travel

Canberra 2023-08 -2- Breakfast

I’m not great at doing touristy things, I had these plans for doing a bunch if things today and ended up managing 2 and a half things, or maybe two and two halves of a thing depending on how you’d measure it. I’m measuring it as two and two halves of a thing.

Today was Old Parliament House. I think the last time I saw the big touristy things in Canberra was when I was a kid, and even then it's sort of a half memory. I only really sort of remember the Australian mint, and that might only be a sort of memory, as in it’s the sort of memory you have based on other things. Like I have a souvenir coin that came from the mint and maybe I remember something of the mint, but it’s very vague. 

The morning started with a need for diesel and for breakfast, both sourced in Fyshwick. Coles Express, followed by a cafe around the back of the industrial estate. It’s interesting looking at Fyshwick using maps, because you are always reminded that Canberra is a planned city, so everything has meaning even if it’s not always apparent. 

All the streets in Fyshwick are named after industrial and port areas around Australia; Wyalla Street, Yallourn Street, Geelong Street, Lithgow Street, Lyell Street, Isa Street, Pirie Street, Townsville Street, Wollongong Street, Albany Street, Kembla Street just to name several. 

Vacant land opposite cafe in Fyshwick.

I had intended to have a big breakfast at 8T8 Cafe , but I ate a little too much the night before and was still feeling a little bloated this morning, so just went for an egg and bacon roll and an orange juice (freshly squeezed). It seemed like the cafe was pretty busy, but mostly people coming in and out, there was only one bloke sitting inside, aside from myself.

Red Oxx - Big Bull Roll-up bag

This is one of the most useful bags I use for going on road trips. It's a bag that basically combines a luggage roll with packing cubes. 

It's incredibly well constructed, made not just in the USA but Made in Montana, which is stated on front. 

It's my go-to road trip clothes bag.

The bag unrolls to a length of 915 mm and you have 6 mesh pockets where you can store (and stuff) clothing for a time away. I particularly like it as it means fewer things to unpack and repack - a problem with packing cubes especially. Unrolling it or hanging it up you can see everything you've got within, without needing to unpack further. It also means that when it's time to leave I just roll it back up and take it back out to my ute. 

Unlike packing cubes, which are great, but you can forget things, this it's all attached, it's one thing to remember to grab. 

I have a separate dirty clothes bag that goes elsewhere, so this just contains clean clothes.

If I were doing longer trips than this bag could handle I'd probably pack a duffle bag with extra clothes and then at a point when this was mostly empty of clean clothes I'd cycle in new ones. But this can handle a surprising amount of clothes, rolled or stuffed in and then the whole thing strapped up.

When I bought it back in 2017, it was kinda pricey, but fine enough for a bag at $285 USD, plus $55 USD postage to Australia, totalling $340 USD all up. But now looking on their website it seems inflation and increased costs has got to its price quite a bit and it's now $450 USD, although postage is still $55 USD.

If I were reading this at this point I would probably be thinking 'is it worth it?'. As of 2023 that price of $505 USD is about $685 AUD. Looking through a site like Rushfaster.com.au and sorting price high to low on their various bag categories it reveals this price is way up there in the high prices of bags.

But...there's nothing much out there on the market that completely replicates it. However I'm not sure I would buy this now at that price, back in 2017 it was a gift to myself. Now though I think I'd just go for a duffle bag with compartments, or maybe one or two duffle bags that I'd just cycle clothes through or something. 

Full dimensions:

50.8 cm L x 20.3 cm W x 20.3 cm H rolled up
When open and laying out flat: 91.4 cm L x 50.8 cm W x  7.62 cm H (pocket height)
Capacity: 24.4 litres
Weight: 2.38 kg

Tasmania mid-winter 2019 - 7 - Return

I was I think the last car off the ferry, parked in one corner of deck 2. There were no cars to follow out, so almost took a wrong turning coming out of deck 2 out of the ship. It's not as though there's any marking on the ship at all to actually indicate where to go, and if you're the last one out that doesn't help,

Lake Lea road, Vale of Belvoir

Reflecting on my voyage to Tasmania in the winter, it taught me several things. I learnt a bit from this trip, even if I didn't enjoy all of it. 

Pumphouse Point is somewhere that made me the most miserable, for the most amount of money, dressed up in the airiness of luxury. It is luxurious, but completely not for me. 

I didn't get the relaxation promised, I didn't really enjoy it either. But it taught me and gave me an example of what I don't want, which I think is a valuable lesson in and of itself. 

Inside room at Pumphouse Point

My experience there wouldn't stop me from returning to the general area again, there's the Lake St Clair lodge that also offers accommodation which might be more my thing.

But the stay at Pumphouse Point with its regimented time for dinner felt a little too much like a tour-type experience where I had to be there and there was a big speech about how dinner worked. I'm much more for a relaxed way of dining where I can just go and do my thing and leave, returning to my room to relax. 

Upon reflection I realise now I would have preferred to stay somewhere where I have full control of what I do and when. At Lake St Clair I didn't really feel that, even for that single night I was there. 

Parked at Spray Tunnel

Parked at Spray Tunnel

I prefer long drives to take in the scenery, the doing stuff at the destination has less appeal for me, I knew this already, but this Tasmanian trip has confirmed it. 

If I was going to go to Tasmania in the winter again I'd take a lot more warm clothing. 

I should have brought more pairs of my pure Merino socks rather than half Merino and half wool blend socks. 

Also a few other things like a air compressor (the cold gave the tyre pressure warnings in my ute a bit of a freakout).

Bonfire at the Mid-Winter Festival

I was right to take three pairs of shoes, even though I only used two of them. One of the pair were some waterproof Gore-Tex boots which kept my feet dry in the muddy Ranelagh site.

I wonder if I would go to Tasmania again in the winter? I'm not sure, maybe. The last time I went to Tasmania I went in October, which was really pleasant. Cool but sunny days. I think I might go to Tasmania in the latter parts of winter, again. But perhaps not the middle of winter. 

But then...maybe I'll go again to the Mid-Winter Festival, I enjoyed it this year, and maybe I'll go again, I'll just make sure to book better, warmer, nicer accommodation next time. And going again with a better idea of what will happen might make it more enjoyable. 

Tasmania mid-winter 2019 - 6 - To Devonport & Return

This wasn't actually going to be my last day, but while I was staying at the whispering ponies saddle club, I found myself feeling a bit miserable, especially staying there where it just seemed forever a little bit chilly. 

Waiting to board the Spirit of Tasmania II

I had intended to stay one more day in Tasmania, but with the cold and everything it had started to drag my mood down a lot, and I'd decided to change my plans and return home a day early. 

In looking at the drive from Bruny Island back up to Devonport I didn't want to just drive along the Midland Highway, so opted to go a little inland and take a detour to Richmond and towns around and along the route as I headed north.

I just chose Richmond as it was on tourist maps and made for somewhere to aim for.

While in Richmond I had a look inside one or two antique shops. Some nice stuff, albeit expensive.

Driving from Richmond north on the B31 made me realise what I actually enjoy, and what I'd enjoyed on previous visits to Tasmania and to other places in Australia, and that's driving along the not main road. 

The slightly twisting, very quiet road that linked small towns, this was something I really enjoyed and allowed me to properly sort of relax and look around at the landscape. 

Somewhat disappointingly the B31 rejoined the A1 in Jericho, bringing an end to that route, but bringing 110 km speeds, something as a native Victorian I'm less than familiar with driving on a regular basis. 

In fact, Tasmania's highways and freeways which are set at 110 km are I think the roughest roads that have a 110 km speed limit of any of the states I've driven with this speed limit.

Return. 

The return journey on the ferry was worse than coming over to Tasmania. 

Coming over, the sailing was noisy with the waves crashing into the ship.

But returning, the sea was extra rough; when I was in bed I at several points felt weightless as the ship pitched up and down. 

I do wonder if part of it is because once the ship leaves the Mersey river it's in Bass Strait, while when it leaves Melbourne it has to transverse Port Phillip Bay before it gets into open water. 

The night was far more eventful returning to Melbourne than going over. But as I had a much shorter drive upon returning I wasn't as worried about the the sleep I had.

Tasmania mid-winter 2019 - 5 - Bruny Island

Bruny Island was cold, which isn't a surprise as I was in Tasmania in the winter. I was as I discovered while I was there, unprepared for how cold it was going to be. 

First I had to get to Kettering, where the ferry leaves from.

On the way from Franklin I stopped off at Eggs and Bacon Bay, just because it's got a silly name and I wanted to go and have a look.

The road in is very long and sweeping. It seems like so many roads in Tasmania are excellent drivers' roads. 

There's no convenient sign to take a photo in front of and say that I've visited Eggs and Bacon Bay. Or at least not that I saw. 

It's a sleepy beachside town, with not a lot in it. 

The cove where I took some photos was very windy. 

The process for buying a ticket and boarding the ferry to Bruny Island was very simple. 

