Embedded Files
Day 15
Hadspen -> Entally House -> Hadspen <Map>
Today: 25 Total 2797
More history today. This time it was Entally House, built in 1819 by Thomas Reibey. As can be seen by the map, this was a very short drive from the caravan park. The other 20 or so kilometres were taken up with shopping. You probably don't need to follow that. :-)
Entally House, with veranda framed in Wisteria
Entally House, Governor's Wing
Thomas was the son of Mary Reibey, a former transported convict turned businesswoman whose portrait is on the Australian $20 banknote. Thomas' son (also named Thomas) took over the property after the death of his father. He studied theology in the UK and was the minister at St Andrew's Church at nearby Carrick until he resigned from the ministry and took up politics. He represented the local area in the House of Assembly for almost 30 years, including a year as Premier.
The original 300 acres has now been reduced to just the main buildings, but still retains beautiful gardens in a very European setting with pines and oak trees.
While most the gardens were still to come into bloom (it's early Spring here and there were masses of buds but not too many flowers), a few were already out.
Some Irises and Roses were out
Day 16
Hadspen -> St Helens <Map>
Today: 170 Total 2967
A bit of a damp day, and we took the non-scenic (for Tasmania) route as the scenic route via Scotsdale was purportedly very windy and narrow.
One of the interesting road signs we keep coming across seems to indicate the nocturnal presence of giant kangaroos who lift the front of your car so they can kick it.
WARNING - Killer Roos
No dramas on today's trip, but St Mary's Pass was a bit of a surprise as it descended rather steeply off the interior plateau down to the sea. Weather dictated another caravan park here with washing machines and heater for the electric (not our new diesel one this time) heater to keep the single figure overnight temperatures at bay.
Day 17
St Helens -> Binalong Bay -> The Gardens -> St Helens Point -> St Helens <Map>
Today: 80 Total 3047
Today we set off to explore a part of the North East Coast. We had heard that Binalong Bay was a nice spot, and that it had a good cafe for lunch. It probably wasn't the best day for exploring as it was cold, windy and spitting with rain, but one should never let the weather interfere with enjoyment. As is said, there is no such thing as bad weather, merely inappropriate clothing. The statue on the outskirts of Binalong Bay seemed to prove this.
Inappropriate clothing for the conditions
One of the things we've noticed in this part of the island is the orange lichen growing on rocks. It is very spectacular to see the orange combined with the grey of the granite.
Lichen of the Caloplaca species - NB: No PhotoShop electrons were used in the making of this photo.
It looks a little like there's been a high tide of orange paint. It looks even more spectacular when the sun's out!
The cafe at Binalong Bay proved to be worthy of note and a delightful lunch was enjoyed. Much of the time there was spent looking out to the Bay of Fires trying to see a whale and her calf that had been seen by other diners before we arrived, but to no avail. Around this time of year there is the migration of Humpback whales going passed Tasmania from their wintering grounds in Southern Queensland to their summer home near Antarctica. Mothers will have their recently born calves with them.
We ventured further up the coast to The Gardens and found a colony of Caspian Terns and Silver Gulls huddled down in the strong winds.
One good tern deserves another...
We surrendered to the weather and returned to our van to find it had been guarded in our absence by the resident bunny.
WARNING - Killer Rabbit!
Day 18
St Helens -> St Columba Falls -> St Helens <Map>
Today: 65 Total 3112
St Columba Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in Tasmania, with a drop of around 90m/300'. As this trip seems to be turning into a 'waterfall' trip, as opposed to previous 'lighthouse' trips, we thought we couldn't pass it by.
On the road into the falls, we spotted movement in the leaf litter at the side of the road in a cutting, and found a lovely echidna working his/her way through the dirt in search of ants. Most echidnas we have come across will get all defensive when humans approach and curl up into a ball with their spines facing outwards, but this one was far too busy in its search for food to worry about mere humans.
Mmmm, ants!
We don't know if it's a different species or not, but this one seems to be a far lighter colour than the ones we've seen on the mainland. We spent a good five minutes watching it and it wasn't in the least concerned.
A kilometre further and we arrived at the end of the road and the St Columba Falls. The view from the carpark is good...
From the carpark
... but the walk to the bottom is really worth the effort.
From the bottom!
The walk to the bottom enters a beautiful tree fern forest that looks so old it should have dinosaurs browsing on the foliage.
The light down here is amazing
Having re-energised our spirits, we then returned back to Pyengana, where we intended to re-energise our bodies at the Holy Cow Cafe.
This is the cafe attached to the Pyengana Dairy Company - a four generation old dairy farm that has a reputation for fine English-style cheddar cheeses (and milk, and ice cream, and other delights.)
Pyengana Dairy Company
One of the attractions here (other than food) was that we had been told (thanks, Menna and Leon!) that the cows here milked themselves, and at their own schedule. Sure enough, the whole process is automated with electronic tags allowing 'The Girls' in when they felt they needed milking. A robot scans the udders before attaching the milking equipment. As a reward, they get fed while they are being milked, and then have access to an automated back-scratcher as they leave. This seems to be very popular with The Girls.
