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Australia All Over

An open-ended adventure by The Gypsies Read more
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  • Pieman river north to Smithton

    March 4, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We spent the most of the day paddling the Pieman river, which was absolutely beautiful, before heading north. Spent the night next to the Donaldson river after a great drive , once again through the scenic but always changing west coast. We followed the road north for a bit and then turned east winding our way through the hills again and just soaking up what the west coast is famous for. Spent the next night near lake Chisholm. The next day we did several walks before heading north again to end up in Smithton in a camp called tall timbers. True to its name on the walks we did on the way there were some truly tall trees, 80 to 100 metres tall, and from my perspective they were a long way up 🧐🧐. Spent a few days here, shopping, walking to seeing the sights whilst waiting for another couple ( Frank and Phil ) to arrive off the ferry who are travelling the rest of the west coast with us. Lots of videos and can only put 2 videos up at a time.Read more

  • Our first taste of the west coast

    February 29, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We left our friends at Ulverstone, a little town by Penguin, to travel some roads in high country just inland from the west coast. We traveled south on the Murchison hwy for about 200 hundred odd clicks, travelling through a little town called Yolla which has the reputation for the best pizza in Tasmania, sad to say only ho hum. The next day took us through the Hellyer gorge , truly a beautiful drive and spent a night at the bottom in the damp and cold, dumb but beautiful. From there we went a bit further south then turn west towards the coast to a little mountain town called Waratah. A very peaceful place, damp, mossy ,boggy and very green and when the sun was out you could don ya coat and gummies and enjoy a brisk walk. Stayed a couple of days to do some washing, they had a drier, before heading west to the Pieman river. A spectacular drive, up hill and down dale through beautiful bush covered hills and a few water falls thrown in for good measure. When we got to the Pieman river and camp only to find out they wanted $45 a night with no facilities not even water!! Go figure that out. So we back tracked a bit and spent the night tucked up beside some beehives, they were much more amenable!!! Still had no water but the price was right. 😎😎Read more

  • Time for some R and R

    February 24, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    From lake Barrington we zigzag our way out to the coast, picking some blackberries on the way as I haven’t had a blackberry and apple pie since kiwi land. Stayed at a lovely little camp right on the coast where penguins camp up every night so we thought that would be nice to see them. Just one problem, they came in after dark and headed out before dawn and we don’t do ether of those so we just listened to them come in but we didn’t hear them go. Ahwell !!🧐😉🤓😎. Spent 4 days around here resting up, catching up with our friends from NSW again and getting ready to start seeing the west.Read more

  • Now on to Cradle mountain

    February 23, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We left the Tamar river and headed south south west to the foothills of the northern end of the range of mountains that make up the centre of Tasmania. We are making our way towards Cradle mountain in a very round about way , zigzagging in and out of the foothills looking at some beautiful farm land and what you can grow in this climate. Grows just about anything but only in seasons and personally I don’t do seasons anymore as there is cold and very cold ones in there!! Not for me!!!😎😎. Stayed in some lovely bush camps as well as beside some beautiful lakes. Our next camp , by lake Gairdner , just below Cradle mountain and close enough to be able to do a day trip. Traveled up Cradle mountain the next morning to the information centre, a fare way up the mountain , and there we picked which walk we thought we could do. Then onto the shuttle bus up to our drop point and onto shankes pony for the walk. With in a few hundred metres we saw a beautiful a wombat grazing just off the track we were on. They look like a beautiful cute cuddly bear. Then on up mountain towards our goal, Marions lookout. Went past a beautiful lake, had a wee rest there, and then on we went up up up. Thinking we had made on top of a ridge when some nice person popped our bubble and pointed out Marions lookout well above us and very steep to boot. There was a bit of dissension in our camp about the need to go up there, but I just pushed on saying the views would make it worthwhile. It got steeper and steeper till we were pulling ourselves up by a chain they had installed for the last hundred or so metres. At the top it most definitely was worth it , the views were stunning, and Bess was stoked she had made it. We sat up there and had lunch and just took in the views, amazing and very little wind which we were told doesn’t happen very often. Just for the record it snowed there a couple of days later. Then the decent, not a hell of a lot easier than going up, just slowly slowly!! Passed a couple of more lakes on our way down to the car park which still had a lot of ups and downs to get there. On arrival at the car park, 5 and a half hours later, we looked back up at where we had been and l thought to my self, that crazy skinny cousin of mine and his super fit wife must be getting into my head for me to have done something like that!!!😤😤. Crawled back onto the bus back to our truck and down to another lake, lake Barrington , for a well earned rest.Read more

  • North eastern tip of tassie

    February 19, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We left Weldborough and drove through some more beautiful ranges and then up as far as you can drive on the north eastern tip to a free camp on the eastern side. Once we got near the coast the farms looked hungry and dry as the hole of the east coast of Tasmania is. The camp was very exposed and the sea very rough, not for us fair weather campers , so we turned west along the coast to the next camp grounds at Waterhouse point. Lovely sheltered campsites and a beautiful beach to walk along. Perfect for a couple of days r and r after all that driving ( 30 to 80k per day ). From here we went farther west along the coast and called into several little seaside towns for a sqwise and a coffee. Then on to a camp on the end of the Tamar river out from Launceston.Read more

