February 16th to March 3rd.

Tuesday 16^th February.

            We departed Adventure Bay around 10:00 am and drove directly to the Ferry on the north Island, a distance of around 35 km. The ferry takes 20 minutes to make the crossing to Kettering. We joined the Southern Outlet freeway at Kingston which made for a much quicker trip into Hobart.

A brief stop at the Showgrounds to refill water tanks, use the dump point for our grey and black water as well as depositing our accumulated rubbish in a bin. Note that there is no garbage collection on Bruny Island. An hotel employee at Alonnah had previously told us that they have to pay per bag to have their garbage picked up by a contractor and transported by ferry across to Kettering.

Our departure from Hobart was via the Bowen bridge at Glenorchy then via Risdon Vale, to Richmond where we stopped for lunch. Continuing on via Campania we joined Highway 1, the Midland Highway to Oatlands.

After parking the motor-home in the free camping area we walked around the small town of Oatlands. A combined Bakery, Café and Hotel lured us in for a coffee.

This establishment is quite unique in that it has a theme of old Errol Flynn and Marilyn Munro movies throughout. Every room (including the ladies and gent’s toilets) within the building is lined with memorabilia relating to all the films that these two Hollywood actors ever made.

Errol Flynn was born in Tasmania at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Hobart, the very same hospital as our own Rodney James was born. Flynn made a total of 53 movies in his acting career.

It is still quite windy and cold so we made a hasty retreat to the comfort of the motorhome.

Wednesday 17^th February.

            Prior to departure from our overnight camp I went for a walk to the adjoining flour mill complex and information centre. The very large windmill was and still is there for the sole purpose of providing the motive force to grind grain into flour production. The Callington Flour Mill was built in 1837 and today forms part of a cottage industry providing speciality flour to bakeries in Hobart and Launceston.

They also package by hand small quantities in 1 kg brown paper bags for retail sales through the adjoining information centre.

The lake where we were camped beside known as Lake Dulverton extends for about 1.75 km’s to the east and is largely covered by weeds. Interesting to note that over 100 years ago a local farmer devised a “Hydro glider” with a two blade propeller and armed with cutting blades enabled him to cut the masses of “weeds” in the lake.

The prevailing winds then deposited them on his property to the east, where they were used as fodder for fattening cattle. It is claimed they resulted in a 50% increase in milk supply.

We then moved on along the Midland highway to Ross where we walked around the town. Ross founded as a garrison in 1812, is a picturesque Georgian village with a wealth of convict associations and a rich pastoral and military history. The unique convict built Ross Bridge with its intriguing carvings is a must visit feature for photos.

A further 12 km to the north is the town of Campbell Town where we are staying in the free camping area beside a quaint little creek and dam.

Tasmania are certainly catering for the self-contained touring vehicles by providing a great number of RV friendly towns and locations.

Due to our relatively early arrival in Campbell Town we took the opportunity to set up our clothes line and catch up with some washing.

Blackberry bushes line the creek so we picked a large bowl full which Gail then stewed. For dinner we simply had a big bowl of these delicious blackberries combined with stewed apples (which we had picked a day or so back in the parking area in Richmond) and Greek yoghurt. There is nothing as enjoyable as fruit which has been hand-picked from beside the roadway, then cooked and eaten fresh, which was certainly the case here.

The last few days it has been quite windy, consequently our washing dried very quickly.

Thursday 18^th February.

            Today we travelled from Campbell Town to Launceston via the Symmons Plains car racing circuit which is where the V8 Supercars race in Tasmania.

The total distance from Campbell Town to Launceston is only 66 km’s. We are continually amazed how small Tasmania really is compared to travelling in say Queensland. Because of these relatively short travel days we find we arrive at our destination by mid-afternoon or earlier even taking time to do sight-seeing excursions along the way.

Upon reaching Launceston we first located our overnight camp area, “Old Mac’s Farm” in the suburb of Norwood. Although quite close to the CBD it is far enough away to have to drive the motor-home into the city. “Old Mac’s Farm” is an interesting location with fresh water lakes surrounding the camping areas and plenty of level grassed sites available. We discovered at least 100 other caravans and motor-homes upon our arrival. We selected a site which gave us easy access in and out as we plan to now drive to Aurora Stadium. The couple parked next to us advised that the caretaker generally came around each afternoon to collect the camping fee of $10.

This couple, Bob & Denise we found in conversation are very good friends of Don & Jan from the Shores. It certainly is a small world.

