ROAD CLOSED sign (the Hema maps note the road "sometimes closed"). Shame, as this would be a good shortcut and a good 4wd track by the looks of the warnings on the sign - as above it reads: "in the opinion of the Forestry Commission this road may be unsafe for vehicular traffic. People using this road do so at their own risk". That part of the sign indicated we could do it if we wished, but the fact that the Road Closed part of the sign was not permanent seemed to indicate that things were not at your own risk but indeed closed to all traffic.
Reluctantly, we had to backtrack all the way to Nietta and up to the Bass Highway. Our intentions were to reach the West Coast today, so we briefly took a look around Table Cape (Lighthouse) and Wynyard area then used Chris Boden's book to get back into Forestry areas to find a bush camp.
| We took tracks down Calder Road and found a great, if not small, campsite by the river (the next day we found this was not the camp noted in Chris Boden's book but a little downstream of it, with ours being more secluded). The campsite lay alongside a small creek - just possible for swimming if you are keen. |  |
My mother is not only a compulsive photographer, but a compulsive swimmer. Any time she sees a lake, river, or dam she cannot resist the temptation and even the cold waters of Tasmania could not deter her. She's quite a sight too - with a mask, snorkel and fins just to wade in the creek in the hope of sighting some kind of fish (yes, she scuba dives too and is an underwater photographer). Again, Leah was overjoyed at camping beside another river where she could throw stones and make "chocolate pudding" (strange concoctions of dirt, grass, berries and water in a cup) so for us it was an ideal campsite.
Dinner tonight was cooked on the Cobb again. This time, we had a whole split chicken marinated in green curry with rice and salad. No pudding, but boiled our washing up water, washed baby bottles and prepared boiled water for Chardae's bottles and coffee on the remaining heat from the heat beads.
After lifting camp this morning we continued along to the Big Tree and Dip Falls using Rabalga Rd and crossing the Black River. This is a brilliant area to be driving in a 4WD and we greatly enjoyed the route we took so this will be written into a trek note as its full of things to see and do as well as the driving.
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Having not seen another vehicle in this area since leaving the Bass Highway we were quite surprised to come across a truck in the middle of the track with a helicopter on its trayback (its arms being filled with a crop spray from tanks on board the truck). |
We then cut across to Smithtown (which we found better for supplies than Burnie) and onto Marrawah on the West Coast. We had expected better camping conditions and access to the aboriginal art site to the north but when things did not look too promising so we continued onto Arthur River.
At this point, we stopped by the river beneath the bridge and were approached by a person getting out of a black Landcruiser. He quickly identified himself as an ExplorOz Member but he had only driven across from Devonport for a day trip and was heading back.
Our dilemma now was to find a quiet place to camp but in doing so not find ourselves driving too far down the coast and never backtracking for a better look. However, we did agree that Arthur River was too full of people and wasn't worth stopping. We spent ages in the rangers office looking at maps and asking questions but this still didn't resolve our dilemna. We toured through the 3 main camps close to the town, as well as pulling off to investigate every side track and beach access all the way down to Sundowner Point and only found poor camps. Eventually we doubled back most of the way to Arthur River and settled for a camp under large trees with fresh water on tap, pit toilet, fireplace etc.
It is worth noting that the Off Road Permit required for driving anywhere off a bitumen road in the Arthur Pieman Conservation Reserve, which stretches all the way to Corrinna is free and is nothing more than a bit of blue paper noting your drivers licence number and name. Camping permits are needed ($4 per adult/night) for anywhere in the Conservation Reserve.
Dinner tonight was marinated chicken thighs cooked in the Cobb Cooker with corn cobbs and potatoes wrapped in foil and placed in the moat of the Cobb Cooker, plus 2 bottles of champagne and 2 bottles of red wine.
Read on - West Coast
