Tassie 2023 - Mt Field (Still our favourite.)

 7th-9th February Branxholm

We are in a lovely little caravan park at Branxholm which is free and even has a free washing machine and swimming pool.  It is a little bit noisy with logging trucks during the day but at night it's not too bad.  Although there is a very annoying rooster up the road.  We did the short river walk in town and then settled in for the night. The main industries in the town are the Sawmill and Hop gardens.

Branxholm Campsite

Ringarooma River.

Hop Gardens

The next day we drove to Tulendeena (formerly a station) which is the entrance to the North East Rail Trail it's a 26.2 km section to Scottsdale.  It was a magnificent ride through the beautiful Tasmanian forest, fern gullies, and fern avenues through the granite cuttings.  Heaps of wildlife hopping around as we cycled along.  Wallabies, Bettongs, and even an Echidna. We met another couple en route who were from Darwin and had a nice chat with them at Trewalla Station.  We then met them again on the return journey.  We managed to do a total of 35 kms.

North East Rail Trail.

Lunch Stop

A few people recommended we do the Branxholm to Derby mountain bike trail which is graded as easy so on Thursday we took off up the road and did the mountain bike trail it was great fun.  Although Linda did crash into a rock on a tight hairpin bend.  She recovered and off we went. We had lunch in Derby before heading back to Branxholm.  On the way back an old fella was doing mountain biking how it should be done (fast) and Linda nearly managed to topple him off his bike.  But we had a good laugh and then off he went.  Little did we know he was staying in Branxholm at the same camping ground, he recognised us and we had a good chat.

Mountain Bike Trail.

Valley Ponds.

In the afternoon we drove back to Derby to see the Derby Tunnel which was constructed in 1889 by a
tin miner whose lease was underneath another lease so he tunneled under to move tailings. The tunnel is part of one of the many mountain bike trails and is lit up inside with dim lights which are blue in some sections.

On our way back to camp in Branxholm we stopped off at the remains of the Paris Dam wall which was built in 1936 to supply water to the tin mines. It's now just a remnant in time for tourists to visit.  Legend has it that the original holes to drain the Dam were blocked with logs by the local fishermen and they had to be dramatically increased in size.

Paris Dam Wall.

Then it was off to the Branxholm pub for a drink and a bite to eat. We had a good laugh when we got chatting with a little old lady at the bar who turned out to be one of their local characters.  She did love her drink and colourful language, she had driven to the pub in Branxholm with her dog and her shopping had far too many beers so couldn't drive back to her home in Ringarooma which is about 10km away.  One of her stories about a local who was amorous with a goat was particularly hilarious.

10th-11th February Chudleigh the Village of Roses.

Next stop Chudleigh.

On the way, we run into traffic congestion at Carrick.  We thought there was a major accident on Bass Highway and managed to turn around and ended up in Westbury.  It turned out there was a music festival just out of Carrick and we had been stuck in the queue to get into the festival.  

Westbury Cricket Ground.

We arrived in Chudleigh and camped at the showgrounds it's a beautiful spot with views of the Gog Range regional reserve and Alum Cliffs to the North and the Central Plateau to the South. The view is spectacular, especially at sunset.

In the Evening.

In the Morning.

Chudleigh Camp.

Main Drag.

On Saturday we woke up to a foggy morning which cleared to a beautiful sunny and warm day.  After a late fried breakfast and a walk around the village, we drove out to the Honeycomb caves in the Mole Creek Karst National Park and did a walk-through of the cave with a little creek running through it. The caves are open to exploring on your own.  Then it was off to Mole Creek and a drink at the brewery.  

Honeycomb Caves.

12th-13th February Oatlands

We arrived in Oatlands and it was very windy and cold.  After setting up camp we had a peek at the new Whiskey Distillery before heading in for a walk around the township.  Dropping in the Kentish Hotel/Cafe for a drink.

A very Tasmanian thing having the Cemetary in the Churchyard.

The next day the weather had improved still a little windy but it was a good day for cycling. We cycled along the rail trail around Lake Dulverton to Parattah. We had a poke around Parattah before heading back to Oatlands. After tea, we stopped at the RSL and ran into Chris, one of the old-timers we met last year.  We had a good old chat with him, his daughter, and her partner who live in Spain and are visiting family in Australia. 

Lake Dulverton rock cave.

Parattah Station

14th-17th February Mt Field NP.

Travelled to Mt Field NP on the 14th but couldn't get our favourite spot as they've turned it into a tent campsite.  We are a couple of doors down still on the river.  After setting up we went for a walk along the old railway line looking for ripe blackberries and collecting art supplies for Ken.

Spotted along the train line.

On Wednesday we headed off early and did the 6km walking loop which takes in Lady Barron Falls, the Tall Trees, Horseshoe Falls, and Russell Falls. Even though we have walked it before it's still a really beautiful walk through the tree fern gullies. We then hopped in the car and took a drive up to Maydena and out to Junee Cave. On the way back to Mt Field we stopped off on the side of the road and found heaps of ripe Blackberries.