We placed our “Site Occupied” sign in the middle of our campsite and proceeded to Aurora Stadium which is adjacent to the CBD.

Why are we going to Aurora Stadium you may well ask?

Well, tonight Carlton are playing Hawthorn in the first round of the NAB Cup, so this visit was a definite must as far as we were concerned.

After parking early afternoon in the Aurora Stadium parking area we walked the short distance to the Launceston Showgrounds first so we have our bearings for the Ulysses AGM which is being held there from February 29^th.

We then walked into town, located the Esk (Boag’s) Brewery which we plan to visit for the factory tour in a week or so while we are at the Ulysses AGM.

Then back to the Stadium, purchased our reserved seating ticks ($25 each) and entered the stadium 2 hours before start of play. Considering that Carlton finished at the bottom of the table last footy season and Hawthorn were Premiers, Carlton acquitted themselves very well in a low scoring game. The final margin was only 23 points in Hawthorn’s favour. Gail thoroughly enjoyed the night game.

Another coincidence; the couple sitting next to us from Victoria are very close friends of Claire’s sister Marg’s daughter Pauline who live in Koondarook.

At the conclusion of the game we returned to the motor-home in the carpark and waited patiently for the bulk of the traffic to disperse before we drove back to “Old Mac’s Farm” for the night.

Friday 19^th February.

            As we now have 8 days before we need to be back in Launceston for the Ulysses AGM we decided to drive direct from Launceston to Stanley on the far north west coast, and from there slowly work our way the 220 km’s back to Launceston, camping along the way at interesting locations.

A bit of shopping at Woolworths, top up with diesel and we were on our way.

Upon arrival at Stanley (and The Nut) we discovered that the camping area on the recreational ground was temporarily closed to the public and fully occupied with tents for the fire fighters who are still battling with the fires in the north west of Tasmania.

Stanley is really a satellite of nearby Smithton and therefore devoid of shops apart from a small general store. We saw a few caravans and a motor-home parked towards the end the Esplanade right on the rocky shoreline so figured it would be alright for us to also prop there for the night.

Being Friday, we had our own Happy Hour of Mersey cheese, biscuits, red wine and a beer or two.

Saturday 20^th February.

            This morning we drove the 26 or so kilometres into Smithton, which we found to be a very much larger township than Stanley. After a long walk around the town we got back onto the Bass highway heading east. The distances along the north coast between towns are quite small so it was not very long before we reached Wynyard, then Somerset. I had wanted to investigate Somerset a little further and try to locate the house where Bill my cousin and I stayed a few days with his father’s relations when we were both about 15 and brought our pushbikes to Tasmania.

Their modest house was a railways cottage beside the railway line which runs adjacent to the highway so it was not difficult to find the old place. Surprisingly it is still there, although the need to have a gatekeeper open and close the level crossing gates no longer exists. There is only the occasional freight train still using the line and automatic lights are now installed. A short distance further on we reached Cooee where we are staying overnight right beside the ocean. Our view from the comfort of the motor-home is really quite magnificent.

Sunday 21^st February.

            Upon departure from Cooee we left the Bass highway and travelled via the old coastal road through Burnie, on to Sulphur Creek and Penguin. The scenery along this winding and hilly scenic road looking out at Bass Strait would equal even The Great Ocean Road in our opinion. Every hill crested and turn taken resulted in a totally different jaw-dropping vista. Gail & I agreed that had we not chosen Hallidays Point to live then this section of Tasmanian coastline between Sulphur Creek and Penguin would steal anyone’s heart. Mind you, the prices of properties would probably be beyond the average person’s pocket.

It was at this point that we decided to back-track a little to Burnie from where we could head inland to Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake. The roads although single lane are very good quality, even as we head towards wilderness areas.

A short detour to visit the falls at Waratah, then onwards to Cradle Mountain.

Boy, has this changed since we last visited 45 plus years ago. Most vehicles are now left in the huge car park area at the visitor information centre from where a shuttle bus transports you to Dove Lake and a full view of Cradle Mountain as a backdrop. Our National Parks pass which we purchased on the Spirit of Tasmania on the way over included the cost of this shuttle service. The service is excellent, there are six shuttle buses in total, departing from the info centre every 10 minutes for the 20-minute trip.

As it was now mid-afternoon we only did a short walk from lake Dove to the Old Boat Shed. This structure has existed since the first inhabitant who established the Waldheim Lodge and in fact looked no different from when we last visited.

