February 26th - February 28th
The weather has not been kind to us. We left Friendly Beaches and arrived in the rain at Scamander. We found a traditional old-school caravan park and have a nice sheltered spot.
The afternoon was spent walking along Scamander beach dodging the washed-up Blue Bottle Jelly Fish and hoping that the rain has gone.
It ended up raining all night, so the next day we drove to St Helen's and spent the morning in the local history room, learning the history of St Helens and the surrounding areas. The weather is still poor, but on the way back to Scamander the sun finally appeared so we picked a container of blackberries to take home for dessert.
Pyengana was the next camp. it was clear and sunny when we arrived. After setting up camp, we thought we'd visit a couple of the nearby waterfalls as the recent rain would mean they were flowing. While we were at St Columba falls the rain started again. It was the last time we would see the sun for the next couple of days. Our next stop was Ralph falls in the Victoria State Reserve. The dirt roads were in a hell of a state due to all the rain and it made going quite tricky we ended up doing a loop that included Ringarooma, Legerwood (which has all the carved trees), and then Derby the Moutain Bike capital of Tasmania. Back at camp, it rained all night and the campground was inches deep in water and the forecast was for days more rain to come, so we packed up (got drenched) and headed inland, leaving Bay of Fires for another trip.
March 1 - March 5
It took a few hours to get to Longford going via St Mary's Pass which is very skinny, twisty, and wet. We have set up in a caravan park with easy access to Launceston. The afternoon we spent wandering the streets of Longford admiring the old buildings and homes.
The next day we went into Launceston to the National Motor Museum of Tasmania, a walk through Cataract Gorge, then a slap meal at our favorite Thai restaurant in Lonny.
Thursday we visited the World Heritage Listed site Brickendon. A farm established in the early 1820s using convict labour. It's still owned by the descendants of the original family (The Archers). Many of the original buildings are still there.
Back to Lonny on Friday wandering aimlessly around the city and getting familiar with the place. Saturday was a bludge day.
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| Blue Bottle. |
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| Legerwood |
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| Each carving is the story of a soldier who died in the first world war. |
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| Blue flax |
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| Ralph Falls. |
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| ST columba Falls. |
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| Tiny Red Fungi |
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| Earth Star Fungus |
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| Cataract Gorge - Gate Keepers House |
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| Cateract Gorge - Kings Bridge |
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| Cateract Gorge - Suspension Bridge |
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| Brickendon - Smoke House & William Archers Cottage 1824 |
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| Brickendon - Chapel |
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| Brickendon - Archer Family Home (still occupied by the Archers) |
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| Brickendon - Gardeners Cottage |
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| The Blackberries are plentiful and delicious. |
