Hi Folks
(Here is, about 6 months late, but it is our 2nd Tasmanian trip report. I think it took me a long time to come to terms with what happened and write it down)
On Friday 21st April we flew out of Tullamarine (Melbourne) Airport and landed just over an hour later at Cambridge near
Hobart.
From Hobart we picked up the hire car and headed into town for a bit of lunch, you guessed it, back at
North Hobart,
Pane Cucina of course.
Once fed we headed back the way we had come, past the airport and onwards to the
Tasman Peninsula reaching Eaglehawk Neck just over an hour later.
Map Showing Eaglehawk Neck
[Map: Google]
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The Lufra Country Hotel
[Photograph: The Lufra]
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We had booked into the
Lufra Hotel this time, as promised, and found it to be an old style country hotel with heaps of charm overlooking Pirates Bay. To our delight we found our room’s bathroom had a huge deep bath. The water, a bit brown from the tannin in the local water supply, soon cleared and we found ourselves emersed, relaxed, and recovering from our day’s travels.
We expected to see many old friends from the lighthouse days but the hotel was full of fisherman for a big competition that weekend. It seems that they had advance warning and all went down to Fairways Resort at the bottom of the Peninsula.
That night we found there was a bit of a wait at the dining room and were asked to come back at 7pm. Upon our return and we were given a table but there was a bit of a wait till our meal was served. The fair seemed a bit plain though there was plenty of it. Despite our initial disappointment we found out later that the manager was away and that the chef had walked out that morning! We realised we had been a bit harsh and in fact the assistant manager’s wife had stepped and was to be congratulated an admirable effort under the circumstances.
We retired to a huge lounge with an open fire and found ourselves talking about our plans with another couple who, as always happens, lived only about 10 minutes from us at home.
The conversation nearly gave the game away for the surprise I had arranged for Toosh the next morning. Even though the gentleman had the same plans his partner was going down to
Hobart to the Saturday’s
Salamanca markets, the next morning. Toosh had said all along that she would love to slip down to Hobart to go to the markets herself and I was worried that she might insist on joining the trip to the markets with his partner in the morning and spoil everything.
I held my breath, but all was well with Toosh not making any commitment.
We were woken up at crack of dawn by fisherman heading out for the first day’s competition. We decided to get up and have a walk and we found ourselves on the beach and inspecting the
tessellated pavement only a short distance below the hotel.
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The nearby tessellated pavement
[Photograph: Roger T Wong]
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The squareness of the patterns on the tessallated pavement was really quite amazing.
Time for the surprise came and we headed off to the other side of Pirates Bay.
On the way we passed through
Doo Town. I remembered this from my first trip to Tasmania, and even then, I had heard of it well before I had ever been there. Originally an collection of shacks, an getaway institution in Tasmania, the first house was named Doo-I in 1935 and was quickly followed by Doo-Me and Doo-Us. So was born the rule that the name of your shack had to have "doo" in it somewhere, hence names such as:
Doo-Little
Doggy-Doo
Doo-Bugger-All
Thistle Doo
Doo Drop In
Doodle-Doo
Love Me Doo
Make Doo
and some you just can’t quite put here!
By 10am we had parked the car and were at the Eaglehawk Neck Jetty at the south end of Pirates Bay. Along with 4 or 5 others was the gentleman we had been talking to the night before.
A boat pulled in and we proceeded to board.
I was only at this point that Toosh started to get a twinkling of what was going to happen. At least that’s what I would like to believe. Toosh is either a good bluff and even though she had known, still went along with the surprise or it truly was a surprise, I don’t know. In wisdom I dare not even ask.
Once aboard the "Coastal Explorer", a nine-metre (30 foot) catamaran, the skipper, Damian Connor, from
Tasman Sea Charters welcomed us a board and we donned big blue weather proof jackets that are the absolute minimum once on the open sea.
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The rugged coastline from a lookout point near Tasman Arch, Eaglehawk
[Photograph: Ian Lloyd]
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We were in for a 3 hour trip, covering 50 kilometres (31 miles), from Eaglehawk Neck along the rugged coastline to Tasman Island and back again.
We headed off and once around the point we found ourselves on the seaward side of famous landmarks such as the Blowhole, Tasman’s Arch and Devil’s Kitchen. While viewing these the Damian explained the formation of blow holes caves etc.
Also, throughout the rest of the trip Damian explained the remarkable local geology and marine biology.
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We enter a massive sea cave early in the voyage
[Photograph: Toosh]
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We entered a massive sea cave in the cliff face where we had to be careful as there was a boat with a flag "divers below". Not only was the cave huge, but the water seemed to be quite deep as well.
