Devonport Jazz and coastride - July 2014

Barb, Di and Robert had tickets for the Devonport Jazz Festival.  Barb was travelling separately, and we set off with Wanda on Friday afternoon.  It was a pleasant drive up north, with the only fly in the ointment being the predicted northern rains that started falling onto our bikes on the back.  Just before 5pm closing time we found the hardware shop in Longford and purchased a small tarpaulin which we could use to protect the bikes both from the weather and from unwanted local interest when Wanda was parked in the city of Devonport.

We arrived in Devonport at about 5.30pm and parked in an almost empty council carpark just around the corner from the Devonport Entertainment Centre.  A great location.  We wrapped the tarp around the bikes, and got changed for the theatre.  Next we needed dinner, and we found a new Asian restaurant (well, new to us) right next door to the theatre.  Barb located us and shared a wine.  We told the manager that we needed to be out of there within the hour, but somehow that message didn't get through to the chef, and we had to leave most of our main course on the plate when we left for the start of the show at 7pm.

First up was Vince Jones and his excellent band.  This was a fantastic performance from a great talent who also shared his concerns about the planet.    After the show we had wine and cheese with Barb in Wanda.

On Saturday morning we rode our bikes out to the Devonport Bluff to the Drift Cafe.

We had a table booked for a gourmet breakfast and to enjoy a jazz duo.  Barb walked back into town and Robert and I rode to the Saturday market at the Showground.  This was a fairly small affair, with only one organic producer that we could see.  This lovely art and craft building hinted at past glories:

On the other side of the showground we were delighted to find a chook show.

Next up was lunch at the Tapas Cafe, where we heard the Pete Cornelius' band, King Cake.  Unfortunately the sound was too loud and the food nothing to write home about.

Barb drove us out to the Ghost Rock Winery but we found that it was booked out.  Back at the DECC we caught the Adelaide band tribute to John Coltrane, which was excellent, and probably more enjoyable than what we had missed out on at Ghost Rock.

Next on our program was Melissa Oliveira and her band from Amsterdam, with Portuguese influences.

Back to Drift Cafe with Barb for dinner.  If there was somewhere else worth eating out at in Devonport, we hadn't found it yet.  And next morning, Robert and I had breakfast there again, after stopping to check out the view from the bluff.

While Barb headed back south, we drove to Shearwater for a bike ride organised by the Bicycle Tasmania NW group. It was great to put faces to some familiar names and to get to know Keith, Richard, Roger and Graham a bit better.  Richard took us on a 25km circuit of Shearwater. It was a very enjoyable ride, the first section on offroad coastal trail, and the middle section on fairly quiet country roads.

Farewelling our new friends, we headed Wanda towards Launceston, stopping for a picnic lunch at the Batman Hill Lookout.  The last stop was for fuel in Campbelltown.

Mountain River - July 2014

Di and Robert had plans for a wassailing weekend in the Huon Valley.  On the Saturday we had a date with Kat, Philip, Austin and Sophie at the Huon Mid Winter Feast at Willie Smith's cider shed.  It would be good to ride our bikes there, as there was no parking at the site.  

It was a lovely sunny day when we arrived at Misty Hill Rd.  Sophie was still suffering severe jet lag from her flight from Europe the day before and her riding legs were quite out of condition.  But she was up for a ride, so we jumped on our bikes and enjoyed the mostly downhill ride along Mountain River Rd and the short stretch of highway to the cider barn.  

The place was buzzing, with people in pagan mid winter kit all over the place, kids dancing around the maypole, music, an Argentian bbq and lots of food and drink stalls.  The MONA event organisers were doing a great job.

Kat and Philip had got a head start on us and could recommend some good first choices.  The food and mulled wine were great. We enjoyed the best mid winter costume competition, and then watched the huge bonfire being lit.

While there was still good light on the road, we rode back to Mountain River, this time the ride was mostly slightly uphill (!).  After a lovely dinner and more wine, we fell into bed in Wanda.

The morning news was full of the airline disaster in the Ukraine, but the crisp winter morning was beautiful.

All too soon we were heading home again, to get some Sunday tasks done.

Lake Catagunya - April 2014

Anzac Day was on a Friday, and another long weekend beckoned.  The grand plan was to take Wanda away for a couple of nights and then rendezvous on the Sunday morning with our walking group for the Mt Field East walk.
First problem, we found the engine battery was so flat that we couldn't open the electric doors.  We got a nice man from RACT roadside assistance to visit, check it out and charge it up for us. Lucky we'd upgraded our roadside cover to include Wanda! All this took some time, so we ate the lunch we'd prepared to have on the road on the kitchen table while all this was taking place.  We didn't get underway until 2pm.

