📍 Australia Baca lagi
  • Hari 25

    Ben Lomond to Launceston

    25 September 2022, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    We got going early again this morning and headed into Perth and found a little shelter with a bbq to make bacon and eggs for breakfast 😋.

    Then headed out to Ben Lomond NP to find that the top of the mountain was covered in cloud, but I was hopeful that it would clear by the time we got to the top.

    It was a pretty drive there through Evendale and then very green sheep pastures. The new spring lambs are running around the paddocks following their mothers, they really are so cute.

    The drive up Jacobs Ladder wasn't as bad as we were expecting (no worse than going up Bellthorpe range!) But the sheer rock cliffs are just spectacular. It's hard to take it all in, the cloud around just added to the atmosphere.

    We drove up to the ski resort which is basically closed down for the season now apart from the Cafe that is closing next week till the new ski season.

    We weren't sure if it was worth doing the 3.5 km trail due to the cloud but set off to have a look anyway. The trail was beautiful, lots of lovely different grasses and moss covering the ground and the rocks have orange and black moss markings as well. After coming across a couple of old huts we headed up to the summit (1572m) pretty much climbing over largish rocks the whole way up. We got to the top just before a big cloud bank came and enveloped us and completely whited everything out!

    I was glad Bart had his GAIA app running to see which direction to start heading to get back down. Instead of going back down the way we came up, we made our way down the other side of the summit following what we thought was the path but ended up being animal paths 😄 but we made it, without getting our feet too wet.

    It ended up being a great walk, but will be good to come back again and do it in summer because apparently on a fine day you can see all the way to Cradle Mountain.

    We left Ben Lomond (after stopping in the camping area to make some lunch) and headed towards Launceston. Thought we'd go and do the Cataract gorge walk but you have to pay to park, and once again we forgot it was Sunday! So we headed up to the Sentinel lookout which is a short 2km walk (though our watches said 1.6km) down to a cantilevered platform lookout.

    I'm standing there taking a photo and Bart just has to walk up behind me and start jumping (yes you can see through the floor) 🙄 seriously can't help himself. He thinks it's hilarious 🤦🏽‍♀️

    We decided to find accommodation in Launceston so we could leave the car there and have a look around tomorrow before heading to Devonport to get on the Spirit. Found a quaint historic hotel The Art Hotel that used to be a bakery, built and run by a convict.

    Last night here, has been such a wonderful trip hard to think it's coming to an end!
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  • Hari 24

    Ross to Symmonds Plains

    24 September 2022, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Ross was our next stop, this town is so pretty and well worth the detour off the highway. It's full of beautiful old buildings and the streets are tree lined. We walked around the main street, down to the picturesque bridge that we came over coming into the town, up to the beautiful Uniting Church on top of the hill, then down to the Convict Female Factory that had heaps of information inside.

    Bart said the whole area both Oatlands and Ross reminded him so much of England and said I didn't need to visit there now 🙄 don't think he gets out of it that easily 😄.

    We left Ross to head to Campbell Town for a free overnight camp only to find it was closed due to flooding when we got there. So we got back onto wikicamps and found that the Symonds Plains racetrack had camping available if you were self contained, so I called to check and yes they were happy for us to use it. We are now set up next to the racetrack for the night (and the only ones here 🤗)

    Tomorrow we are hoping to climb Ben Lomond before heading towards Devonport. Our adventure here is all too quickly coming to an end 😭
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  • Hari 24

    Oatlands & Tunbridge

    24 September 2022, Australia ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    The rain didn't let up all night so my cute husband packed up the rooftop this morning in the rain (again 🙄) There wasn't even a shelter nearby to have breakfast in, so we went looking for a Cafe. Fortunately we found one open (everything else in the town opens at 10am!).

    After breakfast the rain had eased to a drizzle so we headed down towards the History Room museum and found a little cottage that was 'open for inspection' it was actually being auctioned off today so we had a look inside. Oh boy, the entire inside would have had to be redone to make it liveable, but you could have made it super quaint. It did sell for $380k.

    Then called into Callington Mill Distillery and sampled some of their whisky which ended up being the cheapest whisky to purchase so far in Tasmania.

    The History Room opened at 10am and the gentleman manning it today was so helpful, he had grown up in the area and took us around the displays explaining each of them to us and giving background information along the way. He then gave us a key fob (after leaving a refundable deposit with him) which gave us access to the Court House, Gaol and the Commissariat. You can just go let yourself in and have a look around these old buildings. It was excellent.

    We ended up spending so much more time than we expected to in Oatlands as there's so much interesting history there. We had savoury crepes for lunch from the pancake and crepe shop. The owners were from Brisbane too and gave us a bonus of scones, jam and cream to take with us!