At this point the Damian emphasized the environmental aspect of the engine of his craft and how it was especially designed not to release pollutants such as oil into the sea. He stated that it was his belief that "to see is to learn is to protect". It was very apparent that looking after his stretch of ocean was just as important as running his business.
Next came Waterfall Bay where the wisps of a waterfall ran straight off the top of the cliff and broke up in the air due to the wind. We were told that this becomes a torrent that makes it all the way down to the ocean when it rains.
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Patersons Arch was amongst the amazing scenery on our voyage
[Photograph: Toosh]
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All along the coast were rocky outcrops with sea birds such as
Black-faced Cormorants and
Australian Gannets.
We also saw many
Australian and
New Zealand Fur Seals resting on the rocks and further out to sea many birds other, including
Albatrosses and
Little Penguins.
The skipper, Damian, seemed to be wanting to point our attention to something closer to the coastline with a small point coming up. There it was, an arch cut out of the cliff by the ocean. To our surprise we went straight through the arch and out the other side!
Next we found ourselves in Fortescue Bay which is the only break in the cliffs along this stretch of coastline. You can get to it by a track from the Tasman Highway and it’s beach offers the only respite of it’s kind for the locals during the hot summer months.
We headed out again towards
Cape Hauy. This point in the coastline is famous for
The Lanterns,
The Candle and
The Totem Pole.
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Approaching The Candle
[Photograph: Toosh]
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The Candle is a bit of a legend and is very popular on postcards, the same for the adjacent Totem Pole.
A friend of the skipper had come out recently and scaled The Candle and then the Totem Pole next to it!
We now cut through open sea straight towards
Cape Pillar, and opposite it
Tasman Island with it’s
lighthouse.
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Cape Pillar from Tasman Island
[Photograph: Australian Maritime Safety Authority]
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Cape Pillar is the highest sea cliff in Australia, up to 300 metres (almost 1,000 feet) tall, composed of the
Dolerite that is common to much of this coastline and Tasmania.
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Og Bear at the base of the haulage way at Tasman Island
[Photograph: Toosh]
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A view of the haulage way looking down from the island
[Photograph: Denise Shultz]
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Damian steered the boat into the channel between the rocks and the haulage way on the island. This is where supplies were landed in the days that the lighthouse was manned. A launch from the supply ship would pull in then the goods for the lighthouse keepers and their families would be lifted up in a basket up to the haulage way. The goods would then be taken up the haulage way, then by a wooden railway to the lighthouse and cottages.
The cable from the flying fox was still strung overhead from the rocks up to the platform.
The families were also lifted up this way and it used to terrify the keepers’ wives so once on the island they would let their leave accrue so they could take as few a trips as possible in the basket hanging from the flying fox!
Thus we had reached Tasman Island by sea even though we were unable to land. This is where we were hoping to be again the next day in our second attempt to reach the island and the lighthouse by helicopter. It had been my objective of the previous trip three weeks earlier but the weather had forced the
cancellation of the flights and the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first lighting of the lighthouse.
Smithy, Deb and I had flown over Tasman Island in
1999, but being in a fixed wing aircraft had not been able to land as there is no strip.
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The impressive Tasman Island with Cape Pillar in the background
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Smithy shooting over Tasman Island
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So the next day we were to try again with around 120 visitors booked to be landed on the island. Two helicopters were to shuttle the visitors in ten minute intervals from Safety Cove to Tasman Island, taking them back after they stayed for two hours.
It looked like it was going to be different this time with build up in bad weather absent and tomorrow looking like it was going to a beautiful day like today.
Damian took the opportunity to activate the full colour underwater camera which gave us a good view of the murky depths below.
Having achieved our objective it was time to return. As we headed away from the island we saw the lighthouse and its cottages come into full view perched on the top of the cliffs.
We headed in more open water via
Hippolyte Rock for the trip home where we saw albatrosses, Little Penguins and a variety of other life. Some of the fishermen were still out in full swing but many were already starting to head in with their catch.
Eventually we pulled back into the jetty in Pirates Bay where our journey had begun and thanked the Damian, the skipper, for a great morning. We got our lunch from an excellent takeaway food van in the main car. The fair was mainly local varying from seafood to ice-cream.
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Tasman Island Boat Trip Map
[Photograph: Tasman Sea Charters]
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From here we drove to the Blowhole, then onto Tasman’s Arch and finally the Devil’s Kitchen from the landward side.
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Blowhole at Eaglehawk
[Photograph: Ian Lloyd]
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Tasman Arch, Eaglehawk
[Photograph: Ian Lloyd]
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Tasman Arch, Eaglehawk
[Photograph: Ian Lloyd]
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We retired that night in full anticipation of our flight to Tasman Island the next morning. Again as last time, it was going to be an opportunity to catch up with old friends such as Christian Bell.
