Well, I think the pictures say it all!
The Twelve Apostles are one of the most spectacular sights we have ever seen.
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Wednesday 25 January 2012
THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD
Did you know that the Great Ocean Road was built by Diggers, on behalf of their fallen comrades after World War 1. We are only half way along this spectacular drive and we would have to agree that it is one of the most scenic. After arriving back in Melbourne, we drove through Geelong to a caravan park almost at Torquay. We did notice how flat it was, after driving around Tassie. The next 2 days were 40`c. Hot! In one week we had experienced temperatures from 0`c to 40`c. Crazy!
Torquay was overloaded with surf shops & tourists. We enjoyed the surf museum & had a swim near Bells Beach.
Anglesea is also a nice little town which consists of boutique shops & cafes. It was like peak time in Hastings St & very expensive. Holidays not a good time to visit. Lorne was much the same. We finally stopped at Apollo Bay. Cheapest park was $40 non-powered! Mike payed $6.20 for 2lts of milk. Tourists just getting ripped off! Jade had a great surf. Mike had a fish, but no luck. Stayed 2 nights here & headed to Johanna.
Some of the beautiful scenery we are experiencing.
Johanna was named after a ship that was shipwrecked here in the 1840’s. Travelling along here we can understand how quickly the weather situation changes. Johanna is one of the nicest free camps we have been to. Gentle slopping grassy paddocks just behind the sand dunes. There are March flies & they bite, so the fly swatters have been getting a work out!(thanks mum & dad). But sadly, still no fish. Mike has been surfing. The ocean is quit treacherous. We set up our Annexe for the first time and its great.
This is Johanna Beach.
We went for a drive to the Otway Lighthouse and on the way in there was that many Koala’s sitting in the gum trees, some really low we could almost touch them. It was amazing.
Girls having fun playing games in these rock pools on Johanna beach. We also bath in them.
Monday 23 January 2012
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2012
Monday 23rd January
M & R School of Discipline
Kirsty Campbell – Grade 7 & Jade Campbell – Grade 5
The first project for Kirsty & Jade was to design & make their own school uniform out of newspaper. They also had to design the school emblem which had to have the letters M & R in it. Girls did a great job!
We did say SCHOOL Uniform!
Sunday 15 January 2012
BON VOYAGE TASSIE
Our final day in Tassie. We are a bit sad. We followed the coastline back to Devonport, which did not disappoint us. The water colour is amazing. Burnie Information Centre was great. Jade & I did a paper making class. The lady who made peg dolls was amazing to.
Stayed at the showgrounds for our last night. Boring, but the girls were happy as they made some friends(they are going on the boat to). 15/01/12 Up early to board the boat back to the mainland. It is a beautiful day, light winds and the ocean looks like a lake.
Until next time………..
Almost 50% of the worlds Poppy’s are grown in Tassie.
Saturday 14 January 2012
NORTH WEST
Onwards we headed to our final destination which we hoped would be a warmer place. As we exited the ranges we could see farmland all the way to the ocean. Back in civilization again. Stopped in Wynyard for supplies, and cruised along the coastline. Passing little fishing villages, we found Pegs Beach. Just like the east side, the clear blue water is mesmerizing.
Since we can’t sit still, we decided to explore the smallest national park in Tassie. Tangdimmaa (Rocky Cape) National Park is a very spiritual & scared place, with Aboriginal Caves, easy walks with beautiful views.
Photo from Pegs Beach looking over to “The Nut” at Stanley.
13/01/12 What is that bright light shinning in our faces? It’s the sun! Had a cuppa in the sun & an hour later it was raining. How quickly it changes. Drove into Stanley. The town is built at the base of “The Nut” which was named by the Aborigines. Lots of art & craft shops, very much a tourist town. Very clean & tidy, as is pretty all of Tassie really. Mike and I headed vertically up the rock, while Kirsty & Jade took the easy way up by chairlift. There is a 2klm walk around the top. It was an awesome view! They use to graze cattle here. Also chopped the trees, rolled them down & used them for firewood. Lookout below!