  • Headed north east through the hills

    February 15, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Left our friends, they went south, and we headed north east taking back roads up through the hills heading towards the north east cape. Once again the roads are gravel but mostly in good condition. The hills got up to 1200m in places, so the driving was slow up and down, but the views were spectacular. Went through some magic little towns, some you would slow right down and take in the ambiance others you locked the doors and keep moving ( deliverance country). Late in the day ( about 3pm time to make camp) we came down in to this beautiful little town called Ringarooma ( how’s that for a name). Drove down the Main Street ( 2 minutes later the end ) but saw the butcher hosing out his shop floor onto the footpath then into the gutter. We pulled up and asked him if he was open tomorrow ( Saturday) and his reply was sorry everything in town closes for the weekend. We stopped,as we needed meat, and went into his shop and bought, as it tuned out, some of the best meat 🥩 we have had in a long time. Whilst chatting to him and his wife about their lovely little town they told us they were having a shindig at their sports ground, and it just so happens that’s where we were camping that night, and we were welcome to come along. The shindig was in aid of Blaze aid so they could send some people to the main land and help out. A great cause so we went along, a cheap meal beautiful homemade salads and a raffle. A dollar a ticket for a good cause so we bought 10. We won 1st , second and third prize so Bess took the one with the most chocolates in it and we put the other two back in the draw. A great night for a worthwhile cause. Left the next day and went to see two water falls then onto a cheesary for some tasting and a cup of coffee. Then onto another beautiful camp behind a pub this time ( only a pub and a few houses here) but a lovely ambianceRead more

  • Hobart to Wine glass bay via the hills

    February 13, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Left Bruny and stocked up in Hobart and headed up into the the hills in a roundabout way to Freycinet bay. We spent a night high up in the hills at lake Sorrel at 846m , beautiful spot very quiet just the birds, and oh so peaceful. Then on to Coles bay to do the walk to wine glass bay , 11k.5ks with a 1000 steps on the way. It was a great walk an reasonably challenging but we have done a few walks now and this was not the hardest. Was it worth it , the walk was great , it was just another bay but we have ticked it off our bucket list so all good. Met up with some friends at our camp there We had traveled with them before, out of Birdsviille, and they did the walk with us after a great night of cards. Thanks guys!!Read more

  • Back to Bruny for Bess this time

    February 4, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We went back to Bruny island to show Bess what she had missed out on at Christmas time. But this trip was done Bess and Dave style, long and slow!! Instead of 3 days we check out every inch of the island over 8 days. The only things we repeated was some of the roads and that beautiful restaurant Nicky Andy and I went to on Boxing Day. The whisky distilleries, chocolate factory and oyster shack ( we’re over oysters) went by the board. We had lovely time muching around Bruny and ended up with 2 days at wood cutters point. Here I caught some fish and we did indulge in some more oysters , Kilpatrick this time. Well they were nice but not quite right and as we were eating them a fellow camper came along saw them, and said ‘ nice but not right ‘. I am cooking some you can try mine. Long story short his were beautiful, we found out how he cooked them and now we will have to try again. Bugger more oysters 🦪 at this rate we might start to enjoy them 😏😏Read more

  • Mt Field nationl park

    February 2, 2020 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Back down near the Derwent river in a little town called Westerway we stayed in the Mt Field National park camp to do a highly recommended walk and to test out Bess’s new shoes. It was a 6.7k walk through some beautiful rain forest,a couple of beautiful water falls and a lot of steps. The shoes were perfect and the walk was very very interesting. At one part of the forest the trees were between 70 and 100m tall. A girth of about 5 to 7m round, dead straight until near the top where they branched out all over the place making them very vulnerable to the wind and not a long life span. Seeing a tree that size and length lying on the ground made you think, which way would I have run?? But all in all a great walk.Read more

  • Strathgorden and lakes Pedder and Gorden

    January 29, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    What a great project this is. Done in the 1970s ( before greenies were invented ) they damed lake Pedder in 3 different spots , none of them very big or high, and then put a channel from , the now much bigger lake Pedder , into lake Gorden. The Gorden dam wall is not very long but its very high and between the two lakes they form the largest fresh water storage in Australia. Before they flooded lake Gorden they cut down one of the biggest Huon pines which would’ve beenbeen submerged and it turned out to be 2200 years old. From near the Gorden dam wall there is a hydro set up that produces about one third of Tasmania’s power. The scenery around these dams is magnificent. The lakes are at about 400m above sea level but the mountains around them are up to 1100m so its very spectacular. Very windy there but we were lucky and were there for their day of summer and it was glorious, the lake was a glass off so we took to the kayaks and paddled for about 5 hours, superb but sadly no trout. It snowed 2 days later!!! but we had bailed out back down to the low country and a another national park for our next adventure.Read more

  • Huon pine tree Strathgordon

    January 29, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    In a time frame this tree makes the human race pale into insignificance!!!

