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Tasmania 2023

October 2023 - April 2024
Tasmania and a few nights in Melbourne Read more
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  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    Day 1

    Tight Transit Times

    October 20, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Today was a travel day. I originally booked Perth to Hobart direct but Qantas changed the itinerary to Perth - Melbourne - Hobart with 45 minutes transit time in Melbourne. When asked the Qantas customer service representative told me I only needed 40 minutes to transit in Melbourne. No worries then!
    I booked business class using points and it was lovely. It’s the first time I’ve travelled business domestically and I could get used to it.
    Had a few panicky minutes when it came time to board. My ticket was flagged “unable to board”. After confirming I wasn’t staff or from an earlier cancelled flight I was told my entertainment system didn’t work. I had to reassure them twice that it was okay and I’d still get on the flight. I had my iPad but hadn’t brought headphones so spent the flight reading, looking out the window and messaging a couple of friends. I’m sure the pointy end gets there quicker as the flight went quite quickly.

    We were late leaving Perth but early reaching Melbourne airspace. We were put in a holding pattern and landed 20 minutes late. I was stressing as the arrival gate was basically as far as it could be from the arrival gate. I was first in line to get off the plane which is unusual for me, I usually let everyone walk past. Then there was a problem with the gangway or whatever it is called. Another 5 minutes while that was sorted out. The plane staff member waiting to let us off the plane said there were 50 of us transiting to Hobart so I calmed down. I arrived at the gate as boarding started.

    We ended up leaving half an hour late and after a quick flight I landed in Hobart at 9pm. I opted to take the Skybus into the city as they said they could drop me at my accommodation (it’s not a standard stop). When I looked at my ticket he’d charged me as a senior! Not sure whether the stress of the day was showing or he was being kind.

    A friend has just pointed out that Tasmania is expecting some wild weather this weekend so my plans may be all in disarray. I’m sure whatever I end up doing it will be good.    Read more

  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    2222
    Day 2

    Tours of Hobart

    October 21, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    The forecast was for 20-40mm of rain today but up until about 4pm when I was walking back to the hotel it was mostly just drizzle.

    I started the day at the Salamanca Markets. Visiting the markets was the reason I arrived on a Friday. There was lots of Tasmanian produce but a large proportion was alcohol (gin and whisky) and honey. I did make some purchases - flavoured salts and some goats cheese.

    The markets were followed by the hop on hop off bus. Fortunately there weren’t many people on the bus as it was too wet to sit upstairs in the open. I got off at the Cascades Brewery and walked down to the Cascades Female Factory. The walk was very pretty. I made it just in time for a tour. It was fascinating and sobering at the same time. Women, and poor women in particular as well as their children were not treated well in Van Diemen’s land. There isn’t much left of the actual buildings but they’ve done a great job with recreating the atmosphere of the site.

    I was back in the city about 1:40pm and had looked at several options for what to do next. My first two choices weren’t running (perhaps due to the weather) but a boat tour of the harbour had availability. I had some time so went around the corner to the replica of Mawson’s hut. The 1911-14 expedition left from across the road of the replica hut. This was also quite a sobering experience but did justice to the men who took part in the expedition.

    The harbour cruise was interesting, we went north under the Tasman bridge and around a few bays. I may have seen a fur seal. The tour leader pointed it out on some rocks however he was at the front of the boat and we were at the back so it took a little while for us to go past it. He did say it was blending into the rock so I’m still not sure whether what I saw was a seal or a rock.

    On our return I headed back to Salamanca Place and took a look at the Tassel Salmon shop but didn’t find anything interesting enough to purchase. I went around the corner to pick up something for dinner. Going out for dinner was originally in the plan but I was tired and the rain is expected to get worse so eating in seemed the better option. I did purchase some smoked wallaby. Tasmania is the only place you can legally prepare Wally for human consumption. It was nice, very similar to other smoked meats. I definitely recommend it.    Read more

  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    11111
    Day 3

    Up the mountain and around the town

    October 22, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    Today started with a trip to the Farm Gate Markets. They were literally around the corner from where I’m staying. They are more my kind of markets than the Salamanca markets. Everything has to be grown, produced or made by the stall holders. I bought some slow cooked beef, various small goods, sauerkraut, seeded crackers, and cheese.

