Tasmania
Our Final Day in Tassie
Yesterday, we only had a short trip of less than 100 kilometres from Launceston to Devonport where we would catch the ferry back to the mainland. We took advantage of the time that would have on this short driving day to see some last minute sights and visit some friends. My old mate Leon or […]
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George Town and Beaconsfield
George Town sits on the east bank of the Tamar River near its mouth on the north coast of Tasmania. It was a short drive for us today to explore this area and its history. The town is now a modern administrative centre but historically it was an important place – the third oldest British […]
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A Change of Plan
Our day started with some excitement. We were awoken by thunder and lightning at around 5.00 am. Rolling thunder continued until we were packed up and ready to leave St Helens at around 9.30 am. It wasn’t raining when we left but, wow, did that change! Our plan for the day was to drive west […]
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Travellng Further North up Tasmania’s East Coast
We had a very pleasant time in Swansea and left yesterday morning to drive the short distance north to St Helens. The road passed the northern end of Great Oyster Bay. At one point there was a lookout over the bay but it was a bit confusing as it was located in the grounds of […]
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Starting Along the East Coast of Tasmania
Before leaving our overnight stop at Eaglehawk Neck, we did one last piece of exploration. The small sandbar connecting the Tasman Peninsula is only 30 metres wide and was protected by a pack of dogs stationed in a line who would bark and alert the guards to any movement, thus preventing anyone from crossing the […]
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Exploring the Tasman Peninsula
The Tasman Peninsula is very scenic and home to the famous 1830s Port Arthur Penal Settlement. It was our destination for Saturday night. We made a detour on the way to the historic town of Richmond. Because it is so close to Hobart it is the most popular of all the historic towns in Tasmania. […]
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Exploring Old Hobart
It was a beautiful sunny day today with a temperature of 25C – perfect for walking around some of Hobart’s historic areas. Close to the CBD is the tiny suburb of Battery Point. I don’t think that any other Australian city has an historic area to equal Battery Point. It is a very elegant ‘suburb’ […]
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Bruny Island
Last evening, we had a wonderful catch up with our friends Ris and Steve when we joined them for at their house for dinner. They are a remarkable couple – each being very succesful in their own field. Steve is the most senior surgeon in Tasmania while Ris is Australia’s most prolific romance writer. We […]
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Hobart
We left Ratho Farm in Bothwell yesterday morning to travel to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. It was a nice day but the weather forecast was for variable weather with perhaps some rain. We planned to vist Russell Falls in the Mount Field National Park on then way. We first took a back road to […]
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Bothwell – Part Two
Seeing that we are in Bothwell for two nights (and we don’t have a long distance to drive today) we took advantage of the time to sleep in and have a slow start. We didn’t leave Ratho Farm until after 1030 am. Our local exploration first took us to The Steppes about 20 minutes north […]
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Bothwell – Part One
Leaving Strahan yesterday, we drove through dense forest until we reached Queenstown. For 57 kilometres, the road was very curvy with hardly a straight section at all From Queenstown, the scenery changed dramatically. The (almost) bare hills are not quite the ‘moonscape’ that they once were, but they are still quite dramatic. The evidence of […]
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Macquarie Harbour
An early start for the day had us down at Strahan Wharf for a boat cruise around Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River. Macquarie Harbour is a shallow glacier created fjord. It is much larger than Sydney Harbour and approximately 315 square kilometres in area with an average depth of 15 metres. In some places […]
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