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Tasmania
  • Jenny Sawyer
March 2017

Tasmania

A 16-day adventure by Jenny Read more
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  • Trip start
    March 7, 2017
    Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Port Melbourne to Yolla

    March 7, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    After mistakenly driving two different routes in Melbourne trying to get to Port Melbourne via Montague Street; finally, success the third time. First time had to cross the West Gate Bridge then return across it.
    Well, we were in plenty of time to board and drove on to The Spirit of Tasmania almost as soon as the gates opened. Our cabin was great and we had views from our windows straight out to sea in the direction the ship was sailing.
    Had breakfast at Maccas in Devonport then began our tour. First stop was a Bluff in Devonport with a quaint lighthouse and some viewing platforms for the bay. Neil Finn is doing a concert at the Bluff this week.
    We tried to drive along the coast roads as much as we could.
    The tourist info made claim to there being a BIG penguin in Penguin. Was expecting something on the scale of the Pineapple. Disappointing. Check size against me in photo.
    We drove along the coast as far as Wynyard then backtracked a bit to go inland towards Queenstown. Yolla was a very small town with a big General Store.
    After Yolla we drove through lots of tree plantations.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Queenstown Tours

    March 8, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    We are staying at The Empire Hotel which is an ageing grand old hotel.
    Today we embarked upon two tours; in the morning we caught the steam train and did the 'Rack and Gorge'.
    In the afternoon we went on The Margaret River Hydro tour.
    Both enjoyable and very informative.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Margaret River Hydro Tour

    March 8, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    In a mountainous region just out of Queenstown the mining company set up a hydro power station to supply electricity to the mine and the surrounding towns in 1912.
    The workers lived in company houses with free rent and amenities. (water and electricity)
    The Margaret River settlement was populated until the 1980s.
    Today you can see most of the houses that were built in 1920s.
    The hydro station still runs today and is owned by the state. The power is fed into the grid.
    Most of the pipes that carry the water downhill to the hydro electric power station are made of (local) Billy Pine wood.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Queenstown, Zeehan and Strahan

    March 9, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Today we toured around ourselves in the black Honda.
    We drove to Gormanston; an old mining town which is now pretty much a collection of old deserted prefab houses. Then we drove to a stunning lookout area called Iron Blow Lookout. Took some great photos of Queenstown mining surrounds.
    We turned around going back through Queenstown to drive first to Zeehan. It has definitely seen better days. There was a large museum there with an entry fee of $25 per adult. Too expensive!
    Next stop Strahan, situated in Macquarie Harbour, would have to be the tourist capital of Tasmania's south west. We detoured to look at an ocean beach about 6km from Strahan. Beautiful.
    In Strahan we visited The People's Park which had a walking track to Hogarth Falls. It was 40 minute round walking trip. Well worth doing. Easy walk with no steep bits at all.
    Next we visited the Information Centre which was super busy with people booking accommodation, boat trips, helicopter flights and asking all things tourist. We paid only $2 to go into a museum attached to the Centre which had displays and information about the area's sad and seemingly violent history from the annihilation of the aboriginal population, the penal settlements on Sarah Island that made Port Arthur look like a luxury holiday Park, the decimation of the Huon Pine forests and the damming of the Lower Gordon River. The one heartening display was of the saving of the Franklin River.
    Upon our return to Queenstown we celebrated our last night here with a counter meal in The Empire Hotel Dining Room.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Launceston Day 1

    March 11, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Yesterday we arrived in Launceston late afternoon. Settled in to our Airbnb cottage on Cimitiere street and walked to the shops to buy food and a tshirt for me. It has been very warm so far and of course I had packed cooler weather wear.
    Today we headed off on foot and accomplished three tourist activities and at the same time happened across lovely parks and many historic buildings.
    We began with a Pink heritage walking trail as per the 'Welcome to Launceston' booklet. Highlights were the synagogue, Prince's Square and the old churches.
    Our second activity was taking a small River cruise on the Tamar River the South Esk and some of the Cataract Gorge. The Launceston Port has gone from being one of the busiest ports in the 1800s to being so silted up that its current depth is only about 5 metres.
    Lastly we walked to The Queen Victoria Art Gallery.
    A good collection of Tasmanian art including a painting of Queen Victoria herself.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Launceston Day 2

    March 12, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Today we accomplished two tourist treks.
    In the morning we drove to the Tamar Island Wetlands which is about 7 km north of Launceston. We went to the Interpretation Centre then traversed the 2 kilometres of boardwalk to a swamp paperbark forest, through reeds, over water courses and onto Tamar Island then back again, passing many wetland birds. On the island there had been European settlement in the 1800's. There were many old large European trees including old fruit trees. We spotted a black snake near the end of our walk.
    The afternoon was spent at The Launceston Queen Victoria Museum. That was a 10 minute walk away from our cottage. The museum was housed in the old Launceston railway worships and yards. Of course there was an informative display about the Tasmanian tiger.
    Well worth a visit. Both attractions were free.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Bicheno