As you drive towards the ferry on Ferry Road in Kettering, you get in the left lane and then stop at a ticket box.

It's $38 dollars return, once you're past the ticket box no one looks at your ticket, I guess as there's no other way onto Bruny Island there's no reason to check your ticket.

Boarding the ferry is as simple as driving on, following the instructions on where to park.

The crossing takes about 20 minutes. You can get out of your car and walk around, take photos and do whatever if you wish.

Half way across water and waves splashed across half the cars on the ferry, so I was glad to not be standing outside. Very few people actually got out and walked around anyways. 

First thing I noticed about Bruny Island was that despite all the recent rain, how dry it was looking. 

Second thing I noticed was how untouched Bruny Island looks, much like a lot of the smaller towns I'd been to, but to a much more extreme extent that it still looks colonial era in its appearance. Undeveloped.

I stopped off at the Bruny Island Cheese and Beer Co to buy some cheese. The last time I was in Tasmania I'd bought and quite enjoyed their cheese (at Salamanca Market), so thought I'd visit while I was on the island.

I also had a croque monsieur for lunch.

And I got another of the weird pitying smiles from them when I asked what non-alcoholic options they had.

I really don't get why though, I walked in on my own, their business is in the middle of no where and it was lunch time, was I expected to order a large beer?

It was also freezing inside their shop, and they had all the doors and open, despite the wind.

Maybe I'm just a dirty mainlander who didn't get the Tasmanian weather, but the staff were all wearing thick insulated shirts / jackets. 

I thought maybe they could've closed one of the doors out onto the covered deck, or had more of a roaring fire in their wood burner.

When I commented that I'd chosen to sit at a dirty uncleared away table inside because it was freezing outside one of the waitstaff just laughed and said 'good Tasmanian winter's day'.

I didn't really have many plans beyond this, I had maybe thought about visiting the Bruny Island Lighthouse, but the temperature was falling and the ‘feels like temperature’ for the lighthouse was dropping down to fractions below 1.0º, so I made the decision to cut my day short and head to my accommodation.

The accommodation I'd booked for my single night's stay on Bruny Island was a revelation.

The host messaged me saying that I could arrive at 1:00 pm rather than the 2:00 pm check in, and that they had the fire going for me. I arrived to a really warm beach house, perfectly renovated, in a really tasteful Airbnb-friendly sort of way. And despite it being in a colder part of Tasmania, much more exposed, this beach house was so warm and welcoming (which I didn't find at the Whispering Ponies). 

I sat for a few hours just looking out at the view across the D'Entrecasteaux Channel (the channel of water between Bruny Island and Tasmania). It was a really breathtaking view and it's something I could have sat and looked at for a long time. 

My dining companion - the ugly lamp

For dinner I made my way to Hotel Bruny. 

I had fried squid as an entree and slow cooked lamb in a larger sauce. Or at least that's what it was listed as on the menu. It was more of a gloopy brown sauce, with some crunchy slithers of carrot, broccolini and beans. 

I was actually really glad to return to my accommodation. Of all the places I stayed in Tasmania this was the only place that felt warm, but not just that, cosy, friendly and it was a nice place to be. 

Only indication left of the age of the house, the rest has been perfectly renovated.

I'd happily return and stay at the 'Secret Spot', it was the perfect cosy place to stay.

Interesting thing on the return journey the following day on the ferry, it's not bi-directional. It is drive on and drive off, but on the return journey you're going 'backwards' relative to how your cars are positioning. When it gets back to Kettering the ferry turns around to allow you to drive off.

Tasmania mid-winter 2019 - 3 & 4 - Whispering Saddles Pony Farm

Whispering Spirit Ponies is located along near the end of a long road called Swamp Road which snakes its way up the hill in Franklin.

I'd looked on Airbnb for accommodation and this was the closest 'whole house' accommodation nearest to Huonville (as I was going there for the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival). 

It's a long muddy driveway into their property, there's also a little farm gate shop present, which I only realised as I was looking around to work out where to go, and to do a U-Turn from where I'd parked. And because a Nissan small SUV had followed me in and was now giving me odd looks.

There was a sign for 'Reception' though not much indications beyond that.

I met Heidi who directed me around to the back of their property. Heidi's German, met her husband too, German accents still strong despite having been in Tasmania for a while I think.

Heidi directed me to "Lemon Cottage", not what it's called on Airbnb, and I realised there'd been some careful photography of the cottage. It's not a fully independent cottage, rather it's semi-detached, joined I think through the main house's laundry and storage rooms. The door that linked the two was locked.

Fireplace in corridor linking kitchen to lounge.

It's called Lemon Cottage as there's a large lemon tree growing in the covered area near the front door.

The cottage turned out to be 4 rooms; a lounge room, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen, and in the corridor linking the latter three was the wood burning fireplace.

Heidi provided me a loaf of bread from their farmer’s shop. The ‘Farmers Loaf’ was...solid, and has an ingredient of ‘quark’ in it. I would've looked up what that is, but couldn't while I was there in the cottage, for reasons I'll get to shortly.

The bathroom didn't have an extractor fan and the shower looks like it’s circa 1970s, the same with the kitchen taps which also look like they’re circa 1970s. 

The basin in the bathroom is a probably a Bunnings special from the last few years.

The hot water is provided by a tank inside the bathroom, there’s also a washing machine inside the bathroom as well. 

There were a range of towels provided, all different colours. Enough for 3 nights of different towels. 

The kitchen was a bit of a mixed bag. 

There were a few slices of ham in the fridge, which I wasn't game enough to try, along with a few slices of singles-type cheese, two eggs, some butter, pineapple and orange juice, 2L bottle of milk and a bottle of water.

Having travelled a little bit on my road trips I've learnt to travel with my own tea bags, it just makes for a much better tea experience, having unfamiliar tea means you don't relax as easily. I also have sugar and UHT milk in the back as well. (All of this isn't just my obsessiveness it's part of my emergency food box I've got in the back along with a Trangia as part of the 'just in case' kit).

I also have my own kettle (a collapsible one), but didn't think I would need it. 

I knew I'd be using the tea, but didn't think I would be using the kettle, and the sugar as well.

In looking around the kitchen I saw the sugar. There were two jars for sugar, both had less than half a jar of sugar in then. The brown sugar had less than a quarter in it. The white sugar had a few lumps in it, which was fine, lumps are just a bit of moisture that's got in. But then as I shook the jar and pushed the spoon around inside it I found that there were some black somethings within the jar. 

So I elected to get the sugar from my ute. 

Along with my kettle, which as I discovered looking inside the kettle also had a few foreign bits inside and the element seemed like it was malting a little bit. 

Because of these observations I was a little wary of the ham that had been left in the fridge. As, while the surfaces and sink of the kitchen were clean, when you paid a little more attention to the minutiae of it, then things seemed to go down hill a little bit.

The a wood burning fire place kept the cottage warm-ish. If you really feed it and continue to feed it full of wood then it would choof out a bit of heat. If you don’t or if you let it go out, which unfortunately I did, even though I filled it full of wood before I went out and turned down the air flow it still chewed through all that and then went out as the wood wasn't very dense.

I did manage to re-light it, but it wasn't quite the same.

There were also two panel heaters, one which is circa 1970s-1980s I know this because it’s a Vulcan brand and we had something that looked almost the same but as a ducted heater control panel in the house when I was growing up.

The other had been purchased in the last 10 years, I elected to use that one to keep the bedroom warm.

But it wasn't. 

Not warm in the cottage, I went through a lot of my tea and continued to wear my warm clothing from outside, inside. 

Constantly feeding the fireplace and drinking hot drinks kept me...okay? in the temperature department, but not much beyond that.

Then there was the almost, but not totally, no phone reception. 

I have an iPhone 8, with Telstra and I could get 1 bar of 3G reception. And that’s only in the lounge room, and if you stand in front of the fire then you’ll probably get that as well.

In the bedroom it’s SOS only or No Service, the same in the kitchen. 

It’s amazing that within a 15 minute drive of Huonville, that you can go from 4G reception to 1 bar of 3G. It was astounding, though not the fault of the hosts. Although when I was looking back through the Airbnb listing it does wi-fi, but there was no sign of any wi-fi signals in the cottage at all. Not even password protected or anything, just none.

Now, in writing this up I've looked up the address of the Whispering Ponies on Telstra's coverage map, and it seems to be in the exact middle of a zero coverage spot on the side of the hill, with no 3G or 4G coverage.Any internetting I needed to be doing I had to wait until I was within Huonville where I'd get a 4G signal. 

Maybe it's good for people who want a "digital detox" but I like to have some semblance of internet connection. 

If I'd known there wasn't going to be any data reception I would have planned for that. Maybe not have stayed there, I'm not sure.

I didn't put a lot of this in my Airbnb review as it is a little petty / obsessive in its observation.

I stayed at the whispering pony saddle club for 2 days, and was cold for both of those days / nights.

Maybe, like Pumphouse Point in a season that isn't winter it'd be nicer.

