MERITORIOUS MT FIELD

Beautiful Russel Falls

G’day – you know most people we see in and around Caravan Parks use the Aussie vernacular G’day more than any other mode of greeting. I have tried simple Hellos, Hi’s, Good Mornings and all the others, but it seems that Slim had something with his G’day, G’day - usually followed, I might add by “How’re you goin?” Even the international tourists seem to have picked up on G’day.

Well, we are still in Mt Field – have been here for almost 2 weeks – longest stay yet since arriving here in the Apple Isle. The long stay is partly due to Easter and wanting to make sure we had a bay somewhere, partly ‘cause we really like this spot and partly ‘cause I have bin crook. Those bloody spots!!! Almost gone now I’m happy to say and the throat is feeling better and so am I in general, albeit not quite 100% yet.

Due to the longish stay I even dug my paints out to have a bit of a go, but sadly the cold weather combined with a very worrying lack of talent and or real drive to paint, they have sat unloved and unused except for a desultory brief attempt and a few sad daubs of paint on what was a pristine canvas before I despoiled it. Hopefully better weather along with better health will see a better effort – otherwise you are all doomed to be swamped by Blogs as I look elsewhere for a creative out.

Can I ask a bit of a favour here? Is anyone reading the blogs? I know I have a terrible tendency to be super long winded and wordy, but I would like to think that someone somewhere is getting something from them. I have not had any comments either privately or via email for a little while and am wondering if my readers have all fallen by the wayside. Could you just let me know if you are at least looking at the pics, just so I know there is some value aside from the personal, in writing the blogs. I do enjoy the writing, but being abysmally human I also would like to know if I have any readers out there.

Bush Fires Have Left Their Scars on the Way to Mt Field

Anyway, to more important matters, I hope that everyone had a wonderful and peaceful Easter – we certainly did. Having been in this park for a little while now, we have of course made friends (as all good campers do) with a couple of other folk here and the little camp is quite social. We were inundated briefly by young families who flocked in for the 3 main holidays – it was one of those quintessentially happy/sad times, watching other families interacting and missing our own young ones. We have to say too, that the multitude of children running (read biking) around the camp were super well behaved and we had no problems at all with any of the rather ferocious looking folk/families which descended on this place.

DD commented on the strange appearance of some of the little tots here - the mystery was cleared up when I pointed out that the children here wear many more layers of bulky clothing than our tots at home. They look like multi-coloured little Eskimos all rugged up in their quilted jackets, beanies and mittens (and it’s only April!).

Mt Field is a very pretty camping ground situated in a National Park just at the bottom of the Central Midlands/Highlands and bordering on the Derwent Valley. The amenities here are quite good and the rates at $20 per night more than comfortable. The bays here are reasonably sized, whilst not large and the whole place is very ‘doable’. The campsite sits on the banks of a pretty little river called the Tyenna. The babbling of this brook keeps us company thru’ the days and the super quiet nights.

Thats Us!

The weather since we arrived here has been generally wet and cold, with just a little respite here and there. Underfoot is a little muddy, but in the main, pretty good. As we are down in the valley here, the winds have left us alone most of the time, although we did have to pull the awning in one evening due to high wind gusts. It is a little un-nerving sitting here looking up at the movement of the trees way above us. This place sports what they call the tallest flowering plant in the world, the Swamp Gum. These trees are incredibly tall and slender – the high winds which seem to catch them but not us, cause them to career around in a most erratic manner. As tree-fall is a big problem here in the forest, I have been just a little concerned at these forest giants and their aerial dancing.

We have not seen a great deal of wild-life here, although there are plenty of pademelons and the possums are active at night. I have to say, we have not really sat outside in the evenings here, so there may very well be more animals here than we have been conscious of. The birds are scarce here as well – something we are getting used to here in Tassie. We are hoping that the East Coast will be a little better for bird life.

There is plenty to do here. Russell Falls, allegedly the prettiest falls in Tasmania are a 10 minute walk from the visitor centre (alongside the campsite). Another couple of falls are a slightly longer distance, but easily reached by someone of reasonable fitness.

