Lake St Claire and Bronte Park

Finally packed up and let Macquarie heads and headed back over Queenstown towards lake st Claire were we could hopefully do some walks and park close by.
We grabbed some groceries in Queenstown and a great pizza and drink deal from a local bakery cafe served bay super friendly and helpful backpacker and ate it in the same park we had the day before and had the luck to meet the Careflight fundraising vintage car where the kids donated some money and got plenty of pics In the car and had a nice yarn about their travels .
On the way out of queenstown we were very nearly collected by some geriatric fool towing a very large van who was on our side of the road on the windy treacherous road out of Queenstown, luckily I was going slow and came to a complete stop to let the fool recover from his reckless act which scared the bejesus out of Corinna and myself .
Arriving at backpacker/hiker heaven of Lake St Claire we had no hope of getting a powered or unpowered site and would never fit in anyway so we enquirer to the very rude fence backpacker at the counter about a room but when he replied $380 I told him where to get off .
There wasn't enough room for 5 in our hiking tent , I simply couldn't believe that there is no easier way to accommodate families in vans either powered on non but its fine to knock down bush to put up ritzy cabins at a top rate ..!! Bloody ridiculous .
The pub nearby said we could camp out the from for free if we had a drink at least which was great but it was right next tithe road and gravelly and I wanted Shahla and the mrs to be comfortable while we walked .
Onwards for some pricey diesel but only $50 to keep us going till a cheaper option .
Bronte park lodge and camp grounds was the next option for a site and. While it was obviously great in former times it needed a little work but would do us just fine.
The boys and I were super excited and we packed our backpack and walking gear ready for the next few days
A well needed shower and catch up on washing had helped the kids to settle ready for bed after a BBQ dinner.
After tea I consulted my map collection between the iPad andpapermaps picking a suitable walk for the its and I and thought mt rufus would be ideal for two days 22 odd Kms with a little detour.

Queenstown mining town and Hentie sand dunes

A small amount of schoolwork this morning before heading off to Queenstown for the day.
It was hard to believe it was the same town we remembered from twenty years ago for there was so much green covered hills around the area although mostly low shrubbery even the town was nice and green and looked much brighter than I remember .
We rang arou d to do some mining tours but the underground one we wanted to do was only available to kids over 14 so we gave it a miss and the other tour was booked out .
We had a look at the miners sculpture tribute and the nearby museum gallery for town info and walked over to the wilderness railway station the train was out and too dear for us anyway but due to federal budget cuts the station may be closing so we took advantage of the 50% off mist store items such as a fluffy toy for the kids and book for Ej and dash .
We toasted some sangas up in the park in the middle of town which the kids soaked up enthusiastically and all enjoyed a cold drink on this hot day.
A quick look at the geocache app on the iPad and we were off to find several geocache s nearby at some scenic locations which helped understand the area and its past to the kids.
On the way to queenstown we caught up with some people riding around tassie on a tandem bike they seemed to be doing it well and we would see them several more times while we were on the isle.
On the way back we detoured to Strahan to hire some toboggans and sand boards to ride down the Hentie sand dunes just out of town .
Still warm we has a great time here for several hours once we eventually found the correct consistency of sand to board on Shahla and Ej did exceptionally well and shahla's coordination astounded us .
Getting on past tea time we headed into the Regatta Point Tavern near the Strahan Wilderness Railway no luck on the keno here for me so I paid the hard earned for a yummy filling tea.
Home to bed yet another massive day I don't know how we keep backing it up.

Free time in Macquarie heads

Up at a relatively cool day but the minute I stepped out on to the foreshore it was as windy as all get up so already I could see today wasn't going to be a great day as we had schoolwork this morning and the car being serviced this arvo in Strahan.
Schoolwork and camper tidied we took off into town for fish and chips at shooks fish n chip//pizzeria which was finally open and we ordered then took ourselves to the yacht club beach to enjoy the windy cold afternoon.
I drove the car up the road while the rest of the family ate lunch.
I then rode my bike back to the beach shelter and ate some lovely fish n chips which were lovely.
It took 5 1/2 hours to get the car done while we hid from the wind in the shelter no doubt looking like hoboes to any tourists out on this chilly day , lol the kids had their extra schoolwork done and playtime online which they had been hanging out for .
I rode back to get the car and did some grocery shopping for our Thai green chicken curry at the supermarket (ever present expensive IGA supermarket) then paid for the car and got some blue bait for fishing later.
Everyone was happy to be picked up and head back to camp to enjoy lollies from the great old lollie shop called "choo chew" and tea we had a fairly early night as we were all a bit weary

