From an Island to an Island to an Island & as far south as roads go

Hobart remained cold but we were determined to take a drive up Mt Wellington so with warm cloths in hand we headed through Hobart and up to the summit where we were greeted by our second Tasmanian summer snow storm and plenty of snow on the ground for throwing snow balls and making snowmen which Tig made on the car much to the amusement of those coming up Mt Wellington as we went down.

Ella at Mt Wellington

It was so cold that Kai had Thea's scarf around his face 

Ice straight off the hand rails

Appartently she had never made a snowman and wanted to help

Driving back into Hobart city with snowman sort of attached

From Hobart we journeyed as far south roads will take us, all the way down to Cockle Creek in South West National Park. Cockle Creek was recommended by Nate, the wood fired pizza restaurant owner at Barilla Caravan Park where we stayed in Hobart, it is also where the South Coast walking track starts. We found a magic little camping spot on the side of the track in the National Park. There was just enough space for our van to fit in next to the open grassy camping area with the beach just 5 metres through the scrub. 

Peaceful Cockle Creek

Our view of the bay with little blue shack

The weather rolls in again

It was a very relaxing 3 days here (even if there was party nearby one night) and the bikes got some well-needed use. 

After a lazy start (except for Tig who went for an early ride) we wandered (Maddi, Ella and Tig on bikes and Kai and Thea on foot) along the road and around the bay to a Point where there is an impressive whale sculpture. Completely unprepared for a bush walk we kind of wandered further down the beach and were half way to Fishers Point (a 4km return walk) before we all realised we had nothing to eat and it was nearly lunch time. 

The Whale Sculpture

Another stunning scene

Father and son wander the beach

The afternoon was generally relaxed which gave us time to catch up on our blog which Thea posted from the roof of the caravan as reception was very poor. In the late afternoon the whole family took to the beach for a bit of exercise. About 200 metres down the beach where some privately owned beach shacks within the National Park. The afternoon’s exercise was to run down the beach and back 10 times to the little blue shack (for the adults). The kids loved it especially as each had a designated turn around spot but soon lost interest leaving Mum and Dad to finish off their 10 laps. Not bad effort all round and everyone felt the pain in our legs the next day.

Thea blog posting from the caravan roof

Cockle Creek is the ‘End of the Road’; the last town South of any note is Southport, which makes for an interesting drive around the few streets consisting of holiday beach shacks. These range from one bedroom fibros by the water edge to multi-million dollar ‘shacks’ up the hill. 

Between Southport and Cockle Creek is Ida Bay once a thriving town but now a couple of houses, café and the Ida Bay Railway. We took the train on the 14km return journey through the bush land and along the waters edge to where they used to load the lime quarried from the nearby hills. It was a huge tourist attraction, not, with just 8 passengers, us making up 5 of them, but pleasant all the same.

Ida Bay Railway

We decided to take over the rear carriage

Our tour guide Lance (centre) at the Grave Yard

Maddi and Ella taking in the sights

The Ida Bay Rail Train

After three lovely days at Cockle Creek we packed up and retraced our steps to Huonville before turning east to Kettering to board the ferry across D’Entrecasteaux Channel to Bruny Island.

Loaded on the ferry to Bruny Island

Kids run on the empty top deck

Bruny Island is only a 45 minute drive from Hobart to the ferry and is divided into a north and south island connected only by a narrow stretch of land. The north island consists mainly of open farming land, where the south is dominated by South Bruny Range and is mainly National Park and State Forest. The main tourist attractions are all on the southern island. We stayed in the one and only caravan park on the island which is at Adventure Bay on the southern island. There was another caravan park at Adventure Bay up until 6 months ago but it closed down as the owners retired. A number of houses are for sale on Bruny Island including the caravan park we stayed in. They are asking $1.89 million for it and it has its own secure water source apparently. This water must be so special as we where charged $1 for a 5 minute shower. We expected Bruny to be very touristy and well set up but after looking around ourselves and talking to the locals it appears to be a very sleepy place with tourism only on the rise in the last 3-5 years. They still have a long way to go but every local seems to be offering accommodation.

