​King island 20-22 February

King Island was a total surprise and we loved it. Again we drove most of the roads (nearly all gravel - some sand) over 450 Ks and saw all the accessible beaches. The island is rather different to Flinders Island - no mountains but plenty of heavily vegetated sand dunes. It's rocky, wild and craggy on the west coast and calmer on the east which makes sense given the prevailing westerlies - der!

First day out we drove to the most northern point to see the huge lighthouse at Cape Wickham.  At 50 odd metres high it's the tallest lighthouse in Australia - it's monumental! Across the small Victoria Cove right near the tip of the island is a huge golf course which attracts lots of people many of whom seem to be flown in by helicopter. You'd have to be keen as it is probably the world's windiest course. Incidentally, Australia also has the world's longest fairway - 1,365 km along the Eyre Highway, from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia.  Go Australia!

We enjoyed lots of King Island 'cloud juice' - as well as some delicious King Island lovely edibles. Prices were sky high, for us,  e.g., $180 for a lobster dinner for 2), but we tasted as many cheeses as we could and bought some - of course!

Calcified forest - quite other worldly

On the southern end of the island is a calcified forest reminiscent of those along the coasts of Victoria and SA. We were captivated by Penny's Lagoon, a suspended lake - one of only three in the world. It sits on silt and packed sand. The island is a haven for many birds and is home to a large Ramsar site at Martha Lavinia Conservation Area (for those who don't know about Ramsar, it is an international intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources signed in Ramsar, Iran).

We found sand flies at Sandfly beach, hello!  In fact they found me - Heather the insect magnet! I was bitten by loads of big and small insects AND right through my pants - ouch!
The beaches are strewn with washed up bull kelp which is hauled in and dried before packaging for export it to a surprisingly large and diverse range of industries.  We found huge oysters, brightly coloured cockles/pippies and numerous ship wrecks. This piece of coastline, which seems to be a ship graveyard, claimed the lives of 100s but which generated heroic rescue attempts by the locals. One such wreck, the Cataraqui lost 400 people! Its hard to imagine the bravery or desperation that drove people to explore/sail these treacherous waters.

long streamers of bull kelp drying

Wild life came in all shapes, sizes and colours. Brown butterflies with white and orange spots, tiny caterpillars, echidna, wallabies, birds. We sighted and identified 97 different bird species including 14 new ones - 13 endemic to Tasmania plus feral populations of turkey, peacock and pheasant - astonish! Flame and dusky robins as well as wrens played 'chicken' with us along the roads and a juvenile wedge-tail eagle startled us almost out of our seats as it launched itself into the air out of trees not many feet above our van. Tiny brown grasshoppers with bright yellow wings flashed over and through masses of yellow flowers. The colours of the flowers were just too varied to describe. Needless to say I have loads of photos! Just be thankful I have spared you my not-insignificant collection of plants and fungi pix.
The trip was well worth it. Three full days was long enough to get a good look at this tiny piece of quiet paradise.

​February 17 - Minor bucket list day

Today we crossed something off our bucket list - we walked around Dove lake in the Cradle Mountain National Park. It was beautiful! The circuit is 6 km through heathland and woods of beech, myrtle and other strange and exotic lushness.

Lindsay heading out on the Dove Lake circuit

They list it as an easy walk of 2 hours - we took over 3 hours which is normal for us, we always take longer! In addition to the regular Dweag (Wheat-Doig) stops to look at birds and photograph flowers and generally look at everything that caught our eye along the track, I struggled a bit with the climbs (which weren't expected) such is the dismal state of my fitness level. But we made it! Yay!!! Wet - oh yes because it drizzled and rained much of the walk. But as they say this is Tasmania! We were close to cloud line some of the time - it was gorgeous and we'd both highly recommend it - that's if you can't manage the 6-7 day Overland track! I tell you our thermals and raincoats AND walking sticks got a good work out today.

The next day we left for Wynyard via Sheffield, but with promises to return to do some of the other walks accessible from this northern end of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair NP.
The north-west coast is different to the north east coast. Calmer waters, big tides, shallower and with an air of calm.