Lake st Clair walk to Mt Rufus and shadow lake circuit

Up early , happy to have had a shower the night before and cleaned ourselves up ready for us boys to do our overnight in the apparently exclusive lake st Clair region.
Backpacks soon packed for all of us I think the boys were about 9 kg and mine a sorry 20 or so kilo to allow for food and water and wet weather gear which we probably wouldn't need but we would have to take along with the tent first aid kit and blow up mats .
We started out from the visitor centre around eleven after we signed in our intentions of walk then eagerly headed down toward the walk head a short distance down the park.
The going to start was well defined but eventually became very root bound and could easily trip you up if you didn't lift your feet as Ej found a quite a few Kms later .
Up and up the track kept going and even though it was fairly sheltered from the elements it was still quite warm on the apple isle.
Lunch was taken midway up mount rufus in a sheltered shady green opening and walkers past us by always saying hello and where are headed?
Love the bushwalkers code of old .
Ej was getting out of his comfort zone and wa starting to winge a little which was getting a noting but I helped him along with a few frequent rests and food/drinks stops along the way and showed them where we were on the map and GPS but this didn't always help.
Dashiell on the other hand at this stage was quite in his element despite having smaller feet and legs lol.
This would change in the latter part of the day however as the day drew on .
Lunch revived all of our spirits and a cold rink in my pack helped too.
Onwards ever upwards it was quite a climb even I was feeling it but once we could see Mt Rufus I was relieved and soon we reached the turnoff to shadow lake and our nights camp.
After the turn off both boys excelled in attitude and and speed as it was downhill and quite green and picturesque with sassafras myrtle and pandanus plants aplenty.
The next track junction ahead had us only a few hundred metres from shadow lake so just to find a decent swimming area and suitable campsite which wasn't really that easy as the area is quite rugged.
We setup in a nice clearing and the boys stripped off for a swim , but dash and I dropped packs and walked 10 more minutes around the lake to a even better site with a little beach but just as we left the site a massive copperhead crossed our path so we decided to use the other amp where we already were.
The water was icy cold but was a great refresher .
Drying off was a easy affair in the sunlight.
Then a little reading /map marking time away from the bloody March flies in the safety of our tent with the fly off .
Time to start thinking about tea and luckily we had a dehydrated meal or two to choose from.
Well we started off boiling some water for our curried beef and a Thai green curry and while we waited had a cuppa myself a milk coffee the boys a milk coffee with drinking choc wow what a sweet syrupy drank that was but it went down well.
if you don't like jot foods stay away from the outback gourmet company Thai green curry damn it was hot but we got accustomed to it,the classic beef curry from the outback pantry was fairly ordinary tasty but the meet was like dried jerky we didn't eat the whole lot as we had eaten too much already so we packaged it up and put it in two ziplocks to take home so we minimise our impact on this fragile area.
Dinner done dishes were a breeze to clean we headed off down the track a short bit to top up some water for tomorrow which we boiled and let cool .
We settled into some more books and a blog,as yes I took the iPad for comms as there is a fair amount of coverage surprisingly here and the maps I have on here have my trails loaded.
Light is dimming now so I will put the fly on the tent and say good night to all
Sweet dreams Shahla and bub we will see you both tomorrow arvo hope you enjoyed your girls night .

Aboard the Lady Jane Franklin 2 and the family pantomime.