We decided to spend our first night on the island seeing some of the cute little penguins that reside on the island. The neck that connects the two islands is home to hundreds of fairy penguins and we went to the lookout/hide just before dark to see them. We were told to get there about 8.30pm but with the sun up so late it wasn’t until almost 9.30pm before the first penguins came up the beach in a group. They looked like a moving smudge on the sand and unfortunately not all three kids saw this the first time. Two penguin chicks had been spotted in a burrow near the boardwalk and the kids had been admiring them further up the slope when the first group arrived. We where thankful for a small school group (only 5 boys and 2 teachers) who had come prepared with torches with red cellophane over the lights so we could observe these creatures. We saw plenty of penguins march up the beach in groups and then weave through the undergrowth searching for their burrow. It was a fantastic experience and the kids loved it. As we drove back to our caravan we found a few penguins and a few other birds on the road and managed to encourage them back into the scrub. We played spotlight of the wildlife on our drive back, which consisted mainly of brush tail possums, rabbits, a spotted Quoll and one white kangaroo. The kids had all fallen asleep by the time we made it back to the van as it was about 11pm.

The next morning we had a sleep in and then proceeded to catch up on the washing while the kids played on the play equipment at the caravan park. Tig noticed some bike riders ride pass the caravan park looking very official and obviously in an event. After some internet research he discovered that the Swisse Mark Webber Tasmania Challenge was holding its Day 3 events on the island. So after a look at the course and the event we decided to head off to the Lighthouse and Jetty beach as we had planned to do but with the added bonus of maybe seeing some of the competitors.

As we have a 4wd we decided to take the direct approach to getting to the southern tip of the island by going up and over the back of Adventure Bay through the state forest. We immediately passed an official car coming down the one land dirt track who told us that about 10km up the track was a number of support trucks for the event and we should take care. We never saw the trucks or any competitors there as we forked off onto another track but we did catch up with them back on a main road further down. From a distance it appeared to be organized chaos as support vehicles collected bikes from one location and drove them quickly round to another checkpoint while the competitors in teams of two kayaked or ran there. Our first stop was Jetty Beach, which is a National Parks campsite. At this point the competitors came in on their mountain bikes and took to the water in kayaks. Most of the roads around Bruny Island are gravel/dirt and often single lane so it was a challenge passing support vehicles, competitors and other tourists. After watching a few of the competitors head out on their kayak leg we decided to go to the Lighthouse. On arrival we saw two competitors running back down the hill to their bikes and ride onto Jetty Beach. The views from the lighthouse was exceptional with stunning cliffs and rocky outcrops. Unfortunately there weren’t many walks suitable for our young family and the weathered turned so we only completed one short walk to Sheepwash Bay.

Competitor kayaks at Jetty Beach

Our second full day we decided to visit the non-natural tourist attractions like the Berry Farm, Fudge Factory and Hothouse Café. The kids big and small enjoyed picking our own strawberries and we had to control ourselves and not go overboard. With 1.5kg of strawberries in our possession one would think they would last a while. They were however all gone within 24 hours and they were so yummy. Next stop was the Fudge Factory where we sampled the fudge on offer and maybe, just maybe, picked up a few gifts. The adults saw this as an opportunity to do some Christmas shopping for our kids and therefor sent them outside to eat their sandwiches on the tailgate of the car. As you can imagine Maddi and Ella thought it would be fun to try and get a sneek peek at what mum and dad might be buying for them and kept reappearing beside us with a giggle. Kai was just stuck on the tailgate being so small and was more interested in food now to bother with us. I am pleased to say our mission was successful and they have no idea what we got for them. They even scored a free chocolate frog each from the owner as she thought they were well-behaved children. If only she knew that her facial expressions and body language at the beginning of our visit to the shop had given Thea the impression that she wasn’t coping with them. They obviously won her over with their cute if not a little annoying antics.

Strawberry picking and tasting

Yummy!

Ella and our 1.5kg

Ella doing some farm work

Since our first maze on the trip back in the South West Corner with Grant, Jenny and Kee Chan we have been on the look out for others. We thought it would be a good tourist attraction on Bruny and where delighted to see a photograph of one at the Hothouse Café on the back of the school fundraiser 2012 calendar. We decided to investigate, as we hadn’t seen any advertising for a maze on the island. We arrived at the Hothouse Café, which is appropriately named as it is housed inside a white plastic covered semicircle green house you would find in a market garden. It makes sense as Tassie weather is often cold but on our particular day was quite warm so we opted to sit outside under the shade cloth gazebo. We enquired about the maze but were informed it was removed 3 years ago as it was too much work for the new owners and the space converted into the carpark. We therefor sampled the scones on offer with coffee and hot chocolates and admired the view instead.