Tonight we are staying at a roadside rest area at Iris River, about 15 minutes out from Cradle Mountain. Tomorrow we plan to head towards Queenstown.

Monday 22 February.

            Light rain throughout most of the night, but no effect on us at all. Very cloudy and overcast as we left Iris River however as we progressed towards Zeehan the weather improved quite dramatically with blue skies starting to break through.

A drive through was all that we felt was required in Zeehan so we then pressed on to Rosebery.

Rosebery is still producing tin, mined locally and processed in the town, even if output is only a fraction of its heyday output. There is a small Heritage Centre in the main street which recalls the tin mining history in photographs and film.

Moving on we proceeded towards Strahan, but took the 3 km detour to visit Ocean Beach where we took a walk along the remote beach facing the Southern Ocean.

Then into Strahan where we parked a little way around the Macquarie Harbour from the main shopping area and overlooking the harbour it was now time for lunch.

An added bonus was the blackberries growing right beside our lunch room which we picked for another delicious meal at a later date.

Driving back into the township we were lucky enough to get a parking spot right outside the information centre and the Huon Pine sawmill and woodwork shop.

While Gail was in the information centre obtaining local information, I wandered into the woodwork place and discovered a demonstration about to take place of Huon Pine being sawn into large slabs ready for use in a variety of ways in the sawmill.

Now time to move on to Queenstown and locate the gravel surfaced AFL football ground where we are permitted to camp overnight. Our intention was to find a suitable overnight camp before bothering to go into town which we will do tomorrow morning. Half a dozen or so other caravans and motor-homes in situ when we arrived however we located a nice level spot overlooking the “footy oval”.

Time to cook our blackberries for desert with dinner.

Today’s travel of around 180 km’s has been spectacular with constantly twisty and hilly roads combined with the most incredible views.

Tuesday 23^rd February.

            I bit of a drama this morning when I was unable to find my wallet. The both of us searched through my jeans and shorts pockets, every drawer and cupboard to no avail. I even took a walk across the football ground to where I had sat briefly yesterday in the late afternoon, to watch a guy flying a radio controlled plane. All with no result. I was even about to go and fetch our bag of rubbish from the bin, having convinced myself and Gail that it was gone when I put my left hand into the deep front pocket of the shorts I had on. “Where did that come from” it had been on me all that time even if in another pocket. Anyone who has lost a wallet will appreciate the relief I felt, even if horribly stupid. For this act of stupidity, I had to buy lunch.

Queenstown is definitely a town struggling to survive going by the number of empty shops either for lease or sale.

Around mid-morning we moved on in a south easterly direction to Derwent Bridge, a very small town consisting of a hotel, a café, lots of accommodation and little else. The café was our lunch out spot, then we went for the short detour to Lake St Clair.

This is a very popular tourist location and is well set up with a Visitors Centre where there are a number of static displays and info relating to the short walks. We chose to do a 25 minute walk each way to “Waters Meet”, which we imagined was where the Derwent River met Lake StClair. Wrong, it appeared to us to simply be where two small creeks met. The walk though was very beautiful through the forest plus our return route along the lakes edge was even prettier.

Back to Derwent Bridge for the sole purpose of filling up only to find that they do not even stock diesel there. Fortunately, I feel we have enough left to make it to the next town which is Hamilton, some 94 km’s on.  About the only thing of interest to us in Derwent Bridge was some wood carvings known as “The Wall” making up a large diorama. This turned out to be on a property out of town with a hefty admittance charge, so being us we gave that one a miss.

What I had not taken into account when forecasting we would have enough diesel to get us to Hamilton was that we were still in mountainous country with a higher than normal fuel consumption. When things were starting to look shaky we passed a road sign pointing into the Wayatanah Power Station which indicated there was fuel available there. What a relief to find diesel, even if at 140.9 cents a litre. The old saying “beggars can’t be choosers” certainly applied here. Although we only had about 30 km’s to go it would possibly have been touch and go.

Lesson learned: assume nothing when calculating fuel usage. Hamilton was another RV Friendly town, with provision for camping on the town common where toilets and coin in the slot hot showers were provided by the local council. Naturally there were quite a few caravans and motor-homes already in situ but we were able to park in a nice level grassed spot. Fresh water is also available here so we topped up any empty water containers and our main water tank.

Wednesday 24^th February.

            Today was one of our biggest travel days to date in Tasmania, 246 km.

From Hamilton we proceeded north-east to Bothwell, then south-east to Melton Mowbray to meet up with the Midland Highway. Now heading north, we stopped briefly at Oatlands where we had previously camped and made morning tea.