                       

239 Steps

    

 

Lady Barron Falls

Russell Falls.

We woke up on Thursday to a cloudy day, The platypus was out and about swimming around very close to our camp so we spent some time watching it.  It was forecast to be around 26 degrees so we decided to go up to Lake Dobson and do the Alpine Walk to the Ski fields and walk around Lake Dobson.  As soon as we arrived it started to rain, we decided to go anyway and made it as far as the Ski Village, we started the walk up the hill and down came the rain along with strong gusts of wind so we turned around and headed back.  While we were up there we kept seeing a helicopter flying in and out near Lake Dobson as we got closer to where it was hovering we could see it was collecting bags of building materials that they are using to work on the hiking tracks.

     

After getting back to camp there were a couple of ladies hanging around the back of our camp and they were watching and photographing an Echidna who had wandered up the bank.

Mt Field Campsite.

Friday dawned to a blanket of fog over the valley, the fog soon burnt off to reveal a beautiful sunny morning.  As we hoped it was going to be warm we drove out to the Gordon Dam and walked across the dam wall.  

The drive to the Dam has some magnificent views of a number of rocky mountain ranges.

While we were having lunch a group of motorcyclists drove in on tiny Motorbikes called Groms, they were spending a week tearing around the twisty roads.   On the way back to camp did the Twisted Sister walk just outside of Maydena, we weren't too sure what the Twisted Sister meant until we got there to see a giant ash tree. It's a huge tree which must be 100s of years old with a very twisty trunk.

Twisted Sister.

Tassie 2023 (Still at Cozy Corner)

27th - 28th Jan -  Lilydale 

We are camped in Lilydale a pretty little town in 20 mins from Launceston.  We stopped off in Launnie on the way here to pick up some supplies and then arrived at our camp Cherry Top Eco Farmstay. The site has a bit of a slope so it took us a bit longer to set up.

Lilydale is in a valley and the scenery is quite pretty with the hills surrounding us.

Abandoned Launceston to Scottsdale line.

After lunch, we drove into Lilydale and walked around the township visiting the Antique shop with some really unusual items.  We also visited the little arts and crafts shop which also had some nice quality arts and crafts.

Garden Art.

Would make a good Jigsaw.

Lilydale. Town of painted poles.

Saturday, off to the western side of the Tamar River.  Our first stop was Beaconsfield.  We visited the Beaconsfield Mine & Museum.  It's an excellent museum and there is a part of it dedicated to the rescue of Todd Russell and Brant Webb who were trapped in the mine for 2 weeks after a rock fall.  

Beaconsfield Mine

Further north we stopped off at the York Town historic site. There isn't much there as the town has disappeared totally not even a foundation is visible.  It is a  nice 15-minute walk through the native bush.

Greens beach was our next stop which is right at the top and it's where the Tamar River flows into Bass Strait. Walked along the beach and checked out the caravan park. 

Our final stop of the day was at Beauty point before heading back to Lilydale.

29th Jan - 6th Feb Bay of Fires Conservation Park

Woke up to a very wet morning packed up in the rain and headed towards the east coast.  It was a long twisty hilly drive across to the Bay of Fires.

We managed to find a beautiful secluded campsite at Cosy Corner North and the weather had improved.  A little chilly but it had stopped raining.

In the evening we walked down the beach and onto the rocks which are covered in orange algae.

Sliced Bread.

The next day we walked along the beach from our Campground Cosy Corner North across the rocks and checked out the other campgrounds along the coast. We decided that ours was the best.  After lunch, we headed into St Helens to pick up supplies and walk around the township.  Then back to camp for a roast chicken dinner that we cooked in the camp oven on the gas stove.  Fires are not allowed in National Parks or Conservation areas during the summer.

Our nightly visitor

Just missed us.

Plenty of Bluebottles around.

Beautiful sunny morning and we are off to the Gardens which sits at the beginning of the Bay of Fires.  It's called the Bay of Fires not because of the orange algae on the rocks but because when the French explorer Captain Tobias Furneaux passed the bay in 1773 he could see lots of fires burning which had been lit by the local aboriginal people.

We climbed around the rocks checking out the rock pools, some of them are little fish nurseries.

Then we were off to Mt William National Park.  We took a shortcut across to the main road our first stop was Ansons Bay.  There wasn't much there its mainly fishing shacks. With a small population living there permanently in rather large homes.  Ansons Bay didn't have any beaches it was a sheltered body of water with a boat ramp.

The next stop was Eddystone Lighthouse which was built from 1887-1889 from local granite. The grounds have 3 lighthouse keeper's cottages also made of local stone. The lighthouse was manned until 2000 and is now automated.  The lands have been handed back to the local aboriginal people and they use the lighthouse cottages as places to stay when they visit.

Eddystone Lighthouse.

We then travelled further around and stopped at Deep Creek Camp Ground which had excellent access to the local beach.  We checked out the sites at the campground and saw a large tiger snake slithering off into the bush. Before heading back towards St Helens we walked along the beach.

Deep Creek

Picnic rocks.

