Day 64 - Launceston to Devonport and some reminiscing

We had a white out this morning and could barely see 100m in front of us.  The fog diminished somewhat as we said goodbye to Hadspen and Launceston and headed for Devonport, our port of embarkation for our return voyage to the mainland.

It was a fairly quick 88km journey, crossing roads that we had previously visited on our second day in Tasmania.  We had now completed our tour of Tasmania.

In some respects sadly, we arrived in Devonport in rain and heavily overcast skies, which ironically were not too dissimilar to our first few days in Tasmania.  Later in the day the wind arrived.  We must add that for the last two and a half weeks, the weather has been terrific, with cold mornings and lovely sunny days, so we are choosing to ignore todays weather event.

020515 Devenport on our penultimate day in Tasmania, cold and wet

Here are some details to give you some idea about the distances we have travelled over the last nine weeks.

Distances                                                                             km

Brisbane to Melbourne to catch the ferry:                        1761

Devonport to Devonport, caravan km:                             1620

Distance travelled in Tasmania by car:                            5974

Distance travelled by car alone (sightseeing):                 4354

In summary

• It took us a greater distance to get to the ferry than to drive around Tasmania with the caravan.  As remarked previously, it is a long way to travel to catch a boat.   
• The distance to travel around Tasmania is not that great
• There are plenty of things to see in Tasmania, which require you to head off the main roads
• The highways are quite good but some of the lesser roads leave something to be desired.  We can forgive some of the mountain roads as they are not maintained for public use, rather for forestry use.
• Signposting left something to be desired at times but we only got lost in the mountains once, so we are not really complaining.  The fact the distances are small, means one never gets lost for long.

Tasmania is an island of mountains, rivers, lakes and varying coastlines.  It is also a place where photographs are demanded, in our case 2251 of them, not all of which were included in the blogs.

Mountains: For simple beauty, Cradle Mountain was the pick.  For the view, Mount Wellington behind Hobart was wonderful, but one should not forget the South Sisters, Ben Lomond and Mount Barrow.  For the thrill of the chase, Ben Lomond and Mount Barrow will not be forgotten.

Rivers: Mountains beget rivers and the wild rivers of the west were beautiful and the Gordon River lived up to its reputation.  While hydro electricity generation is inevitable in a place like Tasmania, we did not think the presence of the power stations was overwhelming and they are indeed clean.  The Derwent River was memorable for its meandering passage through its valley, with poplars and other deciduous trees lining its banks and showing off their autumn colours.  The South Esk River too, demonstrated similar qualities.  The Tamar River was different.  Tidal and sluggish, it provided such a contrast to the faster flowing rivers, yet was beautiful in its own way.

Lakes: Mountains also beget lakes and there are plenty of these.  They are impressive.  Lake Gordon and Lake Pedder were outstanding and the Gordon Dam itself was memorable, not only for its size and beauty, but also the 230 steps down to the top of the dam wall and the 230 steps back.  The Great Lake in the centre of Tasmania was not misnamed either.

Coastlines: The southern coast of Tasmania is not accessible by car but we understand it is wild and rugged.  What we did see of the east coast could equally be described as wild and rugged, including Bruny Island, Tasman Peninsula and the Freycinet Peninsula. The wildness of the west coast and its temperate rain forests is to be marvelled at. We can understand why people go to extraordinary lengths to protect it.

Conclusion

Tasmania has such a lot to offer.  We have seen much, but not all of Tasmania in the eight weeks we have been here.  The weather has been at best, mixed, and we have rationalized that when the clouds are about, the rain is falling and the wind is blowing, we have seen Tasmania in a different light.  We have loved every minute of it and can recommend a visit to Tasmania.  It will, in many respects, transport you back to earlier times with its small cities, little villages beside babbling brooks and a quieter and more relaxed lifestyle.  Weather wise, it will also amply demonstrate “four seasons in one day”. Tomorrow we head back to what the Tasmanians refer to as “their big island to the north.”

Dino’s Travels’ will cease as of this blog.  We trust those who have followed our travels will have enjoyed Tasmania as much as we have.

Day 63 - Launceston

Another beautiful day in Launceston, maximum 18 degrees and sunny, saw us exploring Launceston's town centre.