Since leaving Hamilton it has been raining quite steadily with no apparent letup in sight so we decided we may as well continue travelling. We continued on the Midland, past Ross and Campbell Town to a locality known as Powranna where we left Highway One and drove via Cressy, Longford and Carrick to Hagley where we pulled into a small picnic area to have lunch. It was then a short run via Exton to Deloraine.

Our reason for choosing this route over staying on the Midland and then the Bass highways was simply that it provides a much nicer look at the surrounding country-side. The number of beautiful old stone houses that we are seeing in this area, which is predominately sheep farming indicates to us that this was once (and maybe still is) a quite wealthy farming and grazing area. We arrived in Deloraine in very heavy rain, so proceeded straight to the camping area behind the Police station and over the railway line. Parking spaces here amongst the early arrivals were at a premium however we again managed a suitable site. We watched a movie during the afternoon while listening to the rain outside.

Thursday 25^th February.

            Thankfully the rain stopped overnight and we awoke to a quite pleasant morning. The free camping area here is quite full.  As it had been heavy rain most of yesterday we presumed that there were a number of travellers like us who just wanted somewhere to pull up for the afternoon/night and hibernate.

There was a dump point almost beside us, so we were able to empty black water and also fill up with fresh water.

Deloraine township is built on a hill, consequently the main street twists and turns which makes it an attractive small town. After parking behind the main street we walked up and down, Gail bought a lovely top in a shop where we chatted to the lady for quite a while about her display of her work from relaxation colouring books.

Gel pens seem to be the way to go so we intend to source some of these for Gail’s book from the likes of The Reject Shop.

One of our Tasmanian “Bucket List” places is Beaconfield some 50 km’s north of Launceston, the scene of the dramatic gold mine collapse and rescue back in 2006.

So, from Deloraine we headed east to Launceston, stopped for lunch at the Country Club / Casino then onwards north-west to Beaconsfield. The rain started again as we left the Launceston area so we once again decided to head straight for our chosen overnight freebie at the recreation grounds in Beaconsfield. We had anticipated there would be lots of others already here based on our experience at Deloraine, but we were just the third van to pull in with plenty of level solid ground parking available.

We are constantly amazed at the RV friendly towns scattered throughout Tasmania where good “no-cost” facilities are provided by the local councils for travellers such as us. Our observations are that it certainly brings extra money into the communities by way of these people spending either on food, fuel or general merchandise.

Friday 26^th February.

Due to the recent rain we have accumulated quite a bit of laundry so after investigating the opening hours of the Beaconfield Heritage Mine Centre we looked for a laundry where we could do a large wash and dry. There appeared to be no laundry in Beaconsfield so as we were well before the opening time for the Mine Centre we decided to drive on to Beauty Point which is a short distance further north on the Tamar River. As we approached the small town of Beauty Point we saw a laundry where we stopped and spent a few dollars on washing and drying. It was now a very pleasant morning with a clear sky and reasonable temperatures.

We returned to Beaconsfield and the Heritage Mine Centre where we spent the next three hours or so walking through the various displays and reading almost every sign. There is quite an eerie feeling here when the realisation of just what those two trapped miners, Todd Russel and Brant Webb endured during the 14 days they were entombed 925 metres below ground in such a small cramped place. It took 8 days before they were even discovered, then another 6 days of non-stop work by rescuers to tunnel a one-metre-wide tunnel to the partially collapsed cage they were imprisoned in.

Fortunately, the rescuers were able to bore a 90 mm hole through to them on the ninth day and pass them food and water as well as a light and other small comforting items. Probably the most important thing that this very small pipe gave them was the ability to be able to have conversations with heir rescuers.

Throughout the centre there were a great many hands-on displays, but the most memorable and also the most eerie was the re-creation of the area they were trapped in. To access this area, you have to crawl into a one metre diameter concrete pipe which is embedded in a huge pile of rock then stand up in a one metre hole cut into the top of the pipe when then has you looking into the area they were entrapped in. A few minutes in this cramped position is more than most people could endure, let alone 14 days.

Our next stop was Gravelly Beach, south of Beaconfield where there is another lovely overnight camp spot right beside the Tamar River overlooking a few moored yachts and boats.

Saturday 27^th February.

            We decided to pay a second visit to Georgetown which involved crossing the Batman Bridge again. This decision was brought about as we were quite impressed with Georgetown on our previous visit and as we have time to spare before we venture back to Launceston to check-in for the Ulysses Event and AGM.

