Last day on the island :(

As luck would have it ( fairly unusual for us )the weather was fine to pack up in and we were gone by 1030 ish a and it was a nice cruisey trip to the highway and on down to devonport where we threw the anchors out a Coles beach free camp a fairly basic car park but it was only a short drive to the ferry early tomorrow .
We left the camper unpacked to get some lunch and supplies to see us across on the spirit rather than pay good money for bad food on board .
Then it was back to the camper which we set up basically sans annexe and made some chicken cheese and pineapple melts at the nearby BBQ .
The next trip into the town only a few blocks away we needed to use the linc services at the library to print out our tickets for the boarding .
We whittled away some time here with the kids getting comfy in bean bags and cushy seats with some good books it was a great way to spend time like this , I would keep it in mind for rainy days near a library or common room.
The kids played and we all took a walk on the beach watching a few surfers get very little reward for a lot of effort on the waves.
We decided to watch the spirit of Tasmania 2 go out and dash hit the skate park again then we trod off home for a late tea of steak sangas around the bbq again.
We prepared sangas for the next day and froze juice for us all and of course charged up every electrical device we had for the trip to the mainland .
some bloody Germans had parked right n top of our camper and there rooftop tent opened To our side leaving only a squeeze to get our door open to get in !
Corinna and I had a restless night sleep I think worried about missing the boat , needless to say we were awake every hour after 1 am till 530 ish when we kept talking so we got up .

Quamby corner campground to Lake Parangana

Not as much rain as I thought but it did however come down in heavy patches overnight and heavy drizzle this morning so the ground was soaked, the day still overcast and looking like much of the same but if we were lucky some patches of sunshine to do some walks .
An hour after the waking the outlook was the same so a quick run to the well appointed toilets I grabbed some Dvd's from the laundry/common area to watch with a cuppa and brekky .
Jack Absolom hey not a bad choice fairly wise and well travelled old fella who Corinna's dad ( the old boy ) loved his camp oven cookbooks and travel videos .
Another video we watched was Glenn ridge and Ron moon in the Kimberly , gets the travel bug rolling along nicely for the mainland .
Having 240 volt power here was great as it meant nice quick and easy muffins in the toaster and real espresso coffee lol ah the simple things .
About 11 there was a break in the weather so we made a break for it and packed up in about 30 mins and drove up the bluff road to Liffey falls , while the road was narrow and windy we got all the way in with the van on and bikes on the roofrack without any passes by .
We left the van in a lower car park below the falls beside a absolute torrent of a river thanks to the last few days rain and drove only a few hundred metres more to the upper falls car park.
not many cars here but minutes after we stopped quite a few more travellers came in to do the walk and have lunch .
Wet and soggy around us but for the majority of the walk it was a gravel path leading ever downwards to the raging Liffey river below and over several waterfalls and long cascades .
Right to the bottom of the falls we walked capturing many great pictures of the flooded falls then trod back up the way we came to the car park area where we made some toasted sandwiches in the sheltered BBQ area and washed it down with cordial .
The drive out was uneven foul and we made our way to Deloraine yet again for some groceries to see out our tassie trip and a little fuel in case we did some side trips around cradle mountain and the walls of Jerusalem parks .
The road out into the mole creek area and into the upper Great Lake area was windy and of course still light rain persisted.
We got stuck behind yet another grey nomad and we wondered if he was going to the upper mole creek karst campground or with us to the lake?
Our questions were soon answered when he pulled up in from on the side and we offered assistance but all was good just a " call of nature lol" he said they were heading also to the lake if there was a ground to stay at ( and he was a local !) so the soon caught up and after a missed turn we both arrived at Lake Parangana and set about finding a not so soggy campsite .
We had a good out of the wind and elements campground and soon set up the camper and old mate soon came over to talk mostly about solar panels once I said where I worked ( couldn't help it ) yet another Norman so needless to say the mrs set the camper pretty much on her own while we talked turkey on power , solar caravans and such it turns out he builds a few campers himself to fit on flat bed its and light truck and judging by the look of his it's a pretty good effort.
a little ride on the treacly for dash and I to recon the area for some wood then we headed back for tea of chicken and veg risotto , yum.
The boys and I grabbed some wood still damp and made a fireplace and after much diesel soaked paper had the wet wood crackling I the heat which dried out some bigger logs where we enjoyed the warmth of the fire and the light to do our journals and the kids ate custard and fruit around it .
Already 10:15 must be time to put the amazing fire out since the light drizzle here hasn't had any effect and put myself to bed , ps loving the solitude and quiet here.

