TASMANIAN TRIP - DECEMBER 2006-JANUARY 2007
TASMANIAN TRIP
DECEMBER 2006-JANUARY 2007
Monday 8 January to Sunday 14 January
Swansea to Beauty Point
Blog 6
The sun was shining but the wind was icy cold and relentless as we drove from Swansea out on the peninsula to the 9 mile beach. It was a very long drive and when we got to the end there was really nothing much to see.
We went to the Swansea Bark Mill with no expectations but it was an absolutely fabulous museum for the area and the Bark Mill that actually existed and ran on that exact spot. The bark of the Black Wattle Tree is excellent for the extraction of tannic acid which is used in tanning leather.
Even though the factory hasn’t existed since 1960 the machinery is running today as it was when the factory was operational. It was a great place.
We went to Kate’s Berry Farm for some fantastic berry pancakes but were upset at the empty dams as a result of the drought in Tasmania.
Freycinet National Park is supposed to be one of the highlights in Tasmania and our expectations were high. We were not disappointed. Freycinet National Park is very mountainous, made of pink grey granite and quite different from the land around it. The walk to Wineglass Bay Lookout was quite steep with 600 steps up but the view was definitely worth it. The waters were very blue due to the fact that the stones and soils didn’t have any colours that leached into it and the sands were white due to the high silicon content. The beaches here are the most beautiful that we have seen in Tasmania.
The boardwalk built around the point of Cape Tourville Lighthouse gave spectacular views of the coast. The light house was quite small but it was really beautiful. We drove back to Coles Bay which is another beautiful spot and then further up the road to the ocean side of the peninsula to The Friendly Beaches at Isaacs Point.
We continued our journey north up the east coastline and stopped at the beautiful town of Bechino. We followed the esplanade to the Gulch which is a protected area between the mainland and an island where the fishermen keep their boats and then along the esplanade to the blow hole which was fantastic.
We decided to take the inland mountainous route to St Helens which led us through Elephant Pass to St Marys and of course stopping for morning tea at the “famous” pancake place. From there we drove back down to the coast through St Mary Pass which had been convict built. A lot of the area we drove through was completely burnt out by the recent bush fires.
We briefly stopped at Scamander which is a well known holiday resort which didn’t appeal to us at all before camping at Peron Dunes at St Helens on Georges Bay for a few days.
We explored the area around St Helens including Burns Bay, St Helens Point Beer Barrel Beach and then to the other side of Georges Bay to Humbug Point and Binalong Bay. The brilliant white sands, brilliant blue water and red lichen on the rocks made for beautiful scenery. The Bay of Fires was next on the agenda which is definitely a must see. It was called the Bay of Fires by the French explorer Tobias Furneaux because of the many aboriginal fires along the beaches.
We continued to the North West corner of Tasmania into Mount William National Park to Ansons Bay, Eddystone Point and Eddystone Lighthouse a beautiful granite stone lighthouse that was built in 1887.
The morning was mild and sunny with blue skies and it was a day to see waterfalls.
We turned off the bitumen road toward Goulds Country, beautiful hilly farmland with the mountains in the background and on to the Blue Tier Reserve with the remains of the old tin mining town of Poimena.
On the way back to the bitumen road we were delighted to accidentally come across the remains of the Anchor Stamp which is a crushing machine that the tin miners used to crush the ore. It is lovely to see how the forest was reclaiming the land.
Halls Falls, St Columba Falls, the tallest falls in Tasmania and Ralph Falls, the tallest single drop, were just lovely cascading waterfalls in beautiful rain forests.
With all the sight seeing done for the day we stopped off at the Pub in the Paddock with its resident pig called Priscilla that drinks beer.
We left St Helens and start to head west and stopped for lunch at the quaint town of Derby with its beautiful little shops in Main Street.
We then took a detour to Legerwood where the trees that were planted at the end of WW1 as a memorial to the local soldiers who had lost their lives had to be cut down so an artist had cut the stumps to depict the soldiers and their lives. It was a most beautiful and moving memorial.
The award winning Forest EcoCentre in Scottsdale was designed to be energy efficient and used local forest timbers.
After being convinced by a couple we met at the Ecocentre we decided to spend the night at the Scottsdale free camp by the lakes so that we could see the platypus in the ponds at dusk.
There were many ducks on the ponds including a mother duck taking her 5 little ducklings for a swim and feed and we saw at least 4 platypuses in the ponds.
Bridport on the northern coast of Tasmania was one of the most beautiful family friendly beaches we have seen so we just stopped and enjoyed it for a few hours.
After that we headed to the Tamar River which is the river between the northern coast and Launceston. It is a most beautiful valley.
From George Town on the banks of the Tamar River we continued north to the head of the Tamar River where it flows into Bass Straight to a place called Low Head. The area was the original pilot station and light house and the buildings dated back to 1863. The lighthouse is the 3rd oldest light station in Australia. It was quite windy which of course is not a surprise being on Bass Straight.
We drove back to George Town and stopped to visit the Bass and Flinders Museum which has a replica of the Norfolk, made of Huon Pine. The boat was used by Bass and Flinders to sail around Tasmania to prove that it was an Island.
Mount George Lookout has expansive views of the George Town Area and the historic semaphore mast built in 1825 to notify officials of shipping movements in the Tamar River.
We crossed the Batman Bridge to get over the Tamar River to the west side and then headed north to Beauty Point our base for the next few days.
