Tasmania, Australia March 31-April 7, 2016
After a very bumpy flight from
Auckland to Melbourne and then on to
Launceston, we met a lovely Aussie, Jenny, sister to Liz and Max, our Australian friends who were waiting for us in Coles Bay .
Kay and Jenny in front of the tree trunk/art carving
Jenny gave us a lovely two and half hour ride down Route 1 through the countryside of Tasmania describing various points of interest. We stopped in Campbell Town for bit of stretch and took a short walk around the park there.
A lovely bridge built by convicts in the 1800's
On we ventured passing Lake Leake and Cranbrook stopping at Devil’s Corner for a scenic shot of Oyster Bay and Hazard Mountains with vineyards. We spotted numerous duck blinds built upon the inland waters. Jenny described the controversy that had taken place there a couple of weeks earlier…naturalist/environmentalist spoke out against the hunters having the two weeks duck hunting season.
We proceeded on to reach Coles Bay and probably the number one spot in all of Tasmania….Freycinet Peninsula.
Artistic tree/trunk art carving dedicated to the convicts who built the bridge in Campbelltown
Jenny gave us a lovely two and half hour ride down Route 1 through the countryside of Tasmania describing various points of interest. We stopped in Campbell Town for bit of stretch and took a short walk around the park there.
On we ventured passing Lake Leake and Cranbrook stopping at Devil’s Corner for a scenic shot of Oyster Bay and Hazard Mountains with vineyards. We spotted numerous duck blinds built upon the inland waters. Jenny described the controversy that had taken place there a couple of weeks earlier…naturalist/environmentalist spoke out against the hunters having the two weeks duck hunting season.
We proceeded on to reach Coles Bay and probably the number one spot in all of Tasmania….Freycinet Peninsula.
The view from our Tasmania home away from home....the Hazards!
Our Tasmania get away home!
When we pulled into our new homestead, we were greeted by the nicest Tassies, Max and Liz Swain and their beautiful view of the pink-granite peaks of the Hazards.
They immediately supplied us with a local refreshment beside the warm fire out on their deck with the sun set splashing on the mountain back drop. Larry and I felt right at home with these new friends. We enjoyed a marvelous dinner of grilled chicken, pumpkin, and roasted potatoes all cooked on the grill by Max with homemade bread. A couple of glasses of delishous Tasmanian Pinot Noir sent Larry and I off to a wonderful night of bliss….especially since our day had started at 5:00AM.
When we pulled into our new homestead, we were greeted by the nicest Tassies, Max and Liz Swain and their beautiful view of the pink-granite peaks of the Hazards.
Kay and Jenny enjoying the "noyice" (nice) Aussie fire.
They immediately supplied us with a local refreshment beside the warm fire out on their deck with the sun set splashing on the mountain back drop. Larry and I felt right at home with these new friends. We enjoyed a marvelous dinner of grilled chicken, pumpkin, and roasted potatoes all cooked on the grill by Max with homemade bread. A couple of glasses of delishous Tasmanian Pinot Noir sent Larry and I off to a wonderful night of bliss….especially since our day had started at 5:00AM.
The next morning
Max and Liz took us out for a fishing expedition on his boat. Although the fish
didn’t participate, the scenery was spectacular.
Heading out to the Tasman Sea we dropped lines over at Weatherhead Point and Cooks Beach.
Jenny donned her wet suit and took a crisp 56 degree swim in Promise Bay…..Brrrrr!
The white caps suddenly appeared making Max turn the boat back to Coles Point passing through Honeymoon Bay .
Heading out to the Tasman Sea we dropped lines over at Weatherhead Point and Cooks Beach.
Jenny donned her wet suit and took a crisp 56 degree swim in Promise Bay…..Brrrrr!
The white caps suddenly appeared making Max turn the boat back to Coles Point passing through Honeymoon Bay .
After a
wonderful lunch, we settled in for a little afternoon snooze….how wonderful was
that!