Rain clouds over Wynyard

We camped at Beach Retreat tourist park right on the beach - really beautiful with a board walk right along the beach into the village.
We stuffed ourselves almost sick on a Sunday roast lamb lunch at the local pub and dashed home between squalls of rain. Those clouds were teetering on saturation point!
The weather has been unseasonable it seems with a fair bit of rain and much cooler temperatures than normal - so we took a drive into Burnie to buy more thermals. They have been our life savers.
The next day we were heading  into the wide blue ceiling in another tiny plane in the care of yet another Biggles team whisking us off to King Island this time off the north west corner of Tassie mainland.

​February 14 - back on Tassie mainland
Back on the mainland, we were rather achy and tired after 4 days of rather rough roads - but it was worth every bump. We took a much needed day or so rest, time to wash and regroup before heading west to Burnie and Wynyard. We spent a few lost moments wandering in the Tamar wetlands and picked a swag of plump blackberries growing wild along the side of the road - blackberries and cream for dinner that night ... yum!

All clean and rested, we headed slowly west stopping every now and then to ogle the view - it is so beautiful on this part of Tassie, lush and green and delightfully bucolic (unfortunately I didn't get a photo). Villages with British-sounding names, gardens bursting with glorious colour, fat cows ... one place we stopped Chudleigh is wall to wall, or rather roadside to roadside, roses. The reason we stopped was to buy honey. The variety was astonishing from honey collected from the iconic Tassie Leatherwood, through messmate, stringy bark etc etc to honeys flavoured with lavender, rose, spices, chili and many more - plus honey icecream, yum!
We took the scenic route from Mole creek - such a cute name - with views over the West Tier mountain range and ended up at Gowrie Park where we camped for a couple nights - an easy drive to Cradle Mountain NP. This tiny village is surrounded by soaring, rocky peaks and nestles at the foot of Mt Roland a huge steep rock wall.

Lorinna 'railway station'

After we set up camp, we took a drive through some awesome countryside including a very interesting settlement, Lorinna, deep in the highlands. No through roads. It's real 'hippy' territory and quiet fascinating - lots of 'veggie' gardens, buildings cobbled together, shells and odd pottery tucked into tree hollows. Back to nature with some interesting farms built near the Lorinna railway station. Never did figure out where the line started and finished but presumably it was connect with either mining or the timber industries.
We came across a young woman stripped to the all together bathing in mud on the edge of Lake Cethana. This is the other Tasmania, the interesting one harking back to the days of Bob Brown and the Gordon below Franklin protest days. It was a fascinating drive albeit longer that we expected because we ended up on a mountain track with no place to go!

​Flinders Island 11-13 February

Saturday we spent time in the north of the island and that included a delightful picnic lunch stop at Emita beach overlooking quiet, tranquil waters.
Furneaux islands were discovered by the British 1773 - over 50 islands splatter across the sea. Of course others had described them before that. This and other gems of history both human and natural we learnt at the history museum at Emita. We both reckon it is one of the best museums we have visited. With many rooms devoted to specific parts of history - maritime including ship building, geological and wild life, and there's a reconstructed mutton bird processing 'plant' dating back to the 1800 and early 1900s. Quite an elaborate set up albeit rather grizzly when you think about the reality of it. Moonbird is the aboriginal name for these beleaguered birds, perhaps because they fly in to their burrows on dusk or later after feeding all day far out to sea; they are actually short tail shear waters. I believe they got their name as 'mutton' birds from the early settlers, whalers and sealers who ate them. Apart from their food value, they were highly prized for their rich oil which is high in omega3s; you don't want to know how that was collected. Rather ugly! They are now semi-protected, fortunately. Hunting these birds is a traditional practice for the aboriginals of Lady Barren Island.  They harvest the oil and use it to produce an extensive range of toiletries and therapeutics.

We camped that night at a beach at the southern end of Marshall Bay, totally alone!

