Tasmania

Our journey down the north west coast took us along the Western Explorer - a gravel road only put through in 1995 which took us through remote wilderness scenery south of Arthur River and provided a chance to walk up Mt Donaldson for excellent views.

Corinna provided a relaxed base to enjoy a couple of walks and an afternoon kayaking on the Pieman River. The sunny pub verandah was the perfect spot to end the day.

Zeehan seemed a bit lost despite its excellent museum and the strangely moving Gaiety Theatre alongside which seemed to echo with the memories of more prosperous times. Strahan was more upbeat with its Gordon River cruises and the spectacular expanse of Ocean Beach. We had walked in the vast dune system north of there prior to camping nearby.

Queenstown bears the scars of its long mining history but was the gateway to the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers NP that protects a huge swathe of west central Tasmania. Lake King William provided a couple of nights of idyllic bush camping before we headed round to Mt Field NP.

This is the oldest in Tasmania and gave us the chance to walk high up in alpine scenery once more. A long and tiring walk took us above the tarns and round to K Col before a descent to other picturesque lakes and a fascinating old ski hut at Lake Twilight that contained relics from the early days of skiing in the area around the 1920's and 30's.

We are now in the Mt Field campsite on the eve of Australia Day so of course there is quite a buzz.

Dashboard lights blink occasionally but otherwise all is well at a practical level - the fresher conditions are very welcome and we have heard recently from a couple of people we have met during the course of our travels and kept up to date with their news.

Pictures as usual here and the Spot locations here - these update on a real time basis so even if the blog hasn't been updated this link will always give an idea of where we are on at least a daily basis.

Over to Tasmania

The day after the last post we decided to head to Melbourne early and try to get the alternator looked at. Thus we hopped over the Yarra Ranges which were discharging water to the plains at an alarming rate and arrived at a non main dealer VW garage. They referred us to an auto electrician down the road and they suggested we left the van with them for the day on Friday.

Thus we needed a pitch for the night so headed down the Mornington Peninsula to look for a space. For the first time on this trip we were faced with a long strip of municipal campsites jammed between the road and the beach which encircled this eastern side of Port Phillip Bay. Despite the heavy rain few people had left and we were unable to get a pitch so instead took a modest but comfy motel room.

On the Friday we dropped the van off, waited out the rain over lunch in an Italian restaurant and then hopped on the train in to Melbourne as the sun emerged to plan our full day on the Saturday. Finally back at the garage all was well apparently until we took a test drive where in fact we had lost all gauges and the speedo. Fortunately a quick fix saw us on the road again - the proprietor assuring us that all would be well. We drove down towards Brighton on the coast, took another morel room for the night and wandered round to a bar for a few beers in the evening sun.

On Saturday, the day of sailing, we parked near the ferry terminal noting with some annoyance that we still had a minor electrical glitch and then walked in to Melbourne centre to enjoy the Immigration Museum, the old trams and a walk along the swollen river admiring the soaring city architecture and older colonial buildings squeezed in between.

Early evening saw us lining up to drive on board where our cabin was situated right beneath the bridge with a wonderful view of all the action. The two hour sail out of the bay gave the sun time to set as we sat outside with a cold beer before retiring to enjoy a bit of telly and sleep soundly for a 5am wake up call.

This came on time and gave us time to enjoy the approach to Devonport as the sun rose. We disembarked and turned west stopping shortly to make calls home as it was a reasonable hour back home before we stocked up in Burnie as strict Tassie quarantine rules prevent the importation of fruit and veg.

We then meandered along the coast enjoying the lofty views from old volcanic outcrops at Table Cape with its lighthouse and Rocky Cape before staying the night at Black River.

Today we have continued west stopping to climb the Nut at pretty Stanley, pass Cape Grim ( inaccurately named ) with its 62 wind turbines and stop for the night at Green Point in Anne Bay, Marrawah where a trio of windsurfers were enjoying the terrific conditions.

Piccies Spotties

Victorian Alps

Our first few weeks of 2011 have been spent enjoying more of the Australian Alps with good walks to remote cattle musterers huts, a hot but memorable day up to Mt Hotham and a remarkable variety of Parks camp sites - each uniquely different but all providing a chance for a fire, often a solar shower and occasionally a swim. The earlier rains have promoted greenery and flowers helping to erase the scars of devastating fires in 2003 which covered vast areas of these high and inaccessible tops.

The rough tracks in to the remoter areas filled the van with dust but were otherwise adequate and took us to some very special places in which to spend the night - abandoned gold towns, musterers huts and high plains, deep valleys and dense woodlands. Occasional forays in to the towns for food, gas and fuel gave us the chance to meet friendly ordinary Australians and share their concerns for the people of flooded Queensland.

We head to Melbourne later this week - a minor alternator fault may hasten our progress - before we catch the overnight ferry to Tasmania for 4-6 weeks.

The scenery and wildlife continue to absorb us and we have enjoyed a prolonged dry spell which broke over the last day or two with spectacular storms in Howqua and heavy rain here at Lake Eildon.

Pictures by here and locations by there.

Happy New Year

New Year was seen in from the top of Mount Buffalo which provided welcome relief from temperatures in the high thirties down in Bright. We had met friends in historic Beechworth and very much enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the well preserved former gold mining town.