Incredible Scenery Along The Way to Gordon Dam

Gordon Dam and Lake Pedder are the ‘must see’ items in the region and involve a longish drive of around one and a half hours through some of the most amazing country we have seen so far in our travels here; heavily forested with tall timber and tree ferns the road winds up and down some steep and mountainous terrain. The road eventually culminates at the Gordon Dam. This enormous body of water is part of the hydro scheme here and is tags into yet another body of water Lake Pedder. The body of water which is now Lake Pedder, was once two smaller alpine lakes, now combined to form part of the hydro system.

We Came Face to Face with This Mountain

Lake Pedder

Even though the weather was not entirely wonderful on the day we drove to Gordon Dam, the scenery was indeed stunning. We stopped and had lunch at Ted’s Beach – a small free camp on part of Lake Pedder. This little spot was quite idyllic and had reasonable facilities including kitchen and toilets but not showers. A couple of days ago a small van came into the bay next door to us here, the couple had been up at Ted’s Beach for a few days and had to pull their ‘pop top’ down on their last evening there due to the high winds that tore through there – bitterly cold too, we were told.

Gordon Dam

Looking Down to The Dam Wall

These mountains we travelled through to get to the Gordon Dam are quite high, the highest point of the road being around 680m and the highest peak we saw around 1200m. We have had some small snow fall on anything above 900 these past couple of nights. We are only at 192m here in the camp. Still cold by our standards here!

We have come to the realisation that the cold does not impact on us in any major way – except perhaps to keep us in bed a little later in the mornings, but the rain is the one thing that can prohibit us from getting out and sightseeing etc. Fortunately, there are a good many fine days or at least mainly fine days tucked in between the wet ones.

Ted's Beach

Thru' the Mountains on the Way Back

We took the little walk up to see Russell Falls – just stunning! Sadly for we budding photographers, the falls were just a bit too big to get into our lenses – we have done our best however. The falls far exceeded anything we saw in Litchfield – perhaps it is just the sheer beauty of the surrounds that makes them seem so special. They are surrounded by huge leafy tree ferns, mossy rocks and towering trees. The whole effect is magical. The walk to the falls is super easy, even for me. We didn’t proceed to the next Horseshoe Falls however as they involved a number of wet slippery rock steps, no handrails, and I didn’t have my trusty stick with me. Perhaps tomorrow, if I am feeling just a tad better. Each and Every Day I Fee................ you know how it goes!

So Pretty The Falls

Evidence of a Fallen Giant

What else? Hmm, we took a drive into New Norfolk to do a spot of shopping and to check out our next CP – all good, a very pretty town it appeared. We went for a hot-chocolate this morning with a couple of mates – at the very sweet little Possum Cafe in Westerway, just down the road. We took a drive yesterday up to the snow fields and Lake Dobson – no snow yet but boy was that wind cold up there. It was all very desolate and beautiful. You do realise that everything here in Tassie is beautiful – I cannot possibly hope to do justice to the beauty here, and have long since run out of superlatives – please bear with me as I simply tell you – it’s beautiful, again and again.

Well, we are away from here come Wednesday, heading marginally southwards to New Norfolk, a pretty and historic town situated on the banks of the Derwent. Until then, be kind to each other and exude your own special kind of beauty. Stephanie

His Own Special Beauty

LAUGHTER AT ST CLAIR

The Bloke!

From the rugged and maimed mountains of Queenstown we took the torturous and treacherous road to Lake St Clair, just a short drive in a south easterly direction. This is what is known at the Central Highlands and reputed to be very cold country. We can vouch for that. They had seen just a little snow a few days before we arrived and the area was still wet and chilly. Minimums were down to around 2 and max up to around 14 degrees.

The road out of Queenstown was hairy but we just took our time, pulling over to allow faster traffic to overtake when possible. One of the wonderful things about travelling with a van around Tassie is that nowhere is usually more than say one to one and a half hours further on. This means packing up and pulling out around 9ish and arriving and setting up by lunch time – very pleasant indeed.