A friend from Launceston, Robin, joined us for the evening bringing 4 dozen of “THE” famous Tasmanian Oysters…
OH MY!… Was Larry in Oyster Heaven? Max stuffed four huge Tasmanian Salmon and spearing them with lemon and placed them on the grill. Robin made these special healthy air fried potatoes while Liz added some great cole slaw. Whew…..What a feast! That was topped off with some fabulous Tasmanian Champagne that bubbled all the way down. OH MY!... The night ended with this fabulous homemade blue berry ice cream that I am still begging Max for the recipe. And if that was not enough, a bowl of fine chocolate was passed around right before bedtime. Larry and I stepped out of the deck for a final look over Oyster Bay.
The sunset during the evening was just phenominal! Low and behold, the stars were so bright
it was the first time that we had experienced seeing the Milky Way so clearly.
A shooting star went right over and Max pointed out Saturn and two of its
moons. What a magical evening….certainly one we will not forget for a long,
long time.
Saturday morning, Larry took us all out for brekky (the Aussie word for 'breakfast')...at the
Freycinet Lodge... a fabulous buffet. We feasted like we hadn't had a bite for days. HA! After the meal from the night before, I don't know how we took another bite.
The view from Freycinet Lodge was terrific! The water is simply crystal clear.
A friend from Launceston, Robin, joined us for the evening bringing 4 dozen of “THE” famous Tasmanian Oysters…
OH MY!… Was Larry in Oyster Heaven? Max stuffed four huge Tasmanian Salmon and spearing them with lemon and placed them on the grill. Robin made these special healthy air fried potatoes while Liz added some great cole slaw. Whew…..What a feast! That was topped off with some fabulous Tasmanian Champagne that bubbled all the way down. OH MY!... The night ended with this fabulous homemade blue berry ice cream that I am still begging Max for the recipe. And if that was not enough, a bowl of fine chocolate was passed around right before bedtime. Larry and I stepped out of the deck for a final look over Oyster Bay.
Saturday morning, Larry took us all out for brekky (the Aussie word for 'breakfast')...at the
Freycinet Lodge... a fabulous buffet. We feasted like we hadn't had a bite for days. HA! After the meal from the night before, I don't know how we took another bite.
….we enjoyed looking out on Oyster Bay. What a sight!
Max, Liz, Robin,
and Jenny packed up to head back to Launceston. We had had so much fun that we
were sad to see these dear friends go.
That afternoon we hiked around to the
north side of Oyster Bay taking in all the fantastic views.
I never get tired of walking on the beach and
Larry has other ideas about relaxing in the shade.
The next day we
hiked around the south side going back into the Freycinet Lodge for another
look around. You can spot the lodge just across the water.
The rocky coast makes for spectacular scenery!
Monday we took a
road trip passing through some scenic villages..... Swansea and Lisdillon stopping at
Spring Beach.
The road south reminded us of New Zealand.
It was a lovely day….lots of sunshine and very summer like
according to a gentleman that we spoke with on the beach. Tasmania has
frequently changing weather systems so the sunshine can disappear to black rain
clouds in a matter of an hour....and visa versa. We were fortunate to have a totally awesome sunshine day from start to finish.
Did I mention
the speed limits in Tasmania? Every little town and in many unannounced areas,
speed cameras are set up to catch drivers who go over the speed limit. A speeding ticket can
just show up in your mail.
This is tricky because there is not much warning….it
just suddenly goes from 100 to 60. Most Tassies adhere to this easily, because
they claim to not have ever had a ticket. We found it hard to adjust your speed
at the blink of an eye…. There was no chance of daydreaming while driving down
the Tasmanian highway.
We stopped and took a walk through these gorgeous healthy ferns to reach Spring Beach.
Spring Beach was a nice break from the winding roads south.
Maria Island can easily be spotted from this pristine beach.
