Tasmania
Categories: holidays, walking, food, bushwalking-hiking, tasmania
Date: 12 April 2010 20:49:14
Well, a very small part of it at least.
Looking through my [far-too-many, less is more Ian...] photos now I have such good memories of my four days there last month flooding back. It is such a beautiful place and somewhere I should try and visit far more often as I am very much into walking and being in nature -- with the proviso I have somewhere comfortable to rest my head at night! ;) It would have been about 20 years since my last visit; we have relatives in Hobart and I recall two trips down there: one by plane and one by car down to Melbourne [900 or so kilometres] and then overnight boat across the Bass Strait and then south to Hobart.
Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park was the place which most took my breath away. If my little camera and poor photographic skills can come up with that shot to the right, then it's easy to see it's a place where a bad photo cannot be taken. My short walk took me up to this view, down to the bay which opens to the Pacific and then across to another beach facing west back to Tasmania. The walk itself varied in surrounds and views, and I could not get over how ineffably beautiful it all was: and how clear the water was.
Also in Freycinet National Park is Cape Tourville, home to a lighthouse, and Sleepy Bay.
North is the amazing, and oddly-tranquil given the name, Bay of Fires [named for the fires the Europeans saw lit by the Aboriginals]. I had thought the red lichen [or is it orange? be patient with my colour issues...] on the rocks was the cause of its name. Stretches of beautiful, almost deserted, beaches with sand that crunched as you walked on it.
At the south end of the Bay of Fires in Binalong Bay I lunched in a rather wondrous restaurant with great food as well as a great view. And in fact had great food wherever I went, including the same providoreMiss Lisa just visited.
St Columba Falls was also a lovely short walk and sight [even if I fell into the water of a river along the way as I stepped on rocks in the river to enjoy the tranquility; thank the Lord for GoreTex and quick-dry clothes :) ]:
Driving, in my rather nice i30 hire car, along the coast or through a mountain pass or even just from town to town was a feast for the eyes, especially a city boy like me. Most roads, highways included, were one lane each way and I did not hit my first traffic light [which was a shock; afte 3 days I'd forgotten about them!] or multi-lane highway until I came into Launceston the evening before I left.
Finally, for this post [will talk about Launceston, the wondrous B&B I stayed at in St Marys[*], and the other places I delighted in later in the week], the glorious Cataract Gorge which borders Launceston to the west and is easily reached from town by walking, and the old Duck Reach Power Station. There is a walk from Cataract Gorge to the Power Station but as I had a flight just after midday that will be something to do on a return visit -- which I hope will be soon -- so I drove there.
As I hope I've shown, if you're still with me!, 'tis a most beautiful and captivating place. And I only visited a very small part of it.
[*] grammar-watcher I am, even though I fail, I could not help but notice the lack of apostrophes in place names I assumed [may be wrong] were possessives in Tasmania. Sad, I know.