We awoke very early to a few tired heads had a quick brekky and headed into Strahan harbour were we boarded Lady Jane Franlkin 2 which would take us around Macquarie harbour and out through the heads back down the Gordon river to heritage landing and a forest walk then lunch on board and onto to Sarah island where we did a hour long tour with some very amusing tour guides and once more back on the Lady Jane Franklin 2 after that it was only 30 mins back to port.
The guides also boarded back to Strahan and it turns out these were the people doing the pantomime " the ship that never was " in town , this proved to be a massive hit with the whole family as they get a lot of the audience involved in the play too.
The story was of the capture of the "Frederick" the last ship to be built at Sarah Island by the remaining convicts by a group of ten convicts and by master shipwright Mr Hoy .
It's quite a farce in reality how they achieved this Shahla played the the cat who belonged to billy "dash" and "Ej" played Ben russen a known ruffian .
With many other people in the crowd playing other vital parts its hilarious yet basically the story is true however the crew idi escape to Chile South America for a year and later four were caught again by British forces and returned to Van Diemans land.
Shahla turned out to steal the play as you would expect and kept the crowd in fits of laughter with her antics of the cat and her personality it was great to see.
After the play we walked across the road to try to get the famed local fish and chips but alas it was closed yet again! They keep very odd hours here ,very frustrating .
So Hamers hotel it was to be quite a busy place in town and it turns out they own quite a few other places in Strahan.
It's amazing how many people who work on the tour boats and such also work a second job in town at either pubs hotels or eateries , there appears to be more work available than workers which became apparent a few days later when we went to the bottles shop for medicinal alcohol supplies and the shift supervisor was cursing Chefs and got us laughing as we explained my trade but she saw the lighter side and laughed as well and explained the staffing issues they deal with regularly and anyone who has ever worked hospitality would understand.
Tea and then dessert went down real well and the conversations going on around us were all abuzz with tassie exploits from bush walking especially the Arthur's and cradle mountain and renowned speed bushwalker Peter Treseder ( which pricked my ears up as I always found him enticing but controversial as I prefer to walk while exploring the surroundings not just to get somewhere fast! ).
A comfy ( well somewhat comfy for Corinna ) bed was calling to us so we headed back to the heads and off to bed as it had been a very busy day for all of us

Trial harbour onwards to Zeehan strahan and Macquarie heads

Packed up at a reasonable hour and a quick chat with the younger neighbours who told us of some great four wheel drive tracks around but most are closed unfortunately and that its possible to drive all the way along the beach at low tide to Macquarie heads.
Went to air up the tyres after our beach drive the day before and I was missing an air fitting from the hose to the tyre so I would air up in Zeehan on the way out only 21 Kms and nearly all dirt .
Once there neither of the servoes had a air line as they are a card pay setup with no staff , so we asked around but it was a Saturday and no mechanics or mine service yards were open finally we lucked on a caravan park owner who had a compressor we could use but that as it turns out was useless and my tyres were putting more into his compressor than putting back .
So off we went to Strahan 31 Kms up the rd at a very easy pace letting all pass us but there was little traffic. reminder to self get the fitting ASAP.
We aired at the first servo then took a turn into town where we booked for a cruise around the harbour.
Just out of town we points to Macquarie harbour heads camping ground right near Hells Gate inlet.
What a busy little place this was 16 Kms out of Strahan but still plenty of room and at $6 a night per site I was already happy .
Nice green grassy but still sandy base we soon had the goldstream unpacked and annexe setup
Tea was a simple and we all were buggered so off to bed .

Fresh and salt water magic day

This morning proved to be another glorious day with the sun walking us fairly late thanks to the block out curtains in the van .
Today was valentines day so I made very one some fluffy pancakes with ash grove cream and maple syrup.
Another two hours of homework and we took of just before lunch down to the little Henty river again but in the cruiser after I had aired down as it was quite soft on the beach.
Corinna was a little hesitant to drive on the beach but we soon had her coerced into the passenger seat .
Only a short 15 minute drive up past goat hill we turned onto ocean beach and motored down to the fresh little Henty river picnic area the locals had made.
We ran into yet another qld'er who showed us where a car got bogged this morning when he got to close to the sandy river banks , but we were on a good firm base when I rolled to a stop nearby .
The water was still very fresh but that didn't deter the boys from going straight into the tannin stained waters ,while Shahla got ready and we prepared some sandwiches in the makeshift picnic area and table.
While the kids all enjoyed running onto their boogie boards sliding on them into the water we had a cold drink but resisted the urge to dive in just yet.
On returning down the beach we only passed one other car before heading back into trial harbour then slowly up the zig zag track behind the town up to a viewing platform way above ( it was great to use low range again and the auto made it that much easier.
We could see the town below and also where there fresh water was ran off into tanks for the water supply .
Back down we grabbed our wetsuits , snorkels and boogie boards and headed back to the main swimming area for the afternoon .it was so calm we could see fairly clearly underwater as I was coming in froma rocky reef just off shore a passed a large octopus about the size of dash which had me in a panic at first but as he slid under a rock shelf I was amazed how the fit in anywhere to hide , I grabbed dash to show him but we never seen him again but there was plenty of mullet,garfish ,starfish ,crabs and another brown type I haven't identified as yet.
Tea was a simple affair tonight as we left it a little late so noodles for all and some jelly for dessert.
Some people rocked up next us in the little site and after a quick chat we were indoors soon ready for bed.
It looked like on shore winds and the good weather was bringing in surfers boats and fisherman so we decided we wold head off tomorrow.
Such a peaceful little village here we will miss it