One of the Stumpy's

Before we went back to camp we headed down to Binalong Bay and walked along the seafront.

Headed to the wharf at St Helens this morning to ride our bikes along the bike path around St Georges Bay. After the easy cycle around the bay, we went into the forest along the mountain bike trail which starts just outside of St Helens.  It was pretty rough lots of rocks and tree roots across the tracks.  The climb was up the hill with some tight hairpin bends so we only went about halfway up before turning around and heading back down the hill which was a lot easier than the trip up.

For the last few days, we've just been hanging around camp. Reading, walking on the beach, and climbing over the rocks. We keep saying we'll move on tomorrow and then decide to stay another day.

The Hand of God.

Linda's Insta pose.

Tassie 2023

 Tuesday 17th - 19th Jan Forth

After a smooth passage across Bass Strait, we arrived safely in Devonport at around 9:45pm.

Drove to the Forth Recreation Reserve. The campground was busy, but we found a spot for the night.

On Wednesday we took the bikes to Don and rode along the Don River Rail Trail into Devonport.

The ride was partly along the Don River and then along the coast.  We spent a short time in Devonport getting some supplies from the supermarket and then headed back to camp.  The trip was around 30 K's in total.

We had a relaxing day on Thursday Ken completed a few little jobs (why do the electrics always seem to fail in Tassie?) that needed doing and we did a little walk around Forth before heading to the pub for a drink.

Friday 20th - 22nd Railton

We are camped behind the pub at Railton.

As we had only moved 30 mins down the road we were there nice and early so we took the bikes for a ride from Railton to Sheffield the trail is part of the Great Tasmanian Trail and heads through native forest and pine plantations. 

It was a pretty rough old ride in some parts with large stones and slippery gravel and uphill all the way to Sheffield. During the ride, we stopped at Sykes Sanctuary which is a conservation area that was left to the community by Norman Sykes who was an eccentric conservationist who gave up city life to live close to nature at Railton. He lived in a small shack on 40 acres travelling around only by foot or bicycle.

The ride back to Railton was a piece of cake as it was downhill all the way.  The round trip was over 35 K's.

When we arrived back in Railton it was off to the Seven Sheds Brewery for a well-earned drink before settling in for the night. We had a meal at the Railton Pub.

Sykes Sanctuary. 

Westbury Town of Murals

Railton Main St, Town of Topiary

Saturday we headed into Deloraine to pick up a new inverter and do a bit of shopping.

Back in Railton we went for a walk around town and headed to the Clydesdale carriage event which unfortunately had finished by the time we got there.

Then we spent a relaxing afternoon and evening back at camp.

Sunday morning we drove into Latrobe and visited the Sunday market, we walked the Sheehan memorial walk which is a dedication to the men and women who have served in the armed forces for all wars.  It commemorates many of the battles and missions with information plaques.  The walk is lined with Australian Native Plants.

We had a bbq lunch in Bells Parade park along the Mersey River.  After lunch, we walked around Pig Island. This is the site of the first port in North West Tasmania and was a key trading point from 1826 to the early 1900s.

The walk around Pig Island has a natural wetland and is an easy flat walk part of which are Boardwalks.

We returned to our Camp at Railton late in the afternoon had a drink at the pub then relaxed around camp.

Latrobe Main St

Fairies on Pig Island

Latrobe Wharf

Monday 23rd - 26th Bracknell Reserve.

At Bracknell, we set up camp in Bracknell Reserve which is along the Liffey River. We did a bike ride into town to pay our fees at the little shop and then did a cycle around the town.

Camp on the Liffey River

Tuesday morning we headed out to Liffey Falls.  Unfortunately, they were closed due to landslips in the area.  We met some hikers that were going to do the hike in there anyway but we decided to head back to Liffy and take a look at the Liffey school which is now a community hall and you camp here as well.  The School was built in 1885 and closed in 1943.  The community restored the school in the 1990s and now uses it as a community hall.  A memorial has been established there with different varieties of pine trees being planted to remember the men of Liffey who served in WW1.

We then went to Westbury which has a lot of Historic Buildings and a huge Village Green which they claim is the only Village Green in Australia.  Around the town, there is a  steel silhouette trail commemorating the town's treasured characters.  Westbury was a garrison village.  The Village Green was part of the convict barracks. 

Liffey School

Croquet on the Village Green

Wednesday we did the short drive into Launceston and wandered around town. Now that we have visited Launnie a few times we starting to get familiar with the lay of the land we had a Yum Cha for lunch at the Ding Sing restaurant finishing off at the Saint John Craft Beer Cafe before heading back to Bracknell.

On the way back to Bracknell we stopped in the small town of Carrick which has some old Victorian buildings.  We did a short walk around town and then headed back to camp.  Before tea, we stopped in for a drink at the Bracknell Hotel.

Thursday is washing day in Cressy and then on to Longford for lunch at the Mill Bakery and a visit to one of our favourite pubs the Country Hotel (it has a lot of motorsport history, you could spend all day reading the walls) a short walk around town and back to camp for an Australia Day BBQ.

Longford Main St