From Spring
Beach we followed a road that turned into OMG… 40 kilometers of dirt and
gravel. It was a slow go but very rewarding to pass through the Wietangta
Forest with 200 year old trees...a very nice setting.
The trees in the Weitangta Forest were just incredible.
On we went passing through Copping and Eaglehawk Neck (a
gorgeous view of the Tasman Sea).
OH...the sights we saw along the way....llamas who only showed their backsides...
the cutest fluffiest black and white sheep....
and all kinds of warnings to watch for the Tasmanian Devils...who never appeared.
From there we reached our destination, Port Arthur right next to the Tasman National Park. 
After a picnic lunch we went into the park and took a nice walk through the museum. Port Arthur was built to be a mill and Granary back in the early 19th century. It changed into a penal station in 1830 becoming a timber getting camp. From 1833 it was used as a penitentiary for repeat offenders. Here 2000 convicts, soldiers, and civil staff lived making it an industrial settlement that produced masonry stones, bricks, furniture, clothing, shoes, boats and ships.
We took a harbor tour passing Point Puer Boy’s Prison and the Isle of Dead getting striking views of the Tasman National Park’s endless green forests. Port Arthur is on the World Heritage listings.
Island of the Dead....Cemetery for Prisoners
We headed back up the road to Coles Bay bypassing the dirt/gravel roadway traveled earlier. We arrived back in Coles Bay just in time to see the sunset over Oyster Bay.
On Tuesday Larry and I went on a bushwalk...a Tasmanian hike... Up the Hazards on the Wineglass Track. My Oh My!....It was straight up!
Wineglass track leads to a crest of the Hazards with fabulous views of Oyster Bay and Wineglass Bay, huge granite boulders, and sightings of the cutest little wallabies hopping about. This hike is one of the most popular ones in Tasmania.
Wineglass Bay
What a remarkable rock formation!
A shy little Wallaby
One our last day
in Tasmania we took a side trip through Bicheno, a lovely little seaside town north of
Coles Bay….
lots of rocky coastline and
picturesque fishing boats anchored in
the bay.
After a walk about the town, we continued north driving by lots of
scenic coasts turning off to head west to St. Marys. We passed through the loveliest forest
and mountainsides called Douglas Apsley National Park. It was simply
beautiful. We stopped for lunch in Avoca….fish and chips. After lunch we drove
west to Conara and then headed north to
Launceston.
Here we went out to the Tamar Island Wetlands, a 3.2 km walk. It
was a little thrilling to see all the signs that said to watch out for the
snakes…Yep, I was definitely on the look out!
1916-2016
raptors,
Tazmanian Devil
Our trip north ended at Max and Liz’s Launceston home. From there we jumped into the car and headed to Robin’s Australian home…She and her husband, Steve, had bought Robin’s family home years ago.
The home dates
back to the 1800’s and is definitely a marvelous piece of history. Incredible
high ceilings, sweeping wrap around porches, beautiful fire places, fabulous
wood workings, antiques everywhere, and huge manicured gardens displayed the
TLC that had gone into keeping this family heritage in fine working condition.
It was simply brilliant.
Robin and Max
went to work putting together yet another fabulous dinner. A fine pumpkin soup,
rye bread, Greek salad, eye round of roast, scalloped potatoes, carrots,
green beans, mixed with a few glasses of that Tasmanian sparkling wine beside a
nice fire made for a relaxing fun evening.
Larry admired the
1969 Velocette Motorbike sitting in Robin's shed.
Robin's home sat high on the mountainside above the Tamar River....stunning views!
Brie,
raspberries, dates, dried grapes, and figs were the final order of the day….but
there was little room in the tum-tum for any of that. We said our final
goodbyes to Robin and headed just down the road a mile or so to a warm cozy bed
and final dreams of Tasmania in Max and Liz's villa.
Thanks to Max and Liz
for making our Tasmania adventure so memorable.
