RAMBLING IN TASMANIA

 

30th November, 2013

We’re not going to say much about our crossing of Bass Strait other than it was pretty much as we expected.  Once we had left the sheltered waters of Port Phillip Bay it was every man (or woman) for himself.  Little sleep was achieved with the huge swell buffeting the ship from every angle and the wind and rain keeping everyone indoors.  It was a welcome relief to see the city of Devonport come into view early next morning.

Devonport from the Ferry

As soon as we got off the ship we headed for a nearby caravan park and checked in for a couple of nights.  Then it was a quick trip to a supermarket to restock our supplies with fresh fruit and veggies and frig items.  Then it was back to the caravan park to relax and get a good night’s sleep.  The next morning we took a drive around Devonport.  There are lots of old buildings and great walks along the waterfront.  From the headland you get a great view looking back at Devonport over Bluff Beach.

Bluff Beach

Devonport is on the Mersey River and at the entrance to the river stands ‘The Spirit of the Sea’.  This large sculpture (we think of Neptune) has only been in place for a few years and was quite a controversial project for Devonport.  Its supporters obviously won the day and the statue is now on the ‘must visit’ list in the tourist brochures.

Spirit of the Sea at Devonport

The following day we hitched up a drove south.  We weren’t headed far but our GPS insisted on taking the scenic route and we must admit that although the roads were less than desired it was very scenic.  As we drove down a back country road to the town of Sheffield the imposing Mount Roland dominated the skyline.

Heading towards Sheffield with Mount Roland in the background

Sheffield is a quaint town with heritage listed buildings

Heritage buildings in Sheffield

and is noted for the many murals that adorn the fences

A mural in Sheffield

and buildings.

Mural on side of building in Sheffield

The history of the area is shown through the murals and a mural painting competition is held once a year in which competitors must complete a mural based on a chosen theme within one week.  This year a Queensland team won the event.  That night we free camped beside a lake at West Kentish and in the morning visited Tasmazia.  There are a number of mazes at Tasmazia with three of the hedge mazes being quite difficult.

One of the hedge mazes at Tasmazia

We managed to do all of the mazes but the last one had us going around in circles for a short time.

Wok in the maze

There were smaller mazes for the munchkins, a miniature village and a fairytale themed village.

Wok checks out the fairytale castle

Wok even tried to pull Excalibur out of the rock.  Honestly – you just can’t take him anywhere!

Wok with Excalibur

We continued on our merry way and took some back roads to Deloraine where we found a free camp provided by the local council.  It was lovely and quiet and backed onto a paddock overlooking the race course.   A short walk took us over the Meander River

The Meander River at Devonport

and straight into the centre of town.  It was a great place to wander around and we spent two nights there before driving south through the central highlands to New Norfolk on the Derwent River.

The Derwent River winds through New Norfolk

We checked into the local caravan park and went for a walk along the river where we ran across a mother duck and her brood of nine ducklings.

Mother duck with her brood

The caravan park was a great place to base ourselves for a few days and we took the opportunity to do a day trip to Strathgordon where the massive Gordon Dam is built.

The Gordon Dam

This is the only dam in Tasmania where one can arrange to abseil down the face of a dam.  Maybe it is the only dam in Australia that does that kind of thing …?  Either way – we weren’t tempted.  After a pleasant few days in New Norfolk we hitched up and headed northwest.  We stopped at Tarraleah Lookout for an impressive view of the power station down in the gorge on the Nive River.

Power Station on the Nive River at Tarraleah

This power station is one of eight stations along the river and eventually flows into the Derwent River which supplies Hobart with its drinking water.  About seventeen kilometres north of Tarraleah is Brady’s Lake and it looked so nice that we decided to free camp for the night.

Our campsite at Brady's Lake

So here we are enjoying the peace and quiet and Wok is doing a bit of fly fishing.

Wok tries his hand at fishing at Brady's Lake

Well you never know – there may be a trout out there that might be silly enough to jump on the hook….