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May 2018 - December 2031
  • K and A's road trip
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  • K and A's road trip
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  • K and A's road tripTravelerBig Adventure

    Ulverstone

    October 30, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    We decided to complete another bush walk today in a different part of the hinterland behind Penguin.
    First off we drove to Sheffield, a farming town, where they have been trying to rejuvenate its fortunes by turning it into a mural town. They also have a mural street art festival each year like the one we saw in Bedminster Bristol. It was raining when we arrived and quite windy, so we did not complete the whole trail devised to show off the whole village. Some of the murals showed the history of the town, which were the ones on the sides of buildings, the competition ones in a separate park were a bit more abstract.
    The ladies in the Information office were very helpful as ever.
    We then drove to have a look at Lake Barrington, where we enjoyed our packed lunch at the Tasmanian rowing centre. We had a choice of two bush walks to do - The Billet Creek walk or the The Forbes Falls walk, both involved bush walks through tree fern lined rain forest and both involved a lot of climbing and descent. We chose to do the Falls walk which did not disappoint. The sounds in the rain forest are wonderful, with bird calls and the odd shuffle of wild life in the undergrowth. The waterfall at the bottom of the hill was running fast, discharging into a plunge pool prior to its final run to the lake below.
    On the way out we did a slight detour to have a look at the Woodhouse lookout, which is well placed on the road to give a view of the valley below.
    Everything is very green here in this north western part of the island, in part due to rainfall but also to the impressive number of irrigation schemes which are working everywhere we look. Farming is primarily green pasture for beef, milk and sheep, but we have also spotted Llamas and pigs too.    Read more

  • K and A's road tripTravelerBig Adventure

    Ulverstone

    October 29, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We planned a more restful day for today after our long day yesterday.
    After a lazy breakfast in the camp kitchen we drove along to Penguin to have a look at their Sunday market. We saw a couple of items we liked in a local shop and bartered a reasonable price for them from the shopkeeper.
    In the market place we found one of the stallholders who was born and bred in Redcar. He was selling tat, as it happens, and was not an admirer of Margaret Thatcher which might be why he now lives in Penguin.
    After that we drove into the Dial to walk up the bush track to the top of Mount Montgomery which was quite strenuous at times. A great view over Ulverstone at the top was well worth it.
    In late afternoon we wandered into Ulverstone for a looksee and fell into The Pier for a drink, the IPA beer was one of the best so far I have tasted in Australia, made locally    Read more

  • K and A's road tripTravelerBig Adventure

    Ulverstone

    October 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Our first full day in Tassie saw us take a road trip to the west of Ulverstone. First off we stopped off at Table Cape to have a look at the late tulip fields. High up on the rocky outcrop there are some very fertile fields that are used to grow the tulips. Who needs Keukenhof when you can come to Tas. It is a bit backendish but the fields were very colourful with many of the heads stripped already for bulb production. We then did the walk along the cliff top to the Table Cape lighthouse.
    After that we drove along to Stanley to have a look at this sleepy town with its rocky outcrop called The Nut. The Nut is a volcanic plug standing very proud of the surrounding area and can be climbed up via a very steep path or via a cable car. We walked up as we always like a challenge and the views from the top were worth it, even on a cloudy day. On our descent Karen spotted a Pademelon with Joey in the bushes which was our first encounter with breathing indigenous wildlife this trip - all other sightings have been squashed versions by the side of the roads.
    An ice cream was welcome on our return to sea level after which we set off to have a look at the Tarkine Trail.
    We underestimated the distances travelled so only touched upon the drive before deciding to head back to Ulverstone before nightfall.    Read more

  • K and A's road tripTravelerBig Adventure

    Ulverstone

    Oct 27–31, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We had a few rain showers prior to leaving Melbourne but managed to pack the trailer up all dry. We then made our way to Geelong to join the queue for the overnight ferry. Tasmania is 220 miles across the Bass Strait, which due to a reasonable wind was quite choppy to begin with. Thankfully we both managed to sleep quite well, but did not appreciate being woken at 5.45am as we started to approach the port of Devonport.
    Temperature on arrival 4 degrees C due also to an unseasonable cold snap. The temps are getting back to normal now - very like an English spring.
    Off the ferry at 6:30 am we drove 20 mins to our site at Ulverstone to drop off the trailer, then dashed off to Woollworths to stock up on fresh fruit veg etc as quarantine rules restrict these items from being brought in.
    Just having brekkie in camp kitchen before we pitch the trailer and make our plan for the next few days.
    First impressions are that this island is beautiful.
    Having got ourselves sorted and all set up on site we ventured off a little way along the coast to Penguin, but first we went back into Devonport to relieve Kmart of a hot water bottle and sleep pants/pyjamas to see us through the next couple of colder nights .
    The coastal road hugs the sea line next to a railway and is a nice drive. Penguin is named after the Little Penguins that make their home here - they come into shore in the summer months and we might get to see some in these late Spring evenings.    Read more