Again we were to be disappointed. Woken up with the birds by the fishermen, showered and breakfasted, we were on the verge of heading out the door this time when the phone rang. "Flights cancelled. Weather coming up from the south" was all that was said. It was almost like we had to hear it again to believe it!
Time for a contingency plan; Toosh joked again about my contingency plans. I have travelled most of Tasmania that I have wanted to see over the last 25 years but I still hadn’t been to
Russell Falls in the
Mount Field National Park in the South West of Tasmania.
Breakfast in North Hobart again, guess where? From here we headed west out of Hobart and up the
Derwent Valley. As we passed the main bridge to the north we were delighted to see some geese wandering down the side of the highway as though they owned it.
We stopped for morning tea in
New Norfolk.
The local bakery had a map on the wall and after studying it I realised it was not a lot further to go right out to the
Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area,
Lake Pedder and the
Gordon Dam, and still be back well in time for dinner at my favourite
Indian Restaurant in Hobart, then to catch our flight home.
There was much controversy years ago over damming of the Huon, Serpentine, Gordon and Franklin Rivers. The main centre of the controversy was the flooding of the Old Lake Pedder and it’s famous white beaches. A
huge campaign was launched to stop the madness. The
Hydro Electric Commission had been given so much power (sorry about the pun) that they had become like the de facto Government of Tasmania, a . Even though Tasmania had adequate power they believed that if they produce heaps of cheap power it would attract industry to the State to reduce unemployment and therefore the power would be used.
Eventually the Federal government stepped in to stop the damming of the Franklin and any further dams in Tasmania.
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Some of the amazing South West Wilderness in the background
[Photograph: Og Bear]
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So continuing, we headed up Derwent Valley and turned off to the South West Wilderness. Past Russell Falls, we can do that on the way back.
Through several small towns, one with a very nice looking eatery, remember that for lunch on the way back.
Through the last town,
Maydena, and over the mountains from the east side onto the west side of Tasmania and on to the South West Wilderness. The country changed entirely from the green and autumn colours of the Derwent Valley to a sparse rugged wilderness. Mountains had amazing formations with names like the Sentinel Ranges and the Saw Back Ranges. They were made of the same
Jurassic Dolerite, that we had seen on the boat trip to Tasman Island, which was common to large areas of Tasmania.
On the way to the Pedder Dam we crossed over McPartlan Canal that directs the overflow from Lake Pedder, which is always full, into the Gordon Dam. Pedder is kept full for recreational use, where as the Gordon is for power and it level fluctuates quite dramatically.
We finally arrived at
Strathgordon, a town built by the Hydro along with the Gordon River Road (which we had just come over from Maydena) so the dams and associated hydro-electric scheme could be built.
As we made our way through the town down to the waters edge of Lake Pedder light drizzle began to fall and gave the lake an eyrie appearance.
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4x4 at Lake Pedder. Note the excellent condition of the vehicle
[Photograph: Og Bear]
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Og Bear at Lake Pedder
[Photograph: Toosh]
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Lake Pedder from the lookout
[Photograph: Toosh]
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From here we continued onwards finally arriving at the Gordon Dam wall. It was really getting miserable now, but so far most times when we got out of the car it stopped and the sun would shine for a while.
We made our way down a steep step stairway then crossed the dam wall. The chasm that had been dammed stretched deeply 140 metres below us. The wall is one of the World’s highest thin-arch concrete structures of it’s type in the world. A commercial abseiling company describes it as the highest wall they abseil in Australia.
Once we had climbed back up the steps to the car park the visitors centre was open. It is a concrete structure cantilevered over the gorge to give the best viewing vantage.
Here we were able to see details of the construction and working of the hydro-electricity scheme.
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Toosh at the Gordon Dam
[Photograph: Og Bear]
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Map of the Gordon and Pedder Dams
[Photograph: Hydro Electric Commission]
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The weather was getting really miserable now with not even the breaks of sunshine appearing, so it was time to head back.
After about an hour we stopped for rest at the lookout where we had stopped on the way in. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but Toosh was keen to keep moving and get some lunch which by now was well overdue.
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The take away food outlet we decided to bypass
[Photograph: National Museum of Australia]
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As we passed through Maydena the only place seem to be a local store that didn’t look too prospective. I reminded Toosh that I had spotted something in next town only a few minutes further down the highway.
Little did we realise that the main street was off to one side and to be fair the town, I have since discovered, has some potentially nice eating establishments there.
I am not sure what happened ... Toosh must have zoned out, fallen asleep or something ... the worst part was knowing what to do if I was at the wheel but knowing there was not enough time to say anything or act ... the car was heading over the wrong side of the road!