Hothouse Cafe for Coffee and Scones

The view

Thea couldn't resist trimming Kai's hair

Before departing the island we headed to the northern island for a look around. Driving the narrow roads we saw Iron Pot Lighthouse that the Sydney to Hobart Yachts pass on their entry into Hobart Harbour. We stopped at Dennes Point (the most northerly point) for a coffee from the café/restaurant and a look in the gallery, which are both housed along with small grocery store in a community built building. The view was pretty good from the wide deck and the kids where enjoying the small play equipment, which consisted simply of a swing set. We could have sat there for hours but alas the main land, as the locals call it was waiting. Once again the weather closed in and we had a quick bit to eat in the caravan while waiting for the ferry. For the short ferry ride back we were entertained along with a few family groups of cyclists and by the family sticker on the back of a Toyota HiAce Commuter van. It had the longest family stick figure sticker we had ever seen. All twenty family members plus five dogs, two cats, one bird, one chicken and a rabbit squeezed onto the back window. The van looked modified and we worked out could sit 16 people.

Ready to load again back for mainland Tassie 

Longest family sticker ever

Once off the ferry we headed north back thought Hobart and stopped for the night at Sorell’s RV stop. The kids had a quick opportunity to ride scooter down the road to the council chambers to pay our nominal fee before heading to the skate park next door while Thea cooked dinner.

Next we will update you on our West Coast adventures and why Tig has become a skilled fish cleaner. 

Till then…

Tig and Thea

Alpine Tasmania

This blog for the Bloomfields’ trip is written by Jo Kitchener, Phil's (Tig's) sister who joined us for our first week in Tasmania with her children, Anna, 10 and Tim, almost 8.

We left a very wet Sydney hoping for fine weather in Tassie, but arrived in Launceston airport to walk across the tarmac in drizzle.

Erika met us in the baggage area and then radioed for the Bloomfields to collect us.  This huge rigg pulled up, blocked the whole pick up bay and we piled in. Kids in the boot with Maddi and I sat between Ella and Kai.

We travelled to Cradle Mountain where we set up camp.  We pitched our tent under the van awning as there was not much room, and there was a great camp kitchen so the space under the awning was not needed.

Cradle Mountain camp with our brief sunshine

It was cold and wet so the camp kitchen was our place of refuge with a roaring fire and space for the kids to run around. A great place for us all to fit for a meal with toasted marshmallows for desert.

There was lots of wildlife in the caravan park - very fat possums, wallabies with joeys and Maddi spotted a huge wombat late at night just outside the window of the kitchen.

We awoke to a very small patch of blue sky, but lots of drizzly rain. The kids went exploring, looking for wallabies while we made lunch and got set for an adventure to Cradle Mountain.

We caught the shuttle bus to Dove Lake at the foot of Cradle Mountain and walked around to the old boat shed and on to Lake Lilla.  We walked up to Wombat Pool for a late lunch with a pesky crow who liked the idea of our cheese over the dead frogs he was already carrying.

Tim, Jo and Anna at Dove Lake with Kai front and centre

The kids walked really well with Tim and Ella in the lead for much of the day, Anna and Maddi playing games along the way and Kai fluctuating from striding out, to flying over puddles.

We continued on, back down the steps we had climbed to Wombat Pool and round to large areas of button grass on our way to Ronny Creek.  We saw a mother wombat and her baby as we walked along the boardwalk.  It was very cute, and not worried about us at all.

Back row: Jo, Erika, Thea, Tig and Ella
Middle row: Maddi and Anna
Front row: Kai and Tim

Mum and baby wombat taking an afternoon stroll

As it had been drizzling on and off during the day, we were glad to get back to the camp kitchen late in the afternoon, get the fire going again, and cook pikelets for afternoon tea.

Some of us snuck out late at night to visit the Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary. This is a conservation facility with a captive breeding program aimed at ensuring the genetic diversity of the animals with the intention of reintroduction into the wild the Tassie Devil, Eastern Quoll and Spotted-tail Quoll.

It was amazing to see these creatures up close, touch a Tassie Devil and see them fed.  The are not pack animals so it was each for themselves rather than sharing a meal.  They are not territorial so any fights are over breeding rights rather than a food.  We also saw the spotted quoll, which is closely related to the Tassie Devil also being a predator and non pack animal.  The spotted tailed quoll can grow to larger than the Tassie Devil.  The numbers in the wild were depleted by a significant bounty on the animals beginning in the 1830's.  This bounty was on the devil, quoll and Tassie tiger to eradicate them from the sheep farms.  For over a century they were trapped and poisoned and became very rare.  It was not until the 1940’s that the Tassie Devil was protected by law, after the extinction of the Tassie Tiger.

Time to pack up the next day and move on.  With everything stowed just after 10, we headed away from Cradle Mountain and on the road to the West Coast.  More games of I-spy and other games to keep the children entertained.  Anna and Maddi made up a clapping song as the car and van travelled slowly up and down the hills.

We travelled past huge craggy mountains as we drove up and down through rainforest and open country to reach Rosebury where the children were very glad for a park to play in and lunch.

