Well, our night at Derwent Bridge ended up being two. A low pressure system crossed Tasmania with winds up to 125 Kmh. We did move the van though as we were under a large tree and didn’t want to contemplate it falling on us! Our diesel heater decided to pack it in when we needed it the most so we went to bed with beanies and socks on.

The original plan was to have 3 nights at the highland lakes so I could do some fishing but with the extra day at Derwent Bridge and with no diesel heater we cut it back to one night at Arthurs Lake. I had a fish at Penstock Lagoon and Arthur’s but didn’t see any fish at all. Bright blue skies and a dead calm probably didn’t help either.

We moved on to a caravan park at Cambridge (Hobart) as we wanted to be close to the airport. Nathaniel was spending several days with us and as his flight out was at 6:00 am we didn’t want to have to drive far.

We managed to jam a lot into our Hobart visit. Judie wanted to do some family history so first stop was Cornelian Bay cemetery tracking down people from her research. Later we went to Bellerive where the Tasmanian Family History Society are located. Luckily for me the Sound Preservation Association were next door so I spent time there while Judie did her research. They had a great collection of old bakelite radios, phonographs and old radio broadcasting equipment.

Our first day with Nathaniel was spent at the Hobart Convict Penitentiary. They had a great exhibition and tour called ‘Unshackled’.  A new thing they have are the digital records of the convicts who were there. You can search for someone and it’s then displayed on overhead screens. Judie managed to find a couple of her convict ancestors.

Lunch was at Tom McHugo’s Hotel. They describe themselves as a gastropub. Not sure about that term but the food was great!

Salamanca Markets was the next day and they were busy. Plenty to look at as always. While we were there HMAS Hobart had arrived the day before and they had a procession for the ‘Freedom of Entry in Hobart’ ceremony.

Nathaniel was keen to do a walk in the Hartz Mountains so we drove out there and walked to Lake Esperance. The day before Hobart had had one of its hottest days on record. When we got to Lake Esperance the following day it was almost sleeting and blowing a gale! 

On our way back we stopped a Geeveston for sushi. Masaaki’s sushi is supposed to be some of the most authentic outside of Japan and the best in Tasmania. Nathaniel and I queued for over an hour and managed to get some. Very nice!

The following day, Nathaniel and I caught the ferry to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). Great displays but there wasn’t a lot of difference from when Jude and I last visited about ten years ago. Not sure I’d visit again.

An early start the next day to take Nathaniel to the airport and then Jude and I headed off to Snug. We stayed at a lovely spot right beside the beach and used it as a base to explore the area. On one of our days out of Snug we went to Cygnet. There was a bakery there called ‘Poolish’. They made excellent sourdough bread (as you can probably guess from the name) and the best pies I’ve ever had. Cygnet is also where the best shop and support for diesel heaters is located. When we got to Hobart I called them about the problems we were having with our heater. The first problem was that the earth had been put to the caravan chassis by the installer. I had to run a new earth back to the battery. There were then a stack of error codes that had to be cleared – one of them was stopping the heater from starting. All up the guy from Diesel Heat spent well over 30 minutes on the phone with me and didn’t charge a cent! While in Cygnet we stopped by their shop and dropped off a big box of chocolates to say thank you.

From Snug we drove to Southport – the most southerly town in Tasmania with the most southerly pub. We had a day at Hasting Caves and Thermal Springs but didn’t bring our swimmers. I don’t think we would have enjoyed the swim anyway with the amount of European wasps around. Had to be careful eating our lunch. We also drove down to Cockle Creek – the end of the road and the most southerly point you can drive to. Made it to 43° 34’ 37” south!

The bay at Cockle Creek is called Recherche Bay and was named by Bruni d’Entracastaux when his two ships, the Recherche and Espérance moored there for a month to carry out repairs. d’Entracastaux was sent by the French to find out what had happened to the La Pérouse expedition who had last been sighted at Botany Bay in 1788 (La Pérouse arrived a few days (24 January) after the First Fleet). The d’Entracastaux Channel was named by him as well as Bruny Island.

d’Entracastaux noted in his log – 
‘It will be difficult to describe my feelings at the sight of this solitary harbour situated at the extremities of the globe, so perfectly enclosed that one feels separated from the rest of the universe. Everything is influenced by the wilderness of the rugged landscape. With each step, one encounters the beauties of unspoilt nature… trees reaching a very great height, and of corresponding diameter…’— Bruni d’Entrecasteaux, Recherche Bay, January 1793.

The French also developed a garden there which could have been lost as it was on private land. Luckily though it was preserved

From Southport we headed for New Norfolk to stock up and do some housekeeping. While there we went out to Mt Field National Park to see Russell Falls (second time visiting the falls) as well as Horseshoe Falls. Very nice but busy. We stopped at a berry farm on the way back and bought some blackberries, strawberries and raspberries. Delicious! The brewery in New Norfolk was nice as well…

Richmond gave us a chance to try another scallop pie – I think we’re up to about six now! We met up with one of Judie’s relation and also a club member from the ACT Fly Fishers. We’d had a lot to do with each other but had never met in person so was great to catch up. We stayed on a farm about 10 Km out of Richmond which was very peaceful with the Coal river flowing by.

Easter is always a busy time so we made the decision to plonk in Ross for the period. Beautiful little village with two bakeries selling scallop pies! One of them claimed to have the best vanilla slices but I think the ones in Sorrento may just beat them. Ross is also close to Campbell Town and Oatlands which were both great to visit. Oatlands has the Callington Mill – a fully restored and operational Lincolnshire tower mill. The guy who used to be the miller gave us a great rundown on the history and operation of the mill.

Campbell Town has a row of bricks laid down the main street with the details of the convicts engraved in them. Judie tracked down two of her ancestors and we spoke to the person who started it all. Great story but a run in with the council stopped it and although they publicise it as an attraction no credit is given to him. Also of interest is that the United States Naval Observatory attended The Grange in 1874 to observe the transit of Venus. There is a sundial in the park to commemorate this.

Well, that’s the end of the South and East component of our trip. Next is North and East.

More photos below – click on one for a gallery view.