me & my monkey

We went into Launceston early to do our pensioner shop at Woolworths. They had almost everything we wanted bar powdered milk and rolled oats. We walked around the CBD of Launceston for a little while before we decided to head towards Caveside which is a district about 60 kilometres north west of Launceston where there are several cave systems. By the time we arrived at Chudleigh for morning tea misty rain had set in so it was decided to make camp here.

There is a Honey Shop with a huge variety of products in Chudleigh and the General Store. Other than that there isn’t a lot to entertain visitors. A nice setup at the Showgrounds for an overnight stay so we will probably move on to the caves tomorrow depending on the weather.

We had a bit of a sleep in. The ladies did some laundry and Bob and I contemplated the ongoing madness in the world. We decided to set out for Cataract Gorge, Bob and Debbie were going to catch the free Tiger Bus, a tourist initiative supplied by Launceston City Council, from the hospital while Jenny conned me into walking up to the gardens despite the lady at the caravan reception recommending that it was to strenuous for most people to undertake. Unfortunately the last Tiger Bus had run for the day (unbeknownst to us) so Bob and Debby missed out. We made it to the gardens (with only one short rest on the way) where we caught the chairlift across the gorge. Spectacular views out over the gorge and gardens. We had a drinks break at the kiosk before walking back across the suspension bridge back to the car park. Good day out but I’m over the walking at this very moment.

We are finding it hard to cope with the short distances between places. Today we left Gravelly Beach for Launceston at nine fifteen, did a big supermarket shop, had coffee and cake and still got to the Caravan Park at eleven! We spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Launceston. This time it was Bob who had phone trouble, so we had to find the appropriate shop. We stayed in the CBD until dinner time so we could partake of a mixed grill at the Commercial Hotel. The reviews were better than the food but suitably stuffed with a huge steak, a lamb chop, a sausage, an egg, tomato chips and mushroom sauce we got an Uber back to the the Caravan Park at South Launceston.

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.