Previously we had crossed over the Bogong Plains from Omeo and enjoyed good walks including a circuit to the top of Mt Bogong taking some 8 hours. A night up at Buckety Plain had been our coldest here but a roaring fire took the edge off and we dug out Sarah's hot water bottle!

It is the height of the summer holidays here so places are busier but we intend to head to quieter parts of the Alpine Park drifting towards Melbourne for the ferry two weeks today.

We are both well and enjoy hearing from folks back home where the rise in temperatures must be welcome - Happy New Year to all.

Links to photos and locations as usual

A Yuletide Log

Our return to the hills started with a night at Goongerah where we sampled kangaroo courtesy of a group of lads living a somewhat itinerant lifestyle - it may well have been roadkill but was nevertheless delicious. We then followed the Barry Way which took us through wonderful upland scenery to McKillops Bridge on the Snowy River where a good day walk and an empty camping area provided a memorable stay.

The route along the Snowy River valley to Jindabyne passed through mountains and eucalyptus woods that had been totally destroyed in the 2003 bushfires. New growth was evident everywhere but the bare white trunks of dead trees stretched as far as the eye could see covering every ridge and valley.

From Jindabyne where we had a powered site as the temperature had dropped sharply we travelled via Adaminaby to collect some mail and then headed over the tops via Kiandra to Yarrangabilly caves which provided a couple of good walks. Fresh snow lay on the tops despite it being the summer solstice but the forecast was improving so we headed out on Long Plain Road to visit a number of historic drovers huts and to observe herds of brumbies (wild horses).

During a night back at 3 Mile Dam we saw the lunar eclipse as the skies had cleared to give a cold but spectacular night.

Cabramurra - Australia's highest town - had a surreal feeling with snow drifts melting under the hot sun after which we dropped to sleepy Khancoban before pulling in to the Tom Groggin camping area where the kangaroos were surprisingly approachable.

Up at Thredbo we enjoyed a chair lift to the plateau above the valley that gave us access to the four hour return walk across to Kosciuszco's summit at 2223m ASL. Panoramic views across the nearby snow covered tops dissolved in to the lower foothills that seemed to stretch to infinity covering much of the area we have explored over the last fortnight.

The Christmas weekend is approaching so we intend to walk in the Perisher/Charlotte Pass area before the holiday makers arrive and then head through less popular areas towards Melbourne.

Wishing everyone a good Christmas and Happy New Year with photos here and our various locations here.

Mountains and Coast

Sarah enjoyed an excellent few days riding in the Snowy Mountains high country with good camps, good company and sightings of brumbies whilst I hunkered down at Mount Selwyn with a couple of walks completed.

After meeting Silwyn for a boozy night at Jindabyne we headed to the NSW/Victoria coast again to enjoy empty beaches, peaceful camping areas and a variety of reptiles and mammals. The lighthouses that protect the coast made good focal ( ha ha) points to aim for - one was best reached by bike followed by a swim in the clear waters of West Bay.

We now head via Orbost to the hills again as we expect Christmas to be busier on the coast and will then follow the ranges south west to Melbourne where we have booked the ferry to Tasmania for mid January. A de luxe cabin each way and a flexible return date will do as our Xmas pressies to each other - on which note we wish all at home a very Happy Christmas.

Pictures and SPOTS and Horse PIctures courtesy of Sarah here

South East New South Wales

Well the last ten days or so have been diverse to say the least. A visit to the magical beaches of Jervis Bay preceeded a very enjoyable stay with a couple we had met in Gloucester Tops. Their comfortable house and excellent hospitality was followed by an invite to a memorable Xmas function where we danced the night away until the small hours.
A couple of unsettled days followed which saw us hunkering down in one site as the road was too slippery to get out, a peaceful night in the Congo with a lovely walk on the Bingi Bingi track from which we saw several sea eagles and a pod of dolphins from the beach and three hours spent assisting a stranded van to get out of a very muddy track followed by a night at Dalmeny to get ourselves cleaned up and clothing washed. The excellent coastal location offered good views but the overnight wind and rain rocked the van alarmingly at times.
A variety of beaches and bays were visited with Naroomba providing a boardwalk out to the harbour entrance where a seal was playing and pelicans on the return trip were waiting for scraps from local fishermen.
Mystery Bay provided quiet bush camping where we met a guy from Orange who has travelled extensively in Europe and is now exploring Australia - he had loads of useful tips for Tasmania and the rest of our planned itinerary.
Central Tilba was a well preserved and interesting historical village with traditional wooden buildings set in granite hills
The whale museum at Eden was well worth a visit with plenty of interest and we are now in Bournda NP having back tracked slightly as tomorrow we head inland for the start of Sarah's riding trip. We took the bikes around the local tracks and lakes for a couple of hours this evening - considering they have been out in all weathers for over a year now and regularly exposed to mud, dust and dirt they were in good mechanical order.
We have very much taken to Australia and although the locals feel summer has yet to start for us it is quite hot enough - even when it rains it is still warm to us. Images of a wintry Britain remind us how lucky we are - the Christmas decorations here look somewhat incongruous when people are in shorts and T shirts.

Spot the pictures here and picture the SPOT here