I said "Toosh" and suddenly she came to and grabbed the wheel which sent us fishtailing down the road. Again, there was no sense of control, it was just a matter of hanging on for the ride!
Finally the car jack-knifed and we tumbled over the side of the embankment onto the roof and slid further down coming to rest hanging upside down in our seat belts.
The main thing I remember was the amount of glass flying around and trying to hold my hands over my face to protect myself. All the time thinking that this was not good!
I was really worried about Toosh. She really didn’t seem to be conscious. I was worried that we may have been too far over the edge for anyone to see us. I checked myself, had a look around the car, and deciding that the rear passenger window was out, got out through it to go and get help. As I made my way up the embankment and onto the road a man came running over and said, "it’s OK, I’ve called the ambulance and all the services.
Sure enough, with about a minute the local cop soon turned up came speeding out of town past the 80km speed signs and almost missed us!
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The local Maydena volunteer ambulance that attended the scene
[Photograph: National Museum of Australia]
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A minute or two later the local volunteer ambulance turned up to assist the man who had come over from his house and was now attending to Toosh. We found out later that his mother was a local volunteer ambulance officer though I am not sure if he was.
I was being attended to in the local ambulance, but Toosh was still in the car and I was really starting to worry about her.
The local fire brigade arrived followed by the SES came up from the next town.
Toosh had to be cut out of the car so they had brought equipment up to do the job.
They also set about stabilising the car with cables so they work could safely.
Toosh was hanging upside down for several hours and she was really amazed by first man staying down with her and talking to her through the whole ordeal.
All this time the people attending to me kept assuring me she was going to be OK while I helped fill out an endless stream of paperwork.
Finally another ambulance was sent up from New Norfolk to take us to Hobart because same weather that had stopped out Tasman Island flight that morning had grounded the Air Ambulance as well.
I think we were the big event for sleepy little Maydena on that Sunday afternoon.
The town is to be congratulated for there spirit of volunteering and commitment to providing these services to their community and those who just happened to be passing through like we were.
The first man told me that a lot of accidents happened along here and that he was surprised we hadn’t gone into the forest where it would have been a lot worse. He said the conditions were typical and so was the front wheel drive type of 4x4 car we were driving.
I was also surprised that we were so close to the town we had gone through. We couldn’t have been going too fast because we had just come out of the 80km speed zone.
Toosh was now out of the car, strapped to a body splint and, with me, in the ambulance on the way to
Royal Hobart Hospital.
The trip seemed really serene as we passed back down the Derwent Valley and onto Hobart.
When we passed the geese again we were really saddened to hear from the girl driving the ambulance that some of them had been hit by a truck several days earlier.
As I said before, Toosh is nurse, but she was really impressed by the way we were handled in the truama room. All sort of checks, x-rays and scans were undertaken.
Toosh made a contribution to all the effort by being violently ill as they went to put her in to machine for a scan. It took hours to clean it up and delayed the next patient, me!
We had arrived around dinner time and I finally got up to the ward about 12 that night!
Originally we were to be in a twin room together but that bed was gone by the time I got up there.
I was sent for dialysis next morning as I had been away for longer than I should have been. When I got back to the ward we were being released.
They wanted us to stay for a few more days but Toosh, being a nurse of course, was determined to get out of the hospital as soon as possible!
It was about mid afternoon when we made our way out and into the middle of Hobart.
We picked up the Hobart Mercury to find that on the day of our accident three fishermen, involved in the fishing competition, had drowned off the Hippolyte Rock right in the area where we had been the day before!
We had to rebook flights back to Melbourne that night. We also booked my Indian restaurant that we should have gone to the night before.
After killing several hours we arrive at the Tandoor & Curry House where we enjoyed a meal to their usual standard.
We got taxi to airport where we had to put in an accident report for the car. While I was doing this Toosh went to get some of her stuff out of our smashed car which had been towed back to the yard at the airport.
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When you look at the wreck of the 4x4 you realise how lucky Toosh was
[Photograph: Toosh]
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She decided to take her camera to take some photos. This was the first time she had seen the car and it started to upset her.
When we got on the plane she had got really upset and I had to comfort her. The guy next to us thought I must have been comforting her due to a fear of flying!
We got back very tired around mid night and picked my car up ... in retrospect should have booked into the airport motel opposite the car park ... it was a very quiet trip home as we were so tired.
I am still yet to see Russell Falls and the Mount Field National Park.
Regards
Og Bear
For more photos go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/OgBear/TasmanianTrips2006#
For a slideshow go to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/OgBear/TasmanianTrips2006#slideshow/
