Margaret’s Trip to Tassie

2nd February to 22nd February 2025

Flying into Launceston over paddocks of farming with centre pivot irrigation amazing round circles from the spray.

Headed to Gawler to reacquaint with the area after a few years since visiting.

Monday: Took photos for Colin of garden. Fed chooks and collected 6 eggs. IGA Ulverstone selling eggs $1.00 per egg$12.00 per dozen.

Visited Victoria, Matt, Riley& Luna. Butterflied chicken for dinner.

Tuesday: Picked large cucumber & Zucchini’s. Loading and packing caravan for our trip tomorrow to Smithton.

Wednesday: up early 8am. Travelling to Smithton towing caravan.

Photo of Rocky Cape on the way!

Setup camp at Devil Country Muster only 100 vans so far for the muster.

Booked into Tall Timbers. Next door to a bikie- a nice young man ex Westpac Bank Manager. Some 9 others on a weekend ride, Moteling on the way.

Back to muster for steak dinner then to walk up music for our entertainment tonight, some good some not so! Back to motel 10pm.

Thursday: Picked up at 9am at the motel. 27 degrees very hot! Breakfast. In the car and a tour of town. Bought socks and gifts for girls.

Travelled to the hills through diary farms, Edith Creek, Trowutta Arch, spectacular, 100 photos!! Mostly 1000 cow Dairy’s and some up as much as 2000 cow. Notice the Hills in paddocks called hump & Hollow, for Drainage wet country during winter

Travelled through the Tarkine Loop, very windy. Late lunch at Forest Store. Cropping area on the way to camp, red soil, spuds, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, beans & poppies. Line dancing and free night of music. Fires in Cradle Mountain and other areas on the West coast! Very red skies. Late afternoon spent listening to Country & Western Singers. BBQ dinner. Back to Tall Timbers 9:45pm

Saturday: Main day at the muster. Breakfast then setup chairs in front of stage. Many professional bands. Country Music today is 50’s & 60’s type of music. Smoke has abated thank goodness!

Viv & Chris boys, Jamie Davis, Gina Timms and many more artists from local with a few imports! Bought tea from the vendors around the muster. Plenty of chips consumed and coffees.

Night artists are the main event. Kira Rodrigues, Australian born Indian descent! Very impressive and the main event Felicity Urquart & Josh Cunningham. Last band to play The Good fellows from Hobart they started to play and half way through their time the skies opened up and a mad dash to the van carrying our chairs and coats! There were 750 attendees and 245 vans . On mainland terms not a big event but very big for Tassie and growing over the last 13 years. Returned to motel 10:30pm. Buggared, has been a big day!

Sunday: Collected from Tall Timbers all packed and breakfast Freddy for the event today. Bush Poets Breakfast with Gina Timms comparing! Kiara Rodrigues sang and country songs of praise by Gina. Mass evacuation of site.

Packed up and headed for Stanley for fish and the must have chips from the wharf. Had a look around town and Cameron had a special grave to show. Aboriginal woman and child drowned , white husband swam ashore At time couldn’t be buried in cemetery. Was buried up on the hill years later after blackberries cleared has best and highest view of the town.

Travelled to Gawler unpacked. Early to bed after the strenuous time in Smithton.

Monday: Today spent the day cleaning the van & washing clothes. Cameron & I visited Penguin.

Tuesday: Fires on the West Coast of Tasmania so in doubt for our trip to Zeehan, but after consideration checking Tas Alert we decide to make the trip. Packed car in preparation for the adventure.

Wednesday: very hot in the high 20 ‘s which is extremely hot for Tassie. Driving through plantations of super blue guns and then mountains as we approach Tullah. Mining is the main occupation here silver & lead.

Booked into the Hermskirk Motor Hotel Zeehan room 11. Margaret, my sister in law, entered the room to find there are bags on one of the beds, what a shock glad it wasn’t a body! Apparently the firies are dumping their bags into rooms and then going off to fight the fires, so hopefully he won’t get a shock when he returns and finds his bags aren’t where they should be or that I am in his bed or eaten his tea which was left in the fridge.