Tasmania mid-winter 2019 - 3 - Salmon Ponds

This is another 'checkpoint location' I had on my list of places to look at, or to use as points on a map to go the most interesting way to my destination in Franklin. 

I had intended to stop off at The Wall on my way out of Lake St Clair, but it was pouring...which turned into snowing and made me drop my speed down as visibility shifted as the weather did and I must have missed the driveway for it.

It didn't matter, not really as because of the conditions I was doing about half the speed limit as I drove away from Lake St Clair. I got a warning on my ute that the autonomous emergency breaking system wasn't functional - because I assumed snow in the sensors.

I had also intended to go to the Gordon Dam, a location I keep meaning to go to each time I visit Tasmania and every time I don't quite get out there as it's an hour and a half drive one way from the main intersecting road out there, so the 3 hours it would take out of my schedule wasn't quite worth it.

But I found Salmon Ponds while looking at a map of the area.

How the Salmon eggs were brought to Australia

Salmon Ponds is the location of where salmon farming began in Australia, there's artificial water courses, a museum and a cafe to eat.

The cafe is kind of average, it's pancake-themed, everything you can order is pancake based and comes with a salad which is fresh, but with quite a sweet dressing. 

I wandered around the ponds, had a look in the museum and finally ate at the cafe. 

I had the smoked salmon pancake which was...interesting.

It had sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and cheese. 

When I ordered it I wondered if it would be cream cheese within, with those flavours it would have been fairly pleasant.

Nope.

Tasty cheese, it all melted like in a cheese jaffle.

It was...okay?

Filling and not entirely unpleasant.

Also ordered an apple cider with my meal, thought I'd be getting a Tasmania-manufactured one. 

Nope. 

Appletiser (product of South Africa).

Salmon Ponds is interesting, a nice wander around even on a freezing day. There's a great selection of European trees that would've been planted when it was all built there, so it's quite a European-looking set of gardens.

Tasmania mid-winter 2019 - 2 - Pumphouse Point

Pumphouse Point is the most money I've spent, to be completely miserable. 

View from my room

It's a boutique hotel, in the middle of a lake, in a national park. 

And it's full to the brim of luxury.

And I never want to go there again.

When I arrived I was offered some of Tasmania's finest sparkling wine or sparkling water. 

When I mentioned that I didn't drink (much), the lady in charge of greeting me gave me a smile and a look, and this look I'd get a lot more during my stay in Tasmania. 

It was a sort of pitying, strange smile, that sort of said 'why not?'. 

I cannot handle alcohol, I'm a very weak drunk, and in general I don't really like wine all that much. 

I couldn't just get my key, they had to explain about dinner, was I attending and what time it was, and what time breakfast was the next morning.

In hindsight I should have opted for the dinner in my room, rather than the dinner at a specified time 'family platter-style dining'. 

I was also sort of interrogated about why I was staying there, and what I wanted out of it. 

Relaxation, business, adventure and a few other things. After a fairly long drive, which was of my own design, I thought I'd be able to arrive and check in, not be interrogated about what I wanted out of this situation. 

I said relaxation because I just wanted to relax, and go to my room.

She seemed to get a little annoyed that I was a bit tired and said 'we'll go over the rest later because you look like you want to go'. In hindsight I should have taken that as a sign of things to come. I didn't and smiled and said 'no, explain it' and she went over the times of dinner and breakfast, it was a bit of a blur and I asked if this was written down anywhere. 

No. 

And she didn't offer to write it down for me. 

Now, getting out to the pumphouse was implemented very inconsistently.

When you first arrive they take you and your bags out there on little golf carts, which given the freezing rain and wind was nice.

But, each other time you want to go back to your car, to reception, to the main building where dinner and breakfast was served you had to brave the driving wind and freezing rain.

At dinner, which I arrived late to by falling asleep in my room, rugged up because the single panel heater in my room didn't exactly fill the space with heat, I chatted to come people who didn't seem like they felt the cold even in the dining room it was cool.

When I enquired if I could get a golf cart back to the pumphouse I was sort of given a look and a few words to the affect of 'no, everyone who drives those has gone home, let me look, and I'll see, maybe I'll have to'. From my dining companions it was suggested that no, you just had to walk along there at night in the below freezing wind and rain.

I was driven back, but she made it seem like I was getting special treatment and that it was a huge imposition.

Temperature of the morning I departed.

The following morning I took my bags back to my ute, I didn't bother asking them to help me, I didn't want to go through the exasperation and annoyance from them. 

If I'd known this was going to be the case with my bags, I'd have repacked everything into my smaller bag.

Also their umbrellas were terrible against the wind and rain, a few of them were broken. I was glad I took my own with me.

On the positives. The view was amazing. The in room 'pantry' was very well stocked and you could have dinner without leaving your room.

It is a very unique location, and it is luxurious. 

I don't want to throw them under the lake, because it is all the things they promote themselves for. And I knew many of these things before going.

I think for couples it would be a much better stay, especially if you like the outdoors.

But, it was a lot of money for me to spend to be incredibly miserable.

I've stayed in a lot of average to vaguely awful places in the past. 

But they've all been quite unique and generally cheap.

Pumphouse Point was quite unique, almost to a fault.

Not remotely good for a solo traveller. 

Its foibles not well communicated either.

Next time I go to Tasmania and am looking to stay in the Lake St Clair I'd probably opt for an Airbnb in Queenstown or Strahn. 

That would offer a unique experience without superiority or utter misery inducing experience.

Alternatively...I might stay at Pumphouse Point again in the future, despite everything I've said it was a unique experience, and one I do wonder that if I experienced it in the spring, summer or even autumn I wonder if I might have a different experience to the middle of winter.

Tasmania mid-winter 2019 - 2 - Lake Lea & Spray Tunnel

My destination, after leaving the Devonport dock was Pumphouse Point, Lake St Clair. But I had to get there first.

I had intended to stop in for breakfast at Windows On Westella a fancy cafe at a pickled onion factory in Ulverstone. But the ship got in quite early so I just went to Cafe Squire right near the port, it couldn't be any more average than a pub I went to nearby the last time I went to Tasmania.

Cafe Squire breakfast

Cafe Squire was reasonably priced, but a lot of their big breakfast options included jalapeños, not something I fancied for breakfast, so I opted for eggs, bacon, mushrooms spinach and hash browns.

The hash browns were far too uniform to be anything but commercially produced.

The spinach was very fresh and the meal was a good sized serving.

The orange juice tasted like concentrate. 

So, off I departed. 

I had intended to go to Ulverstone and then take the B17, then the C123, to Upper Castra, heading for Lake Lea (near Cradle Mountain) and the continue on to Zeehan before heading to Lake St Clair. 

But as I'd eaten early I decided there wasn't much point in diverting to Ulverstone, so instead I took the B15, which also headed up towards Cradle Mountain. 

I got about 10 minutes along the road only to be stopped by a Subaru with flashing lights. The Tasmanian police officer explained there were power lines down and asked where I was heading, before I could explain she asked 'Cradle Mountain', I replied yeah, close enough. She asked if I was a local and I said 'not remotely', but directed me to head towards Sheffield, when I got closer back towards the town; GPS / phone data wasn't present where we were.

I thanked her and ignored her advice. Deciding instead to follow the next road along; the B16 which would lead me to where I had originally intended to go.

I got about 15 minutes down the road. Only to be stopped by flashing lights and another Subaru. 

This police officer pointed to the power lines at a very bad angle and said 'we don't want them falling on anyone, could you turn around and find another way to wherever you were going', he didn't ask where I was heading, nor offer any advice.

At this point I thought about following the police lady's advice and head to Sheffield, but decided to push on to continue along my original path for the B17, which wasn't thankfully blocked by anything.

Following the B17 to Gawler I turned off onto the C123 - Top Gawler Road – the Touring Route. This actually rejoins the B15, which thankfully had bypassed the road block I'd encountered earlier.  Following this road (Castra Road) through Sprent to Upper Castra. Then turning onto Spellmans Road (which continues to be the C132).

It is a very, very steep road connecting to near Cradle Mountain. It's also got warnings that caravans and campervans cannot transverse the road. 

It's a 15% gradient. 

It is a really nice drive however, through plantations of what looked like spruce trees or something similar, quite a broad leaf and a light green foliage, almost blue tinged.

The decent down to almost river level had the steepest decent and dropped you down through the mist before climbing back out had a wonderful magical ætherial quality to it.

The Vale of Belvoir sign

From there I headed to Lake Lea and the Vale of Belvoir - Tasmania's only sub-alpine limestone valley. 

I didn't really know any of this before I chose it as my first stop of the day, on the map it just looked like an interesting lake with an interesting name associated with it. Also I didn't want to go up Cradle Mountain, and this seemed like an interesting place.

I did give myself a little panic, as I drove around the lake I came to dead end; doing a U-turn I reversed off the road a bit and then when I came to put my ute into drive...wheels spun. 

