We’re following the
Trail of the Tin Dragon – a tourist route that winds through small towns that
were originally built to service the growing tin mines of the late 1800’s.
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| Following Wayne on the Trail of the Tin Dragon |
We wind up and down
hills and valleys until finally arriving at Scottsdale where we stop at a free
camp just outside of town.
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| Our camp at Scottsdale |
We no sooner set up
camp than a welcome party arrives at our door.
This welcome party doesn’t come with gifts though – they are just
looking for a free handout and Wayne is more than happy to oblige.
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| Wayne making friends |
We go for a drive
around town and in a park opposite the RSL come across a wooden sculpture of
Simpson and his Donkey.
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| Simpson and his Donkey |
We take a walk
through the park and find a larger wooden sculpture made from an old tree trunk
commemorating all the armed services that took part in World War II.
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| World War II wooden sculpture in Scottsdale |
A lot of effort and
hard work has gone into this piece and is a marvelous memorial. We stop at a sign that directs us to the rear
of a cottage where Rhubarb Tastings can be undertaken. There is a quaint little garden shed at the
rear of the garden
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| Cute garden shed |
and in a room under
the rear of the cottage all manner of things have been done with rhubarb. The rhubarb and apple cider was a winner but
the rhubarb and lavender cider had a rather weird taste.
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| Going by the expressions think Wok and Wayne are tasting the rhubarb and lavender |
The rhubarb jam was
pretty good but we came away with a jar of rhubarb relish which goes very
nicely with ham. We were on the road
again the following morning – taking a circuitous route – heading north to
Bridport and then west to Georgetown and Low Head on the eastern side of the
Tamar River before crossing over the Batman Bridge to a free camp at Paper
Beach beside the river.
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| Our camp at Paper Beach |
Ohh … along the way a
cluster of blackberry bushes was spotted beside the road and a berry picking frenzy ensued.
After setting up camp
the blackberries were suitably prepared for consumption. That night we had some of the blackberries
with ice cream … yummmmmmm !
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| Wayne in the thick of it ... |
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| Wayne really enjoyed his blackberries and ice cream - finger lickin' good ! |
We had planned on moving
on the following morning but we had enjoyed this free camp – lovely and quiet
with only a couple of other vans for company.
Plus Wayne had been in touch with his Bank and some Solicitors in
Brisbane that needed to email him some documents for signing and scanning to
get the sale of his unit underway. So we
all agreed that it made sense to spend another night here at Paper Beach and
get everything organized before we moved on.
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| How many computers and smart phones does one need! Well it appears that one needs three computers and an assistant to hold the phone ! |
Of course
blackberries and ice cream were on the dessert menu again that night. In the morning we drove to Beaconsfield Mine
Heritage Museum
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| Beaconsfield Mine Heritage Museum |
where we took a self
guided tour. Beaconsfield was built
beside the small gold mines that dotted the area until most of the small mines
combined into one large mine. The museum
was very good with lots of equipment and information on the mine and the
history of the town.
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| Water Wheel in museum that drove the stamper battery |
There is also a
section of the museum devoted to the rescue of two miners after a cave in had
them trapped for two weeks in 2006. This
rescue gained worldwide media coverage and many of you will remember it. After wandering around the museum we took a
walk down the main street and stopped for a bite to eat at the Exchange Hotel.
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| Exchange Hotel in Beaconsfield |
After lunch we head
for a free camp at the Beaconsfield Recreation Grounds and drop the vans off
before hopping into Mitzi and taking a drive up the western side of the Tamar
River to Greens Beach before making our way back to camp. In the morning the horizon starts to turn
pink as the sun slowly rises in the east
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| Sunrise at the free camp at Beaconsfield |
and a lone trotter
takes to the race track beside our camp for its early morning training session.
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| Who is watching who? Wok watching the trotter? The trotter watching Wok? |
It’s always fun to
wake up in different locations – you never know what you may see !
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