History tour

Guess what, not only do the Oatlands' businesses close early, they open late!

We set off to explore town around nine and headed for a walk around the lake first. It was  during this walk we realised how much birdlife was on the lake and a it did look better as you walked around it. The lake is approximately 200 hectare is size, so pretty big!

 

When we headed back into the town we came across the local cemetery. It's always interesting to look at the old graves to see the families who have obviously been in the area for a very long time. 

It was here we noticed that the orange lichen that grows on the rocks around the coast, also grows here in the central area of the state. I thought it was something to do with the sea air, but maybe it has more to do with the clean air here.

We noticed that one a the families was the Pennicotts. I wonder if it's the same family as the Pennicott Wilderness tours?

We got back to the main street around 10am and loved looking at all the old buildings and admiring how so much of the town's historical identity had been maintained. Some of the streets were like stepping back in time.

Fortunately, we were walking by the Pancake Cafe just as they were opening the doors. Terry and Mark thought that was personal invitation to enter. It was another beautiful old building that had maintained many of it's original features. What was originally the stable still had  spoons drain running the length of the building.

 

One thing we've noticed in Tasmania, it's quite easy to get a delicious Devonshire tea. Mark and Ruth's looked beautiful. This time, Terry and I decided to try a maple bacon muffin with chai latte and hot chocolate, and it was delicious! 

After a while of enjoying this cosy cafe with it's delicious food, we dragged ourselves back out it the cold to explore a bit more.

Ruth and I found found a few nice little shops while the guys went down to the information centre to check out what else there was to see.

Our last stop was the old flour mill.

Unfortunately there didn't seem to be anywhere to enquire about having a look through the old buildings. There was a tour starting just as we got there but we didn't get a chance to ask the guide for help.

We wandered around the site that has been beautifully restored. They are also building a large modern distillery which blends well with the historical building.

After a wander and some photos, we headed back to the vans to make our way to Richmond for our last night in the vans.

First stop in Richmond, The Richmond Bridge. It is the oldest stone span bridge in Australia. Another beautiful old structure in a lovely setting. Sadly, the weather had deteriorated so the photo is a little dull. However, this doesn't take anything away from the bridge.

Close by, is the St John's Catholic Church built in 1836 and believed to be the oldest Catholic Church in Australia that is still an active church. 

The church is perched up on the hill overlooking the area around. There is a cemetery behind it but we didn't go and look at this one.  With so many beautiful old sandstones churches and buildings throughout this area it makes me realise how little history we have around us back home.

After this we headed back up into the town checking out a few of the shops. Ruth and I explored another antique store while the guys went on further, probably looking for something sweet. 

While we were in the store we noticed they had a large collection of vinyl records and we knew that Mark had been looking for a particular album by Art Garfunkel that had been extremely difficult for him to find. We asked the very helpful owner what albums he had and he showed us three.  We took a photo to show Mark and I don't think he really believed us (or he was disappointed that we found it and not him) but he did go back and buy it. I think he came out a very happy man and it only cost him $15 dollars.

After our little find, we headed over to the old Richmond Gaol. This is another great historical site with loads of information and glimpses into the harsh life of the convicts. This also had convict list so, of course I looked up our family name but none of them were familiar.

When we finished at the Goal, we went in search of the Old Hobart Town miniature replica village. This model is and replica of Hobart in the 1820's. It is built with amazing detail and a great sense of humour depicting men out the back of a building relieving themselves, or ladies of the night, highway robberies as well as realistic scenes of life back in that time.

They have tried to make it entertaining for all ages and there's a bit of a challenge where to have to find four characters hidden somewhere in the model. Eagle eye Ruth and Mark found most of them and I think that the guy didn't believe us because he quizzed us on what colour clothing they had on.

When we get back to Hobart it will be interesting to see if we recognise any of the building that are still standing.

With it getting late, we headed for our last caravan park with the vans. This time we had powered sites and access to clean hot showers. I have to say a shower has never felt so good after three days of bucket washes.

The last nine days has been fantastic a while I'm a bit sad this is the last night in the van, I'm looking forward to staying in a Hobart Air BnB we have booked.

