Thursday 7th February 2019 - We leave Strahan in the pouring rain and drive through the Tasmanian wilderness of dense forest heading for our next destination of Huonville and on the way we:

We drive through Queenstown and sigh in disbelief at the sight before us; the mining town is surrounded by a barren landscape resembling the moon. A landscape stripped of its trees, poisoned by sulphur fumes from the copper smelters, leaving a land and its rivers dead where nothing can grow or live.

Lake St Clair is a freshwater lake in the central highlands of Tasmania where we take a walk around at this beautiful location. The trail takes us through native trees & bushes on to Watersmeet where two Rivers join before feeding into Lake St Clair. We continue across the rivers and stroll along the shore to Platypus Bay with its sandy beaches and spectacular views across the lake.

Mount Field one of Tasmania's oldest National Parks where we can only visit two parts of the park due to recent bush fires. We take the trail though towering swamp gums and tall tree ferns where the scene opens out on to Russell Falls a pretty three tier waterfall cascading in to the creek below.

We continue on to Horseshoe Falls with a crescent shaped drop within a natural amphitheatre of dark mossy rocks in the shade of the forest.

A stop in Hobart for a break and a beer before continuing on to Huonville, a beautiful town on the river with rolling green hills and fields of orchards.

Friday 8th to Sunday 10th February 2019 - During our time in Huonville, this is what we got up to:

Due to severe bush fires in the Hartz Mountains National Park, the road across the river had been closed, however on the day we arrived, the road was reopened. We crossed the bridge over the Huon River and drove beside the mountains with smoke still visible and made our first stop at Geeveston a charming historic timber town with wooden sculptures of local heroes placed outside the buildings.

Continued our drive along the coastal route to Surveyors bay with its sweeping white sandy beach at the entrance to the estuary, Police Point a small rural town within the government area of the Huon Valley, Sturges Bay sitting at the edge of the river with its fast flowing water and Port Huon a small marina sheltered by the mountains with orchards of apples at its base.

Bruny Island - A private tour of the Cape Bruny lighthouse, built in 1832 that sits atop high rugged cliffs, & coves with amazing views of the wild seascapes. Drove passed Cloudy Bay lagoon with its clear shimmering water, Mavista Trail a shaded track through lush rainforest with magnificent tree ferns and birds singing in the canopy above, Adventure bay with its sweeping white sandy beach and shimmering turquoise water lapping the shore.

The Neck lookout - with stunning panoramic views out across the long narrow sandy isthmus that connects the north and south islands; the home of the little penguins & where we spied a black snake amongst the dunes.

Dennes Point a small town at the top of the north island, looking out across to the mainland Tasmania before driving to Get Shucked Oysters for a dinner of oysters looking across a sandy beach & the rolling hills beyond.

Mount Wellington Park connecting the city to the wilderness - we drove to the summit where we started with a walk to the Pinnacles giving spectacular views out across Hobart & the Derwent River towards the peninsulas & bays. It was a cool and windy day with the odd shower so the views were partially shrouded in clouds presenting a constantly changing scene.

Continued on to the Observation centre shelter that also give views across Hobart before making our way around large jumbled boulders scattered around that formed part of this wild landscape, climbed to the top of the Trig that giving a panoramic view, the Organ Pipes a distinctive feature of the mountain with tall fluted columns of dolerite rock, took the Ice House Trail a rugged track that wove through boulder fields & snow gum forests towards an alpine plateau presenting more views across the Derwent River & Bruny island.