The Lake

Lake St Clair is part of the lake and dam system that supports the hydro system here in Tasmania. I know there has been a great deal of furore about damming and the pros and cons here, and I as much as anyone would hate to see the wilderness and its creatures gobbled up by the inundation of water, BUT.....this is a clean and virtually carbon free method of producing electricity and I read at one of the dams that the rivers which feed the system, ultimately all end up in the Derwent and after going thru’ no less than 6 hydro systems to produce power, they ends up as perfectly fine drinking water when it reaches Hobart. It seems a pretty good system to me. The wilderness here is amazing and beautiful and also plentiful. It seems that with good management, research and planning, there can be both. But what do I know – probably nothing.

The Hydro

The Lake itself was quite pretty but we didn’t avail ourselves of the ferry ride around the lake as we were a little ‘boated out’ in the short term and couldn’t really see the point, although I’m sure it would have been a pretty little cruise. The weather didn’t really help as the drizzle and mist followed us from Queenstown and stayed with us for most of the three days we were in Late St Clair.

Picturesque Church at Bothwell

Stunning Scenery Along the Road

We took a very long looping drive out to The Great Lake where the water levels were quite low, then down to Bothwell where they have a Golf Museum, across to Hamilton and then back up to the Lake. This drive was around 200ks and took us a good few hours stopping to check out the museum and the hydro system along the way – the country-side was stunning however and the drive well worth the effort. The museum left our old golfer a bit bemused as he claims he has owned much of the stuff they had there at some time or another. The old buildings in Bothwell and the other little towns we passed through were quite special.

Another Quaint Old Church - Hamilton

The CP at the lake was something else – it is in the National Park and run by the people who also run the little restaurant. None of them has a very good grasp on English and obviously none of them have any understanding of caravans or caravanners. We did book our site but when we arrived, firstly the signage was non-existent and we along with many other caravanners were wandering along looking bewildered. Finally in desperation we headed into the big Information Centre there and found our way to the reception desk for the CP. The next obstacle was actually finding our booking, the problem was exacerbated by lack of English and lack of Computer Knowledge but finally we managed to give them some money and establish which site we were supposed to go to. We were told that if someone was in our site, we should just pick another and let the office know in due course. OK! So, off we went to our reserved site – the one we asked for as we have a reasonably long van – hmmmm, no 7 – not so very big at all and not so very easy to get in and out of – hmmmm, well after much deliberation we elected to squeeze ourselves into site no 2 – a little larger and a little easier to access etc . After quite a bit of backing and filling we managed to get into our site and DD went off to advise the office of the change. Not long after he returned, another happy camper came along to park in, you guessed it, site no 2 – and no, that wasn’t the last one, no less than 3 lots of campers were assigned that site that day. The whole time we were there, nobody went to site no 7 as it remained ‘reserved’. The final insult came when I went to return the key on departure – “Do you have your receipt?” I was asked by the gentle girl who manned the till – “Ummm, well, no..............” I responded, not wanting to give her the paperwork we had as they had put the wrong departure date on it, and I didn’t wish to go there! It turned out when she finally found our details that the offending receipt was still neatly attached to their copy – mm, no wonder I didn’t have it! Oh well, finally I was re-united with our $20 key deposit. The key was for the ablution block, and would you believe it, on top of the $30 per night they charged, they also charged $1 to have a shower. A bit over the top I thought.

Our First Visitor

And The Second!

The saving grace of the camp, for us, was the animals. The place was alive with critters of all shapes and sizes. We braved the wet and cold conditions and sat outside after tea in the evening and waited to see who or what would come around. First we had a small and very tame little Pademelon visit – he moseyed around for quite a while. While he grazed we were visited by what we think were a group of little Thornbills and then a large and very cheeky Currawong came along to see what was going. As the darkness descended, we heard small rustlings and there before our eyes was the most beautiful little Eastern Quoll – what a delightful and pretty little creature. Soon we had up to five of these beautiful little animals cavorting around us. They were a little like red squirrels – pretty reddish fur and slightly bushy tails. They are spotted like their western cousins, but are much smaller and I think, sweeter. Before long, we were joined by a huge grey brush tail possum who just casually wandered around our feet. The quolls were not particularly impressed with his company and gradually left. The possum was then joined by a much smaller black brush tailed possum who was even cheekier. At one stage he just appeared next to me on the awning support and proceeded to climb to the top and onto the awning. Now we are not too keen on having them on the awning, as their claws are long and sharp. Mr Black Possum made a terrible mistake – he sat on the awning and allowed his big brush tail to hang down in a very decorative manner. DD crept quietly moved across and gave that hairy appendage a good sharp tug – well, I can tell you, that possum could really move! He took off like the proverbial race horse goanna – belted across the awning and off the other side. He wasn’t discouraged for long however and was soon back sniffing around. During the night, he and his hairy mates kept us entertained by dancing all over the roof of the van. I could see the little monsters running across in front of the skylight as I lay in bed. We did actually get one fine night whilst in Lake St Clair and the stars were enormous – looking up thru’ the skylight through the alpine gums to the stars above was a special treat.