Thursday 12 January 2012
CRADLE MOUNTAIN
Dressed ourselves with all the warm clothes we had, packed lunch, locked Digs in the van & headed to the visitors centre. Yesterday it had snowed here. We then jumped on the shuttle bus which takes you further into the park again. With drizzly rain & icy cold wind there was no sign of Cradle Mt. We arrived at Dove Lake(which is the lake you can see in photo) and to our surprize the cloud started to lift. The 2hr walk around the lake was stunningly beautiful. Girls did not complain once. The mountain looked spectacular. The wild life came out to say hello. Spotted a wombat with her baby & an echidna. As we jumped back on the shuttle bus the bad weather set in again. We were very lucky! We stopped at the Enchanted walk trail and warmed ourselves up in the lodge with a hot expensive coffee sitting around a fire. We did not want to leave this beautiful park.
Cradle Mountain
QUEENSTOWN & STRAHAN
Onwards to our next destination, we slowly ascended to the High Country. Made up of lakes, breathtaking mountain ranges & harsh wilderness, changing constantly. The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park is world heritage listed. The rainforest is beautiful. Here are a few photos.
Nelsons Falls – 35 meters high
We winded down into the town of Queenstown. Not really impressed. So we drove on, to Strahan. Strahan is practically a tourist town. Not for tourists like us. Train ride was $288 a family. Couldn’t believe it. But there was a good wood working display, which had beautiful Huon pine slabs for sale. We headed out of town to a grassy campground on the beach. It is a great spot, unfortunately the weather has been windy, raining & cold! The caretaker is a psycho. Mike managed to catch some fish & our nice neighbour shared a piece of Atlantic Salmon.
Main street in Strahan.
10/01/12 Freezing our toes off we headed north to Zeehan which was an ugly deserted mining town. Passed through Rosebery to our next campground, down 4klm dirt track beside a rocky river. Very secluded & very cold, only 20mins from Cradle Mt. We actually turned the generator on this afternoon to heat up our van. We were all rugged up & still couldn’t feel our toes. As usual in cold weather, hunger sets in, so Mike made a damper which looked more like a biscuit(camp fire wasn’t the best). The temperature was close to 0 & with the rushing sound of the river, a good night sleep was out of the question.
Sunday 8 January 2012
FACTS & FIGURES
Toyota Hilux tows Expander with ease,
Mike says, with snorkel & boat on top.
Averaging 14-15 litres per 100klms, we’re pleased!
After 4 weeks one the road(one month down),
Spent roughly $858 per week(we might not make it round!).
Keeping in mind we have not stopped since we left our state,
Mike has had nothing but good food on his plate!
I love my saucepans(worth every cent),
Whose idea was it to bring a pet?
Binoculars come in very handy, we are glad,
Left our ugg boots at home, VERY SAD!
Separate beds for girls would have helped all the screaming,
Or maybe no children, we are silently leaning!
Jade could write a book on toilets, she has visited every one!
It is driving us insane, I’ll give you the drum!
Mike’s Mancave is working perfectly,
He hasn’t slept in it yet, must wait & see!
Thursday 5 January 2012
AUSTRALIA’S MOST SOUTHERLY ROAD
5/01/12 This morning we headed to the most southerly point of Australia. The End of the Road! There were sheltered bays with old yachts & fishing boats sitting calmly on the water. Cockle Creek is really nice. There is a few fishing huts down here, it is quite isolated. Once we were at the end of the road, we had to walk 7.7km one way to South Cape Bay. The track was made up of rainforest areas, beautiful big ferns, then opened to flat waist high peat swamp. As the weather changes so quickly here, we were constantly removing & adding layers! What a wild ocean it was, Freezing gusty winds welcomed us as we walked out onto the cliff. The walk took us 4 hours. Sore legs & hungry when we got back. At 3pm we had lunch at Australia’s most southern pub. It was good!
Fishing hut on the bay.
HUON RIVER & TAHUNE AIR WALK
We camped at Franklin on the Huon River for 2 nights at $10 a night. Mike launched the boat & we went cruising down the river (which is salt water), had a fish but just caught little flathead & bream. It is also lovely here too. There is a playground so girls are happy.
4/01/12 At the Tahune Air Walk we saw the Big Tree, which was a monster! 6.2 meters diameter & 87 meters tall & shrinking. We could not fit it in a photo. We walked through the park which had 2 long suspension bridges. The Air Walk bridge is 600 meters long suspended 37 meters high among the massive trees. At the end it hangs out over the river. It is a bit freaky.
Nice & High! Windy scuds would blow up every now & then.
We also did the Eaglehawk Hand gliding. It pulled back up the valley & then let you go. The girls loved it!
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