Heading inland

Our beach days are over are drawing to a close and as the weather was not looking great we decided to go for a drive inland, We were told by the owner at the Bicheno van park that we should vist the "Shop in Bush" and go for lunch at "The Pub in the Paddock"

The "Shop in the Bush" is a lovely old store that is full of antiques and collectables. Mark was very excited to find a copy of his family bible he has inherited and it was worth a lot more than he thought it would be.

Next stop was St Columba Falls. It was a bit of a trek down a windy road and not a lot of room for two long vans to park but we worked it out. The walk down to the falls was about 600m and was all downhill and all I could think about on the way down was that it was going to be a long way up.

While were heading down, we caught a glimpse of the falls and they looked impressive. The walk down was was through a lush tree fern forest with lots of moss growing on the fallen branches. It was quite beautiful.

As we got closer to the falls, we crossed  a bridge where the water was so clear you could see the fish trying to swim up against the current.

When we reached the falls, they were huge! The looked as high as a skyscraper (that may be a slight exaggeration) as cascaded down over the rocks in different directions forming waterfalls within the waterfall.

As beautiful as these falls were, we had to move on and make our back up the steep track but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Our trip back in the van to the main road was much worse. As we were coming to a bend, there was a cyclist coming up the hill and a car sped up behind him and overtook him on the bend just as we were driving around it. Luckily there was a wide verge on our side that Terry could swerve over to. When we reached the Pub in the Paddock we found out that there had been a motorbike fatality on the road we came up on and I can't help but wonder if it was the same idiot driver that caused the that accident. 

The Pub in the Paddock was a lovely old homestead of the families that settled the area. The story goes that the one of the sons wasn't interested in the farm and all he liked to do was drink. So, his parents thought it would be good to open up pub. it seems it was a success and over a century later it is still running. It serves lovely meals and has become a very popular place to eat.

We were in two minds as to whether we should continue heading north but after much discussion, we decided we would much prefer to head back to Cosy Corner and hopefully catch a beautiful sunrise that we had tried to capture earlier in the day.

Well, the sun did rise again the next day as you would expect but there was too much cloud cover and there was no way the sun was going to pop through, However, sitting on the beach with our toes in the sand and a nice cup of coffee, I think the only thing better would have been the perfect sunrise.

After returning to the van we packed up and headed back to Hobart down the centre. We stopped at Campbell Town for morning tea and pick up so more groceries for our last few days. The towns along our route all have a lot of history so, I'm sure I will enjoy it.

Campbell Town did not disappoint with the oldest brick bridge in Australia. It's close to the Book Cellar which is a bookshop set up in the cellar of one of the lovely old buildings alongside the river.

By the bridge there was a lovely park with a number of large wood sculptures that look like they were crafted from trees that looked to have been cut down. Down past the park there was a path that lea back to the vans,

Next stop was Ross. The is a beautiful history town with a lovely old sandstone building on each corner. We found the well known Ross Bridge (the third oldest bridge in Australia still in use). 

Ruth and I then walked up to the church then back down to the main cross-road. On the way we passed the Tasmanian Wool Centre and they had an exhibition called "Knit your Bits". Intrigued we went in to see what is was all about. Well, turns out it was an exhibition to promote women's health, so I'm sure you can guess what bits were being knitted. Some of them appeared to be very anatomically correct. There were some very clever creations.

Last stop for the day was Oatlands. This was our last free camp and when we looked it up it liked an ideal location. However when we arrived the lake was not quite what we were expecting. It was covered with reeds and weeds and you could hardly see the water, but it was a haven for birds, which I think is what was intended when it was made. And yes, I do know that's not a real cow in the water.

Oatlands is historical town with the main street lined with lovely old houses and shops. They also seem to have a bit of an obsession with topiary. 

Unfortunately, I think they were still operating in the early 20th century trading hours. It was rather wet and miserable so we decided to go out to find something for dinner rather than cook in the van. Apparently, only one place cooks on a Wednesday night but we got there just after five and they didn't start their dinner menu until six. As it was right up the other end of the town, we decided we didn't want to walk back later so we ordered some pizzas and then headed back to the van to play cards. We been playing cards most nights. Ruth and Mark have taught us a new card game called "Oh Hell" and we took one called "Exploding Kittens" We have so much fun with our "take no prisoner" approach.

Don't believe what you read on the pack, the were no kittens harmed during play, only pride.

Hopefully the weather is a bit better tomorrow and we can have a better look at some of the shops.

