Mitsubishi

Douglas-Apsley National Park

Posted on December 3, 2014 by John Sear

A short drive north found us in the town of Bicheno, the biggest we have been in for a while and the first where we could top up the gas. First stop was the famous blowhole, for a photographic opportunity, then down to the Gulch! None of us were quite sure what a gulch was so we had to go and have a look.

 

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It was the narrow channel of water between the boat ramp and islands inhabited by hundreds of birds, particularly the crested terns. The office near the boat ramp where the glass-bottomed boat trips can be purchased caught the kids eyes and a showcase of Tasmanian underwater secrets drew them in. With giant crab pincers as long as your arm, sperm whale jaws, urchins, abalone shells all displayed randomly in a big glass showcase the kids noses were pressed against the glass trying to find some new treasure previously undiscovered – it turned out to be the piranha, and only alien in the tank. After a very informative chat with the man in the office we drove to Chain of Lagoons to camp. This lies just to the east of the Douglas-Apsley National Park, just behind the beach. All day the hills in the national park were masked by low lying clouds that constantly drizzled, and periodically this stretched down to our camp.

Waterhole at Douglas-Apsley NP

Waterhole at Douglas-Apsley NP

Next day in pouring rain we decided we couldn’t miss a trip to the famous waterhole in the national park, and somewhat reluctantly the kids agreed to come along too. It rained, and rained but that didn’t stop Xavier from finding a frog!

Frog

We then decided it was a good day to focus on schoolwork until the rain stopped.

 

Categories: Australian Outback, Beach, Camper Trailer, Car, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Location, Mitsubishi, National Park, Photography, TAS, Tasmania, Travel, Travel Adventure, Twitcher, Walks | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Freycinet National Park

Posted on December 2, 2014 by John Sear

Heading for calmer and warmer conditions we drove straight back up North, through Hobart with only a brief lunch stop at Richmond to see the oldest bridge in Australia, built in 1823. Then on to our next camp at Friendly Beaches, close to Coles Bay. Here we captured photographic evidence of Xavier completing an easy challenge of patting a local animal, we think it is a Forresters Wallaby – let us know if this is right or not.

XwithForrestersWallaby

Friendly Beach saw the first landing of an edible, legal size fish, with a salmon and wrasse caught from the rocks. Xavier and I had an early morning jog to the end of the beach and back.

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A trip into Coles Bay saw us visiting Honeymoon Beach, Lighthouse Lookout and Sleepy Cove. Once again the crystal clear waters and colourful landscape is hard to capture in photos, especially when you have a speck of dust on your sensor! Hannah seized the moment, donned springsuit, mask and snorkel and dived in, whilst everyone else was still feeling the cold a little too much.

At the lookout we discovered Freycinet was the place to find lizards in Tasmania and we saw two different types, everywhere!

Hannah and Oscar lay down to measure how long a Bluefin Tuna is, and Oscar eyed up how hard his challenge to catch and eat one is!

The twitching highlight was the scarlet robin and green rosellas but we also found what appears to be a small dead possum by the track.

Categories: 4WD, Animal Action, Australian Outback, Beach, Big Lap, Camper Trailer, Car, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Location, Mitsubishi, National Park, Photography, TAS, Tasmania, Travel, Travel Adventure, Twitcher | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Huonville to the end of the road

Posted on December 1, 2014 by John Sear
Fifty Toes at Fisher Point
Recherche Bay
Fresh Oysters
Whale Sculpture, Cockle Creek
Ruins at Fisher Point
Whale Sculpture at Cockle Creek
View of Cockle Creek

From Huonville we drove through Franklin and Geeveston and shortly afterwards the road became gravel once more. We passed through a few sleepy settlements, Lune River, Ida Bay, and Moss Glen before entering the campgrounds at Cockle Creek. This is the furthest south you can drive in Australia. Crossing the bridge into the National Park the road turns North for a kilometre then ends. A short walk takes you to an impressive sculpture of a Southern Right Whale. From here if you want to walk further south you can, but we took the short walk to Fisher Point, where the ruins of a cottage mark the point where a pilot used to reside. Back at Camp the Roaring Forties blew their best and showed us how bleak the weather can be.  The fresh oysters from the rocks were as large as I have ever seen and they tasted beautiful. Whilst there the winds blew, it rained and then the glimpses of sun we got showcased what a fabulous place the whole area of Recherche Bay is. It was still cold though, barely reaching 17 degrees during the day.

Categories: Australian Outback, Beach, Camper Trailer, Car, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Location, Mitsubishi, National Park, Photography, TAS, Tasmania, Travel, Travel Adventure, Walks | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Jeffery’s Track to Huonville

Posted on November 24, 2014 by John Sear

We had a seemingly easy drive planned for today after the swim in Lake St.Clair but I had spotted a “short cut”! Just another minor road preventing the need to go into Hobart and out again. Where the dirt started at either end the following message greets all drivers. This would test how well equipped we were, and we could always turn back if required. It was only 15km from Lachlan to Crabtree.

Jefferys Track Sign

Jefferys Track Sign

It was dry and initial indications showed that this track was used by offroad enthusiasts, with some serious sections branching off the main track. The Pajero ploughed on and the Camprite camper trailer followed obediently. Then we reached the following section :

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The challenge was the first hole. The obvious route looked the best but if we couldn’t make it there was no option to winch out. Everyone evacuated the car except me, despite Oscar and Hannah’s requests to remain. The car might have made it but with the camper trailer behind it just fell short so a hasty reverse was required. The only option was a winch assisted one to the right of the track, and fortunately for me with Amanda having seizures up the road, two local lads, Tom and Paddy turned up on dirt bikes offering assistance. Having heard or seen us drive past they had followed for a bit of entertainment I suspect. Apparently they hadn’t been able to get through the previous week due to equipment breakage.

