Amazing Tasmania

We know it’s been weeks since the last posting, but Tasmania has had so much to offer; that between being out of range and being busy we haven’t had a chance to keep up the blog. We have now decided to alter our plans since our 4 weeks in Tasmania is far too short. We have only completed 1/3 of the island and we know there is so much more to explore; so we intend to spend at least another 4 weeks here and discover more of what this beautiful and interesting island has to offer.

We left Bruny Island and headed north for Hobart, via some interesting 4WD drive tracks. A single night in Hobart and we headed north knowing that we would be back there in a couple of weeks. We visited New Norfolk and headed out to Mt Field National Park and Russell Falls. We camped the night beside a creek and saw our first wild platypus…unfortunately all the creatures we want to see come out at night and pictures and videos are not forthcoming. We decided to explore this region a bit and headed out to Adamsfield an old mining town now overtaken by the bush. Again a bit of 4WDing, but mostly along forestry tracks. We passed a “hippie” camp (protesting/blocking logging in the region) and Doug popped in, then quickly left after reading one of the banners "Wash as least as possible". We also ventured out to Strathgordon and Lake Pedder; all part of the protests of the 70s and 80s for damming the Gordon and Franklin Rivers.

We moved on to Ellendale where Sue tried to track down some family history. Sue’s grandmother and greatgrandparents owned a farm in the region and after chatting to a very lovely lady at the local shop we were soon part of the
community. We were invited in for a cuppa and lamington and she had Sue on the phone chatting to one of the old locals about some of the local history. We were invited to a local wedding the next day to see if any of the other locals may turn up with knowledge of the family and farm. Anyway after being told where the farm was and being told to go through a cherry orchard where we could help ourselves (and we did), we took some photos and left details to see if any further local history could be discovered.

Since we were heading north and the weather was still fantastically warm we decided to head into the wild north west and get off the beaten track (well sought of). We stopped at Queenstown for a couple of days as the weather didn’t hold, so we did our first hotel stay which refreshed us. Queenstown is an old gold mining town that has fallen into disrepair and the environment surrounding the town is barren from acid rain. So not a pretty place to stop. However, we found a track to follow called the Bird River track that followed an old railway line. It was really beautiful as it followed the river and traversed old rainforest with tall ferns and gums. From there we travelled to Strahan on the mouth of the Gordon River and then on to Zeehan (also an old mining town falling into disrepair). Yet again we found a track to follow and found ourselves in the glorious seaside village of Trial Harbour where we had beachfront camping with a pounding ocean for a view.

Our next adventures are best described by Doug, as Sue has now vowed never to 4WD again (well nothing as treacherous as the Trial Harbour to Granville Harbour Track). The track we took was extremely difficult and at one stage we had to unhook the camper trailer and winch it up out of a creek bed that was covered with large boulders and a sandy base. It took about 3 hours and when we got out we camped in sight of a memorial plaque to 3 young men who had been killed when the bridge that had been there had washed away. We crossed several creeks with washed out bridges and a 16 km track took 11 hours to complete.

We continued to travel the Western Explorer Route and passed through some amazing scenery that is not on the usual tourist route. We free camped for about 5 days and in the last 2 days we have travelled a considerable distance from Arthur River to Smithton and on to Stanley. Finally we have a night in a cabin not far from Stanley and a wonderful spa bath has renewed us no end. So finally a blog to catch everyone up with our travels and to let all know we are alive (amazingly) and well.








1. Map of our travels so far, 2. Adventure Bay, Bruny Island (taken from the front of our tent), 3. Snow gum after rain and wind Mt Field National Park, 4. Storm over catchment dam, Mt Field, 5. Lake Pedder, Gordon Dam, 6. Old Fencing on Cooper Farm, Ellendale, 7. Oast House for drying hops, Cooper Farm, 8. Cooper Farm, 9. Tree Ferns on Bird River Track, 10. Lindsay River in Arthur Pieman Conservation Area.