Farewelling Ged and Karina we headed to Cockle Creek to camp at the most southerly campsite in Australia – “End of the road”.
We’d been warned about the last 19km of corrugated and pot-holed road and prepared the cupboards accordingly. The Hilux took it in her stride – no problems!
Our campsite is perfect – no neighbours in sight and the beach and bay just over the sand dune right beside us. Wow! Idyllic camping
For thousands of years Aboriginal people hunted and fished here for their food during the summer months. Many large middens have been found in the area. The French explorer D’Entrecasteaux visited in 1792 and 1793 and named the bay after one of his ships, Recherche Bay. White settlers soon moved in lured first by whaling, until they decimated the whale population, then timber-getting until all the good huon and stringy-bark trees were taken, then coal mining until that too ran out. Today the area is a National Park, Southwest NP, which is part of the World Heritage Area.
Tuesday 24th
Our poor backpacks and boots will get another workout today – they’re holding up remarkably well considering what we’ve asked of them this trip. Today we walk the 18km return track to South Cape Bay, the most southerly point on the Australian Mainland. We nearly have the full set now – most northerly, mostly easterly, most southerly, highest point, lowest point, geographical centre – just missing Steep Point in the west.
The beginning of the hike. Boot-washing stations help prevent the spread of diseases – chytrid, a fungus deadly to frog populations in this case.The first third of the track passes through melaleuca and eucalypt forest.
Its lovely to see so many birds – the dusky thornbill, fairy wrens, New Holland honeyeater, two female lyrebirds and lots more we heard but didn’t see.
A lyrebirdWe followed the pretty little babbling brook that is Cockle Creek for a while.A few sections of the track had duckboards, but they were old and many boards broken or nails coming out, or wire mesh rusted away leaving them slippery.The track was challenging – up and down, rocky, roots and mud.
Passing through the forest into button grass plains and reasonably good duckboards the walking got easier.
After a bit more forest, short ascents and descents, more mud, more rocks, we came out onto the cliffs above South Cape Bay with the most southerly point of Australia just there!
It was quite thrilling to have achieved this landmark.
We sat on the tiered rocks watching the might of the Southern Ocean as it rolled in, waves crashing on the already crumbling cliffs. The black rocks were unexpected but very striking. Lion Rock is the headland across the first bay.
Todays weather was pleasant with hardly any wind – I can only imagine what the ocean is like in bad weather.
As it’s an out and back track we knew what to expect, but good to see the sights from the other direction and in the fading light we met a few pademelons on the way.
The flora was just as interesting as the fauna on this hike.A rather stunning fungus.
Hot shower, hot dinner and warm bed listening to the rain and being thankful our walk was so perfect.
Our good friends Karina and Ged in their TRAKKA Jabiru, met with us at the Summer Kitchen Bakery at Ranelagh. After consuming the best pies ever they took us south to share some of their favourite haunts.
The Airwalk at Tahune Adventure is a must-visit experience. This 1.6km walk through the forest then onto the Airwalk gave us a birds-eye view amongst the trees from 20 metres above the forest floor. The steel viewing platform, cantilevered some 50 metres over the river, was the crowning glory suspending us above the Huon River with views up and down the river to the confluence of the Picton and Huon rivers.
Ged, Karina, Steve and Denise on the Airwalk The joining of the Picton and Huon RiversThe cantilevered viewing platform over the Huon River.
Bonus – We camped in their carpark that evening and chatted around the campfire eating our dinner until the wood ran out and cold drove us back to our respective vans. The campfire is our brand new, never been used, suspension mesh campfire – a successful purchase!
As we were getting up next morning the staff were getting the kayaks ready. We voted that white water rafting would be more fun than doing the other walks here so we joined the group.
It was great fun! The guides were surprised by how much water was in the rivers today – “highest it’s been all summer”. We launched upstream on the Picton River and immediately encountered the first of many rapids.
A beautiful river for kayaking / white water rafting We were supplied with all the gear – wet suits, life jackets and helmets.
The river flow was quite fast with calm sections where we could relax absorbing the beauty of the forest and river, before total focus required on upcoming rapids. I was grateful we didn’t fall in – the water was freezing!
Continuing a very pretty drive south along the coast through the little fishing town of Dover we’ve pulled up for the night at Southport.
Following our friends as we leave the TahuneHaving visited the most northerly pub in Australia on Thursday Island, it seemed only fitting to include the most southerly pub in our travels.
