Saturday 2nd February
After losing the car keys in the car and spending around 20 minutes searching for them we finally left for Salamanca Market. After perusing the various wares on offer we bought a couple of little gifts and then went on to meet David, Holly and Fin at the distillery where David works. A short walk to the fish punts on the wharf ended with a rather tasty meal of beer battered flathead fillets and chips. After bidding David and family goodbye we drove to Dover by the sea to catch up with my old boss, very good mate Neville and his wife Lyn. Yet more of my favourite Tassie beer was consumed and we dined on some gourmet sausages cooked on top of the cast iron Mexican chimenea.
Sunday 3rd February
Leaving Dover we headed for my mate’s Woolfy’s place in Carlton also by the sea. Along the way we went for a drive up Mt Wellington which watches over Hobart like a tireless sentinel. Unfortunately there was rain and fog and once we reached to top we opted for a nanna nap atop the mountain. From there it was onto Woolfy’s for more fine Tassie beer and a meal cooked on the fire using a jaffle iron. Yummmyyyy.
Monday 4th February
We left Carlton for the Tasman Peninsula, home of various convict era sites / ruins including Port Arthur, home of the massacre where 52 people were shot, I think 36 were fatalities. We didn’t go into Prot Arthur but instead opted for the coal mines site which was a place to send convicts from Port Arthur as a punishment for further crimes. Due to low quality coal, inefficiency and rampant homosexuality it was eventually closed down. The convicts would toil for 12 hours a day in the mines and were kept in solitary cells if they played up. If they still misbehaved they were placed in the underground solitary cells, not seeing the light of day at all. The British sure had some pretty wild punishments, yet the convicts still transgressed. The good thing about this site is it has not been commercialised to buggery like Port Arthur and one is left to wander throughout the complex alone, reading various informative plaques. We camped at Fortescue Bay for the next two nights with the second one being a washout.
Wednesday 6th February
Headed up the east coast to Freycinet Peninsula and managed to get the last campsite available, which was vacated by the other people due to rain only an hour before we turned up. That’s zen navigation for you eh!! Still drizzling but very pleasant. Personally I am really enjoying the weather and even went for a swim where I found a sting ray about 2 to 3 feet across. I managed to scare him off and then continued swimming until another one twice as big turned up. At that point I calmly left the warm water and had a shower. Afterwards we dined on a lovely chicken pasta / curry with more Tassie wine and beer.
Thursday 7th February
The plan for the day was a walk to Wineglass Bay for lunch then a twilight sea kayaking trip around Coles Bay. Wineglass Bay derived its name from the fact that it is shaped like a red wine glass and because it used to run red with the blood from the whales slaughtered there in centuries past. During the course of the night the overcast and calm conditions were rapidly changed with a sudden change in wind strength, direction and an onset of rain in substantial quantities. The morning saw the sea chopped up into a froth and generally unpleasant conditions. As the time for our walk got closer the weather eased up some, but the wind was still strong. The walk was pleasant enough but the sea kayaking was cancelled due to the rough water. We decided to try our luck in the morning and instead opted for a trip to the local pub followed by slide show by a ranger about the beginnings of the universe as well as the plight of the Tasmanian Devil.
Friday 8th February
Thankfully the weather had calmed and we were able to go for a paddle in the kayaks in the morning. We made our way up the east coast with a stop at an oyster farm followed by lunch at the famous pancake parlour consisting of chilli con carne and chicken, camembert and blueberry crepes. I then drove to a creek in which I used to swim in a water hole years ago, but due to the amazing amount of rain over the last few days it was running quite strongly and was too cold for swimming. From there we headed into the northeast to have a look at the tallest white gum trees in the world, the biggest being 91 metres tall! Then it was for a back roads drive through forestry areas onto Launceston where we managed to get a room for the night at a hotel. Suitably knackered we showered and ordered a pizza to be washed down with more Tassie beer. Tomorrow is a trip to the food festival and then finally home by plane for Snorkmaiden and ferry for me.
I managed to reach a couple of milestones in my recovery on this trip. Completing 2 quite intense bushwalks to the summits of two mountains has been great physio for me and has enabled me to prove to myself that I am still capable of things I used to be able to do. It wasn’t easy by any means and I did it all without having to resort to painkillers. Seeing many able bodied people turn back so close to the summit of Cradle Mountain just made me more determined to get to the top and I was quite emotional when I finally reached it.
Oh and I’m still sporting mosquito bites from the 3rd day of the trip.
Eleanor has performed solidly on this trip and the new off road tyres I fitted certainly gave us more confidence and ability to tackle the less travelled routes. As this trip was a bit of a shakedown for the outback trip I felt it all went rather smoothly. I have one day to unpack the car and repack it for the solo 3 week trip up to Queensland and back starting Monday.
Convict ruins
Fortescue Bay
The 91 metre white gum with Snorkmaiden next to it.
