TASMANIAN TRIP - DECEMBER 2006-JANUARY 2007
TASMANIAN TRIP
DECEMBER 2006-JANUARY 2007
Monday 18 December to Sunday 24 December
Strahan to Hobart
Blog 3
The West Coast Wilderness Steam Train from Strahan to Queenstown was highly recommended so we took the 4hour journey that went through the beautiful rain forests, along the King River and finally the Queen River which has been terribly polluted from the copper mining in Queenstown. The Queen River had in turn polluted the King River. It is sad to see the destruction but in the late 1800s people didn’t know any better. We had 3 stops along the way including lunch and we watched them turn the steam engine around and attach it to the other end of the train. It rained on and off for most of the day but it just added to the magic of the rain forest.
The rain stopped and the sun and blue sky appeared as we drove down to Macquarie Heads in Strahan and on to the beach. What a beautiful sight. We then headed down on to the Ocean Beach which is a 40km beach on the west coast. Even though it was a calm day the water was very rough but most beautiful. Nothing beats the beauty of the ocean.
After Strahan we drove to Queenstown very slowly because of the winding road taking our time to stop at the lookouts on the way to enjoy the scenery.
We walked to the top of Spion Kop Lookout to get the best view of Queenstown. They couldn’t manage to keep any grass growing on the oval so they covered it with silica. You would have to be tough to play either cricket or football on that oval, but then again it is a mining town!!!!
We took the Mt. Lukes Road scenic drive stopping at Newell Creek to see the Huon Pine, King Billy Pine and the Celery Top Pine. Then it was off to Mt Huxley Lookout from where you could see Queenstown and the surrounding mountains, particularly those that had been mined.
Our last stop on the scenic drive before we arrived at Queenstown was the Lake Burbury Lookout. The lakes and waterways are abundant in this area. The lake like most other waterways around here are brown with tannin particularly from the button grass and it makes for beautiful reflections. The Queen River flows into the King River both of which are contaminated and the contamination has washed into Macquarie Harbour and formed a delta.
We stopped at Nelson Falls which was a lovely waterfall and then walked along the Franklin River Nature Trail. It is certainly a beautiful river.
After enjoying Cradle Mountain so much we decided to drive into the southern end of Cradle Mountain Lake St. Clare National Park and spend a few days at Lake St. Clare. It is a most magnificent lake. The water is like glass with huge trees surrounding it. We walked the track to the platypus viewing station and were lucky enough to see 2 platypuses swimming in the water.
The boat ride on the lake took us to Echo Point where we got off and then started our 11km walk back home. The walk was spectacular. The track we walked along was the last section of the Overland Track which starts at Cradle Mountain on the Crater Lake walk. So we had done both ends of the Overland Track just not the 5 days hiking in between!!. We saw lots of myrtle, sassafras, native laurel, all sorts of ferns, gums and of course the mosses and fungi. It was a fragrant and visual feast.
At Derwent Bridge we stopped at the art work of Greg Duncan who is an Australian sculpture working on a 100m long mural that depicts the logging history of the area. It has a beautiful feeling to it. It is called the Wall in the Wilderness and the building is set in Aussie bush of gum trees. It is hard to believe that it is only 6km away at St Clair where there is temperate Rain Forest with mainly myrtles, leatherwoods, sassafras and ferns.
We were in hydro-electricity country and Bronte Park is where the workers from the hydro-electric scheme lived in huts from about 1930 onwards. Each worker had his own hut, basic but adequate.
The engineering feat is an amazing thing, from its idea to the building process. We continued up and down the steep winding road to Tarraleah which is the site of 2 hydro-electric plants from 2 different rivers and overlooks the Nive Valley. We drove passed some beautiful lakes, Bradys Lake, Lake Binney and Tungatinah Lagoon.
Hamilton was our next stop which is an historic town where the whole town has been classified by the National Trust.
We had finished sight seeing for the day and decided to continue on to Hobart, our base for a few weeks.
Salamanca markets is a must see in Hobart. There were lots of stalls and lots of people but it wasn’t frantic. We decided to do the tourist thing and take the double Decker bus ride around Hobart. It went through Battery Point, the Cascade Brewery, the Female Factory, the wharfs and the city. It was a chance for Mike to enjoy the scenery without having to drive.
We drove the short distance to Richmond and explored the beautiful historic town, 1823 bridge, the gaol, the oldest Catholic Church in Australia, John’s Church, St Lukes Church, oldest State School in Australia and all the little shops.
It was built before Port Arthur and most of the stone places were built around 1830s with stone from a local quarry and with convict labour.
Most of the convicts were given to free settlers as free labour and the gaol was only used for repeat offenders, pregnant women and bushrangers that were caught. It was the only goal that had both male and female convicts. Ikey Solomon (the person on which Charles Dickens based his Fagin character) was one of the prisoners here. It is all so picturesque now.
