Swansea - St. Helens

 

After leaving Swansea we headed north to St. Helens via Bicheno. Bicheno is a pretty little town with a nice beach walk (including a small blow-hole) and the mandatory “best bakery” in town. Both didn’t disappoint.

As we headed north along the west coast, we did notice how dry and brown the landscape is compared to the rest of Tassie – I am told this is because all the rain is dumped on the west coast and high central plateau and the east is in a rain shadow. The other unique feature of the east coast is the beautiful long white sandy beaches.

As we had some time to kill before checking in at our apartment in St. Helens we headed out to the Bay of Fires to do some sightseeing. I thought it ws called the Bay of Fires due to the bright orange algae covering the rocks, but the bay was given its name in 1773 by Captain Tobias Furneaux in Adventure who saw the fires of Aboriginal people on the beaches.

After we got back to St. Helens we checked into our apartment – I mention this because I have a story to tell. We were in Room 2 on the first floor and as soon as we we got out of the lift we knew the name of the lassie in Room 1 – it was Lisa - Mona Lisa. You could hear her moaning loudly from twenty meters away. This was accompanied by the sound of the bedhead banging against our common wall? Not sure what they were up to - Tai Chi maybe?? Anyway, it all very exciting – almost had to buy a pie and a newspaper. Must have been fun because they were at it again an hour later.

A very short video is HERE

Swansea - Freycinet National Park

 After spending some time down on the South Coast we headed to Swansea on the East Coast to catch up with Aaron, Tara, Luke, and Aria for a couple of nights and do a bit of sightseeing around the Tarkine Coast/Freycinet National Park.

Once again, the accommodation was great with a near large new house with tons of room for four adults, two kids and an anxious dog.

Now is probably a good time to mention that I am the unbeaten Swansea Yahtzee Champion for 2023 😊.

The 4:30 AM bream fishing trip was a dismal failure – I am convinced that there are no fish in the sea in Tassie – just trout in the lakes!

The day out in the Freycinet National Park was a a great family event and the video HERE shows some the parks features.

Off to St. Helens tomorrow – and maybe Bay of Fires.

Port Arthur

 It's been over 40 years since I last visited Port Arthur and hasn’t it changed. Huge car parks, massive visitors centre and so many people!  Guess that’s progress?

Upside is entrance fee ($76 for two concession passes) now includes a twenty-minute harbour cruise.

It’s still worth a visit if you are down this way as there is a lot of history in these old buildings and site.

Looks like a prisoner escaped.

Must be getting old as it was a bit of a struggle for Linda with her sore hip and me with my recovering knee, but we made it around, albeit slowly.

Guard?

The most difficult thing to do at Port Arthur is to get a photo with no one else in it.

Our accommodation for the night was nearby at White Beach and we had a lovely old cabin to ourselves. Once again excellent accommodation with no complaints.

Off tomorrow to catch up with Aaron, Tara and Family for a couple of nights at Swansea on the East Coast.

Short vide is HERE

Around Hobart

 After leaving the rugged west coast and the interior plateau we headed down the Derwent River Valley to our accommodation our accommodation on the South Arm at the “River View Bungalow”.  

On the Bungalow deck

We did have some initial reservations as it was a lot further out from Hobart than we thought (about 40min drive) but what a spectacular spot. The Bungalow was perfect for two with separate lounge/bedroom and ensuite rooms and every window had views over the Derwent River estuary plus there was a deck in the morning sun.  Linda spent hours watching the resident plover family, hundreds of other birds, and the antics of the rabbits. We had booked two nights as we wanted a full day to look around Hobart area.

As we were once again blessed with clear weather, we decided to take the long uphill drive to the peak of Mount Wellington. The views were spectacular, and Linda found a small patch of snow to play in.

After coming down the Mountain we headed out to historic Richmond to check out the oldest bridge in Australia, visit the Sweet and Chocolate Factory and the sample Wicked Cheese Factory.

Our routine whilst staying at AirB&B’s is to have a big late lunch and cheese and crackers at night (with a small glass of red or two). So – we stopped at the local Tavern on the way home ate a big meal and spent the next two hours investing in Tasmania’s budget (playing Keno and the pokies). 

Linda came home around $350 up and I cleared $30 (which is good for me). I have referred ourselves to the Gambling Help Line and hopefully our rehab will start shortly.

Small video is HERE

Cradle Mountain

 After leaving Ulverstone we decided to go the long way around to our next B&B at Waratah via Cradle Mountain. It was a good decision as it was a rare day where the mountain was not obscured by cloud and rain.

When we arrived, we pulled into the Visitors Centre to pay our fees ($38 for a Concession 12month National Parks Pass) and were advised to drive the 6 km down to the Rangers Station to catch the shuttle bus to Dove Lake. As luck would have it there was a shuttle bus ready to leave as we arrived – so we bolted across and jumped on. Unfortunately, this was the returning bus to the Visitors Centre! Old people do weird things? Anyway, after visiting the Visitors Centre twice and getting our bearings we finally got the right bus to Dove Lake.

I could rabbit on about the beauty of the Lake, the Mountains, the magnificent scenery, the unique vegetation, the wombats, the serenity, the waterfall, lunch at Peppers etc (yep, I’m rabbiting on again) but I will let the photos in the attached video tell the story.

Definitely ticked one more off the bucket list.

Short video is HERE