After the obligatory stop for fuel and tyre checks, we hit the Lyell Highway (A1) and headed towards the west coast.  At 3pm, we toyed with the idea of camping at Hamilton, on the camping ground down by the river, but decided to keep going.  Our "Free Camping in Australia" book showed a couple of opportunities up towards the old Hydro town of Wayatinah.  About 21 km past Ouse, we found the turnoff (C604) to Lake Catagunya.  This road was unsealed but pretty sound  and we followed the directions towards the boat ramp. We found a quiet camping area (no facilities) right on the edge of the placid little lake.  No-one else was around and it was already 3.45pm, so we placed Wanda in the best position, right on the lakeside, and set up our chairs to enjoy the view.

Of course, ten minutes later another motorhome (quite like Wanda) appeared.  They had a little dog and a dinghy and seemed to be quite familiar with the place.  They set out fishing, no doubt to get trout for dinner.

 Robert made a yummy chicken curry for our dinner, and we enjoyed some old movies on TV.  There was no ABC TV reception here!  Sacre bleu.  Later Robert watched the footie and Di finished 'The Maneaters of Tsavo', stirring tales of dangerous maneating lions which attacked the workers building the rail line from Mobasa to Nairobi. There was light rain overnight, and more in the morning.

Next morning another mob turned up with a tinnie and tried some fishing.  We set off, planning to camp at Mt Field, but we took a short diversion first to have a look at Wayatinah. The camping ground there is quite large and busy, and the old town very quiet. Soon we noticed that the house battery was making odd clicking noises and was not recharging as it should from the car battery. After watching it for a while, we decided it would be foolhardy to try camping overnight again, as the battery would not support our heater, and it was going to snow.  Best to go home instead.

On the way, we diverted onto C608 to look at Meadowbank Lake and check out the camping facilities there.  The lake is pretty, but 1km past the lake the campground next to the toilets at the top of the rise is pretty stark.  The road from there down to the campground at lake level looked a bit too rough for Wanda, although the camping area itself looked reasonably quiet and attractive.

We continued on towards Ellendale which looked pretty and quiet, this would be a good spot for tourists to stay before enjoying Mt Field and, possibly in the future, the Derwent Valley Rail Trail.  We tried out a little road up to the right, looking for a spot to see platypus in the creek.  No luck.  Ellendale is just under Mt Field East, where we would be walking the very next day.

The weather was still low and drizzly when we arrived in New Norfolk, good weather for visiting antique shops.  So we discovered the Drill Hall and a couple of its lesser neighbours.  Di was looking out for a wall cupboard to hide the new NBN boxes in, but couldn't find just the right thing.

From there, it was a short trip home.

The investigation of the house battery's clicking noise led to Wanda receiving a set of solar panels, which would help to keep the battery charged up when we enjoyed "free camping".

Lake Pedder - March 2014

It was the Labour Day long weekend, so a good chance to get away.  Several friends had talked about their recent visits to Lake Pedder, and we realised we had not been down that way for a very long time.

We set out on Sunday 9 March.  It was an hour to the Mt Field Visitor Centre, where we bought a Mt Wedge Tasmap and asked whether it would be safe to take Wanda on the Scotts Peak Road.  The response was reassuring, so we set off in high spirits.

We stopped to enjoy the view at the Tim Shea lookout, and then stopped for lunch at the Wedge River picnic area.  This is a quiet little spot, sitting just under the Sentinel Range, next to the pretty little Wedge River which trickles away hidden inside the bush.

More photos were called for when we first reached the new Lake Pedder, at the Hermit Basin, with the Frankland Range in the far distance.

We passed the old hydro town of Strathgordon, and popped up the hill to the Serpentine Lookout.  This little hill has great views down the Serpentine Reach towards where the original Lake Pedder still lies submerged under the larger current Lake Pedder.

We drove on to visit the enormous Gordon Dam, which was a great engineering achievement in its time.

The water levels in Lake Gordon were quite low, some 5 metres below the maximum level.

We walked down the many steps and all the way around the top of the dam.  It is all very large!

Climbing back up to the road, we drove back to the Serpentine Lookout, where we parked for the night.  At one stage we thought we were going to have to share the carpark with some motorbike tourers, but they decided the ground would be softer down on the lawns of the village.

There was a curious incident with a camera.  After several cars had been and gone, Robert noticed an expensive camera sitting on the tarmac.  He picked it up and moved it to a safer place.  An hour or so later, one of the motor bikes came back, and the rider started looking anxiously around.  He was pretty amazed (and grateful) to find his camera there still!