Another Day on the Water

Today we thought we would like to spend the morning on another different boat. This time it was a kayak. This would be a good way to see some of the Peninsula coast up a bit closer.

Gearing up and getting in the kayak is always funny but after our usual safety instructions we were on our way.

This kayak was good as it had pedals to steer the rudder. All the previous ones we have been in we have had to steer using the ores. Stupidly I thought this would solve all our initial struggles, you know, like zig zagging up the bay because we can’t get our act together. Well, I was wrong, we immediately started with almost going in the wrong direction. After a bit of me saying “go left, GO LEFT”, Terry realised the rudder had not gone down properly so the pedals weren’t working. As soon as we got the sorted, thing improved dramatically and we started to enjoy being out on the water.

We paddled along the shore for a bit and then we had to do our first crossing. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day and the water was reasonably calm. Even when boat went by us and created the wash, it wasn’t too bad.

We made it safely to the other side and this where we stopped for a snack, at least this is what our guide Liana told us. What she meant was she was going to give us a taste of some of the food the indigenous people of the area would have as part of their diet. The first offering was a bright green seaweed which was OK and the second was the seaweed that grows like a string of beads.

It was also at this point where she told us little more about the traditional owners and how they care for the land. We were on Oyster Bay and were told the oysters here grow on the bay floor and can reach the size of a dinner plate. As the traditional people would collect these oysters for food, they would leave the shells in a pile to indicate that this area had recently been fished. This meant the next mob that came along would not use this area to collect food so they did not deplete the food source. Very clever! The more I learn about traditional land and sea management, the more it impresses me.

We paddled a bit further around the coast line and stopped at a little beach for a proper snack of tea and biscuits. The two guides had setting this up down pat and soon we were enjoying our morning tea on this lovely little beach. There was also a little waterfall at the back of the beach that was running with beautiful fresh clear water. Such a lovely place to take a rest.

With lunch over we were back in the kayak and headed back around the coast stopping again at the area the Italian stone mason brothers quarried the pink granite. I think I told you about them in my last post.

From this point, we started heading back home around the shore to Coles Bay. We had to do another crossing and although the wind had picked up and it was a bit harder to paddle, it wasn’t too bad.

We made back to the original beach without any drama. What a lovely way to spend the morning.

We had already checked out of the van park but we were able to sneak back in to have a shower before we headed up the coat to our next stop was Bicheno.

This was another lovely drive and as Bicheno is less than an hour from Coles Bay, we were there is no time. We found our van park, settled in then decided to go for a walk. There were three sites we wanted to look at.

First was the lookout. This was the little one in the town but big enough to have great view of the area.

The second was the famous blowhole. Well, we waited and waited with only little spouts popping up. After a while we kind of got bored with waiting as we thought the tide was wrong. I decided to give it one more go and video it. I finally got it after filming for about a minute. If you watch the video to the end, you will finally see a reasonable spout (I have edited the video to the good bit)

Our last stop was again another much talked about pace the visit, The Lobster Shack. By all accounts, they have the best lobster rolls and seafood on the coast. At first, we thought it was closed but luckily it wasn’t. Terry and I got the famed lobster roll to share and then a hot seafood plate to share. The roll was delicious and the hot seafood plate wad huge. It was enough to feed all four of us. Ruth and Mark got the cold seafood plate with half a lobster, lots of prawns and oysters. Supposedly it was all fresh of the boat that day. It was all delicious and I would be pretty happy if this was my local fish and chip shop.

With full bellies, we almost waddled back to the van for cuppa to wait until it was time to head out the Natureworld which is about ten minutes out of Bicheno. This is where we go to dine with the devils.

This experience was terrific and much better than I thought it would be. On arrival we will offered our wine and cheese. Ruth and I were a little disappointed with the presentation but I must admit the cheese was delicious. 

We were sitting it a room that had the windows at table height so when the Tasmanian Devils came out to eat all, everything we didn't like about the presentation was soon forgotten.

This was one of the most unique experiences I have had. The commentary provided was excellent. If ever you get a chance to do this, you should!

Next morning, we packed up early, and headed for the Binalong with is on the beautiful Bay of Fires. I thought the Bay of Fires was just one beach that had the beautiful red lichen covered rocks but it’s a large area that has numerous beaches. Binalong was lovely and lovely glimpse into what we would be enjoying for our first free camp at Cosy Corner. This camp is the last one along the bay.

