Lyn and I have just returned home after a really nice couple of weeks in Tasmania, a place we had not been to in over twenty years.
SHARE OUR TASSIE EXPERIENCE
Knowing that we are not the only
one's to have had one of these
We decided against flying, opting instead to take the car on a day crossing on the "Spirit Of Tasmania".
This turned out to be a good decision as the crossing was smooth and relaxing.
After staying overnight at a B and B in Devonport, our first day found us at "Cradle Mountain" which was a great place to start our holiday. While we did spend some hours at Cradle Mountain, we would have really liked to spend at least a couple of days there to take advantage of the many and varied walks, something that we will have to do on another occasion.
From there we headed down the west coast to the old mining town of Zeehan, which was once a booming silver-mining town known as 'silver city'.
It's hard to imagine that when Zeehan was a roaring town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Gaiety Theatre, which reportedly seated 1000 people, was the largest concert hall and theatre in Australia. Such was its prestige that during that time it saw Enrico Caruso, Dame Nellie Melba and the infamous Lola Montez all treading the boards and entertaining the wealthy miners.
After a short stop at Zeehan which has much of its jaunty history well preserved, we journeyed on to Strahan, where I think that every Tassie tourist and their brother must have been as accomodation was very hard to obtain. However find some we did and stayed on for a couple of nights
Plenty to do on the boat, restaurant, bar, poker machines, (for those so inclined), face painting for the children and a musical group to entertain. As there was also a choice of movies, we watched Sherlock Holmes and Brand Nieu Day and enjoyed both.
After staying overnight at a B and B in Devonport, our first day found us at "Cradle Mountain" which was a great place to start our holiday. While we did spend some hours at Cradle Mountain, we would have really liked to spend at least a couple of days there to take advantage of the many and varied walks, something that we will have to do on another occasion.From there we headed down the west coast to the old mining town of Zeehan, which was once a booming silver-mining town known as 'silver city'.
After a short stop at Zeehan which has much of its jaunty history well preserved, we journeyed on to Strahan, where I think that every Tassie tourist and their brother must have been as accomodation was very hard to obtain. However find some we did and stayed on for a couple of nights
Took a boat trip from Strahan up the Gordon River which included a brief excursion into the southern ocean, and really enjoyed what the pristine area had to offer.
From Strahan we headed to Hobart via Queenstown and Lake St Clair, all the time keeping a weather eye out for a sighting of the Tasmanian Tiger (for which the Tas Gov't has a standing $1m reward). Not surprisingly, we were not favoured by a sighting!
Queenstown was something else being denuded of trees and foliage, as evidenced by the lack of any grass whatsoever on their famous gravel oval, where water pipes, (unpadded at that), are used for goal posts.
We then had three days in Hobart doing the usual tourist things, Salamander Market, Port Arthur etc.
After having done that, we decided that on future occasions we would try to avoid places that we had been to before, in favour of newer experiences.
A day trip down south to Tahune, where we saw some of the huge trees that Tasmania is famous for. Having seen these trees first hand, we completely understand why so many people are so passionate against logging of any description in Tasmania.
Tasmania State elections were held while we we there, and it was interesting to see that the Green's eventually won five of the twenty five seats, (Labor and Liberal, ten each), to give them a huge say in Tasmanian politics.
Took a very interesting walk through the Tahune State Forest and on the tree top airwalk, which with a birds eye view, certainly gives a different perspective of the forest.
While organising our tickets I was taken by a Missing Persons sign, which explained that 14 days earlier, a 76 year old man from Sydney had left his group on the well marked path to return to his tourist coach and has not (to this day), been seen since.
Bit of a mystery that one!
Bit of a mystery that one!
The day we left Hobart was the only day that we were affected by rain, so much so that it prevented us from spending any time at Richmond, other than to take the obligatory photo of the famous Richmond Bridge when the rain eased momentarily.
As we were both keen to visit Freycinet National Park and take the climb to Wineglass Bay, we stayed the night at Bicheno on the east coast where we had a nice view from the balcony of our motel.
What a great day it turned out to be for our trip to Wineglass Bay. The day itself was simply perfect, both for the stunning view that eventuated and the comfort of the climb to the top, which is not at all difficult considering the sight that awaits you.
Wineglass Bay like Cradle Mountain, is a must for
those considering a trip to Tassie.
Graffiti Tassie style. Not quite sure just where this photo of a colourful water tower was taken, (although I think that it might have been George Town), but it sure beats the graffiti that we see just about everywhere in Melbourne these days.
We spent another two nights at St Helens before heading to Launceston for a one night stop. We stayed at a motel opposite the gardens, (yes, the gardens where they have the monkeys), and enjoyed a stroll through the City Gardens which were extremely well maintained.
The Launceston area is full of old buildings with great character,
(as are many of the nearby towns),
such as this one seven miles from the city.
On through Deloraine, (a really nice country town), to Chudleigh where we sampled and bought some of the honey that the area is famous for, in particular the honey from the Leatherwood Tree which has a really distinctive flavour.
Then a look at the Mole Creek Caves which "were great" but not as good
or interesting as other caves that we have been in.
but not as good or interesting as other caves that we have been in.
We spent our last night in Tassie at Devonport before taking the day ferry to Melbourne, after what was a most enjoyable couple of weeks in "The Apple Isle"
Although going to Tassie was pretty much a spur of the moment decision, we nevertheless made sure that our dates were such that we would be back in Melbourne for the first game of the footy season. BUT after a great NAB Cup, the game against Collingwood turned out to be a disappointment, with the Bulldogs letting us down on the day.
Has the bubble burst? Don't think so, but we do need to get back on the winners list as a matter of priority for both the team and Bulldog supporters. Hopefully this will occur this weekend Vs Richmond. PS: It did, so all is forgiven.