It was very peaceful on the lookout hill, we felt very privileged to have it all to ourselves.  The views from the bedroom window towards the morning's sunrise the next morning were magnificent.

After a quiet breakfast on Monday morning, we drove back along the Pedder road, and turned right onto the unsealed Scotts Peak Road.  We had been worried that this road would be difficult for Wanda, but it was well maintained and no problem at all.   Our first stop was the magical little creatures wilderness trail, obviously built by hobbits.

We passed the challenging Mt Anne and Mt Eliza on the left, there were quite a few fit looking walking parties heading up there.  We kept motoring to the Scotts Peak Dam.

The water is beautiful and clear, with the colour of the tannins. The white and pink stones of the beach are very collectable.

We drove to the lookout hill, and spent some time gazing over the area where the real Lake Pedder is submerged, and also scanning the southern mountain ranges towards the South Coast track.

Finally dragging ourselves away, we headed homewards.

Coast along the Coast - February 2014

We decided to join Paul (Basil) O'Halloran on a pre-election organised Sunday bike ride (Coast along the Coast) in the North West.  It was Regatta Day weekend in the south, so it would be a nice long weekend for us.

Our plan for our first night was to be under Mt Roland.  We headed north up the Midlands Highway and stopped for a picnic lunch on the banks of the Elizabeth River, in Campbelltown.

Ambling through the back streets we saw some fascinating old cottages.  Feeling adventurous we decided to check out some new routes, and turned off the highway just after Campbelltown, onto Macquarie Road.   The quiet country roads were lovely, and we passed the centre of the Tasmanian poppy industry as well.  Eventually we came upon Woolmers Estate and soon were rolling through the village of Longley.

Turning left coming out of Longley, we ducked under the Bass Highway and took the Heritage Route westwards along Meander Valley Highway and Meander Valley Rd, passing through Westbury and  stopping briefly at Deloraine. We discovered we were on the route of the Great Western Tiers Rides, and passed several of the signposts where riders might stop and listen to the podcast descriptions of the local attractions.

Out of Deloraine, we headed west on Mole Creek Main Rd,  now on the lookout for potential campsites. We passed the Melita Honey Farm, and then the Mole Creek Caravan Park, but turned into the hills to cut north through to Mt Roland. The Gog Hills were lovely, but we soon came upon the area known as Paradise.  It is now Paradise Lost, with the previously lush farmlands now overtaken by forestry operations, and the remnant farms looking pretty depressed.

At about this time we noticed a bit of smoke in the air, and my check of the Emergency app mentioned a fire at Claude Rd.  We popped out of the forests onto (guess what) Claude Rd, and the smoke was coming from the west, right where we needed to go!  But as we drove through the Claude Rd village, we passed a bunch of firefighters relaxing with a beer in the CFS shed, and figured that the fire must now be under control.

Arriving at Gowrie Park Wilderness Village, we were underwhelmed by the "wilderness appeal".  The powered van sites were crammed together on a gravel parking area just next to the road,with a couple of token trees.  We chose a more pleasant piece of lawn behind the communal buildings, screened by trees and with reasonable views of Mt Roland towering up behind us.

Next morning we drove through Sheffield and took a quick look at the shops and the murals.  We were due at Turners Beach at 11.30am, so we couldn't linger for coffee.  At Turners Beach we eventually found the meeting point, Gables Park, at the far eastern end of the esplanade.

By 11.30 about a dozen other keen bike riders had arrived, and we met Basil, the energetic Greens MHA for Braddon. We cycled along the Coastal Pathway towards Ulverstone, on a mixture of offroad shared paths and quiet local streets.  It was lovely.

Once at Ulverstone, the protected pathways came to an end and we ventured further west to inspect where the Coastal Pathway could be extended to.  We stopped at the fantastic geological marvel that is Goat Island.  Basil used to be a high school geography teacher, and his enthusiastic description of the geological events of 520 million years ago was inspiring. The colours, twists and folds in the conglomerate rocks were incredible to see.

Basil and the Cradle Coast Authority have a great vision for the shared NW Coastal Pathway, that it be extended along the coast to provide a great drawcard for geo-tourism, food and adventure tourism.

It was starting to rain as we headed Wanda eastwards.  After Devonport we once again left the main road, switching to Frankford Road and other backroads, till we came out on the West Tamar Highway around Beaconsfield. Turning left, we arrived at Greens Beach as the wind was worsening.  We took a site in the Caravan Park in the lee of a permanent van and settled in for the night. Here we discovered that the power cable connection to our bike rack had got caught on something on the road and been torn to pieces, rats! A walk along the beach revealed it is a lovely spot for family holidaymaking, and has great views over Port Dalrymple.