Leaving the tall forests around the Tahune we returned north via the forestry roads. These were all gravel roads, but not difficult driving. On the whole it was a beautiful drive through thick forests, but we passed several areas that had been clear-felled and logs were trimmed, stacked and waiting for the truck to collect them. It’s quite devastating what clear-felling does to the country. And yes I know timber from plantations is a renewable source of a product that we all need. We were grateful today is Sunday so no chance of meeting a logging truck on those narrow roads.
Back to Dover and we crossed over the highway to take the coastal route. Lots of ‘shacks’ (Tasmanian’s holiday homes – and most definitely not a shack) alongside the beaches and headlands. Then back to the apple, cherry and stone fruit orchards before spending our last evening with Ged and Karina in a virtually empty campsite at Geeveston.
The much anticipated day of our third Tasmanian multi-day hike, the second with the Tasmanian Walking Company, dawned bright and clear with gentle winds – an important consideration! In Hobart we met our guide Bill and the other three couples we’d be walking and cohabiting with for the next 4 days. This hike, however has a major difference – we’ll be sailing between trailheads. A bus took us to Orford on the east coast where Lady Eugenie was anchored offshore.
The Lady Eugenie, a magnificent 75ft ketch-rigged yacht.
Lady Eugenie is beautiful – all polished and moulded timber and stainless steel. Each couple has their own cabin and ensuite. There’s heaps of room in the lounge below deck, which didn’t get much use due to the weather being so perfect, and the cockpit above where many deep, and not so deep discussions were had while we enjoyed our meals, a few wines and the incredible panorama. Hugo is the Skipper and Sam is first mate.
A short sail today across to Maria Island where the Lady Eugenie anchored off Hopground Beach. Hugo took us ashore in the dinghy, ready to start hiking. Here we joined the Frenches Farm Coastal Trail exploring the Painted Cliffs.
The vivid colours of the Painted Cliffs were formed when iron-enriched ground water soaked through the already formed sandstone layers – the iron interacting with the minerals in the sandstone forming swirls and waves and colours that range from rusty reds to oranges and even purples. It’s very beautiful, the cliffs extending for quite a distance.
Maria Island, like much of Tasmania, has convict labour to thank for the buildings on the island. Maria Island was declared a National Park in 1971. In recent years disease-free Tasmanian devils have been released on the island for the protection of the species.
Read about the history of Maria Island
Lunch today was at the Oast House. It’s one of the oldest oast houses in the country. In its heyday it was producing 3 tonnes of hops. Before you start imagining us at a lovely restaurant with a rustic menu I’ll mention that the Oast House is a ruin and our lunch was a pre-prepared salad we each carried in our backpacks.
It was built on two levels. The ventilation bricks can still be seen separating the two levels.
Darlington became the centre of activity during convict and early colonial days. Due to my sore knee I spent some time here exploring the old buildings and reading their history while the group continued their hike along the coast to the fossil cliffs.
I enjoyed the wildlife!A Cape Barron Goose‘Turbo chook’ is the affectionate name given to the Tasmanian Native Hen. However, they have no relationship to domestic chickens but belong to a group of waterfowl known as rails. Tasmanian Native Hens get their nickname from being a very fast runner, reaching speeds of 50 kph.
Dinner tonight in the cockpit, as it was every meal. Tonight we drifted to sleep gently rocked in our cosy bunks after a big day.
Mon 15th April
What a magic morning! After a lovely breakfast together sitting in the cockpit we had a magnificent sail for about 4 hours to get to Schouten Island. Rounding Maria Island the fossil cliffs plunging into the ocean were stunning.
I’d like to think the Skipper found my assistance invaluable. A little later we passed nearby to Iles de Phoques. A large colony of New Zealand fur seals call this tiny rocky island home.
Surprisingly there were seals high up on the rocky hill. These seals, unlike many other seal species, have jointed hips they can swivel which allows them to climb. It’s a noisy colony and the call of a seal is not melodious.
Definitely the best seat on the boat.A pod of dolphins joined us. Magic!Anchored off Moreys Beach on the northern side of Schouten Is. Lunch before starting the hike. Cathy, Sam (first mate and chef), Steve and Dee.
Once onshore on Schouten Island we checked out a few historical huts before beginning the hike.
The hike up Bear Hill starts at the end of Moreys Beach.Bear Hill is so named due to a rock formation that looks remarkably like a bear climbing the hill.
I elected not to do this climb feeling my knee was not quite up to this kind of a hike. The others reported the views from the top were wonderful, but questioned whether the difficult, rocky climb was really worth it – I was pleased I didn’t do it!
