Friday 2nd March it was time to leave the farm life and get back on the road.
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| Waterfall at Waratah |
On Saturday I left early to get my 2 small gas bottles filled and that took 2 hours and a few visits to 4 different shops from Devenport to Ulverstone (a story on it's own). My first overnight stop was to Waratah where they have a waterfall in the middle of town. I was given a great tour of the small Museum by Mintie a very enthusiastic volunteer who worked in the local tin mine before retiring.
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| Ocean Beach |
Sunday 4th - I stopped at Tullah and saw the 100 year old "Wee Georgie Wood" steam train but didn't take a ride, but did visit Lyn's house of Teddy Bears. Then on to Zeehan to the amazing museum, spent a few hours which only skimmed the surface of the things to be seen and read about. Arrived in Strahan about 4, and went to a live theatre show of 'The Ship that never was'. This has been running every day for 17years, has a cast of 2 with the other characters chosen from the audience. I got to be the ships cat and thankfully was rescued. This tells the story of 10 convicts who built a ship and escaped to Chile, how desperate they must have been. I drove to Ocean Beach to camp for the night, still in the wind and rain.
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| A branch of the Myrtle Tree |
Monday 5th - The trip with West Coast Wilderness Railways I had planned since coming over 6 weeks ago. This is through a rain forrest and beside the King and then Queen Rivers. Part of the trip on a steam train over the steepest incline and decline in the Southern Hemisphere. It was memorable for many reasons but seeing a Myrtle tree falling on the train which caused a complete shut down of part of the track for a few days will be one I won't forget. No one was hurt and we all got back to Strahan eventually.
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| Hogarth Falls |
Tuesday 6th - I walked to Hogarth Falls in the rain and a couple of leeches hitched a ride, then called into "Tutt's Whittle Wonders", a collection of about 800 pieces of natural timber shapes meant to depict animals or people, very clever. In Queenstown I met Russell & Jen a couple I had camped with at Sheffield and after taking some photos of the famous sand Football Oval then stopping to view the "Iron Blow" (part of the original mine cut, now a pool of blue water), met them at Lake Burbury Campground where Russell tightened the side mirrors on my Van which had been annoying me for some time. I walked to the lake and paddled my feet but though it looked inviting it was to cold for a swim.
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| My van dwarfed by Ron's |
Wednesday 6th - This morning I took a 40 minute walk into Nelson Falls, and my camera just doesn't do it justice I stood in awe of such beauty for some time. Next a 1.1klm walk to Donaghy's Lookout with 360o views of the gorge at the junction of Franklin and Collingwood Rivers. Tasmanian's take their honey tasting very seriously and I have at least 4 different varieties but the most popular is Leatherwood so I stopped at Bee Hive Canal on my way through the Wild Rivers National Park. This afternoon at the 'Wall in the Wilderness' I met Ron another Solo traveller after admiring the craftmanship of the man who is sculpting the story of the early settlers on a giant wall we camped at Bronte Lagoon.
Thursday 7th - After a few lessons on where my water tanks and gas tank are, (I thought they were opposite to what they are, obviously still have a lot to learn!!) and suggestions for tyre pressures from an old truck driver, we drove to Hamilton, there was nothing to keep me there so I went on to stay with Ross & Lyn at Old Beach, Hobart.