Branxholm to Quamby corner ,Golden Valley

It was hard to know what to do this morning as it had rained all night again and wouldn't clear till lunchtime so we did some schoolwork and enjoyed a late brekky then caught up with some online goodies and such till lunchtime where I heated some pies in the oven .
While the pies warmed the belly it was still cold wet and wooly outside so we have it till two where a break of sun in the clouds forced us to summon up the will to pack up and move on .
We had decided to do some more walks in the cradle mountain area and the walls of Jerusalem parks before we headed back on Thursday :(.
The road we took the night before we housed again until St Leonard's where we turned off and headed to the Bass hwy and down to Westbury we we needed bread and milk.
Soon after we arrived at Quamby corner which as it turns out is a caravan park in a farmers paddock but very well appointed with great new facilities and camp kitchen areas and powered sites , not quite what wiki camps had envisioned but it would do tonight .
We set up just for the night with only our annexe out to afford some shelter from the rain.
We had a Quick look around and it was amazing even a maze that never quite took off .
I had a quick socialise around the fire and was cornered by a complete fruit loop ( becoming a regular thing I am convinced its now me ,lol.
Corinna came down to rescue me from my friend who had apparently seen the light and life was coming to fruition just now for him ( even though he lived in a swag and old hilux lol he was rich beyond wealth) but I'm stuck in reality I'm afraid.
An awesome dinner of red curried beef and rice followed by a few DVDs of outback Australia that where in the park collection .
Rain set in shortly after bed and the wind was gusting scarily which had me checking the pegged in awning a few times.

Walls of Jerusalem lake rowallen and some 4by action

Slept in a little this morning but still all fed and watered by 930 then a quick catch up on some hand washing in the bucket the shower has come in handy for this aspect then Shahla had a quick bath in the bucket she barely fitted into.
Chris a van builder we ran into yesterday came up for a yarn and time passed quickly talking about vans and solar yet again so we went over to inspect his van annexe compared to ours the same but his wa put up differently to our , I must ask the boys at Aussie traveller the correct way !.
The kids went for a fairly quick dip in the cold waters of lake Parangana but this was over soon enough ( can't imagine why!)
We grabbed some goodies for a packed lunch and headed to the walls of Jerusalem national park area which begins past the lake rowallen boat ramp.
This is a 3-4 hour walk in so we would have to leave this for another time although dash and I ran up a short distance the climb was very steep gaining over 600 metres in those first 3 hours .
we turned away from the fairly busy walk car park ( it was weird having 8 or so small cars in a car park in the middle of nowhere that really needed a four wheel drive to get to.)
We caught up with some farmers chasing some lost cattle along the road to the falls near the bottom of the lake and had a quick chat with them mostly over greenies old roads , logging and the area in the late 70's it was a good yarn.
We didn't get much further than the farmers as the road was blocked by a massive tree far too big to be winched away or cut p with my small chainsaw so around we turned and took a 4 wd tour down a not very recently used logging track to the low dam below exciting the mrs a few times in the process ( I think she has lost her 4x4 edge just quietly!)
Simple sangas and some cordial downed we explored the 4wd terrain just above the lakes edge and got some happy snaps and pointed towards home stopping a few times to see the campground here and watch the workers doing an upgrade of the dam wall , quite a feat here really.
A quick trip over the Mersey river and up along the bluff on the steeper side we couldn't find the long since disused Walter lookout but we did spy a very overgrown steep track to where it probably was but since it was 5 pm and our luck with 5 o'clock tracks we grabbed some firewood for the night and headed back to camp.
There was an old falls nearby ( Gadds falls) nice homemade sign but the track wasn't in a great state probably owing to recent storms but the boys and I took a walk up and thoroughly enjoyed roughing it and got nearly drowned in the process of a self portrait on self timer.
Curried snags for tea with rice and some campfire poems finished our night of just perfectly as we watched the possums play around our campsite .