Our destination for the next couple of days was Strahan on Macquarie Harbour but we had a sand dune to find first.  It was huge and quite a climb to the top.  Tig and the kids went straight up the 50m dune while Thea, Erika and I chose the more gentle way up.  There were vast dunes with the ocean in the far distance.

The children were so glad to be out of the car that they set off on an expedition of their own.  When we finally caught up with them after chasing them all through the dunes, we explained we were not going to the water, but just going to climb and slide down the dunes on a piece of cardboard.  Lessons learnt about staying in sight of an adult, the adults having an unexpected run through the dunes, the kids had a great time sliding down dunes closer to where we were meant to be. That over, we headed for the car and all went back down the huge dune the kids had first climbed.  No broken bones, but pockets full of sand.  Kai got tipped upside down to empty his pockets and everyone brushed off as much as possible.

Onto Strahan to check out the local Tourist office for the low down on where to stay and what to do.  The two caravan parks in town are owned by the same people, so that choice was easy.  We also booked on a river cruise for the next day then headed to the caravan park to get set up.  We had a great grassy spot near the play equipment, camp kitchen and amenities.  Thea again cooked a lovely meal and as it was a lovely evening we sat outside at their big table.  Time to de-sand the kids in the shower ready for bed.  Tig, Tim and I took a quick time out to view the beautiful sun set over the bay.

Tim and a Strahan sunset

Tassie weather is very changeable.  After a lovely afternoon, we had wind and rain during the night.  The tent withstood the onslaught, but if I was to travel Tassie again, a van would be better.

An early start the next morning to get on the boat by 8.30.  

Mormor walked to the dock with Thea, Maddi, and Anna, while the rest of us followed in the car.  Kai cheered as we passed them on the way.

The boat was large and not too crowded so we were able to spread out.

Thea taking photos up on deck

We went out of Macquarie Harbour through "Hells Gates" into the Roaring Forties.   The Roaring Forties is the name given to the strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere between the latitudes of 40 and 49 degrees.  These winds are stronger in the south because there is little land below the 40^th parallel south.

It was extremely windy outside the heads and we heard lots of stories of ships being wrecked trying to get in.  Hells Gates is a narrow passage way into the harbour between the southern head and an island in the middle of the heads, the channel to the north of the island is shallow.  It was called Hells Gates by the convicts who went through there on their way to Sarah Island as they felt they were entering Hell.

There are still cottages inhabited on the southern side of the entrance whose only supplies come by the water.

The Macquarie Harbour has many high-tech fish farms producing Atlantic Salmon and Ocean Trout for local, national and international markets.  The farms consist of a number of large netted areas where the young fish are fed and grown.  Salmonids are not native to Tasmania and have all been introduced.

Our next stop was Sarah Island.  A fascinating place with amazing history in its short life as a secondary penal colony. We had an amazing tour guide who made the history come alive as she told us how the first people there cut all the trees down but then had to build a 12 metre high fence to stop the winds so they could grow vegetables.  She told us of Grummet Island where the worst offenders were sent, of the 6 cell solitary confinement jail house built but seldom used, of the cat of nine tails used frequently.  She told of many escapes including the one who escaped past Frenchman’s Cap and on to Hobart, to be recaptured and then put to work in the surveyors department.  She also told of the corruption and contraband trade that had prisoners in Hobart wanting to reoffend so they could be sent there.  She also told us of the skillful boat building enterprise that was established there.

The kids finding out all about Sarah Island

For more info visit www.roundearth.com.au and www.parks.tas.gov.au

Back on the boat we had a sumptuous lunch, including salmon and Tasmanian cheeses as we continued up river at a slow pace into the Franklin World Heritage area.  We stopped in horseshoe bend to walk in the forest and see the huge 2000 year old Huon Pine which had fallen, but saplings are growing from its roots.  We also saw myrtles, leatherwood and Sassafras growing in the rainforest where they have some rain 300 days a year.

Maddi and Anna exploring Heritage Landing on the Gordon River

The return journey was straight back down the river and a time to relax, enjoy the views. The kids had a great time visiting the captain and standing on the front deck in the wind.

Maddi, Ella and Tim enjoying the wind

Dinner was fish and chips from town followed by a play on the beach as the sun does not set until after 8.30.

Ella, Maddi, Tim, Anna and Kai

Thea called Tanzania today for Jake's birthday where they were having beans and bananas for dinner as a birthday treat.  There was much singing and chatting via Skype on the iPad.

It was a lovely day with hardly a spot of rain, not a lot of sunshine, but we have concluded that the sun only comes out in 5 minute bursts in Tasmania.  We were even able to dry our washing in the warm breeze.