    We headed up the road and detoured off the highway to look at Tunbridge which has the oldest wooden surfaced bridge in Australia. It's currently closed for renovations but still good to check out.
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  • Hari 23

    Hobart to Oatlands

    23 September 2022, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    This morning (after a not so great experience at a Big 4 caravan park) we got up early and headed back to Hobart. We only went in there so we could get some laundry done, but even that was sooo expensive in comparison to other places.

    Back in Hobart, we decided to split up, Bart went to the Maritime Museum while I had a look around the city then I met him and we went though the Tasmanian Museum (which was free 🤗).

    After a lovely lunch at Mures on the wharf we headed north, stopping at the Killara Distillery that we had been recommended to stop at by our Accountant while we were here.

    Kristy who owns it is the daughter of the Lark Distillery owners so grew up in the industry. Because we were the only ones there we got the full tour and even got to taste the whisky prior to it being barrelled. It was also the first distillery we've been to that we weren't charged to taste the Whisky and Gin!

    We headed onto Oatlands our stop for tonight to another freecamp near a lake. So much nicer than a sterile caravan park, where everyone is jammed in next to each other!

    The rain started when we arrived so we'll explore this place tomorrow when it's hopefully drier 🤞 Oatlands has the most sandstone homes from the colonial period in Australia. The Callington Mill Distillery is also here.

    Fun fact, the longest serving hangman in the British Empire lived in Oatlands. He was an ex convict and worked as a hangman from 25 to his last hanging at 71! He was paid per person that he hung and was sent all over Tasmania hanging people! 😬
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  • Hari 22

    Cape Raoul Track

    22 September 2022, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    This morning was our last on the Tasman Peninsula, so we thought we'd do the Cape Raoul Track that Cyndy told us about 🤗.

    The track is part of the Three Capes Track. We ended up walking 16kms, after adding in the seal lookout and took us 4 hours (with stopping a number of times to admire the view).

    The Track starts by going through a mixed forest of eucalyptus and rainforest trees before opening to the first lookout which is spectacular. You then follow the cliff line (though you feel safe because there is a small stand of trees between you and the cliff edge 😄) before coming out onto a plain that is covered in shorter more dense trees and shrubs.

    The paddymelons don't mind you walking past them at all and just hop off the track for you to walk by.

    Cape Raoul is just amazing, we stopped here to have a sandwich (lovingly made and packed by my husband 🥰) and then headed around to seal lookout, where you can see and hear the seals down below. It also gives you a great vantage point of Cape Raoul.

    You head back the same way you came so our return trip was quite a bit quicker.

    We had one more stop to make before leaving the area and the was to the Remarkable Cave. It's a very short 10 minute return walk, but I was disappointed that you can't actually get down to the cave floor. They have board walk that you have to stay on now 🤷🏽‍♀️🙄.

    Now it's time to start heading north once more.
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  • Hari 21

    Port Arthur

    21 September 2022, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After we got back from the cruise we headed down to Port Arthur and made lunch in the carpark before heading in (it's so handy being able to make toasted sandwiches in the Cruiser)

    We found out that it's $47 per adult to enter but if you waited till 3:30 it was only $25 per person. Seeing it was 2:30 we figured we'd wait for an hour before heading in and go for a drive around the area .

    We walked in on the dot of 3:30 and ended up doing a whirlwind tour 😄 I'd heard that it was just very touristy and wasn't expecting much so was pleasantly surprised at how much we both enjoyed looking around.

    After going to Norfolk Island a couple of years ago there was quite a bit of history that obviously related to what we had seen there.

    It's great to see how they are maintaining the buildings and just the sheer scale of them. I just love the thickness of the walls!

    It's hard to believe such a beautiful place had such a violent past.

    The open air memorial at the Briad Arrow Cafe, for those that were killed in the 1996 massacre is nicely done as well.

    It was a great end to the day after the mornings cruise.
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  • Hari 21

    Tasman Island Cruise

    21 September 2022, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    This morning we had a Tasman Island cruise booked with Pennicott Tours which was exciting. But what ended up being more exciting was that our rooftop tent was dry this morning when we got up! The first time in 21 days we have been able to pack up the tent dry 😄 Bart was stoked!

    The Cruise starts in Stewart Bay just outside of Port Arthur.

    It was fantastic. Just as we got out of Stewart Bay we came across a huge pod of dolphins who were feeding which was so great to watch, then they headed out along the magnificent coastline of steep cliffs, weaving in and out of rock pillars. It was so good.

    Bart and I managed to get the two front seats on the boat so we had a great view, but when the boat would stop to look at a sight the water would rush in around our feet 😄 we quickly learnt to keep our feet up on the side ledges.