Cradle mountain

Up early hoping of great weather to get out and about for pretty much our last day of freedom before heading back to devonport and the mainland .
We threw in some soups for lunch and some nibbles and wound our way around the side of mount Roland and mount round toward the plateau of cradle mountain.
When we arrived it was fairly busy but as we got closer to dove lake the car numbers thinned but walker numbers increased although still way below annoying numbers.
The last boom gate wash flashing amber at the interpretive centre so we had to wait for another vehicle to exit the dove lake car park before we could enter that area so we explored the information inside the kids especially loving any taxidermy of natives around also the 3d model of the park.
By the time we had taken in the centre the gate let us in to our first walk of the day on the dove lake circuit .
It took a little over two hours to do the circuit as we stopped several times to look around do a few goes and munzees have a snack and of course the obligatory happy snaps of this simple lakeside beauty and the surrounding hills of little horn ,Marion's lookout ,wombat pool hansons peak to name a few.
When we got to a rocky downhill Ej took a face down fall but managed to put his arms out by avoiding a face plant he scraped His legs , belly and arms giving him a instant bruise .
we had a few snaps taken by a passing Asian tourist couple ( cliche hey lol).
walk over we headed back to the rainforest walk and pencil pine falls.
Then a quick heat up of some cup a soups which were watched over by a couple of pademelons ,this warmed us up and egged us on to the enchanted forest walk a little further which the kids really enjoyed especially Shahla bear as we told her it where fairies lived as we sprinkled her hair with dainty myrtle leaves she was astounded and I'm sure this stuck in her head as the afternoon was full of angel and fairy talk.
Time to head back to camp and I noticed a little brake grind , obviously time to change the pads very soon.
Back down the windy road past a massive logging truck and the Forth River and another fire with a few stories and curried snags and a cheese platter.
All in bed at a reasonable hour hoping the good weather would hang around another day or so so we could pack up dry and head to Devonport .

Bay of fires Swimcart beach

A little but of overnight rain but we were up fairly early fed and gathered our washing to head into St. Helens to wash and dry our clothes and have some hot showers .
Upon arrival at the rather strange yet friendly laundromat come cafe we met a local whom was obviously helping in the cafe laundromat who supervised us sorting and washing the. Got us change and instructed us on washing watching every step we made and making obvious comments on washing machine which was awkward for me as she was a bit full on two loads in we did the bolt for a rubbish drop and let the kids play in the park and reckoned the showers.
We went back to finish the washing under the ever present eye of the local bendigo Betty lol and put it all in a large dryer as we had a cuppa then Corinna took of to shower the kids and herself and left me at the mercy of the old time male funny man ( obvious collongwood supporter ) but it wasn't that bad just weird the way he was sex talking the old ladies erghhh!
Drying nearly done dash came in to help me then I headed off for my shower after a brief stop at the supermarket for lunch goodies.
Shower was hot but quick and brutally shutoff just as was finished .
Back at camp we lunched and had a drive around.
Later that afternoon we gathered a little wood and caught up with troy , Jodie and the kids all from Byron bay and had a few beers around the fire and a great cheese platter put on by us ( great people but a little alternative and lived on the road the last 7 months very very cheaply!).
I wondered if we would be like this after 7 months of traveling , I doubt it.
A fairly late night but a great day any way it was good to catch up and relax with other travellers and swap ideas and campsites.

