An uneventful overnight crossing from Melbourne over the Bass Strait saw us arrive at Devonport on the north coast of Tasmania. Couldn’t get a camp site at Stanley on the first night so stopped off at Ulverstone. This turned out to be a good move because the next day we were able to enjoy a leisurely drive along the north coast to Stanley – and what a lovely coast it is. Penguin and Wynyard are bonnie small towns. Particular places of note where we stopped on the way, however, were: Table Cape – where we had glorious views along the rocky coastline; Sisters Beach in the Rocky Cape National Park which was gorgeous (on the road saw what we’re sure was a tiger snake, 4th deadliest in the world so from then on were a bit wary!) so stopped for a fruit lunch and a cuppa (the beach was so inviting that – on with the cozzies and into the crystal clear water); and further on in the national park where we walked to a sacred Aboriginal site (walking through the bush with heavy footsteps in case of snakes!). Stanley was a delightful little town (although a wee bit touristy) full of historic buildings. Its setting is great – at the end of a narrow promontory and right at the foot of The Nut, a flat topped volcanic ‘neck’ about 500/600 feet high. It was worth the climb for the fabulous views of the coastline (and we did climb it rather than take the cable car). Stanley’s also got a nice wee 9 hole golf course that was easy walking distance from the camp site and both were right down on the shore. So after a very enjoyable round we also managed a visit to the beach for a quick, cooling dip. Stanley’s also well known for sighting penguins coming ashore to roost at night, but unfortunately we’d no luck on the two nights we went out looking. Still, plenty of time as there are apparently loads of places to see them in Tazzy. From Stanley we headed further west Marrawah on the northwest coast. Looking out from here there is nothing but ocean between Tazzy and the next landfall – Patagonia in South America. On the way we stopped at a deep tract of temperate rainforest called Dismal Swamp. It’s an eco tourism conservation project in a wonderful setting. It involves an exciting ride down a helter skelter-like tube (on a mat and at high speed) to the forest floor. There are a number of boardwalks that allow you to see the fauna and flora at close quarters. The staff are very enthusiastic and well informed. On the walk back up to the top a big tiger snake slithered under the boardwalk through the undergrowth nearby. It caused quite a stooshie when we mentioned it to the staff who were all excited and pleased that there was a sighting. It brought home to us how much pleasure the Ozzies get from their dangerous wildlife despite always dishing out warnings to be careful and cautious. On the basis of helpful advice at Dismal Swamp we decided to head south from Marrawah to Arthur River, an isolated cluster of buildings at the end of the sealed road. It was a lovely spot and we booked into a state camp ground – our first trial of relying on Annie’s own water and power resources. Disaster! Setting up, we discovered the reason for a loud clatter we’d heard somewhere on the road – our front roof hatch had blown off leaving a gaping hole open to the sky. Luckily a neighbour on site had a ladder and some duct tape and we made a very temporary repair involving our frizbee and a poly bag! We won’t be able to get it fixed until we get to Hobart – and that’s still some days away so hoping it doesn’t rain. The hatch must have been left open and was a stark reminder that we need to make sure that all pre-departure checks are carried out ie, gas off, windows closed, electrics unplugged, water and waste disconnected, drawers and cupboards closed and locked, TV aerial down AND roof hatches are closed!! Because of its isolation Arthur River was wonderfully peaceful – no flight paths, no passing traffic, nothing but fresh air and the distant sound of the sea. We had visitors both nights – small wallabies feeding on the grass around us and coming very close to the van. The bikes had an outing here too – we cycled over Arthur River to a rocky point called the Edge of the World overlooking the wild ocean of the Roaring 40s. A discussion with the park ranger when we arrived persuaded us that we should take the unsealed road south through one of the last real wilderness areas in Australia. The road is known as the Western Explorer and is totally unsealed and without any sign of civilisation for about 140 kms. It travels through bush, moorland, rainforest, round hairpin bends, up and down steep climbs and offers wonderful views and scenery. It was one hell