  • Geeveston / Hamilton onto Ellendale

    January 24, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After leaving Cockle creek we sped off back to Geeveston , a whole 50k up the road. We rested up there while getting ready for the Salamanca markets the next day. Left Geeveston the next morning and went up through the Huon valley over a range and down into Hobart to the Salamanca markets. Wonderful ( where are my mates when I needed them !! ). Spent a morning in the markets before walking up into Hobart to buy Bess some new walking shoes as her other ones were taking skin off on a descent walk. From Hobart we headed up the northern side of the Derwent river to a little town called Hamilton. Spent a day here exploring this cute little town, feasting at it’s bakery and buying some local produce ( garlic and beetroot ). Next day another big run to Ellendale ( 30k away ) to rest up before heading across to Strathgordon.Read more

  • Oysters at Cockle creek

    January 22, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    So easy to get a feed of oysters here. They were in the tidal creek right behind our camp in ankle deep water. None of those people who live up above Australia here obviously!! That’s me being politically correct 🤬😏😉Read more

  • The most southern tip of Australia

    January 21, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    This is the most southern part of Australia that you can access. It was cold even though it was a beautiful day (for Tasmania). There is bugger all between us and Antartica!!!

  • Now just Bess and I enjoying Tasmania

    January 10, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Nik’s and Andy left this morning to fly back to Perth. Now Bess and I will be travelling at our own pace, slowly to very slowly. Moved a massive 20k west to Lime Bay. After the big move we rested for 5 days before planning our next move. Did a couple walks to some beautiful spots but no kayaking as the wind kept blowing from the wrong direction. Our next stop was to be Fortescue bay , another 20 odd k away , but it’s still school holidays and the place was booked out. So a big push north west ( 35k ) into a little town called Primrose Sands. Drove around this pretty little town, stayed the night and moved on the next day. Moving west towards Hobart ( 30k away ) we didn’t quite get there as we found another beautiful spot called South Arm, down a peninsula on the east side of the Derwent river just south of Hobart. Next day on the way towards Hobart we picked up some supplies, then pushed on through Hobart to a free camp across the road from a pub in Longley. Had a lovely meal here with some live music (which was only ok,) but hey it was still pleasant enough 😊. From here we followed the coast south down the D’Entrecasteaux channel and then turned north back up the Huon river to Huonville. Here we could cross the Huon river and go south again towards the most southern part of Australia. Stopped at a little town called Geeveston, did some washing before heading to Cockle creek.Read more

  • Port Arthur and surrounds

    January 8, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We all went and did the Port Arthur tour today , one of the first penal colonies in Australia ,which appeared expensive but it turned out to be a great experience , which took most of the day and still didn’t see it all , but enough. The ticket allows you to come back the next day if you want to see more. Those were tough days back then for sure, but some how some of them survived the brutality and injustice to go on and prosper while others just fell prey to the system for their life, albeit a short one. The buildings they built back then were magnificent and high, when you think about what they had to build them with. A lot of them still standing today and the mortar lines are still dead straight today even with the weight they put on them, (the boys in Sydney building those high rises could learn something from these guys). We did a little bit of driving around and saw some beautiful coast and farming land which had their own beaches. We spent the last day with Nik’s and Andy’s down in front of their B&B fishing off a jetty and doing a little kayaking (until Andy tipped over, and according to Andy it was a near death experience) which put paid to the kayaking. We had a very pleasant day. Bess caught a leather jacket fish and Nik’s caught a small flathead. I collected oysters off the rocks and we ate the leather jacket and the oysters that night after I shucked them with my new shucking knife. We crumbed the oysters and the fish, both were delicious. What a great day!!😁😁
    Thanks for a great time Nik’s and Andy and we must do it again sometime 👍😄
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  • Went north/east and down the east coast

    January 5, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Left Launceston and headed north east to the east coast, then followed the coast down to Swansea. Another great drive where we saw a very blue but toxic lake, its a man made lake where all the natural minerals when mixed with the water created this brilliant blue lake , so sad its toxic it look great for a swim. On out to the coast and down through some beautiful little hamlets till we got to Swansea. There Nik’s and Andy had booked another air B&B which kindly had enough room for us. Stayed a couple of days here checking out the town and of course another oyster farm. Nik’s and Andy ate their fill while Bess and myself just watched on. I bought a shucking knife there as there are plenty of oysters on the rocks around Tasmania and they are a lot cheaper, there for the taking and just require a little work, also I can crumb them and cook them. We were going to walk to wine glass bay but after Nik’s tumble on the last walk we decided to give it a miss ( Bess and I might come back and do it at a later date). From here we followed the coast until we had to go inland and over some very high hills through some beautiful forests , road a bit rough but magnificent scenery. Ended up at another air B&B at a place called Taranna , not far from port Arthur, and our next tour.Read more