Yay! A successful, if very strenuous climb of Bear Hill. Bill, Steve in front, Kate, Dee, Cathy and Carl with Rick at the back.Back onboard Lady Eugenie Dee and I jumped in off the yacht for a swim.
The cold water really takes your breath away, but so refreshing. A warm shower later and afternoon tea turned out to be champagne and fresh oysters. I was in heaven!
Tuesday 16th April
Todays sail took us to Bryans Beach at the southern tip of Freycinet Peninsula. The southern section of this spectacular peninsula is only accessible to hikers and boaties.
Arriving at Bryans Beach. Anticipating the hike to come.Bryans Beach with Lady Eugenie disappearing in the background. She’ll meet us again at Wineglass Bay.
Today will be our longest hike – 15.5km from Bryans Beach across the headland to Cooks Beach, over another headland to hike the full length of Hazards Beach before crossing the Peninsula on the Isthmus Track to the northern end of Wineglass Bay where we’ll hike the length of it to meet Lady Eugenie at the southern end.
Cooks Cottage
This cottage, which is on the southern end of Cooks Beach was built by graziers in 1859. It was in serious disrepair before being restored in 2007 by volunteers using many of the original bricks. Today it is only to be used as an emergency shelter.
Bill boiling the water for our morning tea. The water tank is greatly appreciated by multi-day hikers.Morning tea (coffee, tea, hot chocolate and a bikkie) at Cooks Cottage. Carl, Dee, Michael (walking away), Cathy, Steve, Rick, Kate and Bill.The path down to Cooks BeachBanksia flowering.Lunch on the rocks! We’ve walked the length of Cooks Beach, crossed over another headland and arrived at Hazards Beach. Looking back down Hazards Beach – still more than half of it to go.
At the end of this beach we crossed over to the eastern side. Up until now the hike has been quite beautiful with the Hazards Range overlooking our every step, the bushland, some flowers, the birdlife and the crystal clear blue of the ocean lapping white beaches. Though it wasn’t long, the next section crossing the Peninsula was unattractive with dried up marshes and scant bushland.
Wow what a joy to come out at Wineglass Bay. So beautiful.
The beach hiking here though was really difficult, being high tide we were forced to hike in soft sand. Some found it a lot easier to take the boots off and walk on the wave line or even in the water.
Bill at Wineglass BayLady Eugenie in Wineglass Bay with the pink granite peaks of the Hazards Range watching over her.
Another refreshing swim off the yacht and a glass of wine before dinner ended another magical day of hiking.
Wed 17th April
The Lady Eugenie remained anchored in the protected southern part of Wineglass Bay overnight. This morning it was just a tender transfer back onto the beach for today’s hike.
A beautiful time of day to start our hike on Wineglass Bay
We farewelled Hugo and Sam, then headed off to hike the length of the beach before we joined the track.
There’s 1000 stairs to climb to reach the Wineglass Bay Lookout. That’s not to be sneezed at! The views of this perfect bay were stunning – the tight-curve of the white sand beach forming a compact bay with deep blue ocean and a cloudless sky – perfection. The surrounding forested and bare pink granite mountains contrasted so starkly. It was a very powerful land- and sea-scape.
The crew at the Wineglass Bay Lookout
You can use your imagination as to why it’s called Wineglass Bay, but you’d probably be wrong. This was a whaling area and whales were dragged into this bay before being slaughtered. The waters of this magnificent bay ran red with their blood, making it look like a glass of red wine.
At the Wineglass Bay Lookout with the beautiful pink granite rocks around us.
Down the other side and we’re, sadly, back to civilisation with so many tourists and cars. We paused for a rest and enjoyed watching the tourists setting off to the Lookout. One man was overheard reassuring his reluctant wife that it was “only 3km” – he didn’t realise that was 1.5km of climbing and 1.5km of descent to get back.
This map shows the two hikes we did on the Freycinet Peninsula. Find Cooks Beach on the top right, then follow the path away to the unnamed beach, that’s Bryans Beach where we started yesterday. From Cooks Beach follow it to Hazards Beach then to the Isthmus Track then down to the far end of Wineglass Bay (where the tent symbol is). Today we hiked back along Wineglass Bay to the Wineglass Bay Track (and the 1000steps) to the Lookout then down the other side to where it says “You are here”. We then followed the yellow dotted trail hiking to Honeymoon Bay (off the map).