With winch attached it took a couple of attempts to get the car through and onto the second hole which by comparison was much easier. The Falken Wild Peaks traction was good and the Pajero performed immaculately. Thanks Tom and Paddy – it would have taken much longer without the local knowledge.

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From there on in there was an interesting very steep rocky climb, then 10-15 minutes descent down similar. I would have been keen to wait and watch the 4WD coming the other way without winch. Hopefully he turned around.

Categories: 4WD, Australian Outback, Camper Trailer, Car, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Location, Mitsubishi, Offroad, Photography, TAS, Tasmania, Travel, Travel Adventure, Tyres | Tags: , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Tasmanian Devil hunt heats up

Posted on November 22, 2014 by John Sear

After a quick trip up to Cape Grim, where we saw lots of diary and wind farms, we headed over to the west coast in search of Tasmanian Devils. Xavier’s class has challenged him to see 10 Tassie Devils. In the last 15-20 years this poor animals population has plummeted by over 80% due to the facial cancer that is spread by contact between individuals so this is a particularly hard one.

Not ones to give up easily we headed towards the northern end of the Tarkine at Arthur River, the last bastion of the population where the disease hasn’t spread to yet (though it is feared it is only a couple of years away). The Parks and Wildlife rangers in the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area visitor information centre there were fantastic, with such a detailed knowledge of the area and extraordinary capability and patience with the kids. We got information from where to find burrowing crayfish to how to make craft from kelp as aboriginal women used to do.

Tasmanian Devil tracks
Cape Grim – What are you looking at?
Edge of the World
Tawny Frogmouth
Mt Cameron

We moved into the camp area recommended to have Tassie Devil sightings. Good news – very few other campers so Amanda promised she would cook up a very meaty dinner, hoping the smell would lure them in.

Before that we visited the edge of the world to throw a stone into the water. There is no land to the west between here and South America. Walking along the beach, where massive tree trunks lie scattered amongst the rocks, Xavier found some footprints in the sand – could they be a Tassie Devils? Make your own mind up but we thought they looked like they could be.

As dusk approached, dark shapes appeared on the edges of the campground but these were just the browsing Pademelons moving in on the grass. As daylight failed we pulled out torches and waited, then when we could wait any longer we actively scoured the entire campsite spotting only numerous Pademelon and Tawny Frogmouths. Disheartened we went to bed knowing we still had another day!

Categories: Animal Action, Australian Outback, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Location, Mitsubishi, National Park, Photography, TAS, Tasmania, Travel, Travel Adventure | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Boat Harbour

Posted on November 22, 2014 by John Sear

Our first stop at Boat Harbour was a relatively short drive west from the port of Devonport. Our camp couldn’t have been closer to the sea! We are all loving the NW coast of Tasmania, the kids are keen fossickers, scouring every shoreline for treasures.

Forest Road
Stanley and the Nut
First River Crossing
Boat Harbour Beach
Pademelon
Crayfish pots
Penguin chick
Little Dip Falls
The kids at Big Tree
Offroading

Our second day there saw Fifty Toes take on the challenge of the Stanley Nut, a large volcanic lava plug that dominates the port of Stanley. A very steep walk, rather than chairlift saw us at the top in 10 mins. Different lookouts grant you a mutton bird’s view of the town below, where filming was just about to commence for a movie called “The Light Between Oceans” based on the book. We found our first Pademelons (tiny wallabies) in a little forest up there, dozens of them squatting below the bracken. We explored the harbour, then headed inland to explore some of the roads less travelled on the edge of the Tarkine forest. These ancient forests are full of giant trees, tree ferns lining the roads, and the humidity allows a fecundity of mosses and ferns to cover dead and living trees. The kids loved the first river crossing!

On the way back we did another detour to see Little Dip Falls and the Big Tree (it was big and impressive).

The evening treat was another drive east to Burnie, on a tip-off from or neighbours, to see the penguins coming in to feed their chicks. What a great end to the day to see the little blue penguins hopping out of the ocean and up to the chicks who were sitting in their nests only metres from us, and in some cases below the boardwalk we were standing on.

 

Categories: Animal Action, Australian Outback, Beach, Car, Challenges, Journey Narrative, Location, Mitsubishi, National Park, Photography, TAS, Tasmania, Travel, Travel Adventure, Walks | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tasmania adventure begins

Posted on November 17, 2014 by John Sear

The Spirit of Tasmania has whisked us safely across the Bass Strait from Melbourne and we find ourselves camping in a little village resembling something out of a remote corner of the Mediterranean. A relatively short drive from the ferry found us in a camp spot that fronts the shoreline, where the water colour is brilliant pale blue and the houses in the village are all painted blue to match. Photos don’t do it justice but the area we drove around locally is very photogenic, with flower farms (daffodils, tulips, pyrethrum daisies, lighthouses, craggy cliff-faces. We even found a tree stump with a snow white and seven dwarves sitting on it beside the road. We also encountered our first big icon today – The Big Penguin in a town called Penguin.

Having Fun on Sisters Beach
Boat Harbour Camp
Busy beach today
Big Penguin
Daffodils
Fifty Toes at Rocky Cape NP
Categories: Australian Outback, Beach, Camper Trailer, Journey Narrative, Location, Mitsubishi, National Park, Photography, TAS, Travel, Travel Adventure | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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