Wilderness Wanderings
Trip Start
Dec 13, 2008
1
14
Trip End
Apr 26, 2009
Stanley,
Tasmania,
Australia
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Waratah
Waratah turned out to be a delightful community and is a town with one pub (wallaby shanks is their speciality) and a waterfall right in its centre. It was a tin-ming town which started the mining boom in Tasmania and relics of that history can still be seen. The largest gold nugget ever found in Australia also came from here.There is a working 'stamper' (a machine to crush rocks)) on display and with a flick of a switch one can see and hear it work. We did this late in the afternoon on a Sunday and the noise may have awakened the whole town; it certainly gave us a shock. This demonstrated very well how life in the town may have been as, at the peak, there were 12 'stampers' operational in the town centre which ran continuously and were only shut down for 24 hours each week, from midnight on Saturdays till midnight on Sundays, to give the townsfolk some peace and quiet on their day of rest. Cannot imagine how noisy daily life must have been. They were situated in that central location next to the waterfall to make use of hydro-electric power; very early users.
Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain
From this base we had a day out at Cradle Mountain and walked around the beautiful Dove Lake. We ate our picnic lunch overlooking the lake and then a welcome afternoon tea at Cradle Mountain Lodge after more walking in the area.
Lunch stop, Cradle Mountain
Tarkine Hotel, Corinna
Another day we drove on a dirt road to Corinna which was a mining town that has been bought by a private organisation and transformed into a tourism centre. The Tarkine Hotel is the centre of activities and the original houses can be rented to stay in while exploring the area by foot or by canoe or 4WD vehicle.
Fatman Ferry, Pieman River
Fatman Ferry, Pieman River
There is also a ferry here which enables vehicles to cross the Pieman river; we could not take the caravan as the length limit is only 9 metres. Anyway we had come to take a cruise to the mouth of the Pieman river on a historical old wooden boat, the MV Arcadia 2.
MV ARCADIA 2
What a magical day it turned out to be. The weather was perfect and as the boat moved slowly along it felt and looked as if we were gliding through black silk.
Wake in the Pieman River
The water is stained a dark colour by tannin from plants in the forests along the banks. The reflections of the magnificent trees in the river were amazing and the best we have ever seen. I don't know what quality in the water makes it so special to observe but it is.
Reflections in Pieman River
Professional photographers would have a field day here and in fact there were some literally doing that while we were there. These mad people had been dropped off at the mouth of the river and left to camp out overnight; rather them than us in these low temperatures.
Mouth of Pieman River
We reached the ocean after about an hour and a half and then had lots of free time to walk on the beach and eat our picnic lunch before returning in the boat to Corinna. What a wild and wonderful place it is and we breathed in the clean, pure air.
Liz on MV Arcadia 2
If we return we would like to use canoes to leisurely explore the river. Purchasing a kayak is something we have been considering doing, before we return to Tasmania, as there are so many lakes and rivers that can be easily navigated that way. The idea started as I feel that I could see so much more on the water than by foot while David is fishing these beautiful waterways.Many of the banks of the lakes and rivers are inaccessible from the land and it would be good exercise and a relaxing pastime as often we are the only people for miles around. One drawback is that, if I did have one, I am not sure how much use I would get from it as David is now saying it would be good to fish from. Can't win as I was trying to get away from fishing. Maybe 2 is the answer but we do not have room for 2 on the roof as that would obscure our solar panel. We are investigating the possibilities.
During this period autumn/winter weather has arrived; we have had to time our trips between the wet days and wrap up well against the cold whatever. Luckily the good days are crisp and clear so the scenery is magnificent. On the bad days we are lucky to see the road let alone the scenery.
Having enjoyed the southern edge of the Tarkine we moved north to Stanley on the coast. In the middle of all this wilderness wandering we did a detour for an evening of culture. We had seen ads for the cinema in Devonport screening a live performance of the Australian ballet, via satellite, from the Sydney Opera House; the 3 ballets included 'Firebird' and, as this is David's favourite piece of music, we decided to try to get tickets. We succeeded and it was an excellent evening; one of the other ballets was 'Petrouchka' and that was brilliantly choreographed. 'Firebird' did not disappoint and this performance of the brand-new, Australian interpretation was modern and exciting. It was weird to see the dancers so clearly and larger than life but great to be able to see facial expressions as well as subtle movements. In a way it was better than being at the ballet itself unless one had front row seats. A real treat.
The weather forecast was not good and we wanted to be in a sheltered caravan park with good facilities. The one at Stanley fitted the bill admirably. We had only heard about Stanley because of 'The Nut' but could hardly see it for most of our few days there. Luckilly, the rain stopped and the sun shone one morning so we donned our hiking boots and waterproofs and tramped off to climb 'The Nut'. It was a short distance up but steeper than we thought and hard work but once on top it was a beautiful walk round with views for miles in all directions. I can best describe 'The Nut' by quoting Matthew Flinders from 1798 who, on sighting it, remarked; 'A cliffy lump resembling, in form, a Christmas cake'.
The Nut, Stanley
The weather prevented us from getting a good photo of it from a distance so here is one I poached.
Edge of the World
For once, the weather forecast was accurate and we had rain and more rain and wind and storms etc. etc. We had wanted to spend more time in the Tarkine but we did manage one day at the 'Edge of the World' at Arthur River. It is a rugged spot and from this wild coast the next landfall,looking due west, two thirds of the way around the world, would be Argentina.
Arthur River
The westerly winds have blown across oceans and bring the cleanest air on the planet. Nearby is Cape Grim, a baseline air pollution station run by the Australian Bureau of Meteorolgy which is one of 24 world-wide air monitoring stations. I cannot remember the exact figures or units but Cape Grim is about 600 'somethings' compared to Melbourne or Sydney being in the hundreds of thousands 'somethings'. Sorry I cannot recall exact details but it is certainly clean air here.
Edge of the World
On our way back we saw our first Tasmanian Devil in the wild; so exciting as we were leaving in 2 days. It ran across the road in front of us with its very distinctive gait.
On our last evening in Tasmania we treated ourselves to dinner at the old Cable Station in Stanley. This was where the first cable link from the Australian mainland arrived in Tasmanina and it now houses a restaurant and B&B. We had heard of their reputation for excellent locally sourced food and they are members of the worldwide 'Slow Food' association. We drove there along the coast road on a wild, wet and windy night but it was definitely worth it. The food was superb and it was like being entertained in someone's home; a big log fire burning and couches to relax on for pre-dinner drinks. The couple who run it do actually live there and it is their living space also. Stanley is so small that there are no taxis but the owners said that they would arrange for someone to drive our vehicle back so that we could enjoy the selection of local wines with our meal. There was only one other couple dining and they were staying in the adjoining cottage and when they left the chef/owner drove us in our vehicle while his partner owner/chef followed in hers. What great personal service. On the journey we saw a fairy penguin running along the path. A great finish to our Tasmanian trip. Typical of our trip experience; great local food and wine with warm hospitality in natural surroundings.
The next day we left Tasmania as we arrived; in gales and rain. We really should have left a month earlier from a weather point of view but then what adventures we would have missed. What a great few months we have had with so many new experiences and great memories of this 'Natural State'.
Ferry in town