Next morning the storm had passed and it was a gorgeous day.

We rode up along the headland to overlook Badger Head and Narawntapu National Park.  That would be another nice place to visit!  Heading Wanda southwards, we stopped in to see the platypuses at Beauty Point, and also enjoyed seeing the echnidnas there.  It was nice to run into old friends Ken and Dianne there.  We thought we would have lunch at Strathlynn,

but the restaurant was closed, so next we tried the restaurant at Josef Chromy Wines.  What a treat - the food and wines were excellent, as were the views over the vineyard.  After a quick stop at Evandale at the Tasmanian Sauce Company for more of our favourite Kasoundi curry sauce, we were on our way home. One last diversion was taking the Richmond Road from Jericho.

Lucky escape on Bruny Island, October 2013

It had been ages since Wanda had had a decent trip away with Di and Robert.  Of course, she had had an eight week winter getaway up to Queensland with her good friends Austin and Sophie, which was great fun, and a quick trip to Mountain River for Philip's 50th birthday party.  It seemed like the "Show Day weekend" would be a good chance to hit the road again.  And it tied in with Di's "walk-a-month" schedule, which had a walk to Fluted Cape on Bruny Island listed for that Sunday.  

So we managed to leave the house at about lunchtime on Friday (what's the rush?) and headed south to Kettering, joining the queue for the 1.45pm ferry. 

The wind was high and cold, funnelling up D'Entrecasteaux Channel and blustering down the inlets (all at the same time!).  The captain amply demonstrated his skill getting the beast lined up with the jetty at Roberts Point.  

First stop was the Bruny Island SmokeHouse (BISH) which we managed to find open for the first time in several visits to Bruny, hurrah!  It looks like a very nice spot for a snack and a drink.  We picked up some Sardines with Chili, some smoked wallaby, and some interesting looking Pomegranate Syrup. Then we pulled into Get Shucked for fresh oysters.  The shop was being enlarged to offer sit down meals and drinks, and it should be great when it's finished.  But today sales were being made from a caravan, and the blustery conditions were making life difficult for the staff.  There was a group of cycle tourists enjoying the oysters - it looked like they were on a gourmet bike crawl, because we then ran into them again just down the road at the Bruny Island Cheese Factory.  There we bought some excellent Tom and Saint cheeses, and beautiful sourdough white bread.

We found a good spot for lunch, the camping ground on the Neck. This looks like a quiet and pretty place to camp.

We headed further south, towards Alonnah, where we tried out the general store for fresh fruit. The weather was still blustery, with passing showers. We continued south through Lunawanna and onto Lighthouse Road.  We were heading to Bruny Island Camping, a private campsite/caravan park that Robert had found on the web.  The location looked great, on Cloudy Bay, right next to the South Bruny National Park, and we had booked in by phone while on the ferry.   

The driveway into the caravan park should have been a warning.  It was sandy and rutted, and when we got to the park's office, it appeared to be someone's bush shack.  There were no directional signs on the driveways, and cheerful Philip came out into the rain to say hello and tell us we just needed to back up to the other drive and head down towards the beach on the other side of his house.  We asked if there was any risk of our getting bogged, and Philip reassured us that we would be fine.  And anyhow if we did get stuck, he had a 4 wheel drive and a tractor to haul us out.  When we got to the site, it was a sandy pad, which he assured us was well compacted and quite safe.  

The rain continued on and off, so we settled in with a little champagne, causing some envy I think amongst our neighbours, looking a bit bedraggled in their tents and huddling around campfires. We did wonder how Philip was getting away with charging $60 pn!    When the showers eased a little, we walked down to Inlet Beach,a pristine jewel on Cloudy Bay, ringed by national park.

Dinner was a yummy vegie curry, followed by green tea and Christmas cake (these days we're drizzling rum into the Legacy fruitcakes as soon as they appear in the shops).  The high wind continued all night, blowing the cold showers through regularly.  We were parked right next to untouched bush, with good birdlife, so the view from Wanda was great.  Next morning we made a slow start, waiting for the showers to clear. Our camping neighbours decided early that the weather was not going to improve, and went home.  Then Robert had an incident with the furniture, hitting his head very hard against the underhang on the overhead cupboards.  We sat quietly for a while waiting for the bleeding to stop, but then decided it was quite time to go.  

And you can guess what happened then.  The back wheels spun in the sand, and Wanda didn't move.  Cheerful Philip was fetched, with shovel and timber pads, and trusty 4WD.  The shovel and timber idea didn't work, so the 4WD was then tried.  Phew!   Wanda eased out onto terra firma, and we headed up to his house, where he gave us back our second night's fee (!) and we set off towards the main road.  And got bogged again.  After another tow by the 4WD we really did manage to leave, with lessons learnt all round.

