Category: Motorhome

Oh dear, not much happening today. We headed out the road to do a forest drive inland from Beaconsfield. It took us all of an hour before we were back to the coast again. We decided to head off on a round trip from Exeter upto the Batman Bridge then back down the coast. Even with stops for morning tea and walk around Exeter we still arrived at our preferred destination at lunchtime. Mmm we’re not meant to set up camp until 5 p.m., so we sat around reading, catching up on stuff and waiting.

This will mean a long haul of 21 kms tomorrow into Launceston. We plan to spend a couple of nights there.

We woke to a cold clear morning, the rain had gone, replaced by calm, sunny skies. We retired early last night – an extremely cold wind came in combined with the general dampness underfoot. We set out this morning for a tour around the nearby seaside villages. Poor old Beaconsfield is definitely the poor cousin around here, a lot of large seaside homes and holiday houses in the coastal towns. We are so close to Launceston (approximately 40 kilometres) I’m guessing a lot of people have holiday houses here. Some of the villages seem very suburban while others certainly have that beachfront feel.

We returned to Beaconsfield to check out the Mine Poppet head that we all saw featured on our television news programs back in 2006 when Larry Knight lost his life in the mine collapse and two others were trapped for two weeks. The mine site is now incorporated in the Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre. After having lunch in the park opposite we decided that we may as well stay at our freecamp here before heading toward Launceston tomorrow. We have to fill in a day as we aren’t booked into Launceston until Monday Afternoon.

Woke to a lovely warm sunrise amidst the verdant green pastures of Pyengana, some dew on the grass but clear blue skies. We headed off toward Scottsdale (for grocery shopping) when we came upon the Legerwood Carved Tree signs. Julie had told us about them but luckily the signs reminded us so into Legerwood for a cuppa.

From there into Scottsdale then onto Bridport, a very picturesque beach village. It’s obviously popular for holidaymakers judging by the size of the foreshore Caravan Park. We left there to go George Town intending to tour around the coastline but it poured rain unexpectedly so we ended up having lunch under a rotunda on the foreshore. We decided to leave George Town to the rain and head off to Beaconsfield where we set up camp at the Recreation Ground with a few other motorhomes and caravans washed in off the road. The rain is forecast to stop later tonight.

We set sail from Bicheno after a restful night watching a string of satellites pass over our camp. We estimate that there were thirty satellites almost evenly spaced in the same orbit – a really eerie phenomenon to watch. I’m sure it wasn’t the Old Tawny causing us to see stars.

We arrived in St Helens around morning tea so the fishers decided they would like to throw a line in as this will be our last day on the east coast. Bob caught and lost a whiting but other than that there wasn’t anything for tea in the bucket by the end of two hours. Lunch in the park then back on the road again

We decided that we would stay at the “Pub in the Paddock” but upon arrival we were told the kitchen was closed and the pub was shutting at four. I know we look a bit rough but I didn’t think we looked that bad. So, seeing that we appeared to have outstayed our welcome (even though we had just arrived), we moved to the Pyengana Recreation Reserve where they have set up great facilities (3 minute hot shower for $2) and ensconced ourselves in the camp in the sunshine.

We set out this morning from our camp just outside of Oatlands just in time to beat the nine o’clock rush. The beautiful well maintained buildings were a delight. We walked the streets for an hour taking it all in before having morning tea then heading back toward the coast.

We took the A4 across the mountains to find that it was really just a paved goat track, barely two vehicles wide. Luckily we didn’t meet any log trucks despite the signs warning of their presence and the signs asking long vehicles to sound their horn before the hairpin corners. In any case we made it safely to Bicheno where we have booked into the Caravan Park for a shower, laundry, water and power before continuing on North along the East Coast tomorrow.

Moonlight over Great Oyster Bay

Jenny and Bob went down to the beach to get some fishing in but during the night a large raft of seaweed had moved in making fishing impossible. So we packed up and headed off to Freycinet National Park. We arrived there around 11.30 it be greeted by the massed crowds. It really detracts from the scenery when there are so many vehicles fighting to get parking. We did a quick drive through before heading back out to Coles Bay where we had lunch and admired the scenery.

Then it was off toward Oatlands via Campbell Town. We planned to check out Oatlands but it was around three when we came upon our freecamp so we decided to pull in early so we can take our time in the township tomorrow.

We out did ourselves today travelling all of 70 kms before pulling into Mayfield Beach Freecamp so Bob and Jenny could have a day’s fishing in the surf. The locals aren’t confident that they will catch anything but the the two anglers are determined to prove them incorrect. Great campsite- view out over Great Oyster Bay towards the Freycinet Peninsular. The weather is a bit kinder today, little to no wind and weak sunshine through high cloud. It seems the weather is improving over the next couple of days.

Just got back from checking out the anglers and Bob caught a small shark (Draughtboard Shark I think) but decided to return it to the briny depths because it may not have been of eating quality. It turns out we are in a No Shark Capture Zone so just as well he released it.

We left Dunalley early and made our way to the Port Arthur Historical Site. We were amongst the first through the door which was probably just as well going by the crowds that descended later in the day. I suppose this is the highlight of the trip to Tasmania, the sense of history is palpable and the way the tours are run was very good. We spent five hours exploring the site.

When we went to leave we were stuck. All the lazy car visitors had parked in the Caravan and Motorhome car park but hadn’t left us a way out. Luckily a lady returned to her car and we were able to squeeze our way out. We visited the nearby Eagle Neck blowhole on the way north before heading up to Buckland to stay at the Old Buckland Inn for the night. A really interesting day.

We left Southport around eight to head north to Bothwell and the Nicholas ancestors stomping grounds. It was an uneventful trip back up the main roads to Hobart , doing a bait shop at Franklin and a grocery shop at Huonville before arriving in Bothwell in time for lunch. Stopped in at the cemetery for a chat with Jenny’s relos (they didn’t get a word in).

We then travelled out to Nandt to check out the old buildings (we didn’t partake of the whiskey) The young lady behind the bar filled us in on the facts about the buildings and was very helpful.

We left there and headed down to Richmond to view the old town before continuing on to Dunalley to stay next to the pub for the night. Jenny is upset because we can’t have a fire tonight.

Last night no Tassie Devil but we did have a Spotted Quoll. The cute little fella even stood on my foot while I was sitting there and checked me out. Fortunately the shock didn’t kill him so it was just another wildlife thrill! Amazingly the people in the Caravan next door didn’t venture out even though passers-by were coming in to check with us if we had had any sightings.

We set out this morning on our journey North – except, at this rate, it may take us a while. We went as far as Hastings Caves and Thermal Reserve where we did a guided tour of the Newdegate Cave. A really good tour. We had lunch at the Visitors’ Centre before going for a dip in the “Thermal Pool”. Ah no, that ain’t thermal- average temperature 27º but certainly didn’t feel that hot. I lasted about ten minutes before I headed to the hot shower in the change rooms. From there we moved onto Southport to stay in the Caravan Park so we could do some laundry. No mobile service in this neck of the woods so there’s a time delay on this post😀