Arrived at the Launceston AGM site around 2:45pm and initially drove into the showgrounds only to find that the RV and general camping area were located behind Aurora Stadium and much closer to Albert Hall and to K-Mart & Coles.

We are able to check-in and set up our camp early as both Gail & I have volunteered to work at Registration located in Albert Hall on both Sunday and Monday.

After settling in we attended a volunteer induction session held in Aurora Stadium where we were issued with temporary wrist bands which allows us unrestricted entry to and from the various locations with the whole complex of the AGM. The induction session primarily dealt with OH&S matters and Duty Of Care as a volunteer.

The only other attendees allowed to set-up camp at this stage are those like ourselves who are volunteers prior to the official commencement and/or working at registration on the first day.

Sunday 28^th February.

            A leisurely morning sorting ourselves in for the week long stay, then a short walk to Albert Hall for a brief refresher on the computerised registration procedures before we commenced our first shift from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. These procedures have been streamlined to some extent compared to our previous experience at both Alice Springs and Albury/Wodonga. Today we are simply registering the other volunteers some who have been here for a week already.

Our shift tomorrow, another four-hour shift, will be extremely busy as most attendees are expected to arrive during the first day.

Monday 29^th February.

            We caught up with some old friends Gordon & Viv from the Alice Springs AGM who are camped directly opposite us. We also discovered that another couple who we became quite friendly with in Alice Springs, Grahame & Lenore were also camped within 2 sites of us. After lunch we did another four-hour stint of volunteer work at the registration check-in at Albert Hall which is a very grand building located a short walk from our RV campground. The vast majority of attendees registered this morning before our shift at 2:00pm, in fact there were just over 1,000 check-ins between 7:00am and 2:00pm. During our four-hour shift an additional 600 odd attendees checked in. The total number of attendees registered to attend this year’s AGM event is just over 2,100.

At the completion of our shift at 6:00pm we walked back to the camp area where I went for a walk into the general camp area to locate Manning Valley members who arrived early this afternoon. There are eight other Manning Valley members attending this AGM who are camping onsite.

Tuesday 1^st March.

            Today Gail & I decided to visit Cataract Gorge. Initially we walked to a bus stop on Invermay road where we caught a bus to the central bus Interchange in the CBD. The bus driver advised us it was only a 10-minute walk to Kings Bridge which is the start of the walkway around the Gorge to the tearooms. So, we set out and walked past the Penny Royal complex which appears to be currently under extensive renovation. The walkway which was originally constructed over 100 years ago is a delightful walk around the gorge with plenty of great photo opportunities.

Upon our return walk to the CBD area we passed the Boag’s Brewery where we dropped in to enquire about the brewery tours. Our total walk today was in excess of 14 km’s. There is an informal dinner tonight in the two huge tents erected on the Aurora Stadium carpark, but Gail & I are not attending this function. Instead we are getting together tomorrow night with the other Manning Valley people for a BBQ or similar dinner.

Wednesday 2^nd March.

            This morning we walked into town to check if we can source a replacement LPG gas lead for our two burner portable camp gas stove which we believe to be the cause for our camp stove not working. We were unable to find an identical lead at either Anaconda, Ray’s Outdoors or Bunnings, although the fellow at Rays’ advised us of a gas equipment and plumbing company which we can check.

As I am not convinced that it is the lead which is faulty we intend to test it again on the stove before going any further.

The group from Manning Valley have organised dinner for tonight at Richardson’s Harley Iron Horse Bar and Grill at Prospect, a suburb about 6 km away.

They will provide a courtesy bus to collect us all from the Ulysses campsite and also return transport. The Iron Horse is located within Richardson’s Harley Davidson & Tasmanian Motorcycle Warehouse complex.

We had a great meal and an entertaining night with live music and a good crowd of people.

Thursday 3^rd March.

            We walked into the CBD to have a look at the Ulysses “Show & Shine” display only to find a very disappointing collection of only seven bikes on display.

Back to camp where I pulled the camp stove to pieces, cleaned all jets as much as possible and after reconnecting the lead found that all worked up to expectations. It appears the lead may have not been fully attached to the stove and the safety valve within the lead was unable to open at all. Moral of this story: operator error.

Another visit to the Traders area at the AGM event and a visit to the various motorcycle manufacturers stands took us through to mid-afternoon.

A pleasant Happy Hour with Ulysses friends then take-away Hot Potato concoctions for dinner from a local store.