DECEMBER 2006-JANUARY 2007
Monday 18 December to Sunday 24 December
Strahan to Hobart
Blog 3
The West Coast Wilderness Steam Train from Strahan to Queenstown was highly recommended so we took the 4hour journey that went through the beautiful rain forests, along the King River and finally the Queen River which has been terribly polluted from the copper mining in Queenstown. The Queen River had in turn polluted the King River. It is sad to see the destruction but in the late 1800s people didn’t know any better. We had 3 stops along the way including lunch and we watched them turn the steam engine around and attach it to the other end of the train. It rained on and off for most of the day but it just added to the magic of the rain forest.
The rain stopped and the sun and blue sky appeared as we drove down to Macquarie Heads in Strahan and on to the beach. What a beautiful sight. We then headed down on to the Ocean Beach which is a 40km beach on the west coast. Even though it was a calm day the water was very rough but most beautiful. Nothing beats the beauty of the ocean.
After Strahan we drove to Queenstown very slowly because of the winding road taking our time to stop at the lookouts on the way to enjoy the scenery.
We walked to the top of Spion Kop Lookout to get the best view of Queenstown. They couldn’t manage to keep any grass growing on the oval so they covered it with silica. You would have to be tough to play either cricket or football on that oval, but then again it is a mining town!!!!
We took the Mt. Lukes Road scenic drive stopping at Newell Creek to see the Huon Pine, King Billy Pine and the Celery Top Pine. Then it was off to Mt Huxley Lookout from where you could see Queenstown and the surrounding mountains, particularly those that had been mined.
Our last stop on the scenic drive before we arrived at Queenstown was the Lake Burbury Lookout. The lakes and waterways are abundant in this area. The lake like most other waterways around here are brown with tannin particularly from the button grass and it makes for beautiful reflections. The Queen River flows into the King River both of which are contaminated and the contamination has washed into Macquarie Harbour and formed a delta.
We stopped at Nelson Falls which was a lovely waterfall and then walked along the Franklin River Nature Trail. It is certainly a beautiful river.
After enjoying Cradle Mountain so much we decided to drive into the southern end of Cradle Mountain Lake St. Clare National Park and spend a few days at Lake St. Clare. It is a most magnificent lake. The water is like glass with huge trees surrounding it. We walked the track to the platypus viewing station and were lucky enough to see 2 platypuses swimming in the water.
The boat ride on the lake took us to Echo Point where we got off and then started our 11km walk back home. The walk was spectacular. The track we walked along was the last section of the Overland Track which starts at Cradle Mountain on the Crater Lake walk. So we had done both ends of the Overland Track just not the 5 days hiking in between!!. We saw lots of myrtle, sassafras, native laurel, all sorts of ferns, gums and of course the mosses and fungi. It was a fragrant and visual feast.
At Derwent Bridge we stopped at the art work of Greg Duncan who is an Australian sculpture working on a 100m long mural that depicts the logging history of the area. It has a beautiful feeling to it. It is called the Wall in the Wilderness and the building is set in Aussie bush of gum trees. It is hard to believe that it is only 6km away at St Clair where there is temperate Rain Forest with mainly myrtles, leatherwoods, sassafras and ferns.
We were in hydro-electricity country and Bronte Park is where the workers from the hydro-electric scheme lived in huts from about 1930 onwards. Each worker had his own hut, basic but adequate.
The engineering feat is an amazing thing, from its idea to the building process. We continued up and down the steep winding road to Tarraleah which is the site of 2 hydro-electric plants from 2 different rivers and overlooks the Nive Valley. We drove passed some beautiful lakes, Bradys Lake, Lake Binney and Tungatinah Lagoon.
Hamilton was our next stop which is an historic town where the whole town has been classified by the National Trust.
We had finished sight seeing for the day and decided to continue on to Hobart, our base for a few weeks.
Salamanca markets is a must see in Hobart. There were lots of stalls and lots of people but it wasn’t frantic. We decided to do the tourist thing and take the double Decker bus ride around Hobart. It went through Battery Point, the Cascade Brewery, the Female Factory, the wharfs and the city. It was a chance for Mike to enjoy the scenery without having to drive.
We drove the short distance to Richmond and explored the beautiful historic town, 1823 bridge, the gaol, the oldest Catholic Church in Australia, John’s Church, St Lukes Church, oldest State School in Australia and all the little shops.
It was built before Port Arthur and most of the stone places were built around 1830s with stone from a local quarry and with convict labour.
Most of the convicts were given to free settlers as free labour and the gaol was only used for repeat offenders, pregnant women and bushrangers that were caught. It was the only goal that had both male and female convicts. Ikey Solomon (the person on which Charles Dickens based his Fagin character) was one of the prisoners here. It is all so picturesque now.
posted by Mike and Carol at
10:31 AM
