Spirit of Tasmania- Melbourne side
Submitted: Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 19:47
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Member - Julie P (VIC)
We are headed to Tassy next week on the Spirit of Tasmania -so we
just took a drive up to Port
Melbourne,
Station Pier, just to get the lay of the land with not too much traffic around. Seems pretty straightforward to go aboard, the yellow chain boom gates are opened you get processed - no vegetables, honey - gas bottles etc - then follow round till you get on the boat.
Saw a car and caravan parked right back at
St Kilda, along
Beaconsfield Parade - would be paying for
parking there, not cheap all along the Parade. However, if you go into
Beacon Cove (Beach Street I think) , turn just before
Station Pier, before the
shop, follow along behind that for about 2.5 - 3 k - T
intersection - turn left, Sandridge Beach - free
parking!!! There were two caravans with cars attached parked there, obviously waiting to board - just 3 minutes away - it becomes Todd Road if you follow it, which comes off the Westgage Freeway -from the other direction, or down Williamstown Road - Easy As!!!!
Just thought I would share the information!
Reply By: Kris and Kev - Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 20:38
Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 20:38
Not knowing
Melbourne we had trouble finding a place to
park with our camper. Saw others with vans just driving around trying to find a place to
park. Once they opened the gates we found out there is no hurry, we would have been better to time our arrival to when the gates opened.
Kevin
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Reply By: Member - Des Lexic - Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 20:51
Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 20:51
Julie, We returned back from Tassie nearly two weeks ago and had a great time. We expected cold and wet time and got a bit of everything but we were prepared for it.
A couple of highlights were the Gunn Plains Caves near
Burnie. Caves were great, tour guide was a lot of fun and only cost $15 each. Was good value. We thought that the best highlight was the
Bruny Island Adventure Tour that leaves from Kettering just south of
Hobart. Plenty of highlights and not many disappointment. we thought that the Antarctic Exhibition had decreased from an earlier visit 10 years ago. The walk around
Dove Lake in the snow was just spectacular.
Have a great trip
Des
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497390
Reply By: wemont - Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 22:39
Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 at 22:39
Hi
Tassies a great place
Make sure if you have a doggy he has been tapeworm within the last 14 days of you boarding with proof like the packaging or a vet note/letter
just thought you like to know just in case
Wemont
AnswerID:
497405
Reply By: Member - peter & dawn m (QLD) - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 07:13
Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 07:13
no gas bottles ?? what do you do if your taking are caravan over??!! every caravan has something that run,s on gas. swampy
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497416
Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 07:29
Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 07:29
The gas bottles must be removed and they are then stored in a safe and secure area on the ship, until you get to the other end.
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Follow Up By: Kris and Kev - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 07:38
Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 07:38
When we took our camper over the camper had two gas bottles fitted. They were allowed to stay. I think the rule was they have to be connected to the van, not just stored. That was in 2011. Kevin
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Follow Up By: Member - Rod N (QLD) - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 08:16
Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 08:16
At
Melbourne they don't check for veg etc, this is done when you arrive in Tas. Honey is allowed, it is only WA that doesn't allow honey.
The inspection in
Melbourne is to check for anything that may cause or assist a fire on the ship, not good in the middle of Bass Strait. Loose gas bottles, including small canisters, (they may be full) travel separately. Gas bottle connected to the van stay where they are. NO fuel or fumes in jerry cans etc. They check under the engine bonnet for loose rags etc, our inspector said he found a dead rat in one.
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Follow Up By: CraigB - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 11:44
Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 11:44
The guy that inspected us said that they check under the bonnet for contraband including guns etc. Apparently it's a favorite hiding place for them.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Krooznalong - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 13:56
Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 13:56
"no gas bottles ?? what do you do if your taking are caravan over??!! every caravan has something that run,s on gas. swampy"
Hey Swampy
We have returned recently and they only take loose gas bottles into storage - returned at other end. Those that are plumbed in can stay where they are - just have to be turned off.
The one some people forget about though is fuel (petrol, diesel etc) in jerries. They definitely will not transport that. Mate even had to tip out the little bit of chainsaw juice he had and put a bit of
water in the container. Have heard of people losing a couple of full jerries - I guess they fill up on mainland thinking it will be much cheaper (which it wasn't when we were there). I had empty ones for
water - inspector made me open them and he had a sniff to make sure there was no fuel in there.
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Follow Up By: Member - Barry P (VIC) - Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 21:17
Friday, Oct 26, 2012 at 21:17
they take your loose gas bottles and put them on a trailer which is kept on the back deck,on my last trip over just before we got into devenport there was a deckhand leaning on the trailer merrily puffing on his fag ,i moved to a safer spot just in case ,bye barry
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773300
Reply By: Member - John G - Wednesday, Oct 31, 2012 at 17:52
Wednesday, Oct 31, 2012 at 17:52
G'day Julie
The pedant in me says that it is neither "straight" nor "forward" to get on board at the
Melbourne end. You drive along
the wharf at
turtle pace or less, past the Spirit on your left to the end of
the wharf, do a U turn, drive right back past the Spirit now on your right, do another U turn, and finally drive up the ramp onto the boat decks. We arrived at the opening time for boarding and took over an hour to get on board. The smart advice is apparently to arrive about 45 mins before boarding time closes and hope to drive straight on. That might work. Our experience was in November when there was only the night time crossing. Boarding in Deveonport is a more civilised experience because there is far more wharf space available for the process.
All worth it though. The Spirit is very comfortable and clean, and Tasmania is a delight.
Have a great trip.
John
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