Panicked for a moment before remembering to put it in 4WD low, slowly got myself out of that situation.

Vale of Belvoir

I had to have a power nap in Tullah, the previous night's crossing had not done much for me getting a good night's sleep and the two false starts to the day's driving had put me a little bit behind in my driving mood.

So I stopped here for an hour plus.

I had intended to go from Tullah along the C252 Pieman Road to Whaleback Lookout and Reece Dam, but with the power nap, freezing weather and concerns stemming from that, I decided to forgo that diversion and continue ahead to Zeehan.

Narrow road that leads to/away from Spray Tunnel

Inside Spray Tunnel

I was heading for Zeehan and Spray Tunnel, another random place to go and have a look at, and a useful place to use as a checkpoint.

I'd been to Zeehan before, and commented that in the bright sunshine it looked extra grim. Now, visiting it in the dripping rain, overcast on a freezing day, this made it look better, it suited its look a lot more.

Spray Tunnel was reached by heading for the Zeehan golf course and then following a very narrow path down. The tunnel is kind of interesting in a not very sort of way. 

The car park is surprisingly large for what is a very narrow road to get there.

As I was leaving the road that led from Spray Tunnel back towards Zeehan I made a wrong turn and ended up on Heemskirk Road for about 20 minutes until I realised my mistake. From that point on I ended up using my GPS / CarPlay a lot more in my ute, as while I had planned and plotted my route out, it was better to know where I wanted to head to and allow the GPS to plot the actual route for me. Or to allow me to divert and it still re-plot a route for me, that would be a safer / more efficient way than making mistakes like this.

Tasmania mid-winter 2019 - 1 - Spirit of Tasmania

It was rough, not as rough, I would reflect as coming back, but it was rough and noisy. 

The day I was on the ferry going over to Tasmania coincided with one of the windiest days (and nights) in Victoria and Tasmania. 

As with last time, and the time before that I'd been to Tasmania, the lie of the Spirit of Tasmania adverts continued. All the adverts may say that you can just drive on and drive off in one easy fluid manner. 

The reality is a bit less romantic.

How boarding happens onto the Spirit of Tasmania at Port Melbourne:

First things first, you arrive and queue up, then get questioned by Wilsons Security. 

In queue to entrance to Station Pier.

You need to open the bonnet of your car and open up the doors and boot, or tray in my case with a ute. You will be asked if you're carrying; fuel, firearms, gas bottles, fresh fruit, fish and a couple of other things.

If you answer negative to these you will be given a red card thing to hang from your rear view mirror. 

You will then drive through the Station Pier and around the corner, none of this is very well signposted, you kind of just follow the person in front of you. 

From there, there are two queues to queue up in. A left queue and a right queue.

These lead the the ticket booth to get your boarding pass and room pass/key. 

This is important, if you're driving solo, take the LEFT queue, this is because the ticket booth is in the middle of these two lanes and if you take the right you either have to get out or reach across your vehicle to the window, like if you drove a right-hand-drive vehicle in a left-hand-drive country. 

It's terrible and something I've learnt about only from going on the ferry twice in the past. No where does it offer advice like this.

Car queuing to get onto ship

Once you have your boarding pass you're in another queue to actually get onto the ship.

The very narrow passage into the ship

If you just have your vehicle and are not towing anything then be prepared to be directed into the bowels of the ship.

Deck 2 is where I was directed this time (both going over and coming back).

It is; through the front of the ship, along a very narrow driveway, only slightly wider than most normal-sized vehicles.

Then around a corner, and down a steep ramp, the ramp is closed during sailing with a heavy door that can be driven over.

Once inside this deck you will note a few things. 

It's a weird shape, and two, you will be directed into either side of the room, which means you'll either need to do a three point turn now or tomorrow when you leave.

Deck 2.

It's very tight, although there is enough room to open your car doors, probably not to the second notch, but enough to the first.

As you leave the vehicle deck, take the bit of paper near the lift, this tells you which lift / stairs to use and where your vehicle is. 

You may be tempted to wait for the lift, and if you're old, infirm or quite unfit, take the lift. It is 5 flights of stairs to climb to get from Deck 2 up to Deck 7.

Deck 7 is where (most of) the bars, entertainment and food is. It's also where a lot of the cabins are located. Some are one deck up on Deck 8. 

I took the stairs and was a little puffed by the time I got to Deck 7.

Corridor on deck 7 - Cabins both sides.

I have in the past tried all of the cabins on offer on the Spirit of Tasmania; inner cabin (located somewhere near the engines; very noisy, full of vibrations), standard cabin (porthole view, two single beds, okay enough, above the pet deck, noisy) and the deluxe cabin, these located looking over the bow of the ship have a double bed, TV, fridge and place to sit, they're more pricey but so much easier to get a good night's sleep.

That is if you're not sailing through gale-force winds. 

Which is what I was. 

The most disconcerting thing that night was the noise of the waves hitting the side of the ship followed by the clang though its structure.

For dinner the Tasmanian Market Kitchen is a buffet, and I discovered was all you can eat. You pay your $28.50 and get a stamp, entitling you to all you can eat buffet, and it's a carvery buffet as well, with also fried stuff like chips, fish etc plus post-mix soft drink, coffee, tea and dessert. 

It's a really great deal. 

After eating I went to bed. Hoping for a easy night's sleep, uninterrupted and relaxed.

It was anything but. 

It was rough, noisy and disrupted. 

I'd never been on a ship this rough before and didn't think it'd be matched (coming back however challenged this).

The sea was rough, but it was the noise of the waves crashing into the ship combined with the noise of the wind whistling around the ship. 

It was really quite awful.

Every so often I'd hear a car alarm go off beneath me. 

This did worry me that my ute's alarm might be going off. I had gone through the manual to try and work out how to completely disable it and failed. 

But I was fairly confident that the rough seas wouldn't be affecting it, down on deck 2 of the ship, that's quite low in the ship's centre of gravity, unlike where my cabin was on deck 7, or even where the vehicles' whose alarms I could hear on deck 6 below me. 

I woke up a few times during the night from the noise of the wind, rain and sea, so I didn't end up getting the best night's sleep during the night, and arrived at Devonport the next day...less than fully rested.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 6 - Return

Spirit of Tasmania I

When I came over on the Spirit of Tasmania I noticed a few bikkies. But waiting in line for the Spirit of Tasmania to board, I noticed a lot more.

It wasn't until I was on board and could properly read the news on my phone that I found out there was a big meeting of them in Tasmania, around the same time I had been there, though in the north east, so I never encountered them.

Getting my boarding pass was easy enough, I had managed to find myself on the easier side of the queue so my driver's side window lined up with the booths, and I was ahead of the bikkies.

View from Deck 10.

Surprisingly and unlike being checked in Melbourne the security in Tasmania wanted me to open the bonnet of my ute and have a look in the back and in the tub.
Upon opening the back of my ute I discovered a rather large amount of dust had got in during my sojourns along the dusty roads leading the Highland Lakes. I'd noticed there was a degree of dust when I'd stopped earlier that day for breakfast / lunch, but it seemed to have gotten dryer and dustier by this point. The security guard remarked 'I didn't think we had dust like this in Tasmania'. Nor did I. It was like talcum powder it was so fine.

The checks having been done I was directed into another queue, and then after a short break directed onto the Spirit of Tasmania.
To my surprise, and somewhat relief, I would be able to drive straight onto to ship and at the other end, drive off. I was the first in one lines of cars on the ship from the bow of the ship. I think I was one or two lines from the port side of the ship.
All of the bikkies were parted behind me. So there was that.

Final view of land

Relaxing up on Deck 10.

Making my way on board and finding my cabin I regretted not changing my ticket.
I had considered a day or two ago changing my booking to the same cabin I had on the way over. Going so far as logging into the the Spirit's website to check the availability.
But had changed my mind; thinking that the basically double-the-price cabin wasn't worth it.
Looking now in the cabin I had, two narrow single beds and a porthole out, plus a tiny bathroom, I began to have regrets.
Later that night where the seas were a little choppy, and I could hear the dogs barking on the deck below and car alarms going off, I had a few more.
I did worry that, because one of the car alarms that was going off sounded like my ute's alarm, that it would just keep doing that and they I'd return to it the next morning with a flat battery. But I tried to console myself that the designers would've built something into its systems to stop things like that happening.

The room wasn't terrible, it was okay, satisfactory even. It had enough comforts. A bathroom with a shower that delivered hot water. A bed that was soft enough. Power points to charge my phone. Everything that is needed to get a night's sleep.
Just not a very enjoyable one.

I have now experienced all the cabins of the Spirit of Tasmania. On my previous venturing across the Tasman I had booked the cheapest of the cabins, the interior room. It was actually the interior bunk room, even though I had it to myself.
It was somewhere down in the depths of the ship, somewhere near the engines, because I placed a bottle of water on the table and watched it vibrate off.

Room porthole

The twin bed cabin room is knots above that, but it's just accommodation, that's all. It's functional, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's restful, it's just a functional place to get some sleep. It's certainly better than the recliner lounge on board. I've never bought that level of ticket, but it appears to be a recliner lounge seat with a little bit more tilt and a little bit more room than an airline seat. The twin room is certainly a step up from that.

Room door, to the left bathroom.

Emergency instructions

When I next go to Tasmania again, I'll be spending the extra money to get the deluxe room both ways. The Spirit of Tasmania is already a slightly outlandish way to travel, some might say that flying is easier and cheaper. But it's not a nicer way to travel, it's just a functional way to get to places, it's being slotted into an aluminium (or carbon fibre tube) and flung through the air at an efficient speed. Travelling by sea, even on the ferry is a more luxurious, more involved method of travelling, you can stand out on the deck 10; the very top of the ship, look out at the bridge and see that the ship is ploughing its way through the sea. You can go down to decks 8, 7 and 6; getting a closer look at the sea that the ferry is sluicing through.
In Australia it's not often we get to see, get to experience this level of connection with travelling across a long distance. Crossing the mainland it's by road, rail or air. Only the first two give a real connection and indication or passage. Travelling to Tasmania by the ferry, by the ship gives another connection, another dimension of travel.

The following morning, having woken fairly early to the twinkling lights around Port Philip Bay, I realised I hadn't had a terrible night's sleep. I'd slept through; the rocking of the ship (2 metre swells according to the captain's announcement) and gentle movement of its passage had sent me into an uninterrupted sleep.
I elected not to go for breakfast; not really feeling hungry and I'd woken with a craving for pancakes, so the omelette that was on offer in the Tasmanian Market Kitchen unlikely to satisfy that craving.
Because my ute was on deck 5, it meant we were called first to go down to our vehicles and I waited barely any time before we were being directed out.
There was a significant fuzz presence outside the port, waiting for those on bikes within the Spirit of Tasmania, they showed little interest in my dust covered ute.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 6 - Final day

I hadn't really planned exactlty what I was going to do on this final day. I'd sort of left it open, just in case I'd not made it to the Callington Mill, or wanted to have a further wander around Hobart.

But as the day rolled around, or rather the previous night when I was trying to work out what to get up to; and sort of failed to really decide what to do exactly.

I decided to have another drive through the Highland Lakes area of Tasmania as I really enjoyed venturing through this part of Tasmania, so I left Old Beach and headed up the Midland Highway.

Highland Lakes

Heading for the C526 Interlaken Road. Which I'd driven along some of but turned off to head towards Oatlands. This time I drove the length of it, and it's a really varied road. It's a country back road, but it goes up into the hills, but passes through open cultivated plains which look like they belong in a mystical scene. There were some cattle in some of these large open plains and some; just the grass swaying in the wind.

Miena Dam

Climbing back up in elevation I remembered to engage four wheel drive so I stayed on the straight and true.
I also discovered that the road is not very wide, I mean, it's wide enough for one vehicle.
But I encountered some people in utes going in the opposite direction and I don't think they were expecting to encounter a rogue Victorian coming towards them because they did not pull very far over to the side of the road to give much clearance between our vehicles as we passed.

Until I got to Miena they were the only people I saw.

My rustic breakfast / lunch

At Miena I pulled in to the Miena Dam lookout to stop for breakfast / lunch, having skipped the former when I'd departed Old Beach.
I'd not fancied exploring Hobart for breakfast, nor ducking into one of the few towns I'd passed to go looking for some breakfast.
The previous day when I'd been at the Salamanca Markets I'd got some Bruny Island ham when I'd purchased some bacon and cheese. While in Wursthaus Kitchen I'd also bought a 1/4 of a loaf of bread and some chevre goat's cheese, intending to eat it with my dinner that night, but found myself quite full from the quiche. So that became my breakfast / lunch. Sat on the tailgate of my ute looking out at a fantastic view.
A few cars did pull up while I was having my picnic of food, most seemed to stop, look at the view, seem perplexed by me and then depart after a moment.

Descending down from the Highland Lakes

This pause in the day's driving did allow me a nice pause in the day, to eat and take in the view, much more of a pause than the people who drove up, only to seemingly be disappointed by the vista before them.

Leaving Miena and driving north on the Highland Lakes Road, which was mostly sealed, and I think would be a great driver's road if it was all sealed.

The road was soon climbing even higher in elevation, I passed a sign not too long after that stated it was the highest road or highway in Tasmania at 1251 metres.

As I began descending down the other side however I began to encounter more cars, more people enjoying this driver's road, or maybe heading up into the highlands for fishing, or whatever else there was to be had for adventure.

Traffic

I had decided to go to Launceston for a bit of an explore. But after long, though not uninteresting drive there...I drove through the city and back out the other side without really encountering anything that really grabbed my attention.

For the rest of the day I mostly drove around seeing other sights until it was time to board the Spirit of Tasmania.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 5 - Salamanca Market

After MONA I wondered through the Salamanca Market, I hadn't set up my trip with the intention of going to this, it just so happened that I would be there on a Saturday.

The revelation I had, walking around the market, was how passionately Tasmanian everything was.
It may seem an odd or obvious observation of things.
But at markets of a similar ilk that I've visited in Victoria, it's less...passionate.
Everything is fervently Tasmanian, made on there and very passionately so, independent. The only other place I've really seen this passion is Western Australia, and I guess the attitude stems from the same place. That sense of being isolated from the rest of the country. With Western Australia it's the distance from the eastern states, and here in Tasmania there really is a sense of isolation and separation from the mainland.
Last time I was in Tasmania that isolation seemed to translate into a little bit of hostility, "oh, you're from the mainland", but this time it seemed more like a celebration of Tasmanian-ness.

There was just so much stuff, so much produce, made, crafted and created in Tasmania. it was truly amazing the amount of stuff on display.

I ate for lunch a wallaby burger (from Bruny Island) and then bought from a different stall an apple and blackcurrant juice.

Where I sat to eat my lunch.

I want to say that I walked the full length of the markets. But I didn't.
I walked the length of the market, or what I think of as the proper market, with all the various producers of unique artisanal stuff. But as the market continued up the incline the stalls became less about stuff made in Tasmania and more magical crystals and infomercial-type stuff, trinkets and other things like that. Much less unique things and more just...stuff. So I turned around and did another loop of the market.

One item which I tasted as I wandered around which literally made me gasp was Redlands Apple Schnapps. Which was so unbelievably strong, I couldn't even finish the tiny amount in the tasting cup. But as I walked away I did muse that the finish, the lingering flavour at the back of the palate was tantalising.

I also visited the Bruny Island Cheese shop in the Salamanca Art Gallery, which I'd seen as existing on Gourmet Farmer, as I knew I wanted to get some Bruny Island cheese, but didn't want to have to trek over to Bruny Island, well not on this trip at least.
There I also bought some bacon, she also threw in some ham for free, which wouldn't make it back to the mainland with me as it would expire in a few days.

I also, as I was walking towards Wursthaus Kitchen (a gourmet deli shop) which I intended to visit to buy some food stuffs for my evening meal, on the way there I passed the Fat Pig Farm stall, where I bought some more bacon. Fat Pig Farm being the farm of Gourmet Farmer.

My only regret of the Salamanca Market was when I first started having a browse I'd tasted some amazing apricot jam, the flavour exploding through my taste buds with apricot, but it was one of the first stalls I'd seen and I didn't want to have to carry it around with me. I forgot to go back once I'd bought some salmon quiche and salad at Wursthaus Kitchen and began the walk back to my ute. I don't even remember the name of the jam maker only that it had a black label and didn't seem to sell any plain raspberry jam.
No matter, it was still an enjoyable experience and I left with much bacon and other products to take home with me.
I'd prepared and intended to buy some products that needed chilling and had brought with me a freezer block that I'd frozen at The Boat Shed and again in Old Beach and had a cool box so my products would remain chilled the following day and for the journey back on the Spirit of Tasmania.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 5 - MONA

Leaving Old Beach heading for Hobart was a rather relaxing and easy drive along the eastern side of the River Derwent. Old Beach being on this side of the river, it made for a less busy journey into Hobart.

Level 8

I had previously plotted and researched my route into Hobart, so already knew where I was going – the Market Place car park, and where to turn – the Officeworks on Brisbane street. I'd written out these instructions for myself, mostly because I dislike a GPS and would rather know where I was going than be listening for the GPS to tell me. Easier to plan regarding traffic flow etc than laying in wait for the GPS to tell me. It was surprising, driving into the car park, how much reserved car parking there was, I thought I might reach the roof before I found a car parking spot, I finally did, on level 8.

MONA Ferry

While I could have driven to MONA from my accommodation, I'd decided that it was an experience, and I would have the whole experience, which included getting the ferry, the MR 1 to MONA itself.

Twas a perfect day to sail.

I was on the first ferry of the day, having risen early the previous days I knew I'd be up to take the trip it made that day.

Little bit of fur blowing in the wind

MONA Stairs

As the ferry set off, I knew I was right, that going on the ferry was definitely part of the theatre and experience of the MONA.
I ventured out to the back of the ferry first, where the 'cattle class' sheep lay, and the cow.
But I also ventured out to the front of the ferry, the very front in front of the bridge where, it was quite...bracing. I had to come in, it was such and properly zip up my jacket, pull on my Spirithood properly and keep my hands in its pockets, and then I was ready to face the wind, it was amazing to stand out on the prow, while it was somewhat cold it was definitely an experience, especially as no one else seemed willing to brace it; I stood alone.

As the ferry arrived at what seemed to be a somewhat unassuming dock, it slowly revealed itself; the 100 or so steps up from the ferry left me a little bit breathless but I managed to make it to the top of the stairs without needing to stop.

Ferry docking pier.

Although I was slightly perturbed when, having got to the top I found you had to journey downwards into the depths of the gallery. I again took the stairs down, while there was a lift, the stairs allowed a better look at the world that I was descending into.

Almost art in and of itself.

Sally, Stewart and Zoe, whom I met on the West Coast Wilderness Railway said that once was enough for MONA. The fervour with which other people talked passionately about MONA had made me weary of going, and my expectations weren't really set at any real point before I'd arrived. Even as I descended down I wasn't sure exactly what was going to be revealed within.

I think the problem, that some people have with MONA is that they're not sure how to contextualise it into their preconceived ideas of art.
A bit of a wanky sentence I know.
To which I mean that some people I'd spoken to proper to coming said that once was all you needed and that it even wasn't worth the price of admission.
Zoe whom I met on the West Coast Wilderness Railway said she'd been once and that was enough and she was glad she didn't have to pay (she was from Launceston).

A lot of the artists whose works are on display at MONA aren't traditional artists, in that they're artists in that they create art work, but might not be recognised by the "elite" as artists.
This I quite like, because it's very unconventional art, and it's challenging.
The question I began to wonder though as I wandered around was what makes art...'art' and what are the mad scribbling of those with mental illnesses, the overly medicated or those just huffing paint fumes?

The latter had some art in MONA and had been huffing paint fumes and then went on to do some art.

I think some might say that, perhaps that means it isn't art, not "proper" art.
To which my retort would be then what about Van Gogh? He had a mental illness, was committed for a time and eventually took his own life, which basically puts him in the same field as a lot of the people on MONA.

There was one piece which the audio commentary noted that the Tate Gallery in London said wasn't contemporary, because the artist wasn't notable enough.
MOMA - the Museum of Modern in New York disagreed and they had this artist's work, which was all about some devil children but was actually about how the artist was abused in care as a child.
One piece had been assembled by MONA, because it had been in pieces when it was discovered.
This was one of the more traditionally arty pieces, in that the drawings were fairly easy to read and look at, the figures had a cartoon-like quality to them, but they were all as devils or other things like that.

How I imagined the Burrow in Harry Potter.

There were some art works that were in the borderline area between art and...I don't want to say rubbish, bit stuff that depending on the context you wouldn't say wasn't art and was instead just stuff that people make.
It's certainly unique like paper and cardboard models or random science fiction guns made out or found objects.
But is it art?
That it's in a gallery certainly suggests that it is art.
That it's been presented etc means it has meaning and has people looking at it.

It made me think, about what is art, and what isn't art, and I think that may be why people, some people, don't like it. Because it's not clear in what it is (or isn't).

The gallery of the Museum of Everything is divided into themes, slightly leaning more towards concepts of belief and spirituality. But then it veers off into concepts of science fiction and flight and weapons, then off into the home and other themes like creatures and animals.

Reversing our of Wonderland

Coming out of the Museum of Everything gallery there was a gift shop and a Frenchman offering tea and biscuits.
My first instinct was to refuse, because that's basically my first instinct for everything when food is offered. I prefer to make a choice, than be offered something.
But I was persuaded, basically because I have looked at attending MONA as an experience, rather than just a visit to a fancy location.
It was a little bit surreal.
Very surreal actually, sort of like Alice, in reverse, being drawn back out of wonderland by magical tea and biscuits.
It was all served in a dainty cup and saucer.
It was gold coin donation.
It was, as I continued to walk around, just the thing, it really felt restorative and prepared me for what was to come.

Anatomy

The wall of cunts, and other weird things.

Cats

Cloaca was really an assault on the olfactory senses. It basically reproduces a stomach, it's even fed twice a day and then the end result is that it shits itself.
It really smells like bacteria feeding.
I'd read about something like it in the past, so I knew the theory behind it. The seeing and smelling it was something else though. I had to hold my breath and go in and have a look.
It's not quite gag inducing, but it's close. That smell of bile and other things. And it's all these to witness in clear ovoid chambers, it sort of looks like a milking room, except they're essentially stomachs.
It's very weird, very arty and very...post apocalyptic science fiction sort of thing, like this is the way one day in the future we'll get eggs. That's what I thought when I read about this exhibit on 'The O' app, that they'd somehow worked out how to make an egg. But no, it's just good art work that shits itself.

Not the white books.

Another exhibit which I walked into and then out of and then back into, was 'white library' or something like that. It was a room with books in it. But all of the books were white. The same white, their covers and everything.
There was nothing to suggest what they were about. They were just stark white books.
I found it weirdly intimidating, that these things, these books should have context, but they didn't and your eyes slide around the room looking for some hint of context from this room, from the books inside the room, and instead you're almost assaulted with the lack of anything, with the lack of suggestion or of context, of anything, and I really found that disturbing.
Maybe it's because I like books, and am used to reading along the shelves of a bookshelf looking for something I recognise, or something that interests me. But here in this artwork there was nothing of that, just white, blank books that didn't say anything, didn't give anything to their environment, it was just...nothing.

Departure

Overall, I found MONA a bit overwhelming. It's an assault on the senses and really is an art experience. It's almost like no other art experience I've had before.
It was all a bit too much to take in during one sitting. I walked through, trying to take it all in, but with the audio commentary, app with additional notes and what you see before you, it's all just a bit too much to take in.
I fully intend to revisit MONA, I think it will take at least another visit to appreciate it all, but probably several visits to really take it all in.

Escape

As the ferry arrived back at Hobart I was very, extremely glad that I had caught the first ferry of the day the 9:30 am, which had been very quiet, with no queue to get on, and the ride there and back had a very casual feel to the ride.
Arriving back in Hobart I saw a very long queue to get onto the ferry with everyone looking eager and a little annoyed at having been kept waiting. I think having more people around would have changed the vibe of the ferry and the experience to MONA.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 4 - Old Beach

I'd selected another Airbnb for my stay for the next two nights, as the next day I would be going to MONA I wanted accommodation that was close to Hobart, or relatively so.
Also, again as in Strahan the cost was relatively good, especially compared to a motel/hotel.

The "Country styled cottage set amidst vineyard/orchard" in Old Beach caught my eye while searching because it was a little of the way outside of Hobart. Originally I had thought I was going to spend a little bit of time in Oatlands doing a tour of the Callington Mill and generally exploring a little bit. I'd also wanted to give myself some time in the highlands area.
Which meant I'd given myself ample time to get from Strahan to Oatlands, as my last time in Tasmania I'd felt a bit rushed going from place to place.
But because the mill hadn't been open to exploration I'd finished there early, so in theory I could have stayed closer to Hobart.

View from balcony, just visible are new build houses.

But I'm glad I didn't because the country cottage in Old Beach was rather unique. I arrived before Mark (the host) was home, so had time to take in the property.
The first thing I noticed as I drove towards the address was that the property and the few houses that were on large hobby farm-sized blocks were ringed in by higher density suburbs.
Basically all the land around these hobby farms has been sub-divided into smaller suburb-sized greenfield standard-sized blocks.
When I met Mark I did ask him 'did you buy the block and then the houses surrounded you or...', the former. Mark told me that his neighbour had been a pea and something else farmer and then died. In order to settle the estate his executors had needed to divide up the land, which now meant all of these new builds going on.
Green wedges, at least for this area don't seem to exist, and the neighbouring Bridgewater, Mark informed me was something like one of the worst suburbs in Tasmania, with a lot of housing commission housing around it. Supposedly it was something of an experiment by the Tasmanian government back in the 1970s, which hadn't exactly worked out.

The setting that the cottage sits however is very picturesque, with the view out of the windows of grape vines, fruit trees and beyond that horse paddocks replete with horses. It's really very pretty especially on the days I was there; blue skies, some clouds and on the second day I watched the overcast clouds slowly tumble across the skies.

The cottage, Mark explained, he'd built for his mother (who's now in a nursing home over the hill).
It's a well fitted out cottage with a kitchenette and living area, with also a dining table with 3 chairs.
Bathroom and then a bedroom with two king single beds.

Milk

The kitchenette was well set up with microwave, small oven / hot plate combination. There were pots and pans, crockery and cutlery. In the fridge; milk, eggs, bread and associated spreads. The cupboard contained coffee and several types of tea, plus cereals.
It really was very well kitted out, especially compared to my previous night's accommodation of The Boat Shed, which had more rooms, but fewer additional offerings (not that I'm complaining).

Mark said if I needed anything to come and find him, but I was content to be left alone, and on the following day after having returned from Hobart sat drinking several cups of tea while I typed out my thoughts of the day, found it quite relaxing just sitting at the table looking out at the view, it's something I seldom do on my road trips as I'm usually driving most of the day and then stopping for the night, eating early and then falling asleep into bed. It was quite nice, just to be sat for the late afternoon, not doing much.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 4 - Callington Mill

This was my second time in Oatlands and my second time visiting the Callington Mill.
My first time, I arrived late for the tour of the mill and this time, well I arrived just at the right time.
For it to be closed.

The Callington Mill is the only example of a Georgian windmill in Australia, and its history is fairly interesting. Basically by the time it was built it was already out of date and not many people used it.
It's also burnt down at least once in its history leaving only the stone tower.

On this occasion, when I visited, and after chatting to the head miller, I found out that tours are no longer being run; because the tours and the tour office didn't make any money.

The tourist office and the mill are run by the council, and the miller, who told me he'd been brought on to run the mill a few years ago had been improving the milling operation. Up to the point where the flours and other products they produced there were in demand, and they were now making money.
However...the tourist office, little cafe and building that they were located in, along with the staff, weren't making money. In fact, they were costing the council money, and dragging down the profits of the mill.
Eventually it came to a head and the head miller said to the council that the tourist office needed to either pull in more cash or they had to go. The unions got involved and it all ended in a bit of a stoush where the council was taken to court, looked at the books and finally had to pay the tourist office / union out to get rid of them.
Which suggests the mill, producing flour, is pulling in a lot of money.

The miller also told me that if there's tours running, that basically means he's not able to mill flour, and if he's not milling flour, then they're not making money.
I can see that perspective, if they're not milling flour that's making money, then the tour office, either through sales or tours should be replacing the money that would be made from milling. If they're not, then that's not good business.

According to Mark, the host of my Air BnB, whom I spoke to regarding the mill later that afternoon, the tourist office would get turned into a whisky making facility and that tours would begin again, once things were worked out between the whisky makers and the mill operations.

So maybe when I make another visit to Tasmania I'll try a third time to have a tour of the mill.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 4 - To Oatlands

I didn't take a huge amount of photos on my journey from Strahan to Oatlands to visit the Callington Mill.

What struck me as interesting throughout my time in Tasmania, but especially for my drive from Strahan to Oatlands is the speed limit. Which from Strahan through Queenstown and out the other side was 100 km/h.

If these roads were in my home state of Victoria they would be 80 km/h maximum.
I didn't do much more than 80 along these twisty roads, because it had been raining and because I was driving a large four door 4x4.
I knew to set my own limit, it was nice, knowing I could go faster but I restrained myself, knowing I should do a safe speed that was appropriate for the conditions instead of having that set for my by the government.

Driving out of Queenstown I was heading for Bronte Park and then through the central highlands. It was something of an awkward, though also quite direct way to get to Oatlands from Strahan / Queenstown, and though some exceptionally pretty and remote landscape. The central highlands are probably my favourite part of Tasmania.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 3 - Strahan

Picturesque view outside The Boat Shed

Picturesque view outside The Boat Shed

I stayed in Strahan for two nights. After arriving from my journey along the Western Explorer Road I made for my accommodation in Lettes Bay.

The last time I had been in Tasmania was 5 years ago, I had opted for pubs and other such quirky places to stay, although when I'd been in Strahan last that had meant a YHA cabin which had been...less than amazing, in fact I'd rate it, along with Border Village as some of the worst places I've stayed.

This time however I decided to opt for AirBnB for my accommodation. Especially after looking at the app and finding that a lot of the places I found were on par or cheaper than a motel.
I dislike motels, and have only stayed in them on rare occasions during my road tripping. My problem with them is that are all exactly the same, almost depressingly so. They all seem to be made out of brick, they have the same ugly bed spreads, the same awful kettles and terrible tea, the same cups, the same vaguely okay towels and crisp sheets.
It's all so terribly boring and samey.
I would much rather somewhere interesting and quirky than boring.

Lounge room

Lounge room

I admit The Boat Shed was my second choice, after the first one I was looking at was booked out. But The Boat Shed at $100 a night was much more reasonable than my first choice (which was closer to $173 a night).

The Boat Shed is a fantastically rustic little house basically on the water's edge of Lettes Bay, it has water views, albeit from only a few rooms.
It's a rambling state, supposedly originally two buildings that had at some point in their life been joined together to form two.

Doorway at the end: Bathroom. Right doorway: Lounge. Also a bed 'room'.

Doorway at the end: Bathroom. Right doorway: Lounge. Also a bed 'room'.

What it isn't really defines it, it's an extremely unique place to stay and far too big for just myself.
There is one main bedroom and then two other 'rooms' with beds in them. I say it this way as they are more like larger corridors with beds in them on the way to the bathroom.

There's also a kitchen with and adjoining dining room, plus a lounge room.

Alternate view of the corridor / one of the bed 'rooms'

Alternate view of the corridor / one of the bed 'rooms'

You can clearly see that the house started off small with the original part of the house being the first bedroom, kitchen and dining room. These are the most defined of the spaces in the house, after that it becomes a little more rambling.
With the lounge room being the next most well defined of the spaces, given the location of the bathroom adjacent to the lounge room, I do wonder if this at one point was the kitchen, as on the AirBnB listing it says there's also a laundry (though I never explored the outbuildings, of which there was also a wood storage shed).

Most of the doorways were lower than a standard doorway, but none so low that I was in danger of whacking my head on them.

Combustion wood heater

Combustion wood heater

Dining table

Dining table

The newest item in the house was a pretty new combustion wood heater, this was in the dining room, and as the walls were only half height between the kitchen and the rest of the house there's a good possibility that it could heat a majority of the house in the cooler months. There were also bar heaters tucked away in an side room, should it get chilly.

Salmon basin

Salmon basin

The bathroom was dated, but functional. There was a bit of a smell of mould / damp, but I assumed that was just a combination of the age of the building and there being wood floors, polished at some point in their lives in a bathroom setting. Not something you usually want in a bathroom.

There were also plug in incense scent things in the kitchen and adjoining bedroom / corridor to the bathroom, me being paranoid about things plugged in and being warm I turned them off. Also the smell was somewhat overpowering.

For the two days I was there the temperature began on a 25º day and then the following day it was down to a 17º. The first night was fine, albeit a little warm, the second night however was freezing, I didn't think it warranted lighting the wood burner (although the following morning I thought very differently). I did have to go for a hunt through the house to find an extra blanket, I found a cupboard that I thought might contain blankets but it was locked (and despite the bunch of keys I had, none would open the cupboard). I did eventually find a blanket in the lounge which I laid on the bed, which provided the warmth necessary.

Eclectic kitchen

Eclectic kitchen

Kitchen wise there was a kettle, microwave and fridge, all the necessary things needed. I only made cups of tea, there was tea and sugar provided (although I now travel with my own tea bags).
There was UHT cream in the fridge, but no milk. It would have been nice for some milk to be there, but, no matter. I wouldn't have used enough milk to buy my own and wasn't concerned having it black.

Timber floors in the bathroom

Timber floors in the bathroom

One final thing, which I forgot to take a photo of, but there's a photo on the AirBnB listing. The lean-to carport looks like it won't fit a large car. But I managed to park my Ford Ranger in there no problem, I will admit when I drove it in I was a little worried that it wouldn't fit; being too high. But it fit in without any problems. I could only realistically however open one side of the car doors. I just drove in close and got everything out of the driver's side.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 3 - West Coast Wilderness Railway

The waiting train

I sort of formatted my trip around doing this railway trip, because it's only run on a Thursday or Friday so I booked it first and formatted everything else around.

I actually came across the West Coast Wilderness Railway sort of by accident as I was reading up about Strahan. So while I did craft my trip a little bit so I could do the railway trip, I hadn't originally planned to Tasmania with the intention of seeing this railway.

After the previous day's 25º-30ºC day, today was pouring with rain. Which, given that it was a journey through the mountains and into the rainforest actually made it a lot more magical and mysterious.

I went on the "Queenstown Explorer" which goes from Strahan, along the length of the railway to Queenstown and then turns around and does the trip back. I also paid for the more expensive "Wilderness Carriage", which is $239 a ticket, because I figured it would be an experience, so why not do it in style.

I was, unsurprisingly one of the youngest people in the carriage.

Interior of the carriage & Stewart

I met three people on the train with whom I was seated; Sally, Stewart and Zoe. They were all about 30 years my senior, probably more (I'm not amazing with judging ages). Older than me.
Sally and Stewart were from Victoria and Zoe was from Launceston.
I gathered that Stewart was something of a train fan, and that this was his second time riding the Wilderness Railway.