Bay of fires , pub in the paddock ,torrential rain and Centenary Park Branxholm

the sun made a brief early appearance now that daylight savings is drawing to a close so we got up early for brekky and the mandatory coffee then packed up and were gone before ten and said goodbye to troy , Jodie ,jack and Tahni from Byron Bay .
Not long after we hit the road it started teaming down , thank god we were in the car , it was a slow trip over the mountains and towards the pub in the paddock to see its old charm and maybe a beer with principal the pig.
It was just after 1030 am when we got to Pengali and we decided to skip the crowds of the local dairy cafe and trod through the wet turf to the pub in the paddock.
Great little pub it had just opened for the day and they weren't really ready I think but Corinna had a coffee and cake while the kids had a lemonade and cake or choc bar of course a Irish red ale was calling my name so I tried one of those however it wasn't particularly to my taste so a boags washed it down .
Back on the road through more winding mountains we got caught in a torrential downpour that made it hard to see but as we came into weldborough I wanted to lunch at the Weldborough hotel I remember from our last trip here but as I turned the car around to park out the front our large car park was stolen from us and the kids took forever to get out of the car close to the pub door so they didn't get drowned so I cracked the shits and kept driving ( waaah!).
The rain didn't ease for the next few hours not much fun to be had today which is a pity as there were several good walks and falls around here.
We drove through the former tin mining town of Derby quite interesting stories of the Chinese miners in early times too.
Shortly after ,we arrived at Branxholm where there is as very cheap powered camp site so we decided to skip Scottsdale free camp for now to get some power into the drained batteries.
Quick setup with no awning or annexe then dash cooked us some chicken wingettes with salad .
a little bit of free time online with finally great Internet reception so we caught up with friends and uploaded some and downloaded more.
A side trip to Scottsdale to escape the dreary rain and into the Eco forest tent like building we did a small tour and watched a few documentaries on trees then left for the supermarket ( finally some relatively cheaper food with a bit of variety at a woolworths).
An ice cream treat for the kids was put aside pending good behaviour which was achieved hank god without bribing too lol.
Chicken pumpkin and leek risotto went down a real treat with garlic bread the perfect warm belly feeling I was looking forward to then cool it down with an ice cream and a running of Madagascar 3 the movie to finish of the night the rain didn't ease through the night in fact we had gusts up to 103 Kmh according to the local media and 60 odd mm rain .
Pretty scary night .

Bridport , Georgetown and Low Heads

Quite a soggy camp this morning with crazy winds gusting to 103 Kmh in the area but we were afforded a little shelter but still copped 56 mm overnight the heaviest in the state apparently .
The day was looking windy but the forecasted 80mm very unlikely .
We enjoyed a real coffee ( the adults that is ) and some muffins then googled a scenic view by road around the area with the help of weather maps and radar .
Bridport was the first port of call only 43 Kms up the road .
The wind and weather played on the fuel consumption yesterday and today the wind would do the same but ah we'll time is getting short down under down under so a road trip we took.
Bridport small coastal town fishing village and gateway to flinders island by boat or plane also some great four wheel drive tracks like the one we took part way to double sandy point with some awesome weather swept sands and coastal dunes , shortly off the track we ran into an interesting couple of shacks and chatted with some locals who were cleaning up after the storm last night to find they had been broken into and some items stolen ( a unregoed rifle laying around for one - naughty naughty) so now beware of any lithgo 22 calibre s going cheap or in a holdup!, there was a very unusual tree of knowledge here as well ( good laff !).
Hotdog lunch in the local park escaping from the winds and finding out friends had been through a tornado in rutherglen area but were all safe and so was nugget our missed doggy.
The local dunes link golf course was absolutely stunning but with today's weather you would be a fool to play a round today or any time soon even though there was plenty hitting off.
After a bit of rude service we skipped coffee and cake here which may have been just as well as the boys were at it in the car then Ej flipped his lid and had a bit of an incident which resulted in banning of all electrical goodies for the a few days ( this turned out to make today even better anyhow ).
Past a few good wineries we didn't stop at :( and onto Georgetown apparently one of Australia's oldest towns and the entrance of the very fast tidal flowing Tamar river where we looked at some sculptures called past peppers York cove resort for a geocache ( sneaky ) and then onto a restored semaphore tower on mt George which is part of an old semaphore system with white 5 metre masts which signalled from low heads to mt direction then to launceston to tell of hips arriving and leaving the type of ship and cargo and many other coded transmissions , quite an amazing system really which was used for many many years .
Fuel was 10 cents cheaper here so I filled the main tank back up saving some coin .
Pilot cove was next and the old museum was shut so we looked around and had a cuppa and cake ( diets not working hey!!) and watched the pilot boat return from a large cargo ship heading for bell bay docking and loading area .
Watching the tide turn here is simply amazing and the ships being piloted through the still treacherous entry to the channel .
We headed upriver to watch the cargo ship arrive and be docked by the pilot and two tugboats and mooring boat , quite a impressive feat considering the fast tide coming in .
Getting on to tea time soon so we spoilt the kids ( out of need for feed as it was too late to return to the camper for any !) and had hungry jacks as the really nice fish and chip restaurant would cost us a bit .
All fed and watered we headed back into the hills all singing merrily guessing who sung what. Song and its name and watched the mass of road kill and wildlife on the roads even managing to avoid hitting any too.
A quick stop at sideline lookout( we recall being here 21 years ago too) where we looked out onto the sparsely lit hills behind Scottsdale where we might look at some waterfalls tomorrow around Mt Victoria and Mt Horror .
It was after 10 pm when we got back to Branxholm with only one other camper here I winder if we will get the promised rain between 12 and 3 , I hope not .