And Then Along Came.....

And His Mates!

The only downside to our recent adventures is some weird bug I have picked up which involves feeling slightly unwell, slightly snuffly, slight sore throat and major itches! This is like having a severe case of measles or some such – I have exhausted all immediate means of reducing itching, including, Calamine Lotion, Cornflour, Bio Oil and copious quantities of anti-histamines. Hopefully it will quickly take its course and leave the building so to speak. My only other hope is that the bloke doesn’t catch it whatever it is – my patience is limited at the moment and an itchy scratchy bloke would just be too too much right now I think.

Next - Our Very Large Mate

And His Little Friend - Whose Tail Was Tugged

He Thought It Was Funny At Least

From Lake St Clair we head further south (albeit ever so slightly) to Mt Field, another national park – we will catch up with you there – until next time, hone that sense of humour, you never know when you will need it. Steph

Beautiful Surrounds

The Thinker

QUARRIED QUEENSTOWN

Just about everyone we met who had been to Queenstown told us how dreadful it was! Not much to look forward to it seemed. I had even seen a documentary once that declared Queenstown to be the ugliest town in Australia....Hmmmmm........not good! So what can we deduce by the fact that we both actually liked Queenstown. Probably says something weird about us!

Naked Hills Stripped Bare of all Vegetation

Sure the town is surrounded by mines, sure the mines have absolutely stripped the surrounding hills and mountains of all vegetation, sure they have absolutely killed the poor Queen River, sure they have poisoned the earth with sulphuric acid and other toxic waste, but you know what, you just can’t beat the wilderness. Alongside those naked hills tower fully clad mountains of tall trees, tree ferns, thick undergrowth, trickling brooks and streams and bountiful life. These fern and tree clad mountains in fact, form the back yard of many of the ramshackle houses that make up part of Queenstown.

Add to the absolute verdant growth on the untouched mountains, the incredible colours exposed by the years of copper mining and the very visible bare bones of the earth and you have an amazing orgy of colours and impressions for the eyes. The town itself is quite presentable and contains all the shops and conveniences necessary for a comfortable life. Certainly you would have to travel some distance to find ‘real’ shops, but one could live with what is provided there. The houses themselves, I must admit, were something else. They ranged from the odd fairly new and respectable dwelling, through re-furbished quaint old homes to just plain dumps – and every possible sort of thing in between.

Houses Were an Eclectic Mix 

The price of real estate is to say the least, modest and probably to a few retirees, tempting. One could purchase there and still retain a goodly amount of capital on which to live very comfortably. The weather might be a bit of a problem tho’ – the entire time we were there, all three days that is, it was wet, wet, wet. The sky rained on us and the air was just moisture laden. It seemed that like at Stanley, we were simply inside the clouds and the clouds never really left. Just days before, they had been super hot and dry. The CP was very ordinary indeed and very poorly organised. I don’t think there was much choice however and we didn’t see any plausible free camping – not that we really looked! The rain that persisted in falling on top of us, sat in moody puddles around the van and we found our own small stream just outside the door of the van. Lovely! By the time we left Queenstown everything was pretty sodden, including all our mats – nice!

Oh well, we really don’t mind a bit of rain and that is probably just as well as it looks like the dry in Tasmania has well and truly broken and since then we have had far more wet days than fine. They very much need the rain at the moment, so really, it’s all good.

