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