Goodbye cockle bay hello Bruny Island

While I had an awesome night sleep courtesy of cascade blonde and the two little ones being in the tent outside , Corinna was tending to Ej and another tooth loss I can't get over how many teeth these kids have lost in 6 weeks Shahla her first one with another any day now Ej has now two and dash one with another loose ( must be the copious amounts of coke lol as if !!!!), poor old tooth fairy is going broke .
The day we woke up to was was overcast and maybe leading to drizzle so we set about a quick brekky and packing up and cleaning it all out to put away properly which took a little while but was more relaxing not to rush.
We set off around eleven trying for hours to get in contact with Telstra about our email addy which hasn't been addressed by the useless Telstra shop and we were on hold for hours then someone rings us on a unrelated billing matter , shag me swinging they aren't bad are they, and as soon as we sorted that out we got cot off yet again with no return call , this was to happen one more time with still no resolve on our massive download bill?... They couldn't care less .
It's a real pain as we need net for the kids school it's not like its pleasure , I wish!.
Lunch at an awesome Turkish kitchen/supermarket coffee shop in Geeveston. the milk coffee was good too lol.
Filled the main tank as I wanted cheaper fuel then got food supplies in Cygnet the butcher shop being a good cheap buy very happy there and the servo even got driveway service been a long time since I have seen that I was a little concerned haha was good though .
The trip from there to Kettering was a windy twenty Kms over the foothills and we were soon in the waiting line for the ferry due in 30 mins we were the only van heading over but there was nearly 60 other cars as the ferry holds 65 cars not bad as they run every hour and are usually busy like that , this particular ferry had been in service for over 20 years with the last ferry holding only 35 and the one before 24 then 16 but one deck hand said they need 90 as its so busy nowadays but this was a privately leased boat from the government and was heavily subsidised.
We set up camp expecting a little shower it it didn't come till dark luckily .
Ej went and had his play as he likes to do on his own in his little world Shahla played with her barbie dolls for the first time ever and dash rode his bikes with some other fellow travellers his age then they all plated cricket together kids can be such an icebreaker in this way I love that in dash too.
We greedily ate our chow mein then some chocolate we still have heaps from the Cadbury factory in Hobart .
The toilet here , yet another drop off but very clean was working flat out although the campground wasn't overly full so we had to wait in the light drizzle .
Some journal and blog writing all round along with a few postcards to the lucky few from the kids , Shahla wrote her own very well done there.
We were all excited as momma bear had booked the jet Boat tour for Saturday on the island , bit of a Pissa considering she shit herself when I drove on lake Pedder lol.
Another great place another great day the weather is on the improve too .

