Ten days in Tassie, Part 2

The temperature is down a little for my first full day, I have a wander around the town which is fairly quiet apart from the Saturday market, and then in the afternoon go up to Mount Wellington summit (1271m) to check out the views and then cycle down- exhilarating!

Next day I hire car and drive SW of Hobart via the Channel highway which hugs the coast with some beautiful scenery. Finally, I made it to Cockle Creek- the farthest place South that you can drive in Australia- the End of the Road. There are stunning bays here- my camera couldn't do justice to the colours of the sea. I had lunch then hiked across the peninsula through forest and beautiful scrubland to a wild beach- where the cold sea breeze reminded me that Antartica wasn't so far away- spotting an occasional wallaby on the way.

Echidna

Mon 7th I leave Hobart on a 6 day tour trip around the island. We can't visit Mt Field NP, it's closed because there are concerns about bushfires starting there. Lake St Clair is further North- very pretty, we have lunch, a short walk and a close encounter with an Echnidna. There's great scenery all the way to Strahan, a little coastal place.

Cradle Mountain behind Dove Lake

The notoriously changeable Tasmanian weather finally catches up with us the next day with a cold change. Henty sanddunes then a longer walk through cool temperate rainforest (in the rain) to the impressive Montezuma falls occupy us. In the evening we see an entertaining play called "The ship that never was" based on a true convict escape story.



Wednesday and we head to Cradle Mountain in the rain, it's cold and sleeting as we wrap up to start a walk around Dove lake at the base of the snow-covered mountain. Yes, snow, just a few days after temperatures of 42 and I can't feel my fingers. As the cloud rolls about though there's some beautiful scenery. Leaving the mountains and heading to Launceston the weather's improving and we pass through Sheffield- a town with murals painted on the side of all the houses.

Next day a visit to Cataract gorge in Launceston, not spectacular but we photograph some obliging wallabies and displaying peacocks. From here to St Helens for lunch and then through the Fingle valley- with rolling hills and sheep grazing in the foreground, mountains in the distance- to the Bay of Fires. A beach walk here admiring the contrast of blue sea, white sand and orange lichen- covered rocks. Onto Bicheno for the night and a late evening tour to see the loveable Little Penguins as they return to their sand-dune homes for the night.

Wineglass Bay

Friday we visit Wine Glass Bay in Freycinet national park on the East coast. As we arrive the cloudy sky clears and everything smells wonderfully fresh from the rain. There's great views, pleasant woodland walk to another pristine beach- 1 of the top 10 in the world. From here onto Ross through more rolling hills, some vineyards and crops of tomatoes and cherries. Ross is an historic town, reminiscent of an English village, old by Australian standards with the 3rd oldest bridge in the country. After lunch we visit a wildlife sanctuary at Bonorong and see our first Tasmanian devil, the largest marsupial carnivore since the Tasmanian tiger was hunted to extinction in the 1970s (well some say it still exists and, in the western wilds of Tasmania, it's by no means impossible). Now the Tassie devil is endangered and scientists are working on a cure for the transmissable facial tumours which have a 100% mortality rate and will cause this species to be extinct within the next few decades if unchecked.

Tasmanian Devil

Our final day was meant to be a trip to Port Arthur but the Tasman Peninsula was still closed following the devastating bushfires so we went the other way and South of Hobart to Hastings Caves and down to Cockle Creek for more great coastal scenery.

Exploring alone again next day I head to Mt Fields NP and see the famous Russell falls, take in some other trails as well and spot some Wallabies and Pandemelons (small wallaby type creatures), parrots and birds of prey. I continue to Styx valley to see some big trees. It's a day with intermittent showers, overcast and changable.


Next day I'm due a restful day and then leave the following day flying to Adelaide via Melbourne.

Russell falls