    March 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Left Launceston at 9:30am and arrived in Bicheno at 4:30pm.
    We made numerous stops en route:
    Launceston for petrol
    Scottsdale for morning tea
    Derby for lunch and a museum fix ( old school )
    Derby was teeming with young people and mountain bikes. So there were many trendy looking cafes to choose from. ( see photo ) Unlike many other country towns.
    A Lookout ( only 100 metres off the road )
    St Helens for Information Centre maps and an ice cream. Yes the weather has been very warm!
    Tassie has so many hills and mountains.
    At Airbnb accommodation for two nights - a chic shed conversion.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Nature World Bicheno

    March 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Today we spent the most part of the day at Nature World. It's a nature park dedicated to saving the Tassie Devil, the eastern quoll and the spotted quoll from extinction and providing a haven for other Australian animals. The park is set next to the sea and is quite extensive. There are mainly Australian animals on display. Those animals that can't be released into the bush and animals that need their populations boosting are kept at the park. They have two wedge tailed eagles on display in an open enclosure. They can't fly because their wings are injured. We went to various enclosures at certain times where the park guide Leo fed, handled and talked about the park and the animals. Found out that sugar gliders are not native to Tasmania. They think introduced in the 1880s. The road kill is much more prevalent in the eastern part of the state. It seems many of the parks animals have come from wildlife carers. It's a really well run park considering they get no government funding.
    We ate a home cooked lunch in the cafe. Delicious.
    Later in the day Neville and I walked from our shed accommodation to the beach. Very windy with cloud rolling in from the sea across the mountain tops.
    Atmospheric.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Driving to Orford

    March 16, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Didn't have too far to drive from Bicheno to our next booked accommodation in Orford. It was, in the main a scenic coastal drive. We detoured to a beautiful beach called Nine Mile Beach. Then motored on to Swansea where we walked around the town and had lunch at a trendy new seafood cafe with free WiFi. Spotted a fabulous beachfront block driving around the town outskirts. Looked up price - $220,000.
    Got to the B&B guesthouse in Orford about 2:30pm. It's an old stone cottage dating from the 1840s. Kerry, our host made us afternoon tea, after we deposited our luggage in 'The Jasmine Room'. We checked out the port in Triabunna where we'll catch the boat for our Maria Island cruise on Thursday. We dined at the Pizza Restaurant in Orford and concluded our day with a cliff top walk.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Maria Island

    March 18, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    After a scrumptious breakfast at The Sanda Guesthouse we backtracked to Triabunna to catch the boat to Maria Island. The tour went from 9:40am until 5:00pm. Morning tea and lunch were provided and on both occasions the boat moored in a sheltered bay or cove while we ate. We actually circumnavigated the whole island. The goi g did get pretty rough in one section which resulted in the three people sitting on the open deck on top being doused with a wave; Neville and I being two of them. And you needed two hands to hold on. It was ROUGH!
    Maria Island was a convict prison twice. It was owned by an Italian entrepreneur who in the mid to late 1800s ran an ambitious tourism operation complete with a grand hotel and coffee palace. The settlement town was called Darlington. Lost his money then refinanced and built a concrete works on the island.
    Again lost his money and the government bought the island and leased out land to farmers. Finally they ended all leases and it has been run by Parks and Wildlife since the 1960s. There are some buildings left from all four eras of European settlement.
    On the boat tour the rock formations were explained - see photos.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Hobart

    March 18, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    CASCADES FEMALE FACTORY
    On Friday we visited the Female Factory and bought two passes. One was to view the site and the other was to attend the Live History presentation.
    The Cascades Female Factory operated between 1828 and 1856. It was for the incarceration and rehabilitation of female convicts. There were five yards built at this site.
    The two actors in the live presentation were able to relate and demonstrate the harsh treatment, harsh conditions and sometimes torture that these women went through.
    On the site were many metal plates with the name of a female convict, her crime, the punishment ( how many years transportation ) her age, her height and a general description.
    It was very interesting and informative.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    More Hobart

    March 22, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    What's a trip to Hobart without visiting
    1. The Cat and Fiddle Arcade
    2. Salamanca Place
    3. Mount Wellington
    ????
    Yes visited all three!
    Saw the Cat and Fiddle play the nursery rhyme.
    Wandered the stalls and shops of Salamanca, listened to great music ( the buskers ) and had a coffee/tea.
    Drove to the top of Mt Wellington which was crawling with tourists. There has been new boardwalks and walking paths constructed since we last visited.
    Always cooler than Hobart.    Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Hobart Again

    March 22, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We stayed with friends for our Hobart leg of our journey. The first photo will show the view of the Derwent River from their window.
    We went out to a show in The Speigel Tent one night with Kevin and Mary. The show was called Velvet. It told the story of a young man who had strange dreams - it was set to disco music with elements of the circus demonstrated by aerial feats from a rope hanging in the centre of the tent and some fantastic hula hoop gyrations. Marcia Hines had top billing. A great night out in the Hobart Docks precinct.Read more

  • Jenny SawyerTasmaniaTraveler

    Hobart Final Day

    March 22, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    On our last full day in Hobart we visited the Hobart Art Gallery and Museum in the morning. Ate lunch there, then drove to the Hobart Botanical Gardens which we had never visited before.
    The gardens are quite extensive and there were many large trees to marvel at.
    The whole two weeks we experienced warm to hot weather. All of our accommodation was fabulous.
    City sights, country landscapes, beautiful coastal scenes and majestic mountains were discovered or revisited on our Tasmanian tour.    Read more

    Trip end
    March 22, 2017
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