Port Arthur and the peninsula

Fairly early start today kids fed ,coffees drank and we were off to port Arthur down the Tasman hwy a little then dirt roads to kellieville then Dunally where the fires had been early January and the scene was familiarly devastating , it's hard to imagine I guess until you have been through it I guess but it reminds me of losing mick my cousin the only fatality in the Bendigo fires and how close the in laws came to losing there's when they were away in Whittlesea close to where the fires started that way.
We were stuck behind a particularly slow grey nomad this morning but there were no overtaking opportunities so we just sat back and chatted about how fire must effect people's lives .
W arrived at the busy tourist centre of port Arthur just about morning tea and we went the budget option of the bronze pass which included two days entry a 40 minute walking introduction tour and the boat tour of the harbour .
Shortly after we entered we headed down to the jetty for out short cruise around isle of the dead and point puer the former a 2 acre rocky outcrop the is the final resting spot of over 1100 people both convicts ,free labourer ,military and civil officers and family , but according to new reports there may be up to 1800 people on the island as most are in unmarked graves as convicts led a shameful life so this would be repeated in death. Very crowded as it seems apparently it could have been burial room for well over 2000 bodies in the traditional manner without standing up or two - three deep!
Back on the port grounds we returned and walked through the solemn reflection gardens of the 1996 port Arthur massacre near the broad arrow cafe shell and this we tried to explain to the kids what bad people are capable of and why we can't all carry firearms like we did not that long ago.
On to our intro tour on the parade ground looking area beside the harbour walls .
There was well over 100 people on this tour with only one guide bit weird but I guess at peak times there may well be more.
We ended the tour near the asylum and broke off from the group heading in to the asylum grounds after the tour and headed towards the former hospital/ boys home across the creek and down into the guard towers and was amazed at the commandants house in all its majesty which also became a hotel later on in the 1870's .
Rooms were made up in period attire even original wallpaper was still evident as were depictions of menu of the day , preserved foods entertaining areas and a few mysteries.
The gardens here were still stunning in old English charm.
Through the former mill granary /penitentiary we walked and read up on and admired the people doing an archeological dig to prove the penitentiary was once a mill.
The kids I think came away with a good understanding of penal colony times.
While the Filbey name never came up in any records there where numerous burns ,Langford and dole entries.
The asylum and separate prison with its silent stories and isolation cells was the highlight I think for all of us .
The junior medical officers house was very interesting too and the gardens still bear fruit and flower a credit to the many garden staff.
It seems ironic the pastors residence became a hotel shortly after he left and post office.
Of course the open roof church was nearly the final chapter for our long day here with many of the near perfect sandstone bricks being made nearby by the point puer boys serving as trainee stonemasons who excelled at their craft .
We had some advise on the gardens at the junior medical cottage on a beautiful flower that apparently has hallucinogenic properties the keep a secret from certain age people, I laughed at that!
Shortly after that we drove on to the devils kitchen and Tasman arch which were howli g as the wind had just picked up to a storm pace but mad the blowhole nearby gush high and mighty.
Back down the Eaglehawk neck we drove to inspect the dogs line the infamous hell hounds on chains who were chained up along the necks line to warn of escaping convicts and possibly a nibble ! The British army had their barracks just inside this line to enforce the colony.
Mother Nature had provided us with textured pavements at sea level at the Tessellated pavement on the coast which we marvelled at as we walked along ,of course doing several geocaches and munzees close by.
Tea was beckoning and the squids were starving so we drove back through the Firezone and had a beautiful tea at the home of seafood in the area the Dunally hotel which was great although my bullfighters steak smothered in red hot curried prawns was hot and massive it nearly had me beat.
Back home we took a scenic night tour through the bush for an hour back to Orford and soon were in bed after yet another bug days walking .

Historic Ida bay railway Hastings cave ,thermal springs and Ej's highlight

Had to shit the bed this morning to get to the railway by 930 so early up get dressed and brekky done by 845 then got cold weather clothes for the 9 Degrees inside the tour of the cave .
Must admit I generally go slow on unsealed roads but I put the foot down a bit to reach the train as it was 20 odd Kms up the dirt track and we didn't want to miss it.
Arrived just in time to get tickets and board the train for the two hours sojourn to deep hole via Ida Bay the train was packed as there were hikers doing a return walk to the lagoon on .
The train stopped at the Demeter and Ida bay for a brief discussion and just before we got there we Ej and I seen a copperhead snake on the railway line which alarmed some older patrons.
Around the bay we passed old logging and limestone quarries used at the somewhat unsuccessful brick mill at brick point but owing to high to salt the bricks crumbled prematurely .
So then the owner turned to a limestone quarry for carbide lamps needed in hobart .
A quick stop at the deep hole area beach we returned and admired a colony of soldier crabs .
A quick top up on phone reception we headed to the Hastings cave were we thoroughly enjoyed the dolomite cave tour and were amazed to see a cave cricket female with monstrous legs trying to escape our prying torches.
I think the.cave was a little to clean and proper for a real tour but it was certainly large and impressive if only a little chilly.
After the cave tour we relaxed in the thermal pool near the visitors centre for several hours till closing time and took a walk. Down the little creek and happened upon a young platypus feeding in the crystal clear creek below us awe followed his little murky water trail foraging for food .
It was certainly the highlight of everyone's day especially Etienne who is still marvelling at the video I took.
We headed back to camp were I fished while the kids swam in the bay between the cockle creek park office and our campground a little further on I managed to catch a cocky salmon but dash had to run in and try to help so he got off the hook but it was now past tea time so we headed in for a BBQ and fresh veggies in the camper.
Another awesome day.