DECEMBER 2006-JANUARY 2007
Monday 8 January to Sunday 14 January
Swansea to Beauty Point
Blog 6
The sun was shining but the wind was icy cold and relentless as we drove from Swansea out on the peninsula to the 9 mile beach. It was a very long drive and when we got to the end there was really nothing much to see.
We went to the Swansea Bark Mill with no expectations but it was an absolutely fabulous museum for the area and the Bark Mill that actually existed and ran on that exact spot. The bark of the Black Wattle Tree is excellent for the extraction of tannic acid which is used in tanning leather.
Even though the factory hasn’t existed since 1960 the machinery is running today as it was when the factory was operational. It was a great place.
We went to Kate’s Berry Farm for some fantastic berry pancakes but were upset at the empty dams as a result of the drought in Tasmania.
Freycinet National Park is supposed to be one of the highlights in Tasmania and our expectations were high. We were not disappointed. Freycinet National Park is very mountainous, made of pink grey granite and quite different from the land around it. The walk to Wineglass Bay Lookout was quite steep with 600 steps up but the view was definitely worth it. The waters were very blue due to the fact that the stones and soils didn’t have any colours that leached into it and the sands were white due to the high silicon content. The beaches here are the most beautiful that we have seen in Tasmania.
The boardwalk built around the point of Cape Tourville Lighthouse gave spectacular views of the coast. The light house was quite small but it was really beautiful. We drove back to Coles Bay which is another beautiful spot and then further up the road to the ocean side of the peninsula to The Friendly Beaches at Isaacs Point.
We continued our journey north up the east coastline and stopped at the beautiful town of Bechino. We followed the esplanade to the Gulch which is a protected area between the mainland and an island where the fishermen keep their boats and then along the esplanade to the blow hole which was fantastic.
We decided to take the inland mountainous route to St Helens which led us through Elephant Pass to St Marys and of course stopping for morning tea at the “famous” pancake place. From there we drove back down to the coast through St Mary Pass which had been convict built. A lot of the area we drove through was completely burnt out by the recent bush fires.
We briefly stopped at Scamander which is a well known holiday resort which didn’t appeal to us at all before camping at Peron Dunes at St Helens on Georges Bay for a few days.
We explored the area around St Helens including Burns Bay, St Helens Point Beer Barrel Beach and then to the other side of Georges Bay to Humbug Point and Binalong Bay. The brilliant white sands, brilliant blue water and red lichen on the rocks made for beautiful scenery. The Bay of Fires was next on the agenda which is definitely a must see. It was called the Bay of Fires by the French explorer Tobias Furneaux because of the many aboriginal fires along the beaches.
We continued to the North West corner of Tasmania into Mount William National Park to Ansons Bay, Eddystone Point and Eddystone Lighthouse a beautiful granite stone lighthouse that was built in 1887.
The morning was mild and sunny with blue skies and it was a day to see waterfalls.
We turned off the bitumen road toward Goulds Country, beautiful hilly farmland with the mountains in the background and on to the Blue Tier Reserve with the remains of the old tin mining town of Poimena.
On the way back to the bitumen road we were delighted to accidentally come across the remains of the Anchor Stamp which is a crushing machine that the tin miners used to crush the ore. It is lovely to see how the forest was reclaiming the land.
Halls Falls, St Columba Falls, the tallest falls in Tasmania and Ralph Falls, the tallest single drop, were just lovely cascading waterfalls in beautiful rain forests.
With all the sight seeing done for the day we stopped off at the Pub in the Paddock with its resident pig called Priscilla that drinks beer.
We left St Helens and start to head west and stopped for lunch at the quaint town of Derby with its beautiful little shops in Main Street.
We then took a detour to Legerwood where the trees that were planted at the end of WW1 as a memorial to the local soldiers who had lost their lives had to be cut down so an artist had cut the stumps to depict the soldiers and their lives. It was a most beautiful and moving memorial.
The award winning Forest EcoCentre in Scottsdale was designed to be energy efficient and used local forest timbers.
After being convinced by a couple we met at the Ecocentre we decided to spend the night at the Scottsdale free camp by the lakes so that we could see the platypus in the ponds at dusk.
There were many ducks on the ponds including a mother duck taking her 5 little ducklings for a swim and feed and we saw at least 4 platypuses in the ponds.
Bridport on the northern coast of Tasmania was one of the most beautiful family friendly beaches we have seen so we just stopped and enjoyed it for a few hours.
After that we headed to the Tamar River which is the river between the northern coast and Launceston. It is a most beautiful valley.
From George Town on the banks of the Tamar River we continued north to the head of the Tamar River where it flows into Bass Straight to a place called Low Head. The area was the original pilot station and light house and the buildings dated back to 1863. The lighthouse is the 3rd oldest light station in Australia. It was quite windy which of course is not a surprise being on Bass Straight.
We drove back to George Town and stopped to visit the Bass and Flinders Museum which has a replica of the Norfolk, made of Huon Pine. The boat was used by Bass and Flinders to sail around Tasmania to prove that it was an Island.
Mount George Lookout has expansive views of the George Town Area and the historic semaphore mast built in 1825 to notify officials of shipping movements in the Tamar River.
We crossed the Batman Bridge to get over the Tamar River to the west side and then headed north to Beauty Point our base for the next few days.
posted by Mike and Carol at
10:55 AM