  • K and A's road tripTravelerBig Adventure

    Melbourne

    Oct 23–29, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Just arrived in Melbourne after a short 200k trip from Echuca. We were expecting a big descent off the plain to sea level, but the land appeared to gradually fall as we came south with no dramatic hilly range to overcome. Wineries hidden away everywhere around Echuca gradually giving out to livestock farming as we came south.
    We set up at the Big4 site at Coburn and planned our attack on the city over the next two days.
    On Tuesday we walked to a local 7-11 to get our Myki travel cards for the local transport and took the tram into the city. In the morning we did a walking tour with Matthew our guide being very informative about the history of the city, its dramatic rise to prominence in the 1850 gold rush, and the massive expansion in the 1880s. We saw most of the main sights on our tour and some of the quirky ones that we would not otherwise have got to know about.
    To rest our feet in the afternoon we rode the free circular tram route around the inner city before jumping off at the western docks to walk along the south bank of the river Yarra. A beer and a wine at The Boathouse was a good reviver. A total of 23800 footsteps walked during the day, over 10 miles. No wonder we both slept so well.
    On Wednesday we returned to the city to take in a bit more of the city. We walked into Fitzroy gardens to visit the Captain Cook Cottage. This cottage, built by the parents of Captain Cook in Great Ayton, Yorkshire was dismantled brick by brick in the 1930s and transported to the park to celebrate 100 years of life in the city and as a link to the past.
    We visited to the State Library to see if we could view Ned Kelly's armour, sadly it was in store due to renovations in the building, however, the building itself was most impressive.    Read more

  • K and A's road tripTravelerBig Adventure
    1

    Echuca

    October 22, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We fancied a quick look at this town, which lies on the Murray River on the border with Victoria State. Pronounced Eh-cooch-uh. A little gem of a find, full of history surrounding the trade brought along the river as the country was being opened up. A staging post for the timber trade bringing Red Gum to the expanding city downstream.
    It is now home to heritage steam vessels which have been renovated and now offer trips along the river.
    The river was high due to rain up country. One boat, unable to trip out on the high water, provided a static bar which we took advantage of. The locally made St Mary wine being quite pleasant.    Read more

  • K and A's road tripTravelerBig Adventure

    Griffith

    October 20, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We booked 2 nights in the town as the Spring Festival week was closing. As we drove down from Forbes the farming changed from dry arable and livestock to vineyards and fruit farms. In the 1920s the state goernment built extensive irrigation schemes and a large Italian community were some of the first to start farming in the area. Wine is a major output, Yellowtail wines have their huge estate here along side others.
    Oranges are grown in abundance and celebrated on the High Street every spring during Festival week.
    The town is clearly very prosperous and was planned out by the same American architect who designed Canberra.
    We enjoyed a walk along the heritage trail on the hill above the town. Here a young Italian immigrant lived for over 20 years as a hermit in the escarpment, making for himself rocky gardens, covered accommodation etc in the hillside. Valeri Ricetti was his name who became a sometime part of the community. We presume he came from the deep south of Italy where we saw caves which were occupied in Matera until very recently.
    The town has a fighter bomber from WW2 mounted on a pole next to the Information Centre on the high street, presumably a permanent fixture, unlike the orange sculptures which are displayed for 10 days during the spring festival. This is what you do when you have 100000 spare oranges and grapefruit available each year.    Read more

  • K and A's road tripTravelerBig Adventure

    Moree

    Oct 18–23, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We planned a long travel day, so set the alarm bright and early as we proposed to reach Bubbo later that day. An avoidable disaster struck at Moree, where we pulled up to refuel. Alan put 43 litres of unleaded into our diesel tank!!!! Not the best idea and thank goodness Karen saw the mistake before starting up the engine. With the help from a local garage and the passing over of a shed load of dollars, by 4pm we were ready to go once again. We made it the 400 metres to the local camper ground, where we pitched up for the night. A distance of 100km being achieved all day - ggrrrr!!!!Read more

  • K and A's road tripTravelerBig Adventure

    Goondiwindi

    October 16, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 32 °C

    Our first stop at this farming community in the Queensland hinterland. We travelled inland passing Toowoomba as we rose up above the Great Dividing Range. After Toowoomba the landscape changed to an expansive plain with livestock and arable farming the predominant features. Gundy as the locals call it is a community of about 26k all involved in farming and associated engineering industries. It lies on the border of Queensland and NSW.
    We booked a trip out to a cotton farm, which is one of the major crops grown when there is enough water in the state reservoirs. The tour was fascinating, the irrigation schemes impressive, and Mike our guide is clearly passionate about his industry. In dryer spells wheat,lucerne and barley are grown.
    The town's most famous inhabitant appears to have been a racehorse called Gundsyn. Bought for 1300 dollars by four mates as a colt they wanted only to win a local race. It turned out to be a good selection as it went on to win just about every top class race going - grossing 280000 dollars in prize money. It did not win the Melbourne Cup only due to it being handicapped so heavily. The Goondiwindi grey has a statue in its memory adjacent to the bridge crossing into NSW and the Tree of Knowledge and our tour guide for the cotton farm trip found the song created by the local community to espouse their love of the animal. Available on the internet .    Read more

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