While we were in Queenstown we took a couple of drives out to some of the surrounding lakes and dams and were surprised to see just how low the water levels were. The surrounding countryside is quite spectacular – the little town is completely surrounded by high mountains. We took a drive out to the lookout overlooking the town and the mines. This particular lookout is on the road out of town heading to Hobart – the very road we were to take when we departed from Queenstown. We had heard some drivers talking of the horrors of that drive, and I must say, when we ventured out to the lookout it did look somewhat scary. Doubtless the roads there are no more windy or hilly than any previously travelled, I think it is the fact that as they are bare of trees and any bush at all, one can actually see the degree of the drops off the sides of the road – more clenching in store by the look of things!

Please Tell Me That is Not the Road Out of Here (Up There!)

Thought I Asked You Not To Tell Me That!

We should have gone to the museum while we were there, as being a mining town I’m sure it would have been very interesting. The pouring rain however put a bit of a damper on our enthusiasm and we stayed indoors and stayed dry instead. Queenstown was (and to a small degree still is) a copper mining town. The 1800s saw two major companies vying for supremacy and competing for the copper. It seems that the rivalry between these two companies was extreme until finally common sense prevailed and one took over the other. Somewhere along the line too, the ultimate company learned to be more careful of the environment and started to look after the area much better.

It Is There - Right Behind All The Big Clouds

These Clouds!

I do feel for those folk who were involved in the early mining settlement there – it must have been fairly horrendous – the wilderness would have been a constant pressure as the bush fought its own battle for survival, the weather would have been for the most part unpleasant and bitterly cold in the winter. There would have been no services to speak of and life would have been tough indeed. Speaking of cold in winter, one of the more striking things to a couple of Sandgropers, is the amount of wood each home has stacked and stashed – obviously in store for anticipated freezing weather to come.

Ah well, we liked Queenstown despite all popular opinion and were rather sorry not to have explored it in greater depth – until next time – march to your own beat! Steph.

Low Water Levels in the Dams

It's Own Special Beauty

WONDERFUL WILDERNESS RAILWAY

Our Beautiful Shiny Locomotive

What an amazing experience! While we were in Strahan we took the opportunity to take a ride on the iconic Wilderness Railway that runs from Strahan to Queenstown. They offer two levels of enjoyment – general and deluxe – we decided to treat ourselves and went Deluxe! We had to wait for 5 days to actually get a berth as they were just so busy. The Wilderness Railway is at risk of becoming defunct as it appears it is not making sufficient money for the current operators to continue. The Government has indicated it may be prepared to assist, but that avenue is rather tenuous at the best. The trains will stop running at the end of April and then the business will be up for tender etc. I have to tell you, if it ceases it will be a travesty – it is a very special piece of history and a brilliant experience. We count ourselves fortunate indeed to have taken this train ride.

Luxuriously Appointed

The way the rail operates, is to either take a coach to Queenstown and the train back to Strahan or vice versa – we opted to take the coach to Queenstown and ride the train back – that worked well for us. We left Strahan by coach at 8.30am and headed along the steep and windy road to Queenstown – happy to have the coach driver do the driving for a change. The weather that day was not the best, light rain and heavy mists clung to the roads and mountains. We had heard many bad things about Queenstown and so were pleasantly surprised when we arrived there. I will tell you all about Queenstown in the next blog however.

When we arrived at the Queenstown Train Station we were greeted by the sight of our beautiful train – bright red shiny carriages set behind an incredibly well maintained gleaming black and red Puffing Billy – the setting was perfect, clouds, mist, soft rain and pure white steam chuffing softly from the engine as it sat warming in the cool morning air.

Our Deluxe carriage was just stupendous – all beautifully polished warm timbers, antique style fittings (as per the era) and luxurious leather seating. As we boarded we were greeted by our charming young hostess and handed a glass of sparkling white of excellent quality. Hmm, the day was looking ‘real good’! We were fortunate to have the last seats in that carriage which was at the rear of the train and looked ‘backwards’ thru’ huge windows to the beautifully appointed little platform at the rear of the train. I was actually able to shoot (photos) thru’ the rear windows they were so large and clear. We were able to walk out to the platform for more comprehensive photo-taking as well. We had no sooner left the station with a big hisssss of steam and a vigorous blowing of the whistle than our lovely hostess came around with a plentiful supply of tiny hot Bree and Chicken pies – these kept coming for some time along with as many beverages of choice one wished to partake of. I have to say that I had no repeat of the boat trip problems and was able to consume a few of those delicious glasses of bubbly.