    After putting all the shopping away I headed back to the Brooke st Pier to catch the bus to kunanyi/Mt Wellington. It was a lovely drive of about 45 minutes. There were some gorgeous rhododendrons in gardens on the way up. I’m glad I didn’t try and drive up myself. The road is quite narrow and very windy. The driver was very informative and had lots of stories.

    The view on the way up and up at the top was fantastic. It was cold but a bracing cold and not unbearable. I was really lucky with the weather as it was a fine day, unlike yesterday which drizzled all night and a storm came through during the night. One of the buildings on the waterfront was hit by lightning and a fire started. We couldn’t see Cradle Mountain but we could still see pretty far.

    I had a late lunch at the hotel after returning and then had a rest. I’m reading a book set in Hobart in the 1880s and some of the characters live at the Springs partway up Mt Wellington. Today really put a lot of that in context although I can’t imagine regularly walking into Hobart from halfway up the mountain. There is a half marathon “Point to Pinnacle” that operates in November. The runners run from the Wrest Point Casino to the top of the mountain. We saw some people possibly training for that on our way up.

    I got a bit sidetracked by the book (to the surprise of no one who knows me well) and it was close to three before I got going again. I went down to the shopping precinct to buy some sunglasses as I left mine at home. I don’t wear them all that much but will need them for upcoming boat trips. I wandered around looking for the cat and the fiddle clock that is in the area. I found the arcade but not the actual clock despite going round in circles several times.

    Back to the hotel for a shower and then down to the Drunken Admiral for a seafood dinner. I had kingfish sashimi followed buy salmon in tomato, capers and olives. I can tick eat salmon in Tasmania off my to do list.
    I walked around the port looking at restored yachts and reading the various information signs. I could hear church bells in the distance that had been going to a while. I tracked them down to St David’s Cathedral. Apparently there was a visiting band who were playing. It was very loud as you got close.

    I pick up my hire car tomorrow and start exploring the rest of the island.    Read more

  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    Day 4

    Leaving Hobart

    October 23, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    The driving portion of my trip started today. I was allocated a MG ZS. It’s very roomy and nice to drive. The windscreen wipers and indicators are on the opposite side but it didn’t take as long as I thought to get used to that.

    I’m heading clockwise around the island, not really going south of Hobart. There’s a lot I’m not going to get to see but there’s a lot I will see. I wanted to drive across the Tasman bridge so set google maps for a Woollies on the other side of the river. I wanted to pick up a few things, I could only only find some as it was a very small Woollies. I found the important stuff though. I then followed the Derwent river basically to New Norfolk. It was a pretty drive and followed the river very closely. I crossed back over the river at New Norfolk. It’s is one of the older towns in Tasmania and has quite a few Antique shops as well as the Australia’s longest continuously running insane asylum. I wandered around the outside of the insane asylum and then through the town.

    A few minutes down the road is Salmon Ponds on the river Plenty. It’s was started as a salmon and trout hatchery. Given salmon are migratory they thought they’d come back to spawn but they didn’t so it evolved into a trout hatchery and still runs as such. I had lunch there - smoked salmon salad. I suspect it’s the same smoked salmon I can buy at the supermarkets in Perth but it was still good. Each pond has a different type of trout (one has Atlantic salmon). It was really interesting and I took some fish food so could see them come to the surface. They also had a trout fishing museum. Not somewhere that I would necessarily stop to visit but interesting enough.

    Time was moving along so I headed along to Russell Falls which was the main goal of the day. They were amazing. A reasonably short walk from the visitor centre. The environment was very damp and cool. I then took a drive towards Dobson Lake as it had a couple of sightseeing points up the mountain. The sign said it the road wasn’t suitable for caravans, motor homes or coaches so I thought I’d be fine. Yeah nah. The road was very narrow and rutted in places. The first viewing site was 5kms into the 15km drive and I turned around there. Luckily I did stop there as while I was taking photos two vehicles passed me heading down. I would have met them on the way if I hadn’t stopped. The view was amazing but I’ll be more prudent in future.

    I’m staying in Maydena tonight. A little weatherboard cottage with a much better view than my hotel in Hobart.    Read more

  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    Day 5

    Highland Lakes and Wild Weather

    October 24, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 6 °C

    I’ve driven less than 300km today but it feels like so much further. I’ve read so much about how you can’t use the distance to judge driving times and the roads are very windy but it was the constant concentration needed that took me by surprise. I was regularly doing 20-40km/hr under the posted limit. Fortunately there was a lot of traffic in either direction. A couple of times this morning I pulled over to let other vehicles pass me rather than sit behind me. It was not only going up and down mountains but the zigzagging as I drove that added to the physical and mental concentration.