Ahhh, back scratch heaven! (The drum rotates when a cow stands under it)
Day 19
St Helens -> Freycinet Nat Pk <Map>
Today: 124 Total 3236
Another 'travelling' day today. We passed through Bicheno on our way south.
Typical Tasmanian coastal scenery - sheep, green fields and small towns like Bicheno.
Today's destination was to somewhere we've had on our 'must see' list for ages. What we hadn't planned on was how civilised the camping ground was where we planned to stay. We had phoned ahead and booked one of the caravan sites in the National Park. While there are hundreds (?) of tent sites along the bay and in other areas of the park, there are only 19 sites big enough for small motor homes or caravans (up to 6m long). These are in such demand during the Summer holidays that a ballot system is in place to allocate sites.
We checked in to the Visitors' Centre, and were allocated site 6.
Site 6
What really surprised us was that the sites all had power, water and sullage points, and it was about a 50m walk to $2 hot showers! Wonderful!! This was all for only $16/night, while the caravan park in nearby Coles Bay wanted $40.
Even better was the location. The caravan area had its own short path down to the beach.
Our beach path in the early morning light...
Our first trip in the area was to the Cape Tourville Lighthouse.
Looking South down the Freycinet Peninsula from Cape Tourville Lighthouse
There was a really great walkway from the carpark up to the lighthouse that gave fantastic views down the peninsula to Lemon Rock and (just) into Wineglass Bay. The existing unmanned lighthouse was built in 1971 to replace one on Lemon Rock. The rock is at the far left end of the distant peninsula in the photo above. While it doesn't look like it from the photo, the wind was blowing very strongly and hats were in danger of ending up in New Zealand.
HOLD ON!
From the lookout we also had a couple of tantalising glimpses of a humpback whale and her calf. Maybe the ones from Binalong Bay a few days ago? While I took a few photos, all you can really see is a great expanse of water with a few grey dots, so just use your imagination. :-))
Day 20
Freycinet Nat Pk <Map>
Today: 45 Total 3281
Today was supposed to be a bird-watching and general exploration day, however the wind was rather strong and most of the birds had taken cover. Nevertheless, we set out for Moulting Lagoon to see if any feathered friends had stuck around.
About the only birds around were a pair of Pacific Gulls who decided that our presence was just the last straw and promptly took off.
Pacific Gulls
These large gulls are half as big again compared to the more common Silver Gulls, with a wing span of up to 1.5m / 60".
Having given up on bird watching for the day, we went exploring to Friendly Beaches. This is a lovely stretch of white sand just north of the Freycinet National Park. It is a very popular camping area.
Friendly Beaches (North)
While this looks idyllic, keep in mind that the water temperature is around 14°!
Sue also decided that the orange lichen we'd seen further north might not be part of the rock.
Scratch it off?
Despite her best efforts, it wasn't coming off!
When we returned to the van, we were greeted by a very stroppy Superb Fairy-wren who immediately started attacking his reflection in the car's windows and mirrors. This was to continue for the next few days, and was accompanied by various 'calling cards' on our mirrors and doors.
Superb Fairy-wren seeing off pesky tourists
Day 21
Freycinet Nat Pk <Map>
Today: 22 Total 3303
Today was the day to take the obligatory brochure-style shot of Wineglass Bay, as seen in all the Tasmanian Tourist literature. This entails a 'walk' up to a saddle between two of The Hazards (5 peaks in the park) to the Wineglass Bay Lookout. From there, one can look down on the beautiful white sparkling sands of Wineglass Bay, and further south towards the bottom of the Freycinet Peninsula. The first stop is a lookout facing north and taking in Coles Bay and the eponymously-named village.
Coles Bay
The next part of the walk is then to arrive at the Wineglass Bay Lookout and gaze at the beautiful beach.
Wineglass Bay, without the sun, isn't as good
About 20 of us stood around waiting for the sun to spotlight the beach and turn the water a lovely shade of aqua as per the brochures, but it never did (at least while I was there). Sun or no sun, it's still a magnificent sight.
This is what it looks like on a better day.
On the way back down, we encountered one of the locals grazing by the path.
Bennett's Wallaby
The Bennett's Wallaby is a sub-species of the mainland's Red-Necked Wallaby, but is a bit smaller and with longer fur as befits the climate. This one was about 80cm / 2' 6" tall.
In the afternoon we decided to explore a 4WD track north from Cape Tourville to Bluestone Bay and Whitewater Cliffs.
Bluestone Bay - a lovely spot for afternoon tea
The track was certainly 4WD Only as advertised by the sign as it was very rough and there were huge holes and rocks to navigate around but the bay was really beautiful on arrival. The trip was slightly marred by a loud noise after I had run over a rather large branch. I took no notice, but on getting back to camp we found...
Whoops!
Looking from underneath, it appears that the branch may have pivoted as I ran over it and jammed itself under the running board. Fortunately there was no damage to anything else so it will continue as a War Wound until we get home.
Of course, our feisty friend was back again.
Who's there?
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse