[Surferdude]

We try to get away every year or two. So earlier this year we decided it was time to return to Tassie (last there in 1999).
Keen to see and experience as much as possible we allowed two weeks and put together an itinerary which Dazz thought was pretty full on.
At the end of the trip we had achieved everything on the list plus a few surprises - except to climb up The Nut. On the day we were there the gale force winds had even closed the chairlift.

We flew (with some misgivings) Jetstar into and out of Launceston. There were no problems and the staff were fine.
Armed with a Mitsubishi Outlander with just 4,400 klms on board we set off.
A quick look around Launceston and a trip up Cataract Gorge where my daughter and I set out from the park to walk the Zig Zag Track back to the main road and back in along the easier trail. Great walk and spectacular scenery.
Then we set off for Devonport, for a scheduled afternoon tea with Trish and Dazz at their place, then dinner at a local bistro where Dazz is a well recognised local. 
The next morning we set off west through Burnie, Wynyard, Table Cape and Boat Harbour Beach to Stanley.

Did I mention the wind? 

This is a bit of natural art on a stump in Cataract Gorge.



And a Peacock in the gorge, up near the tea rooms and the band rotunda. This one put on a show for me. Didn't have it's tail up until I got close (like 3' close). I also have footage of it doing this. Eventually it turns around and moons me. 

BAD peacock.



The lighthouse at Table Cape. The local tulip farm offered tours of the farm for some crazy price - like about $14 each. We settled for looking at all the blooming fields of tulips we passed.



Boat Harbour Beach.



Looking back the other way from Boat Harbour Beach at our Mitzi.



Stanley and "The Nut".
Those waves in the bay were rideable, too. With maybe 5 or 6 mm of neoprene, boots gloves and a hood. 



While we were here, the rain started and followed us all the way back to Devonport and interfered with my photos from the lookout up above Burnie.

The next day was to be a big one. From Devonport to Cradle Mountain and some time there before winding (and I do mean winding) our way to Strahan via Zeehan, where we were booke dfor 2 nights and a Gordon River cruise.

But that's for the next instalment.

[Phil №❶]

Sounds like fun, Surferdude 

[eye30]

Then we set off for Devonport, for a scheduled afternoon tea with Trish and Dazz at their place, then dinner at a local bistro where Dazz is a well recognised local. 

Great write up and thanks for sharing.

Now tell more about dazz and having to wear dark sunglasses to hide from his groupies

[Just Rick]

Great photo's bet you got plenty more  keep em coming

[Dazzler]

Thanks for sharing Trev. Not the best photo of boat harbour beach I've seen though. : undecided:

Being a first timer did Kiely like what she saw.

[Ugly Mongrel]

Thanks for sharing, Trev. 

Did you take any photos of Daz's replies, or didn't you take the wide angled lens?

[Surferdude]

Thanks for sharing, Trev. 

Did you take any photos of Daz's replies, or didn't you take the wide angled lens?

I haven't had time to get back to this.
There's much more to tell and show, but I need another couple of weeks.

[Doggie 1]

I like show & tell.
You show me yours and.......

[Surferdude]

 

I like show & tell.
You show me yours and.......

[Surferdude]

OK. PB seems to be behaving itself now (says he with his fingers crossed as more pics upload).
From Devonport after the second night we headed off for Cradle Mountain where we were greeted with snow. Kylie and I set off to walk around Dove Lake which is about 6klms. Took us a bit over 2½ hours in snow, hail, rain, sunshine, snow, hail, rain, sunshine rain. Absolutely spectacular scenery.
Wombats were common in the area. These were just inside the entry to the national park.

From there we drove pretty much through some of the wildest country to Strahan on the west coast and the jumping off spot for the Gordon River.

The start of the Dove Lake walk.


Nature is the best artist.



Cradle Mountain overlooking Dove Lake.



And an "unpolluted shot".

[Surferdude]

This is Pencil Pines Falls within the park. Here in flood, unlike the benign flow on a calendar I received today  )



Snow doesn't seem to worry the wombats. Taken from our car.



A pano shot from three stitched pics.



These Qld registered Fords (Model Ts??) were in the car park of the shops in Strahan. Bet they didn't drive all the way down.

[Surferdude]

Strahan is a wild, wild place on Macquarie Harbour which opens out directly into the Southern Ocean with nothing between it and the southern part of South America. Truly the land of the "Roaring Forties" and both times we've been there the winds have been gale force from the west.
This shot is through the front of the boat looking out through Hells Gates into the Southern Ocean.



Huon Pines grow VERY slowly and the timber is almost impervious to attack from insects or rot, making it greatly sought after in past centuries as boat building material.
This shot is taken through plexiglass so not as clear as I would like but you get the idea.



On Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour was a penal colony with an even more savage history than Port Arthur.
This is the remains of the solitary confinemet cells. Each was 6' long, a bit over 2' wide and 6' high. Sort of like being buried alive.

[Surferdude]

From Strahan we drove to Queenstown whose landscape is badly scarred by the copper mining as these pics show.





Pretty much in the middle of the island is Lake St Clair, the bottom end of the national part  with Cradle Mountain at its top.
Still cold and windy. The lake depth changes dramatically with snow melt each year.



Aaannnd. for REAL cold and wind, I give you - Mount Wellington overlooking Hobart.



Looking down on the Derwent River and the Tasman Bridge which collapsed in 1975 when hit by a bulk ore carrier. It's since been rebuilt but access is controlled by traffic lights which stop ALL traffic whenever a vessel approaches the bridge to pass underneath it. Which seems to be a bit of overkill to me but that's the way it was for the week we were in Hobart.

[Surferdude]

Still to come......
Gordon Dam.
Shot Tower.
Penguins.
Seals.
Awesome cliffs.
and more...........................................

[Dazzler]

 

Strahan is lovely in the Summer.. Loved the Wombats.. Most of the ones I see are roadkill 

[Asterix]

 

[Doggie 1]

It's a long, long time since Debbie did Dallas.
So thank you for the Surferdude does Tasmania pics, Trev. 

[Phil №❶]

Pretty sure Debbie, is dead.

[beerman]

Looks like a nice summer down there  27 and sunny in Gods Country.....

Yesterday, it was 29 and beautifully clear, I got a new record on the newly improved solar 23.8 kw/h.

To think I used to struggle to crack 20.....What a difference 2 new panels can make.

[beerman]

You could have smiled Dazz 

[Dazzler]

You could have smiled Dazz 

Looks like a nice summer down there  27 and sunny in Gods Country.....

  It was over a month ago Trev was down here.. Nice today (20+ and sunny)

[beerman]

You still could have smiled 

Snow in October???/  That's nearly as bad....

[Surferdude]

We stayed in Hobart for a few days and spent time radiating out from it. On one day we went south as far as Southport and through Cygnet. We visited the Shot Tower in the town where Princess Mary comes from. We saw th eShot Tower back in 1999. They used to build these towers about 50m high and carry lead up to the top where it was melted and  dribbled through a grid so the droplets fell into a tank of water at ground level. During the drop the lead would coalesce into a perfecly round ball - "shot" for muskets  etc..
Here's a couple of pics, one from the top looking down inside, one looking out onto the Derwent and one of the tower's shadow which is rather suggestive.

[Dazzler]

  Trev (haven't been up the shot tower) 

[Surferdude]

We took a full day tour from Hobart to Port Arthur which included a 3 hour boat trip up the coast of the Tasman Peninsula before lunch, then Port Arthur in the afternoon.
For anyone with Foxtel and "History" channel, they are currently running an Australian version of "Coast" by Neil Oliver and one of the episodes will showcase this amazing area. If you are in the UK and a fan of Neil Oliver's work, watch out for this one. I'm sure it'll find its way onto your screens.
Anyway, some of the shots from the boat. The first one is of the new boats they have about to go into service, but ours didn't have side protection. We were open to the spray and wind which, while freezing, was a much better experience IMO. (But not my wife's.  )











Rock climbers climb this pinnacle,

[Dazzler]

 

[Surferdude]

I've been to Port Arthur before and it's like going to Canberra and the War Museum, if you are in Tassie, you should always go to Port Arthur.

One of my Goodyear colleagues was among the victims of Martin Bryant.
Andrew (AB) Mills, shown here on this memorial plaque.

(click to show/hide)

[Surferdude]

Trev (haven't been up the shot tower) 

It's a long climb Dazz. I think about 300+ steps. 

[Dazzler]

Trev (haven't been up the shot tower) 

It's a long climb Dazz. I think about 300+ steps. 

I don't mind steps for exercise (but that is a lot!)

I didn't realise you lost a friend in the shooting 

[rustynutz]

I remember trying to run up it years back....