    I didn’t have any firm plans for today other than drive to Strahan and maybe do a walk at Lake St Clair.
    The main area I travelled through is known as Highland Lakes and there were lots and lots of lakes. All so pretty and some formed through the hydro electricity projects.
    I stopped at the The Wall in the Wildness just before Derwent Bridge. It’s a wall of carved wood panels depicting Tasmanian history, heritage and culture. The work is incredible. No photos from the inside as we were requested not to take photos.

    Lake St. Clair was next up. They had a short walk in the forrest that I had half planned on doing. While I had some lunch the weather really picked up with some rain and lots of wind. At the visitor centre I was advised not to do the walk through the forrest due to the severe weather warning. I opted to do a walk along the lakeside instead. The wind and the waves made a lot of noise. I was glad I wasn’t walking from Cradle mountain to lake St Clair as many who end up there do. After the walk I did go and take a look at the beginning of the forrest walks. Listening to the wind and the creaking trees I was glad I took the advice to do the lake walk.

    I then headed to Queenstown, stopping and various lookouts on the way. I stopped at lake Burbury and the wind there was intense.
    The winding road leading into Queenstown was the most extreme of the day.
    I did a quick shop in Queenstown and got some fuel. I’m aiming to fill up when I get to half a tank as I can’t rely on fuel always being available. Cheap Tuesday isn’t a thing in Tasmania, I paid $2.18/L.
    I got into Strahan after 6, had a look around the harbour and then came to the accommodation. Very glad I picked up supplies for dinner as the weather has picked up and I’m quite happy to stay in. The next few days the weather is not great but I think that’s just travel I’m Tasmania.    Read more

  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    Day 6

    Gordon River Explorations

    October 25, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    It was a very wet and cold morning this morning. I had booked the World Heritage Cruise down the Gordon River. It wasn’t the ideal day for it but still a great experience.

    We went out to the entrance of the Macquarie Harbour through Hell’s Gates before heading back down the harbour. While the sky was very grey the rain was sporadic and fairly light. That seems to be the rain in Tasmania, frequent but light.
    We stopped at Sarah Island which was a secondary penal colony (you got sent there if you committed crimes as a convict). Not the finest point of Tasmanian history. Even putting aside the 21st century lens I’m viewing the history through the first 7 years of the colony were extremely brutal. It was a small island for a colony and I’m keen to read more about it. We continued towards the end of the harbour and into the Gordon River, learning about the history, the significance of the Huon pines and the threat of the Franklin Dam.

    We got off again at Heritage Landing and saw examples of the various trees in a cool rainforest and learnt more about the life of the Toogee people of the area. It was a long day but thoroughly worth it.

    This evening I attended a performance of The Ship That Never Was. I hadn’t realised it relied heavily on audience participation until I was speaking to the woman I sat next to on the boat. All I knew was it was heavily recommended. The two things to do in Strahan are the Gordon River cruise and The Ship That Never Was. I thought if I sat up the back I’d be safe. The play is performed in an outdoor but protected amphitheater. It was cold. So cold. They provided blankets and hand hot water bottles.
    The bloke next to me and I were the first two audience members to be chosen to participate. All we had to do was be booed at. If you’ve been there I’m sure you know the role I was cast in. The two cast members are extremely good at reading people as they seemed to make great choices for each character. It was a great experience and highly recommended.

    After the play I went out to Ocean Beach to see the sunset. It was obscured by clouds but still a nice view.    Read more

  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    1111
    Day 7

    Snow Capped Mountains and Waterfalls

    October 26, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    A more relaxed start to the day today as I didn’t have any firm plans. I started with a walk to Hogarth Falls in Strahan. It was a nice walk through the bush to the falls. While not as magnificent as Russell Falls they were still pretty good. The path there follows Botanical Creek. The water is brown due to tannins from button grass which is in the catchment area.
    On the way back I think a saw a live pademelon. I’ve seen plenty of roadkill including a wombat but no live mammals. Initially I thought it was a wallaby but googling suggested it was more likely to be a pademelon due to its size. It was on the path as I came around a corner but soon took off.