We managed to fill in a couple of hours there, including lunch.  It is like any other city with a business and retail centre and plenty of eating places.  There was the obligatory Town Mall comprising one city block and the usual Australian retail outlets.  Myer was the major retailer.

We parked at Royal Park and were impressed by the casual air that pervaded there.  It was sunny so a lot of the students from the nearby Launceston College were congregating in the park.

010515 Royal Park opposite Launceston College hence the students

010515 Some colour in Royal Park 

We could not leave Launceston without seeing the famous Boag's/Esk Brewery.  In 1881, the Esk Brewery was established on the banks of the North Esk River in Launceston by Charles Stammers Button.  In 1883, James Boag the first and his son took over the Esk Brewery. J. Boag & Son was officially formed in 1883, as the partnership between James Boag I and his son, to operate the brewery. The company's initial output was seven hogsheads of beer weekly. The name 'Esk Brewery' was retained, although 'Boag's Brewery' became a frequent reference.

In 1887, James Boag II began management of the company on the retirement of his father. A new malthouse was built and weekly production had increased to more than 500 hogsheads, with the brewery employing 30 members of staff. A major expansion in capacity was made in 2004 by the then owner San Miguel.

In 2007 the brewery was sold to Lion Nathan.  Today the brewery produces in excess of 76,000,000 litres of beer annually. 

010515 The famous Boag's Brewery.  The old and the new alongside each other

010515 Now Boag's Brewery

This interlude completed our visit to Launceston.  Tomorrow we move on to Devonport, our port of embarkation for our return to the mainland.  Our Tassie experience is all but over.

Day 62 - Mt Barrow and Liffey Falls

It was a sunny morning so there seemed every justification in heading off to visit the 1413m high Mt Barrow.  It is about 50km from Launceston.

The clouds were brushing its top when we arrived at its base.  By the time we had reached the top of the drive, we had experienced a drive very similar to the one up Ben Lomond. A similar gravel road cutting into the rock scree as it reached upwards, and the seven or eight switchback corners providing both concern and some welcome relief at times, welcome relief because it was only where these corners widened, that we were able to pass three cars that were coming down as we were going up.  We took two photographs on the way up at cloud level, in case we were covered in cloud at the top.

300415 Approaching Mt Barrow and the cloud

300415 The view from just below cloud level

300415 The view from just below cloud level

300415 The road across the scree

300415 Pretty scary road

300415 Impressive road too

300415 The buttress at the end of the mountain

300415 The road below, including clouds and electricity cables

300415 Getting near the top

300415 The road and the buttress in the background

The highest point in the road was at the car park for the communication facilities.  The communication towers themselves were however at the top of a rocky outcrop.  This had to be scaled to get the best views - and it was done. 

300415 View from top of Mt Barrow 1 of 6 

300415 View from top of Mt Barrow 2 of 6

 300415 View from top of Mt Barrow 3 of 6

300415 View from top of Mt Barrow 4 of 6

300415 View from top of Mt Barrow 5 of 6

300415 View from top of Mt Barrow 6 of 6

The walk up and down was as scary as the road up the mountain.

300415 The rocky outcrop (the last bit) and part of the walkway to the top

300415 The last bit and part of the walkway to the top

300415 Taking a breather part way up the walk

300415 As far as one can go on top of Mt Barrow unless you work
for the communications company

300415 The very top is not accessible to the public

300415 More of the walkway with car park at the bottom

300415 The structure in the centre is two thirds of the way down

300415 From the structure to the carpark

300415 Heading down

300415 Elation at making it to the top or frustration the locked
gate stopped any further progress

Apart from the higher outcrop, the mountain top was quite flat and is obviously unsuitable for skiing, even though Mt Barrow is under snow in the winter.

300415 On the top, car park level

On a scale of 1 to 10 we would give Ben Lomond a 10 and Mt Barrow an eight and a half.

We made it down safely, had some lunch and then headed west to the Liffey Falls.  These are about 60km from Launceston near the town of, you guessed it, Liffey.  Mind you there is nothing but farms at Liffey, so this meant we had to head up into the mountains again.  At times we travelled through some pretty dense temperate rain forest, and old man tree ferns were quite prolific.

300415 Drys Bluff on the way to Liffey Falls 

The falls comprised four separate cascades, none of which was very high but which individually were pleasing to the eye.  There was another excellent example of a tessellated pavement at the top of the first cascade.