Sally

There's few places in Australia with properly high mountains and valleys and fewer still that have a train line through them. Puffing Billy manages some gentle slopes, but it doesn't exactly climb any great inclines.

The trip to Dubbil Barril is majestic, it's a magical journey into the wilderness. With the rain pouring down around us there were clouds floating by over the river and a slight fog around the hills either side from the rain and the cooling of the landscape.

The steam train was a surprise. It was an oil powered steam train, which needed to be constantly topped up with water. Every station we stopped at up the mountain was so the steam train could be filled with more water.
It was, at the beginning of its life a coal powered steam train, but now runs on oil. It's recycled oil at that, from service stations, mechanics and other locations around Tasmania, which is then filtered and used to run the steam train. I was surprised that it was from those sources and not recycled cooking oils.
There is a commentary given by the people running the train, it's not a recorded one, and it's not constant, it's more like little stories as the train approaches the stations or passes by certain locations. It had the right air of performance, calm and a level of interestingness that the knowledge imparted remains with me.

One of the great things about the Wilderness Carriage was, that unlike the other carriages, which you couldn't open the end door, on the Wilderness Carriage you could, and therefore stand out on the end, between the carriage and the train as it went up the mountain and down into Queenstown.
On the way back to Strahan you could stand at the end of the carriage with nothing behind you, just watching the track.
This felt like a supremely great experience, being able to stand not even a metre from the train as it chuffed up the hill, especially with the rain pouring down around the train and onto the roof of the carriage threatening to soak anyone who stood outside. On the way back to Strahan it afforded a much more unique and unencumbered by the view of the train the rainforest really opens up, or closes in on the train as it chugs back up the mountain.

And the train really chugs back up, the rack and pinion system; the abt railway that allows the train to make it up the steep incline really leads to a lurching, chugging motion that made even having a cup of tea on the train an almost impossibility.
It also really slows down, to almost a brisk walking pace, you can really feel the incline and the power required to pull the carriages and the train itself up the mountain.

Another of the highlights, when the train arrived in Queenstown, was seeing it on a turntable.
I've ridden Puffing Billy many times and the Mornington/Moorooduc Preservation Railway, both of which run steam trains on their lines and neither of which have a turntable. Mornington had a turntable at one point in its life, but alas no longer.
I have also been to steam railways in the United Kingdom and seen turntables for trains in use there.
But I have never seen a turntable in Australia in use with a train and it was a thrill to see such a large piece of engineering turned around and moved by two people on the Queenstown turntable.

Musing on Queenstown, with the Wilderness Carriage package lunch is included, which you order at the start of the journey and then it's ready when you arrive in Queenstown, it's a choice of chicken with cous cous, salmon, or a vegetarian stir fry salad. I had the chicken which was fine, it was a poached chicken breast with a cream sauce and cous cous. It wasn't amazing, but it was filling enough. Had that lunch not been available though, I'm not sure how much time you would have to go into Queenstown, buy lunch and have a wander around the town. There was a tour on offer of Queenstown, but I think you'd literally have to grab a sandwich and eat and walk as you toured.
I'm not a fan of walking tours in general, I'd prefer to set my own pace and wander around. Which I did; I finished my lunch quickly and then left to wander up and down Queenstown's main street. The weather did not help the grim atmosphere of Queenstown. Queenstown has a couple of cafés, a couple of banks and a couple of shops to lease.

Returning to the train station, because it was raining and there wasn't a huge amount of excitement in Queenstown itself I was greeted by the steam train, being inside the Queenstown railway station; churning out a mixture of oil smoke and steam. It made the interior of the station take on a phantasmagoric sort of state. But also gave me an idea of what it would have felt like being inside a Victorian-era train station with steam trains billowing our coal smoke.

Riding the train back to Strahan our carriage was now the last on the end of the train, which allowed an uninterrupted view back along the track. It also seemed to intensify the motion of the abt system as the train hauled itself up the mountain. The motion was so jerky that not even a cup of tea could stay within its tea cup as we swayed and jerked up the tracks.
Without the train in front, now looking back along the track it was quite a sight, just to see the rainforest open around the end of the train.

Standing out there on the end, it was a fantastic view, without looking back you could just imagine that there was just this carriage stuck on the end of the train as it jerked and hauled itself and the weight of everything it was carrying up.
Supposedly when it was hauling minerals and the like, kids could walk / run faster than the train could move up the mountain, and watching the landscape move slowly past the train I believed them, it was moving at a slow enough rate that I think I could have kept up with it at a slightly faster than walking briskly pace.

Queen River

The train had to stop at all the stations we stopped at on the through on the way back, again for water to make the steam that was hauling us around. The stops were somewhat shorter on the way back than the way through with less opportunities to go and explore, although some still attempted to explore the longer walking tracks while we were stopped.

Riding at the back of the train, and the passage back to Strahan felt less rushed and more relaxed, everyone was less eager to take photos, more willing to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Standing on the end of the carriage, there was more time to just stand out there and watch the scenery fold away from the train at the back of it.

Getting into the station at Strahan the trip and its cost was definitely worth it, it's an experience, especially in Australia you won't get anywhere else. It's a unique passage through a piece of Tasmania's history filled with little gems like eggs cooked to time with a train's whistle and milk delivered in billy cans from a rail-side dairy farm.

Tasmania road trip 2017 - 2 - Western Explorer Road

I hadn't set out exactly to see this road.
It was a sort of convenient road, which looked interesting on the map, and turned out to be one of the best things I experienced on this trip.

I had gone out to Dismal Swamp to see the Tarkine Forest Adventures, and the following day I would be going on the West Coast Wilderness Railway, so I needed to be staying in Strahan to do so.

Interestingly if you put Tarkine Forest Adventures and Strahan into Google Maps you are presented with two routes, one that is all sealed roads, highways and the like and one that isn't.
The one that isn't is an hour longer, but as I discovered is far more interesting.

Regenerating trees.

Unlike other states, Google's street view car has covered a lot less of the roads in Tasmania, meaning that I had to guess the conditions of some of the roads based on satellite images and other photos I'd found around the internet, but I wasn't worried. I thought to myself; “It’s listed as a road and I have a 4x4“.

Arthur River is the last proper town until Zeehan, and Smithton I think was the last place with a proper petrol station until Zeehan as well.
Arthur River has a take away shop, that's about it in terms of shops, the rest of the town is houses or fishing shacks and other dwellings like that.
The fuel situation requires some planning, I'd filled up in Smithton as I didn't think there were many fuel options after that, but drove past the Redpa General Store on the Bass Highway which did sell fuel and there appears to be fuel at Marrawah. Neither of these shows up on a Google Maps search of this area.

The road is sealed all the way out of Arthur River along Rebecca Road. The Western Explorer Road (also known as the C249) is not sealed, well it is, in very brief sections where the gradient would make it dangerous to not be. But for the most part it's a gravel / dirt road.

The Western Explorer Road was amazing, it covered so many different environments and landscapes, and so many different elevations. It was so remote, yet there was the constant reassurance of direction. The road was almost never straight and occasionally quite challenging.

There was evidence along some part of it of the massive bushfires that occurred in Tasmania not much more than 18 months ago. Eucalypt forests that, from a distance looked petrified, like a bomb had hit them; stark white trunks against a darker landscape, but then as I approached and the road weaved through it, I could see, the eucalypts were growing again, leaves sprouting out from the trunks of the trees.

As I descended through and along the road, bigger trees sprung up, with the better availability of water; the landscape taking on an almost European feel, then much closer to rivers and sources of water it became more rainforest-like. Moss and lichen clinging to the trees, the local environment cooling as it darkened around me.

The day I drove this road it was around 25ºC to 30ºC, but it dipped down lower every time I went down into these grottos of trees and shrubs.

Barge instructions – Check for the bridge. Then panic.

Descending down, not just into these, but going and up and over and down hills in the landscape gave me pause to thank the people who designed my ute and the traction control systems that more than once kept me on the straight and narrow, safe, when I over estimated how fast I could be going around a corner.

At Corinna, at the end of the Western Explorer Road, there is a river.
There is not a bridge.
There is a barge, which you have to pay to cross, it's $25. There's not really any option either. Well, there is an option but while you still drive the Western Explorer Road, instead of heading towards Corinna instead you turn left, going a little back on yourself and adding another 100 kilometres to your trip.
The journey on the 'Fat Man Barge' is fine, it's a quirky way to travel across a river.

The rest of the road, after crossing the Pieman River is sealed, albeit with some significant pot holes near to the Pieman River.

Zeehan, when I arrived was...desolate and somewhat grim.
I did wonder, as I drove through it on a hot spring day, whether it was just a town that looks better overcast, or rainy. As on a hot sunny day, it didn't make me want to stop, it made me want to escape, perhaps just my mindset, but there was just something about the town, a grim remoteness which sunshine did not assist.

Driving into Strahan, it looked basically the same as the last time I had visited 5 years ago, although much sunnier this time around.