[exislegirl]

Well I guess it's time for me to report back after our holiday. I'll also post a link to photos, for anyone interested, at the end.

It was a very hectic 16 days - but I'll try to condense the info into highlights over two posts. Starting from Hobart, we set off to see Port Arthur, and surrounds. The next day, we headed down the coast to do the Tahune Airwalk and general sightseeing along the Huon Trail. Saw my first Leatherwood tree blossoms. The petals from these flowers fall individually, looking like snow flakes scattered over the ground. Back to Hobart for the Salamanca Markets - interesting, but not really my cup of tea other than I enjoyed listening to some buskers. Later in the afternoon, we traveled up the east coast to Freycinet Nat Park, where we stayed at Coles Bay. From there we visited Cape Tourville, did the walk around the lighthouse, and then went on to Friendly Beaches. Here we met our first Bennetts Wallably. (Not a Paddy Melon).

Then on to Scamander where the sky was full of kites, and we strolled along the beach before moving on to St Helen's were we stayed the night. At crack of dawn (actually more like 10am) we set off for Ansons Bay at the end of Bay of Fires, then on to Stumpy's Camp 1 at Mt William National Park. The beach here was to die for ... the water was soooo beautiful. Found a pelican on the beach, who didn't want to get too friendly. Back to the campervan for lunch, and met more Bennetts Wallabies.

Next we traveled down to Launceston, passing through Derby where we saw the Fish Rock. Couldn't leave Launceston without a trip to Cataract Gorge... did the chairlift and the walk to Kingston Bridge and back. Quite a charming spot, and I can understand why the locals love it. Then off to Mole Creek to see King Solomon Cave. It is said to be one of the best of it's kind in the world, and we were not disappointed. It is such a beautiful cave... although we felt the tour was a bit rushed and would gladly have stayed there twice as long as we were allowed.

From there, we travelled up to Latrobe, looking for platypus... but not a one to be found. Then on to Penguin, to look for Jasper on the beach... but it was rainy and windy, so decided to move on to Sister's Beach and Rocky Cape. Sister's Beach had the biggest mosquitoes I've ever seen! But it was also quite lovely. Found a gorgeous live red star fish on the beach at Rocky Cape but the water was too cold for swimming. After lunch, we pushed on for Stanley, home of the Nut. Took a stroll along the wharf at Stanley, saw the crayfishing boats. Then went for walk along the beach, found some beautiful shells. Went back to the harbour and bought a lobster for dinner... it was so good! Towards dark, a thick pea soup fog set in... and it stayed. The next morning, when we were supposed to be taking the chairlift to the top of the Nut... you couldn't even see the Nut when standing in front of it.

So, we decided to take off for Cradle Mountain.

[exislegirl]

Continued:

Continued to be drizzling, cold weather all the way to Cradle Mountain, so we decided it was time to pamper ourselves. We booked into the Chateau and took a split level King Spa Room, and treated ourselves to the buffet. I think I ate 2 dozen oysters as a starter! The next morning, the sky was beautiful, so we set out for the walk around Dove Lake. Such a gorgeous location... although you still need to rug up in Summer as the wind has a biting chill. After Dove Lake, we took the Pencil Pines Waterfall walk - again, delightful. It was getting late in the afternoon, so we took off to Rosebery to stay the night with friends.

Rosebery is a mining town, but it has a delightful Coffee Shop/Gallery where we met up with Shane and Anna. Could have stayed there all day enjoying delightful company and great coffee, but a few hours later, we finally dragged ourselves out of Rosebery, and went to Zeehan which has The West coast Pioneer's & Mine Museum. Saw the most beautiful specimens of Crocoite and other crystals/minerals. From there we set off for Strahan, and did the People's Park walk which runs along Botanical Creek to Hogarth Falls. This is the best spot in Strahan, in my opinion. A few hours later, we set off for Queenstown, where we stayed the night. Next morning, bright an early, we passed by Lake Burbury and did the Nelson Falls Nature Trail. This was a great walk, and the falls were quite lovely. Found lots of fungi on this walk too.


From there, we went on to the Franklin River Nature Trail which was fabulous (found a gorgeous huge red fungi), and then went on to Lake St Clair - the bottom end of Cradle Mountain Nat Park. Did the walk down to Water's Meet, then back along the edge of the lake. While photographing some tiny yellow flowers, I managed to pick up a few leeches! Didn't realise one was still hiding between my toes until about an hour later, I started to get the most annoying lumpy itch on the upper arch of my foot. Investigations found the blighter well and truely swollen with my blood.

Moved on to stay the night at Russell Falls at the Mount Field Nat Park. Russell Falls are huge... they drop over three tiers, and you can't see the top from the bottom. It is a shame that Tassie is currently experiencing a drought, as these falls would be spectacular with more water. They were still very impressive, and the walk was delightful. Should also mention that we saw lots of Paddy Melons here... but trying to get a decent photo of them proved difficult. Moving on, we followed the Gordon River Dam Rd out past Strathgordon to the end. The dam is huge! Went back to Lake Pedder, and stopped for lunch at Ted's Beach. A few brave souls were attempting to swim... but again, it was just too cold. Should also mention that we passed protesters on this road, near the Florentine River. Some had well established camps, and they had a sign strung across the road which said: 'Still Wild - Still Threatened! Save the Florentine!' When we first passed them, there were about 40-50 cars parked along the road, but by the time we came back, they had thinned to about 20. Travelled back via Westerway, where we stopped for a snack by Ginger
Creek, before moving on to New Norfolk... a town that is bursting at the seams with Antique Stores!