Goodbye Queenstown Station

Exiting Queenstown Station

The train threaded its way along narrow ferny passes, up steep inclines, over skinny bridges spanning gorges over swiftly flowing rivers and down almost vertical declines. The commentary along the way was good and very informative. We were provided with beautifully produced complimentary books telling us all about the railway, the region and the Abt System of Rail which the train utilises for the super steep track. Abt is a Rack & Pinion System of rail developed by Swiss Engineer Dr Roman Abt – “this system utilises a third rail of solid bars with vertical teeth. Small Cogwheels under the loco engage with the teeth on the middle rail”. Without this system it is doubtful the historical locomotive would have ever been established in that region.

Abt Rack & Pinon Rail System

The purpose of the original trains was to haul copper from the mines in Queenstown to the harbour at Strahan. The line construction was also a major event incorporating some 60 bridges over incredibly tough terrain in a decidedly inclement climate. It is a disturbing thought wondering how many lives were lost in the endeavour. Eventually use of the trains was discontinued as alternative means of transporting ore became available and as mining in the town diminished dramatically. The trains were left to ruin and the wilderness started to reclaim the track. In the early 21st century the track was restored and the trains lovingly restored. Carriages were purpose built along the lines of the original My Lyell carriages and the Wilderness Railway was born. The railway was first opened in 1899, closed in 1963 and reopened in 2000.

The Rail Followed a Winding

And Often Narrow Track

We travelled alongside both the Queen and King Rivers and were told that the rivers were technically ‘dead’! It seems that the early mining settlement, not knowing better, dumped much of the town waste into the Queen River – this included waste from the mines – sulphuric acid being just one of the chemicals poured into the unfortunate river. The Queen runs into the King and so both rivers were contaminated. Certainly the Queen looks dead – the rocks and banks of the river are all an unhealthy and un-natural yellow colour and there are no plants close to the waters’ edge. The King on the other hand looks just fine, but we are told there is no life in the river. Both rivers are in repair mode and they say that it will take around 100 years for them to regenerate and harbour life once again.

The Queen is Dead















The Dead King From on High







We made four stops along the way at old sidings and stations. At Rinadeena, one of these stops the organisers of the trip arranged for willing passengers to do a little gold panning. Now, I feel a little guilty here, I should really have told the other passengers to forget it, as if DD was going to do any panning, he would inevitably be the one to ‘’strike it rich’ – indeed, eureka was the word for the day as when I came back from photographing our beautiful loco, there was DD pleased as punch, holding up a little plastic bag which held his lucky strike. What can I say? DD claims he is going to have a ring made from the gold – all kidding aside, the tiny piece of metal is probably worth around $30 on today’s market – the lad is happy!

Eureka

The 'Workings' of our Loco

The goodies on the train kept coming with slices of a choclatey fudgey sort of thingamabob – either milk chocolate and coconut or white chocolate and berries – served with coffee etc – just delicious. After all that, they fed us! Lunch was at another little siding and comprised of fresh salmon and ham buns, chocolate bars and fresh fruit. After lunch we changed trains – the steam engine was replaced with an equally shiny diesel engine which pulled the carriages the remaining distance to Strahan. For some reason, they reversed the carriages and we were now in the front carriage looking at the back of the diesel.

Our Nice Shiny Diesel for the Homeward Stretch

Tiny Sidings Along the Way

One of the Many Bridges

Once we were back on board, we were again able to avail ourselves of tea, coffee and alcohol as desired. We continued to cross rivers and gorges until we finally arrived on the comparative flat land at the mouth of the King River. We finally arrived back at the Strahan station at around 3ish in the afternoon. The day was wonderful and will always be a cherished memory of Tasmania.

Until next time when we meet in Queenstown, stay on track – Steph.

The King meets Macquarie Harbour