The hike to Honeymoon Bay was easy with the trail more-or-less following alongside the road. Despite most of it being through forest the rocky ranges of Mt Amos and Mt Dove towered above us. Honeymoon Bay was a delight – small, no one here and lovely warm granite rocks to sit on to eat our lunch while we watched several of our party swimming.
And so ended our wonderful sail/hike with these people who will remain friends.
After about an hour of delightful relaxation here the bus arrived to take us back to Hobart – but not before a lovely cheese platter and wine tasting at Darlington Vineyard just outside Orford. For those worried about my knee it was fine for the last two hikes and has continued to improve ever since.
We met up with Kate and Ric, and Dee and Carl at the Blue Eye restaurant at Salamanca Place where we enjoyed a seafood dinner before farewelling them and heading back to our cosy motorhome for a restful sleep in our own bed. A great time of sailing and hiking.
With a very good rap about this island and having enjoyed camping here many years ago we were looking forward to Bruny Island. On the whole we were disappointed. Perhaps our final assessment was coloured by our need for a rapid departure. Read on …
On the car ferry, with the ‘other’ ferry going the opposite direction.
Bruny Island is just off the south east coast. We caught the car ferry from the pretty little village of Kettering for the 20 minute transfer to be landed at north Bruny. Most of the action happens in south Bruny. North and south sections are joined by a very narrow isthmus.
The isthmus, called ‘The Neck’ and south Bruny from the lookout.
All around The Neck is conservation land, reserved to protect the Little Penguins’ and the Shearwaters’ nests. Of an evening in the warmer months you can watch hundreds of them returning from a day fishing.
There’s a memorial here to Truganini, one of the last full-blood lutruwita people. Her life and that of her people at the hands of the white settlers is horrific and shameful.
Everyone should take a moment to reflect here. What a beautiful day for sailing. Sykes Cove, Bruny Island.
Camping spots are few on Bruny. We headed over to the western side to camp beside the Bruny Hotel.
A stunning sunset from the beer garden of the Bruny Hotel. The amazing colour attributed to the smoke from a fire on the mainland.
We were lucky enough to see the very cute albino wallaby. The snow white wallaby is a genetic mutation and is found nowhere else in the world – only Bruny Island. There are at least 200 of them on the island.
I found it interesting that this albino mother has a normal coloured Joey.
Next day a drive around north Bruny proved underwhelming. It was raining so a stop at the cheese and beer tourist drawcard filled in a little while. Tomorrow we want to walk the Fluted Cape track but the closest campsite we could find to the trailhead is at The Neck. Camping here is amongst the bush, no views.
Tassie has an excellent initiative with their “60 Great Short Walks” book. It started with an easy walk alongside the coastline.But the peak of this sea cliff is where we’re headed. It wasn’t long before the climb became quite steep on a very uneven track.The views were stunning.So beautiful.At the top.The descent was inland a little on a very steep and poorly maintained track. This photo is where it’s pretty good.
Anyway safely down we returned to our campsite at The Neck. That night my right knee started getting painful. By morning I was unable to walk on it. Not a big deal if I could rest it, but we’re booked onto another multi-day walk at the end of the week. Panic stations ensued! An appointment with a sports physio in Hobart was made for that afternoon, so we packed up and headed to the ferry.
But not before dropping in here. (Just another retail outlet – nothing to see).And here – a little-known cure for sore knees.The lovely physio examined my knee and diagnosed a ‘grumbling medial meniscus’, strapped it and strongly advised me not to do the multi-day hike. Sorry physio – I’m not missing this hike for anything.
Having cut our Bruny Island trip short (though I don’t think we missed much) we camped beside the Huon River at Franklin. What a gem that is!
The view out of our lounge room windowThere we are just beside the smallest tree. Isn’t it a pretty town!Just a little further on.
But we didn’t spend all our time in the van. Coffee and a treat was partaken every day at Cinnamon and Cherry, a middle-eastern cafe. A short walk along the river kept ‘the knee’ mobile.
The Huon being the centre of Apple growing on this island which has been known as The Apple Isle of course we had to visit an Apple orchard and cidery. We celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary at this excellent Italian restaurant just a very short walk from our campsite.
All that remains now is to drive into Hobart where we’ll meet our next multi-day hiking tour. This one though has a difference …
We’re heading south again now getting ready to welcome a very special person to Hobart for Easter. But first – a trip down the A1.
Christmas Hills Raspberry FarmYes, the ice cream was absolutely delicious.
Maree and Carl met us for coffee in Latrobe on their short break from the Mornington Peninsula. Outside Latrobe is House of Anvers chocolates which deserved a look in – hot chocolate for morning tea!