of a drive!! There are no phone connections (either landline or mobile) and advice for the journey is if you break down stay with your vehicle and wait for another to pass – although this could be the following day. We encountered only four other vehicles, three within the space of ten minutes. Poor Annie was shaken, but like a true trooper not stirred, and we made it safe and sound. The first settlement is Corinna on the Pieman River where the punt across the river is known as The Fatman. Annie is nearly the largest vehicle it can take – but we did know that before we set out. Our next stop was going to be Strahan and just north of the town we pulled in at a viewpoint giving virtually a 360 degree view of the most magnificent landscape of this western part of Tasmania. However, Strahan was much busier than expected (it’s a very beautiful and therefore, understandably, popular place) and both sites were full. But we managed to find a shady spot, smelling sweetly of eucalyptus, in an unpowered backpackers campsite. This was Cosy Cabins Packpackers and well worth checking out, although it is a little pricy (supply and demand?). The first thing after finding the pitch was to take Annie for a well deserved wash and brush up. And by gum she needed it. After 140 unsealed kms there was stoor in every nook and cranny. The bikes also (after a much needed wash) were out to explore the area. We headed to Peoples Park where we walked through the rainforest up to Hogarth Falls – a very pleasant walk. On the way back, guess what we came across? Margaret heard a rustling in the undergrowth and looking down to investigate, found that a big black tiger snake (remember, fourth deadliest in the world) was slithering alongside her down the path about a foot away! ‘Snake!!’ she yelled and ran the fastest ten yards of her life, closely followed by Eric. Blimey, the closest encounter yet!! We stopped at what we thought would be a safe distance to try to take a photo but couldn’t see or here it so we quickly moved on, warning others of its presence. The big attraction of Strahan is seeing Macquarie Harbour, Hells Gates, the Gordon River and Sarah Island. We did it by boat, although you can also do it by helicopter or sea plane. Macquarie Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world. (What is the first? Answers on a postcard please to The Scotts, No Fixed Abode, Australia or [email protected].) Hells Gates is the exceedingly narrow channel into the harbour from the ocean, Sarah Island was used as a penal colony in the 1800s and is now a historic site in a rather serene setting which belies its past. The Gordon River is a river that runs through the second largest rainforest in the world. Have a look at the photos on the Tasmania postcard to get a feel for our experience. It was wonderful. The last stop on the trip was at Heritage Landing for a walk through the rainforest to see at close quarters examples of the vegetation, in particular the Huon Pine which is unique to Tazzy and takes hundreds of years to reach maturity. It was/is much in demand for boat building because it’s very buoyant and doesn’t rot. When we stopped to look at a fallen 4,000 year old Huon Pine, quess what was lurking beneath. Yes, you got it – a tiger snake, although this one was sunning itself and was at a relatively safe distance. On the approach back to Strahan after a very hot afternoon on the Gordon River, the weather changed and we could see rain in the distance. Oh no – missing roof hatch. Some people assured us that the rain was running north of Strahan but, yes you’ve guessed it, no such luck. As we got off the boat the rain was pelting down. And boy did it pour. We rushed back to Annie and got out the basin to catch the drips, before heading to the other campsite where we’d managed to find a powered site for the night. As Eric was looking to borrow a ladder and something to cover the hatch with, Margaret was fending off the incoming rain holding her upturned umbrella up to the ceiling. ‘Jings, I which he’d hurry up, my arms are getting sair.’ Eventually, back Eric came (and by this time we and Annie were absolutely drookit) with a ladder and a metal NO ENTRY road sign. His soaking face peering through the rain was an absolute picture. But up the ladder he climbed and positioned the sign over the hatch. He might at least have put the ‘no entry’ side face up so the rain would know not to come in, but fortunately it did the trick anyway. And at least it lightened the moment and made us laugh. We think Tasmania’s playing a game with us – could it be snakes and ladders, because that’s about the only board game we haven’t got in our collection! However, later that evening we were full of beans – Heinz to be exact, courtesy of Keith and Karen which they brought as some home comfort food – to accompany scotch pies, beetroot, mashed tatties and pickled onions (brand name, would you believe, Bum Hummers. Is it only the Australians that would market their produce by boasting ‘1,000 farts in a jar!!! Net 500g’). And by the way it’s still bucketing down and the no entry sign is holding firm – which of course is a good sign!!!!! Next morning turned out fine and sunny so Eric went back up the ladder to make repairs so we could move on. Using once again the Frisbee, poly bag, cling film and copious amounts of duct tape the roof hatch was secured – at least for the time being (see photo album). So then it was off for a game of golf at Strahan Golf Club (a nice wee nine hole course and only $10 a day) then on to Lake St Clair at the southern end of Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park stopping at the Nelson Falls on the way. Our pitch is right on the lakeside and that evening we had a visit from Wally the Wallaby. He wasn’t the slightest bit feart of people and let us get pretty close. Next morning, we did one of the medium grade walks in the area – we took the small ferry up the lake to Echo Point from where we walked the 11.5 km back to camp. We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife – apart from another tiger snake sunning itself on the rocks by the ferry – but we did pass through excellent and varied forest woodlands. The lovely strong smell of eucalyptus was particularly notable as we crunched through the fallen leaves (it fairly helped to clear our tubes!). We moved south to Mount Field National Park through countryside which changed from forested mountains to rolling farmland (which reminded us a lot of the Scottish Border country) then back to forested mountains again, although the landscape around Mount Field, one of the first National Parks in Tasmania, was slightly different from that of Lake St Clair. The camp site was a friendly one in a lovely spot and was probably the most level site we’ve had for a few weeks. Even though it’s only an hour’s drive away from Hobart (and therefore very popular and busy with day trippers) we were surrounded by wildlife. Loads of pademelons (miniature wallabies) and wallabies fed in the site every night from dusk to dawn. In night time visits to the toilet in virtual darkness (apart from the odd spell moonlight) we got used to almost tripping over them. The walk to Russell Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Lady Barron Falls and the Tall Trees (to see some of the tallest trees (eucalyptus) in the world – truly magnificent and awe inspiring), although similar to what we’d seen and done elsewhere, was really interesting and well worth it. But the highlight of our time in this area was Something Wild – an animal sanctuary a couple of kilometres down the road. They specialise in rescuing injured or homeless animals/birds and also carry out some conservation work by releasing animals/birds and their offspring back into the wild where possible. We had close encounters with koala, wallabies (although we’re a bit blasé now as they’re ten a penny), ostrich, beautiful golden common brushtail possum, wombat, Tasmanian devil and a great sighting of a duckbill platypus patrolling it’s patch, which was not a rescue but actually living wild in the adjacent river.

Next stop was New Norfolk, but because it is so close to Hobart we decided that first of all we should head to the Winnebago service place there to see about getting the roof hatch repaired. They were able to do it on the spot, which was great – what a relief. We headed back to New Norfolk with light hearts now that the worry about the hatch was off our shoulders. New Norfolk is a nice wee town – nothing like the original Norfolk as it’s really hilly (and anyway is named after Norfolk Island not Norfolk, England) – and the campsite (New Norfolk Caravan Park) is on a lovely wee spot down by the river. Here, thanks to Pat next door, we learned a lot about the water supply system and converted from using our pump which can be quite noisy, especially at night, to connecting directly to the mains. Brilliant!! Water constantly and noiselessly on tap without having to switch the pump on and off! We’re also getting dab hands at coping with non-powered sites. Pat and Judy (aka John & Clare - in case the authorities are looking for them) popped in for a few beers and nibbles and a very much welcome and interesting discussion. This was continued the floowing evening and we hope to meet up again at some point in our travels.