Across the seas...

WE ARE IN TASMANIA!!!!

Our fears of a seasick journey across the Bass Strait were in vain as our trip was relatively smooth with a short period of three metre swells as we exited the harbour. It was pretty quick getting the car and trailer through security checks and onto the ship. Any periods of waiting were entertained by a mural van carrying six foreign backpackers, who decided to dispose of their illegal substances before boarding by smoking it all in the car park! Their van then broke down during the security check – all six backpackers piled out and push started the van into the docking area. The van then breaks down again as they are driving it onto the ship, so the attendant helps them push start it AGAIN, and they are ushered to the front of the queue, just in front of us – great! It was pretty funny though and kept us amused!

The boat trip was smooth sailing, for nine hours we took Quells, had naps and munched on ginger nut biscuits the whole way, keeping ourselves busy by playing ‘BananaGrams’- thanks Tina, great chrissy present!

Looking out on the Tamar River

We were warmly welcomed to Tassie by our new friends and generous hosts Paul and Carol, who we were introduced to over Christmas being my friend Brenda’s in-laws! When we arrived at Paul and Carols we were awed by the AMAZING view from their house which sits high up on the banks of the Tamar River. We were once again totally spoilt and thoroughly enjoyed their company as well as use of the guest unit, the spa with a view, great meals and bottomless cups of tea on the verandah watching the yachts and kayakers paddle past. While I slept off a bad cold, Stuart even spotted a seal swimming up the river! On the last day, I was starting to feel better, so we all took a drive to the quaint town of Evandale, browsed the Sunday antique markets and had lunch in a beautiful old pub with a walled beer garden.

Thanks to Paul and Carol, we will see you again in six weeks time!

We are now happy to report.... We are BACK living in our Cubby Camper! It feels like ages with the break in Melbourne over Christmas and New Year. We stocked up again on food and fuel and headed in a north-east direction to start circling Tassie in a clockwise direction over the next two months! Our first overnight stop was Waterhouse Conservation Reserve, which was a beautiful introduction to the remote and rugged Tasmanian coastline. We explored the waters edge at low tide and marvelled at the three very different and beautiful rock types that made up the beach. They seemed so ancient and fragile, but will probably be there for millions more years!

The next night we moved further east to a sandy beach camp in Mount William National Park. White sand and turquoise water so inviting you wanted to dive in.... except it was absolutely freezing! Only a mad man like Stuart would go for a dip at dusk to get clean! I, on the other hand, showered from a WARM bucket of water! Stuart also took the opportunity to do some fishing... no luck though!

This orange algae is on all of the coastal rocks

From Mt William NP we were into the Bay of Fires’ coastline. More stark white sand, turquoise waters and brilliant orange algae covering the large boulders scattered along the beaches. Stunning! We explored Eddystone Point which has an old lighthouse built in 1898 and then headed to Policemans Point which was full of campers, reminding us that it was school summer holidays. We took our time, further exploring the cluster of free beach camps around the centre of the Bay of Fires only to find ourselves struggling to find a campsite as late as 6pm (thanks to daylight saving it doesn’t get dark until 9pm!) Just as we were contemplating wedging ourselves in amongst the throngs we stumbled upon an isolated bush camp right on the bank of Big Lagoon! We had our own little swimming beach in the sheltered lagoon, whilst being able to listen to the pounding surf of Bay of Fires coastline in the background. We spent two nights here and a whole day of doing nothing without seeing another soul! Bliss!

After our day of rest, I felt thoroughly refreshed as we headed into the nearby town of St Helens to spend a couple of nights catching up on washing etc... And here we are! Tummies full of fresh local seafood – oysters and fish and chips (the fish was flathead for all the fishermen)!

"Which cheese should we buy?"

We spent today enjoying a bit more Tassie foodie goodness, with a trip to the nearby Pyengana Cheese Factory! We tasted all their variety of cheddar cheeses and were amazed at how the same type of cheese can be so different at the various ages – from six weeks to two years. Their Devils Cheese (with lots of spice and chilli) had my eyes watering and me in a coughing fit! - much to everyone's amusement! From there we headed up to St Columba Falls, which are the highest in Tasmania, finishing off the day with a beer at the 'Pub in a Paddock'?! Yes, it is just a pub in the middle of a paddock. It has been there since the late 1800’s when the owner's sons became more interested in beer than farming, so they just licensed the homestead! And why not!

We hope everyone is well in the New Year! Tassie weather is being very kind to us with predominately blue skies and only one brief shower of rain so far. Sounds like Perth is the other good place to be right now in this country. We certainly have seen some rain on our supposed ‘endless summer’ holiday, but counting ourselves very lucky to have avoided the flooding disasters happening to people in Queensland and Carnarvon!

Mish and Stu