The unsealed road to the south was in pretty bad condition, with corrugations and millions of potholes.  It was with some relief that we pulled into the carpark for Cape Bruny Lighthouse.  Here the wind was magnified ten times, especially when we climbed the hill to the old lighthouse.  This building was built in 1836, and the light commenced operation in 1838.  It has now been replaced by an automatic light, located nearby.   The weather was extreme, with bitterly cold winds arriving from the snow clad mountains to the west, and intermittent showers being driven across the headland.  

The lighthouse Museum was open, containing fascinating insights into how the original lights worked and the lives of the keepers.  For example, each lamp used 600mL of sperm whale oil per hour, and needed to be continually replenished.  There were some eight lamps burning all the time!

Back in what now felt reassuringly like civilisation at Alonnah, we had a Bruny Island gourmet picnic lunch in Wanda, parked at Sunset Bay, with winds battering the van and great views across the choppy channel.

Driving around to the other side of the southern part of the island, sticking to the sealed road, we reached Adventure Bay, where we planned to stay Saturday night.  At the far end of the beach, we checked out the start of tomorrow's walk to Fluted Cape, and visited the monument to Captain Cook, who landed here in 1777.   The private caravan park located here (Adventure Bay Park) was closed, which was unfortunate because it looked like a prime location.

So we returned to Captain Cook Caravan Park, and obtained a nice grassed plot, with power and water, for only $30 pn.  What a bargain!   After a yummy dinner, we slept soundly, unworried about the odd shower.    

After another lovely cooked breakfast from Robert - scrambled eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms on toast - we packed up and proceeded to the carpark at the start of the Fluted Cape walk to wait for our walking companions. We had decent weather compared with the last couple of days.  The winds were lighter - Bruny Island adventure tours were loading up a boatload of seal watchers, whereas yesterday all voyages had been cancelled . Showers were still predicted but likely to be fairly light.  This was lucky, as Robert had forgotten to pack a raincoat - what!?

Lyn, Sophie and Brett arrived about 10.40 to join us for the Fluted Cape Walk, and you can read all about that in Di's Walk-a-month blog.  

Bay of Fires, Queens Birthday Weekend, June 2013

It was a long weekend, and we had two free days, so we thought we should get away.  How about the Bay of Fires, long heard about but never visited?  So off we went.  Leaving home at 11.30am (we had to watch The Insiders, and have a decent coffee first!), our first stop was the delectable Hill St Grocer for some supplies, and then we hit the road.  It was a pleasant drive up the East Coast, on a beautiful sunny and clear winter's day.

By 1.30pm we were approaching Swansea, which is looking pretty prosperous these days.  Ditto Bicheno, where we drove to the carpark at the jetty for a picnic with a view. There were several people fishing off the jetty, and a Dad teaching his sons how to snorkel.  Yes, they had wetsuits on, but he wasn't going in.

After lunch we returned to the Post Office Shop, to see what goodies Subi had for sale, but it was closed for the weekend of course.  We set off northwards again, arriving at St Helen's at 4pm.

When we turned right towards Binalong Bay, I thought I recognised the back of my Hobart friend Sally W, admiring the clothes in a trendy boutique.  Later I learned that it HAD been her (it's a small world!) (and isn't it fascinating how unique we all are, that I could recognise her in an unexpected setting, from her back?).  We checked out the holiday homes in Binalong Bay, and then headed northwards along the pretty coast road.  There are several turnoffs to the right, and we chose the one to Cosy Corners North. Here we found a quiet little camping spot, with sandy roads, and lovely little turnouts for tents and vans.  We chose a spot suitably quiet and private, with a view out towards the beach.  Only in Tassie...

We settled in, and went for a walk along the beach.  The beach here was lovely, with pure white sand, and friendly round granite boulders.

We found a small beach pool near our campsite.

Then it was time for champers, to celebrate our good fortune.  Our neighbours were friendly, and it was all pretty peaceful.  The campsite was popular but not full, which was nice.


After a leisurely start the next morning, we drove north again.  This road goes through a tiny settlement called The Gardens (which has some very comfortable looking weekenders), and ends at the southern end of the pristine Bay of Fires beach.

We walked along this beautiful beach for about half an hour.  It is just gorgeous.  With only farmland behind, and the Pacific Ocean in front, it is timeless and perfect.

 

We finally tore ourselves away and headed back down the East Coast.

Lunchtime found us at Swansea, where we parked on the Freycinet side and enjoyed another picnic.

And then to home, and the end of another lovely mini-break with Wanda.