Sunday 12 February
The ever present wind started to pick up in intensity and the forecast was for stronger winds the following day when we were to fly home - oh dear. Our flight was rescheduled a number of times the upshot of which saw us heading back south to camp at Yellow Beach again, but we indulged in a scrumptious dinner at the 'pub' overlooking Lady Barren Beach in the twilight! A photo couldn't do it justice as the wind added mood to the raw power of the setting. We tasted abalone for the first time! Can you believe it? Seafood here is plentiful and fresh, you order what seafood you want in advance and the fishermen catch it for you! is that service or what?

Monday 13 February
We woke to very strong winds. The stands of melaleucas/paper barks were clacking together in a crazy Morris dance, whispering and whinging as they swayed and jostled. It turned out to be a day of waiting as our flight departure changed numerous times, but we finally got off the ground, albeit in extremely scarily high winds. Biggles and Algy did a brilliant job of bringing us back to mainland Tassie safely albeit on a bumpy flight path! It was a wonderful visit.

​Flinders Island - Friday 10 February

Yellow Beach

We woke to a grey misty day wrapping quietly around us cozy and safe like a blanket. It is frog-weather today and tiny scraps of glistening skin on springs are bouncing all around as well as in the toilet! Yes we have a toilet in this bush camp as well a BBQ. The 'gobble bonk' of frogs breaks a delicious silence. We are at Yellow beach and this morning the water beckons but there's little room to dry bathing paraphernalia in the mist-laden air.
Post frog-exploring, we launched into the day with a BBQ breakfast banquet (these things are all relative) - in the mist. Quite delicious but then all food tastes better outside. Then we were off to explore.

Special pellets are in the chalet to feed these darlings

The chalet has sleeping upstairs, fire downstairs 

We discovered Patriarch Inlet and Wild Life sanctuary where pademelons and Bennett wallabies eat out of your hand. We wandered across marshy green then through a little forest of trees and bushes where we happened upon 'George of the jungle' caterpillar out exploring on the end of his silken thread.

This sanctuary is cared for by a small group of dedicated 'friends'. We returned there to camp that night - we slept in the van. There's shower and toilet and a small chalet with a huge fire box and chimney - we lit a fire to dry our clothes and shoes. It all seemed quite luxurious to us - warmth and space can take on such proportions.

The chalet

Flinders Island - Thursday 9 February 2017
Photos, as magical as they may be, miss so much when trying to describe the world out there - sadly, so do words. The sky might be glorious with clouds edged in pale gold or crimson at sunset or drooping under engorged clouds slatey with unshed rain. But without the sound of wind through trees, waves lapping or crashing, or the heavy spicy scent of coastal scrub and ...... I realise that I am waxing a tad lyrical, but often I feel totally inadequate when attempting to describe the world around me.
So where was I? Oh yes heading off to Flinders Island with a young 'Biggles and Algy' tweaking buttons and dials, watching multicoloured screens not much further than an arm's reach away - I am seated right behind the cockpit.
From my tiny window, I look down on pewter seas reflecting a watery sun peaking through its early morning cloud-blankets and suddenly there's the shoreline edged in knitted lace. We are there!
The Furneaux Island group and merely scattered scraps of rock, tips of an ancient rocky land bridge to the mainland now submerged. Once again I am reminded how little I know about our Island nation and resolve to explore more, albeit one tiny corner of it.

We collect our tiny, rather down at the heel, camper van - windows won't close because of moss growing in the runners, shelves fall down when you go around a corner and the gear box is on its last legs, but it's home for a few days - and head off armed with a map and a few provisions towards Strezlecki National Park. We explore coves and silent beaches edged with huge granite boulders smeared with brilliant orange, yellow and white lichen, breathe deep the warm spicy smell of coastal plants - succulents like samphire and pig face, native currant bush (Heath-type plant - this one at least. There seems to be loads which all look like wild currant to me) and listen to the quiet whispering of breezes through she-oaks. Sounds, smells and sights which take me back to holidays on the sand dunes of Pt Lonsdale and so many other coastal places in Australian and elsewhere.
First day we got bogged! Of course - there has to be one in each trip (hopefully only one). So many roads to explore but ..... first we just needed to test the limits of this little sleeper capsule that we'll be holed up in over the next 5 days .... hmmmmmmm! Pushing the van, all good exercise - for me NOT!