Cockle creek campground

Little bit of a sleep in this morning well till 830 ish anyway then coffees for the adults it was very dewy out this morning but the sun was up early and soon dried the grass out.
The boys ended up sleeping in the kicking tent outside together which was a great break for Shahla and us to sleep without anyone kicking or stealing doonas .
I prepared a big brekky of crumpets,bacon ,eggs hash browns and spaghetti which went down a treat the three way fridge was working a treat on gas which gave us more power from both our batteries and solar panels for radio the occasional tv ( just not here) lights and charging of iPads,pods laptops and phones.
A few more hours were dedicated to school work for the kidlets while I installed the invertor finally but I now needed a drill so this will wait till I can borrow one or get it done back in bendigo.
Around lunchtime we got in the car to check out Ida bay railway but just as we got there the 130 pm train was just leaving with the next train scheduled for 330 pm, so we drove on to Hastings Cave a little up the rd but there we just missed the 2 pm tour ( aaaargh timing shit shit shit !!!!)
As it turns out the thermal pool was closed today for urgent maintenance so we grabbed some lunch and a cuppa and drove onto Southport for an awesome view of the bays and the fishing pier with a yak to some lobster fisherman about to head off for 8 days fishing for rock lobster and doing a government survey at the same time .
A it turns out two staff didn't turn up and they needed another crew member , awfully tempting for an experience but by the time I got bedding and wet gear they would have been gone .
We headed back to camp and got a little phone range to catch up on Facebook emails and some kids school goodies and a app top up all round.
Back at cockle creek campground we grabbed the swimming gear and dash and I snorkels around the rocks and sandy bay and got more than a fright when a giant bull ray hid in the sand beneath us and was startled as we swam over it , poor old dash lost his breath and I was startled.
plenty of small flathead were being caught by fellow campers and we chatted for a while with some other campers then we went into the national park area in the bay to look at the whale sculpture of a baby calf southern right whale in bronze .
The storyboards of the nearby whaling station gave a fair insight into the appalling conditions for both the whale calves whales and hunters and their families .
I found a little mobile reception to update my geocache finds and we prepared spag bog and wrote our journals for the day .

Bruni Island south to north

I was certainly glad we set the camper up well this time with the floor in and annexe on as it drizzled a little last night but we were all water tight inside.
After breakfast we pointed the cruiser towards Alonna then Lunewarra not a real lot to see excellent farming land and holiday blouses which would be great to use over simmer but winter I think not!.
We entered the national park at the far end of the South Island and stopped a few times for bayside snaps of the dolomite stack formations and crashing surf and shortly arrived at the lighthouse where we did a few short walks around the lighthouse and the light keepers cottage and museum room and also down to the cemetery behind ,it's always sad to read the stories the families had to endure and usually short child's lives along this rugged coast.
Packed sangas was an easy lunch and we chatted with many travellers , some from Newcastle others from port Macquarie im really enjoying the different views from the kids and how they translate the tales to us .
We headed back up though mt magnalia which was covered in mist so no views were enjoyed or walks onto the summit to see the views but we did do the self guided tour of Clennets mill site where there was still remnants lying around like a 14 tonne winch used to haul logs up the hill and a small tramway that was later used to move logs out to the road , even the boiler and loco remains left you with an impression of quite a busy area on the relatively small hillside which apparently helped a lot of locals with work during the depression sometimes employing up to 100 workers over 50 families .
From there we drove down the slippery slopes of the mountain towards Adventure Bay where cook had been in 1778 and later flinders and quite regularly William Bligh and the Infamous Bounty for mast repairs shortly before the mutiny occurred.
A quick look around fluted cape and the little villag e we stopped at the berry farm and had a cuppa and treats all round for us, dash had berry yoghurt and a smoothie Ej had a Devonshire tea ,Shahla had a Caramel milkshake and strawberry ice cream while Corinna and I both had coffees I had the white chocolate and berry brownie and the handbrake had baked berry cake , I can assure you all the sweets were wolfed down and enjoyed.
On the grounds we looked at the many types of berries then played costs outside as it was only overcast at this stage and some totem tennis.