    We even came across a couple of humpback whales 🤗 which we watched playing for a while. But as the boat turned a rather largish wave came over the bow and covered both of us and the couple sitting behind us as well. Fortunately you get waterproof jackets when you board. But the one size fits most doesn't apply to my husband who ended up wetter than the rest of us 😨.

    The scenery was fantastic and on our way back in the dolphins found us again so we spent the last 10 minutes watching them frolick around the boat.

    If your ever in this area I'd highly recommend this tour.
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  • Hari 20

    Hobart to White Beach

    20 September 2022, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We walked down to Customs House Hotel last night for tea which was so nice. It worked out well because they had a scallops 2 course special (seafood chowder and curried scallops on rice) which suited Bart to a T 🤗

    We then meandered back to the B&B through the narrow, dimly lit streets, admiring the beautiful old homes in the area.

    This morning we checked out of our room (they were happy for us to leave the 79 in their carpark, yay!) and headed off to find somewhere to get breakfast and have a look around.

    I think it was the best way to see the area, there are little plaques on a lot of the houses giving you the history of the property, we had such a great morning walking around Battery Point reading up on the history on a lot of the homes, most dating back to the early 1800's. Then headed down to Salamanca, along the wharfs and into Hobart.

    In fact the oldest registered B&B in Australia is at Battery Point and is called Barton Cottage.

    We called into the Lark Distillery which is the oldest whiskey distillery in Tasmania. The founder even had to get the laws changed so he could legally make whiskey, as the production of whiskey in Tasmania had been banned for over 150 years.

    After some lunch at a little Cafe we headed back to the car and headed down to White Beach Tourist park which is 10 minutes from Port Arthur.

    Tomorrow morning we head off on the Tasman Cruise with Pennicott Wilderness Tours and then have a look around Port Arthur.
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  • Hari 19

    Mount Wellington

    19 September 2022, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    We were planning to head south to do the South Cape walk, but after reading a few reviews it didn't seem that great so we decided we'll add Port Arthur into this trip, but was too far to head today.

    After getting off the ferry at Kettering we thought we'd try Mount Wellington again, seeing we didn't get up there yesterday and we wouldn't be coming back past again so it was today or next trip 😄

    We headed back up the windy road for 10kms.

    The peek is 1,224m above sea level and on average 10 degrees colder than down in Hobart. When we were up there it was 3.7° but felt like -4.5° 🥶

    The view is spectacular and well worth the drive up. I would have loved to get to the Pipe Organs but it was a 3 hour return walk. We walked about 20 minutes down the track to get a little closer but you didn't get a good photo from there. It's a next time walk.

    Instead of driving to the other side of Hobart to find somewhere to camp I started looking for somewhere to stay for the night and found a cute B&B called the Battery Point Manor, which was originally built for a prominent family back in 1834.

    And it's walking distance to the Salamanca district. Will have a look around the area in the morning.
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  • Hari 19

    Bruny Island walks

    19 September 2022, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    We set the alarm for 4.50am and at 4.30am it started raining! So Bart packed up the rooftop tent in the dark and in the rain 🙄 all because I was wanting to get a photo of the sunrise from the Truganini Lookout.

    It stopped raining when we arrived 15 minutes before sunrise and walked to the top but then the heavens opened again. The sun didn't end up coming out till I'd walked back down (Bart gave up well before me 😄) to the beach, which meant I had to run back but only did half of the lookout walk to get a photo.

    We drove around to Adventure Bay to the start of the Fluted Cape walk and had breakfast before heading off.

    The track starts along a black sand beach before heading up. The track was super muddy and it was the first day I chose to wear joggers instead of my boots 🤦🏽‍♀️ and white ones at that 😭 they were black by the end of the circuit.

    We did the circuit anticlockwise, hoping the track going up would be less muddy, it wasn't! It was muddy pretty much the whole way up. I was really hoping it was going to be worth it, since I'd talked Bart into doing it 😬 It was!

    We got to the top and were only disappointed that we hadn't brought the done up with us. It was magnificent! Scary a bit (for me) but breathtaking. Bart enjoyed heading out to the edge just to make me freak out 🙄

    We headed back down along the cliff edge which was much nicer than the middle track we had come up. We even saw a wallaby with a baby joey just chilling alongside the track.

    This is a track I would definitely not take children up unless you want to come back with less! The dropoffs are huge and there is no protection whatsoever. But well worth doing. It was a 7km loop and took us 2.5 hours, but if the track was dry you could knock half an hour off that time and that was with taking a lot of stops to admire the view.

    We stopped in at Bruny Island Cruises for a coffee before heading back across the island towards the Ferry. On the way we stopped at Get Shucked, oyster farmers that sell direct to the public for a late oyster morning tea 🤗

    Now on the ferry headed back to the mainland.
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