Went for a drive around Zeehan took all of 10 minutes but got to see where we are going tomorrow for the museum. Talked to grader operators about the back burning and clearing firebreaks. They were saying a loosing battle but you can’t give up! Back to the room for a little light T V. and calling it a night.

Thursday: late start but light breakfast and off to see the sights. Helicopters flying over with buckets hanging down collecting water to dump on the fires. Went and seen where they are on the footy oval. fuel trucks and helicopters looks like an airport.

Visiting West Coast Centre for a great view of the history of the west coast of Tasmania with photographs, written diaries, mineral collections, classic locomotives and underground mining! What an interesting historical experience learnt about the mineral and crystal collections which we found quite exciting! Had Tasmanian pies for lunch cup of coffee and then adventures out to the spray tunnel going through dense bushland on gravel Road and quite inspiring!

What a shock to come out of the overhang of bushes and trees and find the skies were a spooky orange from the fires at Corinna. A bit daunting thinking how close they could be. Wow 100 m of tunnel very cool.

Apprehensive about looking around too much so headed back to town and another visit to the museum and looking at all the outbuildings blacksmith shop, boat shed minehead and power station. Zeehan first town to have street lighting in Australia very impressive. Back to Motel and checking the TasALERT app and see that Zeehan is on watch so decide to tidy room and pack what we can into car and in the process the manager approached us and said evacuate within 10 minutes car packed and engine running staff knocking on all doors telling people go fireies Sleeping were hard to wake up but all left as soon as they could. We decide to go to Strahan instead of Queenstown as we were heading there anyway tomorrow. 40 minutes of seeing police cars heading Zeehan getting quite dark and orange from smoke we finally arrive in Strahan.

Pulled into caravan park where we had booked for tomorrow night but were unable to contact no one in the office or answering the phone.. headed to information Centre and spoke to the girls and they offered us a room B&B $330 for each room but we kindly thought better to sleep in the car for no dollars then they suggested the big four where we might be able to have backpackers accommodation headed there and sure enough they found us two huts, how lucky we are. Cameron commented they were dog kennels well not far off but they were comfortable and clean and experience for all of us shared public showers and toilets fish and chips for tea in the room.

Friday: rained through the night so underfoot is wet. Over to the showers breakfast in the room and now to look around the town.. cup of coffee and raisin toast at the kitchen well 2 cups but who is counting waiting for our unit tonight to become available fueled up in case of having to move again we drove out to the train as it is boarding and looked at the town centre from across the water onto the peoples park and a picnic lunch, and starts to rain so no walk to the Hogarth Falls much to Cameron‘s delight. We waited while Cameron did his usual talking to a couple for at least 20 minutes.. unit now available on the way to settle in unpack and decide steak for dinner tonight. Vegetables and some other necessities needed so off to the local IGA. Starting to cool down and smoke has dissipated. Fire is still burning around Zeehan but has been downgraded to wait and watch.

Saturday: breakfast and then a drive around the town and out to Ocean Beach looking at the waves. weather has cooled and wind has risen so not very pleasant standing outside..

Drive out Lowana along the Apt railway line and the King River. To the bottle shop to buy some wine compliments of Colin a nice red and white onto the lookout at the water tower Margaret and I braved the wind and took some photos of the town and Harbour. Amazing all the smoke has dissipated just dark clouds and rain chicken tonight with vegetables.

Sunday: early start today as we are going to our Macquarie Harbour cruise. At the ship by 8:30am pay for our tickets at onto the ship for a 9 am start. Off we go smooth as glass and out to the hell’s gate out to the sea seeing the wall built for train line to load and unload ships. The gap is quite narrow and many ships have sunk.