Strathgordon!!!!!!!

If you don't make the effort to get here you will never know the enjoyment and pure relaxation we had while we were here for our short time ( we left the van back in Hobart :)).
I had not a lot of expectation of what we would see here apart from the spectacular lake Pedder ( read greenies or trout fishing heaven ) .
The day started off with me waking early although amazingly I had a good night sleep ,surprising considering the speedway strip alongside the Hobart show grounds and the night time loading shipping container loaders across the way .
The weather looked fairly average in the states capital so we ,sorry I decided to head to check out Lake Pedder -Gordon dam and StrathGordon.
Along past New Norfolk we stopped in Maydena for for a quick lunch and a ride on the "rail riders which are pedal powered rail carts Ej and mum in one behind us and Shahla dash and myself in the lead car , we took off fairly quickly in enthusiasm but were soon caught up at a little hill as the others were being pushed by a converted ride on mower rail car .
The line had some great views with a little history around and we stopped at the next siding to look in the history shed and take a walk on a cut path and viewed some thylacine cutouts to get the imagination going.
On the way back dash and I never stopped once from pedalling even uphill while the others brought up the rear .
On to Lake Pedder and the Gordon dam with its power station , what an amazing creation this was with three generators and a massive wall 130 metres high and 80 metres thick at the bottom
We didn't climb the wall or stairs as we are chicken shits much to the kids disappointment but we got some photos thanks to dash.
We decided to book a cheap room at the chalet which is the former power station area and there is only 8 staff there now to keep the power station going .
The managers were extremely helpful and made our stay magical .
We booked for tea although we were pretty much alone except for two other couples who we chatted with most of the night over a bottle of wine and drinks tea was great even though the chef had the day off and the owner cooked for us .
The chef had worked in bendigo at the rising sun for awhile so that made for an ice breaker and soon the managers and us came to the conclusion if they ever wanted some time off we could run the chalet for them .
It was a fairly late night when we got to bed.
What a great day and ideal location.

Bicheno day trip

A little schoolwork this morning and avoided the rain hanging around by heading into Bicheno to fill a gas bottle for the fridge and such.
The town was nice as we enjoyed a little free wifi and looked at the beach/rock area where we seen divers below and took some snaps of the blowhole here which was being driven by a fairly good surf today .
Lunch at the bakery was a treat then we headed back with the gas for the camper but we didn't stay after our beach walk close by as it started to rain.
I came up with the idea of a quick winery tour of the region we were in renowned for its Rieslings and Pinot styles.
Freycinet vineyard was the first stop and we were here awhile with several samples and a glass each I preferred the cab merlot here but Corinna fell in Love with the botrytis Riesling (of course!)
This went well with our ample ash grove cheese platter that Ej enjoyed as well.
The on across the road to the brown brothers owned devils corner and the 5 year old vines provided some fairly good whirs there too.
The last stop was Milton vineyard which had some exceptional wines which we sample and brought some there too but it was quite heavy rain now so we took of for the camper and stayed indoors tonight and watched a movie on the computer .

Friendly Beaches-Bay of Fires ,Elephant Pass to St. Helens

We didn't take long to pack up this morning but a lot of things were a little damp from the downpour the night before .
No homework today either Sunday after all .
We thought we would head towards St. Helens through the mountains and Elephant Pass to try the famous pancakes we had heard from several people and was on top of Ejs bucket list for Tasssie ,after all the fuss they weren't that flash and certainly not worth the $80 we paid for .
The town St Mary's we had a quick stop but the campgrounds there never had unlocked toilets and we got some very strange looks from the other campers when I tried to fill the camper with water so we stopped a bit further for both.
St. Helens was only a little but further past some more great little beach towns .
We chose Swimcart beach because it had toilets water but unfortunately yet again by little reception to upload the long list of blogs ad we had also gone way over our allocated data allowance and would be stung for that.
Camper setup we looked around and drove over to Binalong Bay for some good photos and back into St. Helens for a cook up o the BBQ and a kick of the footy .
Ice creams proved hard owing to a power outage that stopped the whole town for a while but after an hour of driving and looking around town for geocache s which had attracted the attention of the law (lol) we had out ice creams from the servo and headed back to camp to bed.