Day 27 - Queenstown to Tarraleah

It was raining as we left waterlogged Queenstown and headed east and up the mountains with our trusty Land Cruiser hauling the anchor behind.

230315 A waterfall in the mountains on the road up from Queenstown

The countryside changed as we descended the eastern side of the West Coast Range.  The rainforest diminished and gave way to eucalypt forests, interspersed with flat areas of grass covered swampy, boggy land.

230315 Gone are the dense rain forests as we moved east with
eucalypts becoming more frequent

We passed over Bradshaw Bridge which crosses the northern section of Lake Burbury.  The Lake did not have the white fringes evident further to the south.

 

230315 Mountains towering above a northern part of Lake Burbury
on the eastern side of the ranges

230315 Bradshaw's Bridge over Lake Burbury

230315  Bradshaw's Bridge over Lake Burbury

Lake St Clair was our first target for the day with the expectation that we would stay there overnight.  Fortunately the rain had stopped but our site inspection revealed a messy, sodden campsite so we lunched at the nearby Derwent Bridge Hotel and decided to move on.  At Derwent Bridge we saw the River Derwent for the first time.

 

230314 The Franklin River downstream

230314 The Franklin River upstream

230315 Lake St Clair bathed in rare sunshine

230315 More of Lake St Clair

230315 A welcome log fire in the tavern at Derwent Bridge

230315 Some unusual moss on the ground at Derwent Bridge

230315 River Derwent looking downstream at Derwent Bridge

230315 River Derwent looking upstream at Derwent Bridge

We called in to see “The Wall” near Derwent Bridge. “The Wall” is housed in a large purpose built building. It is a wall made up of carvings into 3mx2m panels of Huon Pine, set side by side.  The artist is Greg Duncan.  On completion it will be 100m long.  It is a commemoration to those who helped shape the past and the present in the region.  We were not allowed to take photos of the work but for a sum of $25 one can buy a book with photographs of the panels.

230315 Entrance to "The Wall" near Derwent Bridge

We continued on through eucalypt forests, up and down mountain passes until we came across open areas of grassland, with black Angus cattle, knee deep in the yellow grass.  This is the first time we have seen cattle for about a week.

230315 More open country as we headed east

Our journey took us past many lakes and lagoons until we suddenly descended downwards to the Nive River to be met by huge pipelines dropping down from two separate directions, obviously bringing water to the hydro power plant below. This must surely be the heartland of hydropower generation in Tasmania. Incidentally we arrived shortly after at the township of Tarraleah, which must be the dormitory township for hydro workers.

230315 Water delivery to the Tarraleah Power Station, with bridge
over the Nive River Bridge in the foreground

 

230315 Another set of pipes taking water to the Tungatinah Power Station

The rain had returned and we set up camp at Tarraleah in the mist, on a sodden campsite.  Ah, but we beggars can’t be choosers.

We picked up the computer this morning and set up to blog again on our arrival at Tarraleah, only to find there is no private internet access available here.  Oh, woe is us.  This is the first time we have been without the internet.  However this, combined with being without the computer for a few days, means blogging material is mounting up.

Tomorrow we will look around Tarraleah.