As we drove into the camp ground, we were pleasantly surprised to see a really nice campground and there was also a toilet block. After finding a good spot, we walked about 50m and we were on the stunning beach. The Bay of Fires does not disappoint!

The sand is pristine, white and soft. The rocks are huge granite boulders that are covered in the red lichen. All this seems to go on and on. The beautiful beaches separated by the amazing rocks.

It’s hard to describe so I'll just post a few photos.

The Gardens is a short drive up the coastline and is another slightly different landscape, but equally beautiful.

Again, I’ll let photos do the talking.

Wineglass Bay

 With another busy day ahead of us we were up early and walking to the pickup point the another Pennicott Cruises we had booked for today. Even the walk to the jetty gave us glimpses of what were had in store for us today. 

This one is a little different to the last as it was a much bigger boat and this one included lunch. We set off from Coles Bay and around the point to Hazards Bay. The cruise captain, who also gave us the commentary for the day told us that he thought that this beach was even better than the more famous Wineglass Bay.

This beach was at the bottom of the Hazard Mountain range which is named after whaler, Captain Richard Hazard. The range consists of five mountains; Mayson, Amos, Dove, Baudin and Parson.

These ranges are made from pink granite. In 1934 two young Italian brothers, Mario and Biagio Zanchetta, came to Australia to work on the Sydney Harbour Bridge but by the time they got here the bridge was finished. The young stonemasons found themselves in Tasmania and saw an opportunity to commercially quarry Freycinet’s pink granite. This was all done manually taking days to drill into the large rocks the using wet wood to expand the holes. This was back breaking and dangerous work and one of the brothers lost an eye when they started using explosives in the later years. The pink granite they mined can be found in a number of prominent buildings around Tasmania and also the rest of Australia.

Like the coastline on the Tasman Peninsula, this coast line is equally stunning although quite different. There are many interesting caves and again the captain was very skilled at making sure that everyone on the boat had the opportunity to get a good view.

The wildlife was abundant again with the familiar seals sunning themselves or floating around in the water. I’m sure they put on a show for the tourists because it sure looks like they are waiving to us.

A bit further around the coast we came to Waterfall Bay. This is very aptly named as there are numerous waterfalls cascading down the cliffs. This was a bay where ships stopped to refill the fresh water on their ships.

On next stop was Wineglass Bay. This bay is included in the top ten beaches in the world. However, it comes second to Whitehaven Beach in Queensland. Although I couldn’t walk on this beach, I don’t know how you choose between the two as they are both stunning beaches and just as beautiful in reality.

We spent almost an hour in the bay as this is where we were served a delicious lunch. Lunch quite a surprise because we all thought we would get a salad roll or something like that but we were all served individual boxes with a mixture of salad, meats, cheese and biscuits as well as fruit and a delicious piece of chocolate hedgehog for dessert. All this was also served with a glass of wine.

With the trip drawing to a close we headed back to Coles Bay. We thought we had been spoilt with the scenery and the wildlife but to our surprise the captain spotted a pod of dolphins.

We were able to get up really close to watch splashing and feeding all around us. There were dozens of them and it was hard to know where to look. After watching them for a while, the boat sped up and some of the more inquisitive ones start to follow the boat. It’s incredible how fast they can move.

Seeing the dolphins made our day so we were happy to head for home.

After returning to the caravan park, we decided we this would be our only chance to walk up to the Wineglass Bay lookout to see the bay from another view. None of really felt like doing it but knew we would be disappointed if we didn’t. As we headed up the hundreds of steps, I felt like it would never end and at one point I didn’t think I was going to make it until I realised that I had just overheated. So, I took off my hat, had a quick rest and a drink and I was good to go again.

Everyone that was coming down would say “not far to go, but it’s worth it”. I’m sure that’s code for you’re nowhere near it. Once we reached the top it was worth it, the views are spectacular and I’m so glad I kept going.

After spending a bit of time and taking heaps of photos, we headed back down.

To make the most of the rest of the afternoon, we decided to call into Cape Tourville lighthouse and although it’s not the most impressive lighthouse I’ve seen, the views made up for it. It would be a great viewing spot for whale watching.

 

We finished off the day with a delicious meal at the Coles Bay Pub.

Another fantastic day…it just keeps getting better and better!