Historic bridge at Ross
We left Port Sorell to base ourselves at Quamby corner van park
to explore the Central Highlands.
On the way, we called into Deloraine, to have a look round.
Some of the sculptures in the main street of Deloraine
After setting up at Quamby Corner,
we set off to check out the 2 main lakes in the area,
Great Lake & the smaller Arthurs Lake.
There are hundreds of shacks that circle round the shores of both lakes.
From the well built & home quality, to the most basic of
timber & fibro basic shacks.
Basic shacks
One of the better shacks, with the ever present firewood piles.
Nigel, who I spoke to at a dance at Devonport,
said he & his mate regularly go up there to stay
in Summer, to relax, & fish for trout.
They tried it for 1 winter,
but it was too cold, & they had to wait for the snowplough
to come through, & follow it out.
While up there, we called into a lookout,
Which is on the Highland Plateau,
a rather remote spot, & there was a coffee van there!
That was much appreciated, as it was only 9deg. C.
After coming down off the Plateau, it was 24deg C.
Leaving there, we came to Longford, where, for a few years
it held rounds of the Australian Grand Prix race meetings
within its street circuit. That was back in 1953, 1959 & 1965.
The Longford Pub, with one of the racing cars in the window
We passed through Perth, with Jan taking pics of
the Perth Post Office, & the Baptist Church.
Next on the route was Evandale, the location of the
recently run Penny Farthing races.
Phew! That was enough for 1 day!
After a good nights sleep,
we set off for Mole Creek, with the intention
of doing the Meander Falls walk
We decided against the 6.5hr trek,
& just did the 5 min. walk to the suspension bridge.
Walked past this carving from a eucalyptus tree,
to represent Megafauna which may have roamed
this area in prehistoric times.
Suspension bridge at start of Meander Falls walk.
Old tree on the way to the bridge
We ended the day with a short, 20min walk to the Devils Gullet.
The overhanging lookout gives spectacular views down into a glacial gorge
with vertical dolerite rock walls descending to the bottom, 220M below.
The climb to the Devils Gullet.
Standing on the overhang, looking down.
Vertical dolerite rock face, with storm clouds brewing.
Waiting to fall.
Just got back to the car in time. From a sunny morning to
a stormy deluge with thunder & lightning in the afternoon.
Wanting to see a waterfall, we did the Liffey Falls walk instead,
only 30mins return, an easy stroll through lush rainforest.
We left Quamby Corner, to head to Coles Bay,
a place we missed last time round on the East Coast.
Little critter we photographed on the side of the road.
To get there, we stopped in Campbell Town
& Ross to have a look round, & to sample
Ross' Tasmanian Scallop Pie, reputed to
be the best in Tassie.
Pie was good, but don't know if the best in Tassie,
Haven't tried them all (yet)
watch this space.
Some of the Churches in the 2 towns.
Beautiful organ in one of the churches
Bridge at Deloraine
Another view of the bridge at Ross
Bridge at Campbell Town
Coles Bay
Moving on to Coles Bay, I was hopeful
of a wave at Friendly's Beach, which is just North of the Bay.
After setting up in the Van Park, we drove to the beach.
Wind was in, but beach still looked good,
with aqua coloured water & white sand.
I
I talked to a young guy who had just come in from surfing.
Him being a local, I was picking his brains
about other surf breaks on the beach, & how to access them.
I commented on how beautiful the beach looked,
and he said, 'looks even better from the air'.
It turned out, he is a pilot, who does tourist flights over the area.
He said come to the office just down the road,
& we'll do a deal on a flight.
So we did, & he did, & we booked a 45min flight for the next day.
over the beaches, & waterways, & Wineglass Bay,
which is a big tourist todo in the area.
Northern end of Friendly Beach
Our Pilot Sam, does the tourist flights 6 months of the year
in Coles Bay, in the tourist season, then he goes to
Thredbo, working in the Pub, & snowboarding
for their tourist season. Not a bad life!
Wineglass Bay, so named because during the early days
of whaling here, the whale carcasses were towed to the Bay
to butcher & boil down the blubber to extract the oil.
Hence the Bay was dyed red with blood,
like red wine in a glass.
Boat diving for Lobster, note the hooker hose.
Another Bay around the corner
Yet another Bay.
The flight was sensational. We could have walked in to the Bay,
or we could have cruised around the Bays,
but we were very happy with the flight, & Sam the Pilot.
A few pics from this weeks travels
We made a new furry, Wallaby friend
One of the walks in the Highlands through low cloud
Now moving on to Bicheno. We passed through here before,
but now will stay there for a week or so.