Macquarie heads chillaxen

That's chilling and relaxing .
Bit of a sleep in today why not yesterday was massive .
Quite a lot of campers left this morning including two rowdy taswegians next to us now the place in this green camping cove is alone with only an empty fisherman s caravan next to us who looks like he may be awhile .
The plan for today was a few hours schoolwork (bah humbug apparently ). Then some washing to catch up on in strahan and the cruiser needed a fan belt and the spare I had was the wrong size so we drove the 13 Kms back into the seemingly busy today port of Strahan.
So embarrassing when your fan belt squeals loudly for several minutes before it warms up and conforms to the motors demands.
I tried to adjust it this morning but one belt was tight and the other twin belt was fine so two new one sit was and keep the others as just in case spares.
Gotta love non English speaking hospitality workers at the laundrette !, one didn't speak when I asked if she was finished and the other appeared to be living in the laundry !
Anyways the laundry was cheap and done fairly soon so we headed in to amours shwoon fish shop at the end of the block , but alas for the third time we had tried to get some apparently good local food there it was shut reopen at 5 (any-wonder it was for sale ).
On to the supermarket for bread and milk then the servo for belts but they were out of stock and after a bit of yacking the poor mechanic did the hardware and tackle shop inside as well as the pump and fits some mechanic servicing in the spare time.
Turns out he was one of our customers so I booked in the cruiser for as service and to fit the belts as they use the good oil I forgot to get from the Launceston branch I thought I wouldn't need.
3600 Kms we have done and not even a 1/4 of the island covered , which blows me away especially today after talking to some fellow oz year long travellers who thought 2 months wasn't long enough for Tasmania .
May have to rethink that time frame I think.
A few hours fishing and swimming eased some niggly kiddies and parents but no fish for us despite being assured cocky salmon are simple to catch but tomorrow I may get some bait to see how we go .
Finally lit a fire not because it was cold but purely for the ambience .
Enjoyed a game of backyard cricket before tea then sat around the fire to enjoy it.
Another great day somewhat relaxed but then again that's what it's all about

Trial harbour , little Henty river and fun in the sun .

Crashing surf woke the kids so a toilet stop was in order then back to sleep .
The morning was a little sea misty but developed into a glorious sunny day perfect for outdoor activities .
Schoolwork again took several hours and as a reward dash and I rode our bikes to the little Henty river ( well we rode 3/4 of it as it was way to sandy for mountain bikes to handle !)
The river mouth was only a short distance from the tannin dark river and a good twenty a metres across near the cute little picnic area the locals had built and ant least 3-4 metres deep and bloody cold yet sandy .
Dash and I both cooled off and explored the area lovely grassy banks then sandy beach we both dried off and walked back as we couldn't ride in the sandy area alongside the beach .
A short distance later I realised the track was more for quads and four wheel drives than bikes s we would return at low tide tomorrow for lunch.
Back on the track near goat rock we soon made camp where we had lunch and got ready for an afternoon at the beach snorkelling,boogie boarding and swimming with all the family.
It was a glorious day .
Back in time for a tandoori roast chook and hearty serve of leatherwood honey carrots and local Dutch cream pan fried wedges followed by the jelly the kids had prepared earlier .
Another movie this time dads choice and we were all ready for bed.