Spent the next day wandering from store to store... mouth agape at the prices! Moved onto Richmond, an historic town full of old buildings, then back to Hobart and out to 7 Mile Beach for the night. The next day we took the campervan back early, and got a hirecar for the trip down to Hastings Cave. Not as big or spectacular as King Solomon, but this guide let us take our time and enjoy it. There are also places along the way where people are allowed to touch some of the formations. (Because they have been damaged by others touching them over the years.) The broken stalactites are very heavy, but smooth to touch - almost like glass. Returning to Hobart, we decided to pamper ourselves again - this time staying at The Lodge on Elizabeth, where we again took a spa room. Gorgeous place to stay! Next morning, after breakfast we drove up to Mt Wellington. Spectacular views, but again... biting wind. Walked around for about an hour, taking photos etc... but both said we had had enough.

So, that's our trip - had a great time, but really should have had twice as long.

And here's a link to photos from the trip:
Tassie Photo Albums

Click on an album to see thumbs, which will enlarge when clicked. For those with fast internet connections, at the top left hand corner of each album, there is a slideshow link.

Also, for anyone interested... on the same link there are some albums from a recent holiday to New Zealand.

Natalie

[Mystic]

Hi Natalie, and thank you for returning to tell us about your trip. You guys certainly packed a lot of places into such a short time frame.

Was definitely nice to meet both of you, and hope we get the chance again when you make a return trip. The plant you asked us to identify for you is a Gunnera, commonly known as the giant rhubarb. Not sure if it is edible or not though.

Had to giggle when I read that you spent a night at Mt Field Nat Park, and had earlier mentioned your disappointment of not seeing platypus up north. The river that ran beside the camping ground at Mt Field is home to many, and had you wandered down near the fireplaces at dusk you would most certainly have found one. Was surprised at how little water was flowing over Russell Falls in your images. I have seen them with a torrent rushing over, and it is then impossible to get close enough to get good images without your lens becoming covered in water drops. A mild flow usually produces the best shots, though your images show a very minor flow indeed.

Nice to see that you took the time to check out a number of the places we suggested during our meeting, and that you enjoyed them. Also had a bit of a laugh at your impressions of Strahan. I agree that the walk down to Hogarth Falls is not only well worth it, but the best thing there is about Strahan.

Look forward to catching up next time you are down.

[Shane V]

Hi Natalie,

It was really cool to meet you and Pier(?) and great to sit and relax for a couple of hours and just chat. It certainly looks like you saw quite a lot of the state You've got some great shots in your gallery. I especially liked the King Solomons mines and the Russell Falls walks, not that they all were good
Those Pademelons are very illusive aren't they, well that's what I've found in some places, but in others...they'll eat out of your hand.

Thanks for telling us about your trip and I look forward to catching up again when you return.

[exislegirl]

Hello Anna & Shane,

Thanks for that identification, Anna. Was able to use that to do research and found out the plant I photographed is actually Gunnera Tinctoria, originally from Chile where is it commonly called Giant Rhubarb. Also discovered that young stems are edible:

The stalks of G. tinctoria (nalcas) are edible. Their principal use is fresh consumption, but also they are prepared in salads, liquor or marmalade. Leaves of this species are used in covering curanto (a traditional Chilean food). Source: Wikipedia.

Apparently one can also make a black dye from the roots of the plant. Wish I could grow one in my garden.

Grrr... about not seeing a platypus! The camping spot was packed when we arrived... so many people - perhaps the furry fugitives may have been hiding. Funnily enough, on our trip back to Hobart from Hastings Cave, I was commenting to Per that if anyone asked me about Tasmanian wild life, I would tell them to have a good look at any roadkill they spotted as that was the only wildlife they would see in Tassie, as all the bl@@dy tourists had run all of them over! Then in the next 5 mins as we traveled along, we saw 5 echidnas - live ones actually walking around!!! Lol.

Still trying to get Per to post here... and share some of his photos. He was a bit possessive about his camera this trip, and I only got to use it once... when I took the photos of the Gunnera plant. But for the most part, I was quite happy with many of the photos taken with my poor little Sony. However, I am casually dropping hints that I need a good camera as a birthday or Xmas present!

Hope life is treating you both well.
Natalie

[Shane V]

Interesting information...do your friends know that they can eat their plant? It would be interesting to try...wonder if it has a similar taste to rhubarb...yummy

We did say there was a lot of animals down here...and they are usually alive. I think you're right about the tourists though, they forget to apply the break because they are amazed at the little buggers

Hey Per...come on mate...I saw a few of your pix, from Solomon's...they were great. I would love to see em a bit bigger...Please ?

I'm doing pretty well Natalie, just finished moving to Queenstown myself and am settling in pretty quickly. In Queenstown...it looks like you stayed at the caravan park, is that right? My new place is just down the road from there ...how are you guys doing?

Go the Pentax ...

[Mystic]

Interesting info on that plant Natalie. When we first saw the pics, we were both certain we had seen the plant somewhere...there was one growing in the front garden across from our place at Rosebery.

Come now Per, we guided you to some locations you both enjoyed, now is only fair you come back and share some of your images with us

There definitely is a lot of wildlife around, but perhaps it is learning to hide from the tourists in fear of becoming roadbase. It is definitely saddening to see the amount of animals that are killed on our roads, but on the other hand, this also shows that we do have an abundance of wildlife. If only people could learn to slow down a little, especially after dusk.

Can't complain about life here. Still getting orientated in the new surroundings. I hope the rains up that way have not washed your island away.