Travel through the Macquarie Harbour to Sarah Island where we go for a walk and a tour guide tells the stories of how Sarah Island operated ship building with Convict labour . Some 150 boats and ship were made using Huon pine and Celery top pine. Of which the wood quality was excellent for building and deters woodworm and rot proof in salt water. Many ruins still show how they lived with the bakery and the new penitentiary buildings still visible. Rain held off till we were back on the ship lunch is served.

We now are going to cruise down the Gordon River very slow as so as not to damage the riverbanks and stop at the Heritage landing where we walk around the area with a talk by one of the crew about the different trees Huon pine, celery top pine, Leatherwood and blackhearted Sassafras very interesting rain held off till back in the ship and then the skies opened up again. During the whole trip there were commentary about the history of the Wood industry on the Gordon River.

Found the whole trip quite informative and beautiful scenery back in Strahan. We are dropped off at the Morrison sawmill and watch the crosscut saw in action soaring a human pine log into flat logs. Quite impressive and the smell of pine is beautiful. we decide that we go out for tea and found a little restaurant “Wild Rivers” a beautiful meal had by us all Margaret spaghetti marinara Cameron sausages and myself grilled flake. We have been very fortunate with the meals we have had on this trip some of a very high standard and enjoyable.

Monday: a slow start this morning and then picnic lunch packed and we’re off to Queenstown a 45 minute drive winding our way through the mountains first visit to the museum and info. Centre well set up and all facets of living on the West Coast photographs and visual displays of hospitals telephone exchanges military uniforms, music bands and mining. We did a drive tour around the town and had lunch at the Spoin Kop. Named by the Familiar looking Hill to a South African scenery met two couples who are travelling state for a month and were finding the weather quite chilly checked out The Apt Railway gravel football field and the yellow river for the washout of the mines back to Strahan.

We are going to a play “ The Ship That Never Was “ about Sarah Island. it is hilarious laughed and laughed. Very clever as they made the ship by taking peace together then raising the sails as they are projecting the story of Sarah Island. Fish n Chips again for dinner. My chip obsession satisfied.

Tuesday: A proposed lay day, but as usual we decide to go for a drive and finally we go for a walk to Hogarths Falls! Beyond our expectations! Beautiful ferns and massive trees reaching to the skies. Lunch at the unit then decide perhaps the Henry Dunes are worth a look.

Well reaching to top of the first dune was quite a feat but we all made it. A lovely walk across the top admiring, in the distant, the ocean rolling in. Walk through the Main Street of Strahan a cup of coffee and returning to unit for Spaghetti bolognaise on the menu. Packing and getting ready to depart tomorrow morning.

Wednesday: on the road just after 8am very chilly and fog as we leave Strahan. Arriving in Queenstown to sketchy fog, fuel up for the drive through to Derwent Bridge where we stop for lunch. The climb out of Queenstown quite spectacular, levelling to lakes and more magnificent trees then plains, such diverse scenery..

The Wall tourist large shed of wood carvings depicting Tasmania for a, the Hydro building and Many other carvings on Huon pine and large slabs. A wall 100 yards long. Quiet brilliant.

Gravel road over the lakes to Great Lake then onto Deloraine where we stop to look at the silk tapestry of the four seasons of the area. The work and artistry is quite spectacular.

Arriving in Ulverstone late afternoon. Caught up with friends of Margaret & Cameron from Tea Gardens NSW (John & Michelle). They are in Tassie for 2 1/2 months travelling with their caravan. Potato cakes for dinner tonight using leftovers from trip.

Thursday: This is a lay day definitely. Relaxing, doing the washing and enjoying the garden.

Friday: Today we are doing more sightseeing with John & Michelle. Off to Leven Canyon, spectacular sight of the Leven River and plenty of exercise walking the stairs and up and down the walkway, lunch at Penguin.

That’s then end of 3 weeks in Tasmania, wonderfull trip weather good but I’m told ‘Tasmanish’. From hot days to cold windy and moved on out of fires path. All combine for a great experience. Thank you Colin.