So as not to feel too sure of ourselves as far as the weather was concerned, it rained during the night, well actually it poured.  Anna, Tim and I were in a 3 man tent and I had opened the window flaps as it was quite warm when we went to bed.  Fortunately the rain didn’t come in.

We packed up another wet tent and put it in the caravan bathroom for the day.

The caravan park had turned into a swamp overnight.  Tig collected cardboard from the local cafe/bottle shop and we laid this down in front of the wheels for him to drive over and protect the grass.  The kids had a great time picking up the pieces driven over and running them to the front of the van wheels.

We had a windy and undulating drive to Queenstown in the sporadic rain. Past barren hills to a mining town to stock up on fruit and veges.  We thought we'd have lunch in the park as it was sunny when we came into town, but by the time we had done the shopping it was hailing, so we opted for lunch in the van.  By the time we had walked back to the van after the sudden storm stopped just as suddenly, the sun came out and we put our own picnic bench on the foot path and ate lunch there.

From Queenstown we were heading to Lake St Claire to see the other end of the Overland track.  Again rainy and windy when we stopped we did have about 5 minutes of sun to walk to the jetty and have a look around.

We had decided not to camp there, so we drove on to a recommended free camping spot at Lake Brady.  A beautiful spot, but we arrived in the rain (again). The sun made us a rainbow while still raining, but the weather did clear enough for us to just about eat dinner outside with a lovely view of the lake.

Lake Brady sunshine dinner but still freezing

It was a freezing cold night of 6 degrees when we went to bed in the rain. It rained a lot of the night and we packed up the tent between showers of rain in the morning.

Just as we were setting off it started to snow and the temperature had fallen to just 3 degrees.  It was a beautiful sight and we were glad to be on our way in the warm car. And this was the first day of Summer!

This area has a series of lakes, canals and hydro electric plants generating electricity so we had quite a lot of steep up and downs today.

We headed to Mt Field National Park and as we got closer we could see snow on the top on the mountains.  Ella wanted to go and play in it.

Our campsite was close to the river and we fitted the van, camper van and tent into the site nicely.  The kids explored, finding a baby echidna and pademelons.

Tig relaxing at Mt Field National Park

After lunch we set off to find Russell Falls and some huge trees in the beautiful weather.  We also saw more echidnas and pademelons many with joeys in their pouches or feeding nearby.

Off for our walk to Russell Falls

One of the many echidnas

Maddi, Tim and Anna

Pademelon with joey

We had a lovely afternoon around the campsite with sunshine and beautiful weather by the banks of the river.  We ate dinner outside surrounded by the local wildlife.

Pancake breakfast in the camp kitchen

After packing up the next morning we drove up to Mt Field, one of Tasmania’s ski fields.  We could see patches of snow up the top, but the road is gated so we could not drive all the way up.  We walked past a beautiful alpine lake and the kids ran up the hill past a wombat.

Kai testing the alpine lake water temperature

On the way back down we stopped at a group of very basic huts where there was snow on the ground and the kids had a great time throwing snow at the walls, making a mini snowman and then throwing snow at Tig’s car.

Snowman fun

The car having a snow shower

Back down to the campsite to collect the van and head off to Hobart in time for a Cadbury factory tour.  We drove through some beautiful countryside of raspberry farms, dairying, sheep and pasture.

We made the factory at the time suggested, only to find out that actually they were not doing the tours today as they were remodeling the area.  We made the most of the factory shop and enjoyed real hot chocolates made with chocolate shavings.

Real hot chocolates at the Cadbury Factory

Cadbury Chocolate Truck

We searched the internet and found a caravan park for the night.  I was charged with the task of getting us there and with the modern technology of the iPad and electronic maps.  However, I did not master the technology very well and Tig and Erika had to do some swift lane changes to keep heading in the right direction.

We set up a lovely camp in more sunshine - this is how I thought it would be.  The kids played stuck in the mud while the adults enjoyed a relax before dinner at the restaurant at the caravan park.

Relaxing in the sunshine at Hobart before dinner

The sun was shining again the next day so many loads of Bloomfield washing was done while I packed up our bags for the plane trip home.  We drove closer to town and caught the bus into Salamanca Markets for the day.  The variety was amazing from wood work to gems, food to fashion, toys and plants.  We experienced the fickle Tasmanian weather again, with 2 showers during the day.

At the end of the day it was time to head back to the caravan park, collect our bags and fly home.  We had a wonderful week with the Bloomfields and feel very privileged to have been able to share a week of their adventure.  

Words and photos by Jo Kitchener
Photo captions by Thea