Really good chocolate, particularly the truffles. Ashgrove dairy. Just a retail outlet and cafe. But they do have colourful cows! Our campsite beside the Elizabeth River, Campbell Town. With potential for a duck á la orange for dinner.
The RV park is just a short stroll from the Red Bridge.
Using convict labour this pretty bridge was finished in 1838 and has been in constant use since then. It’s one of the oldest surviving bridges in Australia and is the oldest brick bridge.Walking into town we noticed a continuous row of red bricks on both sides of the road. There are more than 160,000 bricks.Each brick has the name of a person transported here as a convict, their age, the ship they came on, the misdemeanour and their sentence. So many of the crimes were so minor. It’s quite disturbing. The statue of Eliza and the ram was interesting. In 1830 Eliza Forlong, a Scotswoman, carefully selected breeding stock from around German farms to be shipped to Hobart, pioneering the super-fine merino wool industry with her husband and sons.The town of Ross also has a beautiful convict-built bridge completed in MDCCCXXXVI.
Daniel Herbert was the stonemason/sculptor who was given a life sentence and transportation to Van Diemens Land for highway robbery.
On arrival in Hobart he was employed as a convict stonemason and amongst other notable structures worked on the Ross bridge.He sculpted the 186 keystones of motifs, people and other designs for the bridge.
Oatlands, however, was our favourite town.
With 138 sandstone buildings, 87 in the Main Street, this town has the greatest display of Georgian houses in Australia.Some as private homes.Additionally the Callington Mill, a fully functional wind-driven flour mill has been painstakingly restored along with several other sandstone buildings associated with the mill.The restored millers cottage.
Until 2020 and COVID restrictions the mill had been producing specialty flours for artisan bakers. Unfortunately it hasn’t been restarted since then.
The Callington Mill Whiskey Distillery makes a very tasty drop which we discovered on a ‘tasting’.Steve needed a little rest after the tasting. He was feeling kind of small.A large lake at the edge of town has a cycleway/walking path alongside it joining Oatlands to the nearest town some 7km away. A walk along this stretched out the legs and took us past some historical points of interest.One of which is the night cart (dunny) pans that were discarded at this location when septic systems were installed in Oatlands during the 1950s. When constructing the path the decision was made to leave them as found, in recognition of their past role. Rumour has it that the best potatoes are grown where these used to be emptied.
Leaving Oatlands we drove down off the plateau through very dry and often over-grazed sheep country and into wine, berry and stone fruit orchard country. A stop at the popular historic tourist town of Richmond to see the bridge, was a must.
When it was gazetted as a place of National Heritage importance it was described thus, “Richmond Bridge, built by convict labour in 1823 to 1825, is the oldest, surviving, large, stone arch bridge in Australia with a high degree of integrity.”Old Hobart Town in Richmond accurately replicates in miniature (scale 1:16) the life and history of Hobart as it was in 1820.It covers an area equivalent to 2 tennis courts and includes present day photographs to compare the changes, and similarities. This is well worth your time to visit. Just over the road is the Pooseum, its tag line being “An education in defaecation – in all its scatological splendour”. Unfortunately closed today, it being Good Friday. Pity, with grandchildren who delight in all things scatalogical I could have done with some good facts at my fingertips.
Tonight we’re camped across from the Longley International Hotel just a short drive to Hobart. This ‘out of the way’ hotel in the country boasts some music royalty in their line-up!
It’s also the home of the Big Axe. Not sure whether to be reassured or worried about camping here.
30th Mar – 6th April
Yay, we’re in Hobart and our daughter, Laura, is going to join us. We’ve booked an AirBnB in Battery Point for the week.
Yummm! Salamanca Markets are a must.And then our favourite daughter arrives. ❤️“Chocolate and Whisky” turned out to be a great place to chill.We caught the Mona Roma ferry up the Derwent R to enjoy an afternoon of live music on the lawn at Mona.The Cascade Brewery was on Steve’s bucket list for not only their tasting paddle but also the rivulet that runs beside the brewery. Apparently heaps of platypus live there. After a little tipple we went in search of them, unsuccessfully.Summiting Mt Wellington is a must for every tourist in Hobart. The walking on Mt Wellington is beautiful. We found a waterfall to walk to.
As well as these activities we filled our week with a few too many visits to the best bakery ever, Jackman and Ross, a very enjoyable evening of Gypsy jazz, a day shopping in the CBD, a mother/daughter spa morning and lots of time together just chilling.