300415 Liffey River leading down to the first cascade

300415 The tessellated pavement at the top of the first cascade

300415 The second cascade

300415 The river between the second and third cascade

300415 The third cascade

300415 The fourth cascade 

300415 The fourth cascade through the trees

By the time we left the falls the sun was sinking quickly.  We managed to capture one view which was typical of the country we passed through on the way home.

300415 A country view near Exton as the sun lowered

Our final task for the day was to see the South Esk River as it passed by Hadspen, the home of our current caravan park.  It was flowing strongly as it made its way down to the Tamar River.

300415 The South Esk River at Hadspen

Day 61 - Tamar River Cruise

Two degrees again this morning but the sun was shining.  By 10am we were on the "Tamar Odyssey" for a four hour cruise on the Tamar River.  A smaller boat, the Lady Launceston does shorter cruises around the harbour and the Cataract Gorge.

290415 Our catamaran for the four hour cruise, the "Tamar Odyssey"

290415 The smaller of the two cruise boats on the Tamar, the "Lady Launceston"

The cruise took us firstly into the Cataract Gorge and then 40km north to the Batman Bridge and then return.  The Tamar at around 76km is the longest navigable river in Australia.  It is fed by the North and South Esk Rivers and continues to suffer from silting problems.  There is a whole history about the old dredge which dredged the river for many years.  With the development of Bell Bay on the Tamar as the major port, the number of large ships reaching the town of Launceston now has reduced considerably.  There is a heavy lifting facility not far from Launceston and some largish ships eg vehicular ferries, come here for repairs as the costs are low compared with mainland equivalents.

290415 The entrance to Cataract Gorge from the water

290415  Looking down Cataract Gorge on our Tamar Cruise

The Tamar meanders its way along the valley.  The western side is rocky and hilly and faces north. For these reasons, hillsides for the views but more importantly, north facing for the warmth in winter, there is more intense activity there by way of housing and farming eg vineyards.  One couldn't blame the Tasmanians for that.

290415 Some of the older homes on the west side of the Tamar

290415 Tamar Vineyards

290415 Tamar Vineyard

290415 Tamar Vineyards

The river meanders in part because the valley is relatively flat.  This means that there are large areas of wetlands and the banks are, in some cases, quite muddy.  The river is widest at Swan Bay and narrowest at Batman Bridge.  The river becomes quite turbulent as it forces its way through  the relatively narrow section under the bridge.  The Batman Bridge is the only crossing of the river for its whole length.  

290415 Typical of the grassy banks in the wetlands of the Tamar

290415 The green area is a cattle property

290415 More grassy wetlands

Old boats, old buildings and new houses passed our eyes frequently.

290415 The oldest church on the Tamar with linkage back to Nobel,
 famous for the discovery of explosives

290415 A flash house on the eastern bank of the Tamar River

290415 This was the vehicular ferry used after the Tasman Bridge disaster
to ferry vehicles across the Derwent

Needless to say birdlife on the water proliferates and we were fortunate to see a sea eagle's nest with both its owners present.  

290415 Sea Eagles and their nest

We were provided with a wine tasting prior to lunch which included a Pinot Gris, a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir, all from local wineries.  We were also given a beer chaser, a Boag's Premium Lager. Lunch and the Batman Bridge saw us starting our return voyage.

290415 Lunch on the cruise

290415 Batman Bridge - a cantilever suspension bridge

We finished the day with a quick drive up the western side of the river so that we could say we circumnavigated the Tamar River on land.  We passed through several small communities eg Exeter and Deviot and ventured down to the river again, this time at Paper Beach.  There had been absolutely no wind during the day and the reflections in the river were surprisingly good.

290415 The tide was out in the afternoon. View at Paper Beach

290415 Not bad reflections across a river, symbolic of a perfect day

290415 Perfect reflections - perfect day

We came across Brady Lookout which provided us with an excellent and quite typical view of the eastern side of the river.

290415 View from Brady's Lookout on the western side of the Tamar 1 of 3

290415 View from Brady's Lookout on the western side of the Tamar 2 of 3

290415 View from Brady's Lookout on the western side of the Tamar 3 of 3

The Tamar River is full of history and it would reveal more if we had more time to devote to it. However, this was a very pleasant way to spend a sunny Wednesday.