We awoke to a cloudy and overcast day for our last day in Tasmania on this trip; at least it wasn't raining. We checked in with JABB and The Foss and Carol and then left them to continue their own holidays, neither of them were heading home today.
Looking for things to do that don't cost an arm and a leg is a lot easier when it's not raining. We drove up to Rayney Hill Lookout and took in the views of the Derwent. Then we headed over to the Hobart Centotaph.
We tried to get into Governmet House which is beautiful old building but they only open it up once a year. From there we drove in and parked at Salamanca and took the walk over to the Cat and Fiddle Arcade, watched the cow jump over the moon and then got some lunch.
After lunch we travelled across to the Cadbury factory and picked up some cheap chocolates.
Today we drove to the historic township of Port Arthur. It was a very wet and dreary day but that only added to the character.
It has changed a lot since we were last here and especially after the tragedy of April, 1996. However the place still holds all of its history and mystery.
We spent Sunday lazing around the unit having bacon and eggs before travelling to Richmond, where we took some photos of the bridge and enjoyed lunch in the bakery and we picked up a Black Forrest cake for the Foss' 60th.
I had a magnificent Curried Scallop pie at the bakery.
Then before dinner we headed back to the Squires Bounty for a Hop Thief.
And after our pre dinner drinks we headed to the Ball and Chain for dinner to celebrate the birthday party.
Saturday morning was spent doing some shopping at Salamanca Market. Alongside the Port Douglas market and Mindil Night market, this would have to be the best I have found in Australia. Plenty of one Tasmanian produce is on display, heaps of clothing and local timber products.
We purchased clothing from steals and Kathmandu before heading to Squires Bounty where I enjoyed The Hop Thief.
In the evening we went to The Shoreline Hotel an watched the Magpies get rolled by a more determined Gold Coast.
The Foss and Carol elected to take JCAT and JABB (Julia, Amelia, Brett and Brooke) over to Tasmania to celebrate the Foss' 60th Birthday.
JCAT flew out of Melbourne with The Foss and Carol at 0700 hrs on Friday and JABB sailed out of Melbourne Thursday night. We then met up at Ashwood Apartments in Bellerive, which are directly behind Bellerive Oval (Blundstone Arena).
After we arrived we went for a drive to Kangaroo Point and checked out a battery that was built in the late 1800's to defend Hobart. The kids got a bit spooked when I yelled through one of the tunnels while they were standing at the other end out of my sight. There is a great deal of history down here and plenty for the kids to learn about. Couple of pics from Kangaroo Point.
In the afternoon we took a walk from the unit around Kangaroo Point dodging the rain and enjoying the views.
In the first week of the July School holidays Alyssa took part in the Warragul Youth Theatre Production, Hansel and Gretel. She had rehearsed for nine weeks in order to prepare for this performance. There were two performances daily for the week, excepting Friday when there was only one performance followed by a pyjama party.
This Easter
we decided we would head somewhere new. We love the High Country and after
reading many travel threads we decided to head to Bindaree Hut and set
up camp.
So Friday
morning we left an overcast Drouin and made for Mansfield, where we enjoyed an
early lunch in the Bakery in the Main Street.
After lunch
we headed up towards the summit of Mt. Buller and then took the Cornhill Track
turn off. The track quickly turned from bitumen to rocks and after airing down
we drove down the hill towards Howqua Gap Hut and Circuit Road. The track was
pretty narrow in places but overall in very good nick. There were a few trees
down over the track which had already been cut to allow access, luckily we
didn’t meet anyone coming the other way.
Pretty soon
we hit Circuit Road, turned right and made our way into Bindaree Flat. Overall
travel time including toilet stops and lunch was 5 hours. Bindaree Track had
recently been graded and was very smooth going.
The rest of
the afternoon was spent collecting firewood and exploring the immediate area.
We woke on
Saturday to a beautiful crisp morning and made the decision to head up to
Bindaree Falls. The last week had seen plenty of rain in the area, so there was
a good flow of water coming over the falls.
From the
falls we headed towards Craig’s Hut electing to take The Monument Track, after
observing three other vehicles head up as we arrived at the intersection. The
track was in very good condition and didn’t call for any low range work.
As we
expected Craig’s Hut was busier than Bourke Street at 9:00 am on a weekday. We
took heaps of photos and had lunch sitting on the grass, while we enjoyed the
views across the range. The kids climbed some snow gums and we took some more
photos of the horses that had made the journey up the hill.
From there
we headed up to the summit of Mt. Stirling, stopping at GGS Hut along the way.
What a view from the front door of the hut.
After making
the walk to the summit of Mt. Stirling we headed back down to Howqua Gap Hut
and then back into camp.
We woke
during the night to the sound of light rain on the Tropical Roof and it continued
on and off into Sunday morning.
On Sunday we decided to head up to Bluff and Lovicks Hut. We followed
16 Mile Jeep Track out to Pikes Flat and had a look at the camping spots there.
It was a lot wetter than Bindaree and had some very boggy sections which I
elected not to take on, out of fear of getting bogged.
From Pikes
we headed back out onto 16 Mile Jeep Track. Before long we were stopped by a
bloke in 200 Series Landcruiser who advised us that someone was stuck on the
track not far ahead. He had a quick look at our Prado, from the driver’s seat
and advised me against going any further because of the wet clay and the fact
we only have All Terrains.
I decided to
push on but his comments had done nothing to ease Clare's mind about the
conditions we might face up ahead. Before we knew it, we were engaging low
range and battling a short steep section of clay, plenty of right foot and some
side to side movement of the steering wheel and up and over we went. Clare was sh.ting herself as can be seen and heard in this video but the kids thought
it was great.
We then
continued on without incident up to Bluff Hut, where we stopped, had a snack
and took some photos of the amazing view. From Bluff Hut we continued on to
Lovicks Hut which had been taken over for the weekend by a group of campers. I
don’t mind people using a hut in a time of need but setting up your $300 swags
and dome tents across the entire floor area of the hut for the weekend is a bit
much.
After
sticking our heads inside (very briefly) we headed back to Bindaree, letting
low range first do its thing over the clay. Clare was very happy to get past
that section of track.
Monday morning
was a slow pack up before ambling our way back home to Drouin after a great
weekend.
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