    Next stop was Horsetail Falls out of Queenstown. On the way I could see snow on the tops of the mountains. On the walk to the falls I met two men from the area who confirmed the weather is very unseasonable. The path was on the side of a mountain and it was really cold. Probably the coldest I’ve been so far and that is saying something. The area has regenerated over the last 20 years or more. The side of the mountain used to be known as the Moonscape as it was so barren. Many of the old mining and forestry towns are rebranding as mountain biking attractions.

    After some lunch in Queenstown I headed up to Zeehan. It’s a beautiful old mining town with some beautiful buildings. I was too late to visit the museum but hopefully I’ll get there on Saturday. I wandered into a second hand shop and had a lovely chat with the lady there. She also confirmed the weather was unseasonably cold. Both this woman and the men I met commented on my coat thinking I’d purchased it in Tasmania. I actually bought it before my trip to Europe in 2016 so I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth.

    A drive back to Strahan for an early dinner before coming back to the accommodation to make a quiche for tomorrow night. I’ll be back late as I’m doing a sunset tour and will want something quick.    Read more

  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    11112
    Day 8

    Queenstown - Mining Town

    October 27, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Today originally was planned to take the West Coast Heritage Railway from Strahan to Queenstown but the track is still undergoing the maintenance from the winter closure. Instead I started down at the Strahan railway station and took a look at the museum there. Back to my accommodation to hang out some washing then into Queenstown. Had some lunch and took a look at the Queenstown railway station. From there I went to the Galley Museum which has 19 rooms of stuff ranging from mining to every day living. I’m sure they’ve never said no to a donation and most of it has been there from the 80s with tiny typewritten explanations for the photos. Other parts had no information at all. It was interesting though. I was starting to build a picture of the copper mine and the impact it had on the community.

    I went out east of Queenstown to the Iron Blow lookout which is the site of the original copper mine. The lookout is a boardwalk out over the mine, quite disconcerting. Great views though. Then to Linda to see the burnt out hotel.

    Back in Queenstown I went up to the Spion Kopf lookout. It was quite a steep walk up but gave great views of the town.

    The Paragon Theatre is showing a film about the Franklin Dam blockade. It’s told by the son of one one of the demonstrators and gives a great overview of the situation. Bob Brown features quite heavily and it was interesting to here from him.

    Once the film finished I had booked a 4x4 tour of Mt Owen, one of mountains that tours over the town. I was the only one on the tour. It was half price because the government had provided funding as there has been a downturn in tourism due to the railway not running. The railway is a government initiative. So that worked out for me. I did wonder if it would be just me and the driver but wasn’t sure about that from an OSH point of view. One of the other employees and her partner also came along. I wasn’t sure if the partner was a tourist or not but when insisted I sit in the front I assumed I was the only paying guest.

    The tour was fantastic. Mt Owen is just out of town and is home to the Horsetail falls and various mountain bike tracks. The 4x4 is more for the incline of the road as it is all bitumenised although they’ve just redone a very steep part of it which had been quite rutted and one of the other employees had declined to drive up there. The views were great. I could see the Macquarie harbour (Strahan was hidden), the Southern Ocean, Cradle Mountain, Frenchman’s peak, Mt Dundas and lots of other peaks I don’t remember the name of. We could also hear the sound of the melted snow running off the mountain.
    The copper mine used pyritic smelting of the ore to get the copper. This lead to sulphur being released into the atmosphere and the heavy rainfall lead to sulphur getting into the soil. What trees weren’t felled for the timber died from the acid rain. The oval in the town is gravel because you couldn’t grow grass there. I saw several reference to “gravel not grass” regarding the local football team.
    The pyritic smelting stopped around 1970 and the environment is gradually recovering. There is reed grass and small bushes at the top and we saw two lots of two bonnet’s wallabies on the way down the mountain.

    Cloud did get in the way of the sunset but the bright moon in the opposite direction made up for it. That cloud will apparently bring 20mm of rain from midday tomorrow. I’ll be gone by then.
    I’m glad I did the tour as it was nice to chat to a local who and a lot of information. We got back to the Paragon Theatre (they run both the theatre and tours) after 8:30 (sunset was 7:55) and by the time I got going it was 9pm. It took me 50 minutes to drive back to Strahan. I only met one vehicle coming the other way - there hasn’t been a lot of traffic on the roads anywhere - and I saw just two wallabies, both safely on the side of the road and showing no interest in crossing the road.    Read more

  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    1111111
    Day 9

    Steam train and nocturnal animals

    October 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    I’m currently at my accommodation at Cradle Mountain. I’m doing a night spotting tour at 8:30pm so thought I’d make a start on this rather than leaving it all until after I get back.