Trial harbour and some quality rest time

We packed up the site and left a little before lunchtime today so the kids could do some schoolwork while we were within phone range and headed towards the Zeehan for bread and lunch needs and made our way 25 Kms towards the coast to Trial harbour .
A quick trip down the a dirt rd and down a steep hill we arrived and headed to the campground where there were three main campgrounds the first a single site was near the toilets so we headed to the second which had two sites s we turned around in the third larger site where the was only one other camper but it was fairly gravelly and exposed so we went back to the second site which was fairly flat well sheltered and grassy so we turned in set up completely as we would enjoy some rest here and catch up on schoolwork and maybe add some twelve volt points and invertor to the camper .
The sound of crashing waves was amazing bit may be a nuisance come bedtime.
We took a walk to the harbour which gas only 49 mostly fishing shacks with a few brick permanent dwellings .
Afte a walk along the beach we went to the local history history room where Shirley showed her impressive garden off then we explored the very intriguing history room off with some amazing artefacts inside such as a tassie tiger embryo cast and some ambergris ( expensive whale bile) mostly used in the cosmetic industry and tales and photos of the area which was the early supply route inland to Zeehan before the trains came.
Shirley also told us of some local swimming and walk area along the little Henty River which we wold do Tomorrow.
Getting late in the day we walked back to camp and prepared good ol spag Bol .
As we ate tea I set up the tv but there was no real signal so we watched a movie then went to bed with the ever present crashing of waves which Made you think it was amazingly windy and stormy which it wasn't it was a very pleasant day .

Montezuma falls walk and Roseberry

The middle of the night again brought the rumbling iron ore train crashing through the hill novel our heads but we managed to get back to sleep until 8 ish then we rushed into breakfast and packing our day packs with lunch drinks and goodies.
Gaiters boots and walking gear donned we set off down the road towards Williamsford and the south dundas railway leftovers that was our gateway to our walk.
We arrived at the turnoff only a few kms down the road past the old overhead cableway that overtook the railway we were about to walk in the 1920's .
An easy 4 hour walk inspired the family onwards but we soon found ourselves being overtook by European tourists walking at such a pace you really had to wonder why they came here oblivious to the surrounding fern glades ,ring river and forest with its birdlife , strange bracket fungus growing like a step in a tree and mossy undergrowth . The sign said we were halfway but many had scribbled 1/3 which but the map seemed more appropriate .
2/3 later we arrived at the boardwalk to the falls with only a few of the European crowd left as most came then went fairly quickly.
The supplied wraps went down well with the water dash carried in his camelback and we took plenty of photos from all manner of angles then all bar Corinna made our way across the suspension bridge that hung a long way above the river bed and we did this one by one even though the limit was two adults or one adult two kids .
I don't mind telling you I'm not a fan of large wire suspension bridges with only one foot in front of the other pathways but I made it across and back making Shahla didn't slip through the supports (she ran most of the way first off !) I even manage to stop halfway across and look up to the falls and get a photo off.
The walk back with the boys wearing their packs dummy loaded seemed to take a toll on them and I unwittingly came to the conclusion they may not be ready to tackle the overland track 6 day walk but we will do a walls of Jerusalem overnight walk very soon and take it from there.
I myself and Corinna couldn't wait to return to cradle mountain to experience once again the area as we had walked there 21 years previously and I was amazed at the popularity of the place now unfortunately in a commercial fashion that is nowadays unavoidable.
the walk back finished and all were tired but enjoyed it immensely .
We met a mine water quality tester at the end of the walk and he was in such a rush to get going he left his tailgate down and bounced on up the hill losing his esky of samples ,helmet and safety glasses , so we picked these up of the trail then stopped ahead at Williamsford so I could inspect the old mining works and overhead cable way and of course complete a geocache .
Back in Roseberry we let the kids loose on the playground and dash went off on the well built skatepark the mines proceeds had built while we went to the supermarket and got some frothies to return to the park with had a nice chat with the barmaid and thought of tea at the pub there but I was keen on some local four wheel driving which is a great area for it.
Back down the Zeehan rd we turned off towards the pieman river and got to do dome four wheel driving around near some old mine tailings and into a makeshift boat ramp area then headed onwards to Zeehan where we spent way too much on a drink and tea for our 19th wedding anniversary. Nice meal all full we headed home for a batman movie as I had finally set up the tv to settle young minds as we cleaned up .