    I went from Strahan to Zeehan to start with. I went to the West Coast Heritage Centre which has a lot of information in it. Mainly mining and history of the area. I’d not realised just how much mining went on and still goes on in Tasmania before I visited. I could have spent much longer there but I restricted myself to just an hour or so.

    Next up was Tullah although I did stop in Rosebery to look at the Stitts falls. They were pretty but minor compared to the others I’ve seen. Rosebery has an operating mine which is mainly zinc and lead. The infrastructure is very visible.
    Tullah has a steam train (a relic from the mining days) that only operates two weekends a month. Fortunately this weekend is one of those weekends. So while I missed the west coast railway in Strahan/Queenstown I did get a train ride.
    I timed my arrival to find the train at the station although we had to wait for the driver to finish his lunch. The ticket seller was making everyone toasties.
    The trip was quite short but interesting. There was only one other passenger on the way down plus a volunteer. The other passenger knew enough to ask interesting questions so I just listened to the conversation. At the turn around we pick up two blokes who had stopped to look at the train. The volunteer offered them a ride. They had to walk back though as the volunteers were worried about a bearing and I think this trip was going to be the last of the day. They were planning to replace the bearing tonight.

    I picked up some lunch and had it at Macintosh dam. The wind really started to pick up while I was there. Most of the day I’d gradually been increasing altitude and that continued the closer I got to Cradle Mountain. I stopped at a lookout in the Black Bluff Range which was at 930m. I’m probably only slightly above that now, Cradle Mountain is about 1400m. Queenstown is just over 100m above see level.

    I did see an echidna in the car park at the Cradle Mountain Discovery Park which is where I’m staying. It seemed to have more fur and fewer quills that the ones we see in WA. I’ve been upgraded to a deluxe cabin. They are new cabins which is nice although they aren’t completely finished.

    Back from the night spotting tour and it was brilliant. We saw so many animals - Bennets wallaby, pademelon, wombats, a brush tailed possum and an eastern quoll. An hour before the tour was due to start it was raining heavily but it had stopped by the time we were picked up. We were able to get out of the bus at Ronny Creek and that’s where we saw most of the wombats. I’m looking forward to seeing it all in the daylight tomorrow.    Read more

  • Michelle CreasyTasmania 2023
    11
    Day 10

    Cradle Mountain

    October 29, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    All I can say is wow! And I’m buggered.
    Today was all about visiting Cradle Mountain. You can only drive into the National park under certain conditions. Everyone else has to take the shuttle bus. Come November it will cost $15 but until then it’s covered by my parks pass.

    There is so much to do here and I wish I could stay longer. I had initially planned to walk around Dove Lake but at the speed I walk it wouldn’t have left any time for anything else. So instead I did two shorter walks, one to Glacier Rock and the other to the boathouse. The scenery is stunning and several park staff remarked we were very lucky to have a fine day and be able to see Cradle Mountain without it being shrouded in cloud.

    From Dove Lake I took the bus down to Ronny Creek. This is where we stopped last night on the night spotting tour and is home to many wombats. Not nearly as many were out during the day as last night but I still saw quite a few. I walked up to Waldheim, a chalet that was originally built over 100 years ago. The original owners fought to make the area a National park. The chalet was an interesting look into the past. It must have been bleak and lonely in the winter.

    I caught the bus down to the ranger station to take a look at the interpretive centre. It shows a film of a group walking from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair in maybe the 20s? I didn’t see the beginning of the film so I’m not sure.

    Last bus back to the visitor centre. From there I went to Devils@Cradle to see the work they do there, I also learnt that quolls are carnivorous. Also all quolls are spotted but only spotted tail quolls have spots on their tails.
    They do a lot of work with breeding to ensure the survivability of both quolls and Tasmanian devils. The devils are much cuter than their reputation would suggest.
    I took a break in the car (so tired, just wanted to sit down) and then joined the feeding tour. The tour guide was very informative and the animals very cute. They’ve been hand reared to they were happy to have the guide in their enclosure.

    It’s meant to snow here tomorrow so I may go back up the mountain to take a look if it does, otherwise I’m heading to Low Head.    Read more

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