Our trip to Tasmania started at the beginning of February and the day we left Ulladulla was hot. We left early in the morning to travel the Clyde Mountain while the air temperature was still relatively cool. However, the next few days were even hotter. Benalla, where we stayed one night, reached 39 degrees. It was still 29 at midnight!

The next day it was still 26 degrees at 8:00 am when we left but by the time we got to Creswick, the temperature had dropped to 18 degrees and the next morning we had the diesel heater on to warm us up.

The new Spirit of Tasmania (SoT) terminal in Geelong is a big improvement over the Port Melbourne facility. Once you join the queue, you can leave your vehicle and go to the cafe to await boarding.

Boarding is very organised but a bit hairy being so close to the trucks parked beside you. We prefer the overnight sailing option with a cabin when going on the SoT. We have a meal, couple of drinks and then head off to bed.

On arriving in Devonport we only had a short drive to our first camp, the Berry Patch campground, situated on a berry farm about 20km from Devonport. There aren’t any of the usual camping amenities you’d find in a standard CP, but you can fill your tanks with water. There is also a cafe at the farm, around 200m from the campground, that makes great wood-fired pizzas. Also, the strawberries they sell were delicious – tasted like real strawberries and not the tasteless supermarket variety.  

While staying there we visited a number of local attractions in Devonport, Ulverstone and surrounds. We caught up with some of Judie’s cousins in Burnie and Ulverstone. We had lunch with Brent and Anne in Burnie and had a walk with them down to the foreshore and saw where the penguins nested.

After leaving the Berry Patch we travelled only about 15km to Ulverstone for a couple of nights. We had tickets to see Ralph McTell (‘Streets of London’ fame) at the Ulverstone Rowing Club. A great concert but at 79 I don’t think he’ll be touring for a lot longer!

The last time we went to Cradle Mountain (18 years ago), you were able to drive through to Dove Lake and park there. So many people visit now that they have a main carpark at the visitors centre – reminded me of a ski resort! From there you get on a shuttle bus which stops at various places along the way in. We had previously walked the Dove Lake circuit so this time we decided to do the Crater Lake walk. We started at Ronny Creek and ended up at Dove Lake. The walk took us through some stunning scenery up to Crater Lake and then with some great views over to Cradle Mountain. Back at Dove Lake we got back on the shuttle bus back to the visitors centre.

The first part of our Tasmania trip was to explore the North and West of the state so after leaving Cradle Mountain we headed to Boat Harbour. The road took us through Hellyer Gorge where we stopped and had a walk around. When we got to Boat Harbour the car navigation took us up this narrow road but thankfully the caravan park was at he top of it! The day we were in Boat Harbour was a warm sunny day. The beach was stunning and reminded us of Hyams Beach in Jervis Bay. From Boat Harbour we headed to Montagu campground – top left corner of the state. Montagu was a nice campground and we had a spot tucked in amongst the tea tree to protect us from the wind.

From Montagu we headed back into Smithton and explored the Tarkine drive. We stopped by a nice creek and had our lunch with a cold cup of tea (hot water had gone cold). The forest was stunning and some of the walks took you through fern gardens with green moss everywhere.

Our campsite at Arthur River was in the Parks and Wildlife campground in the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area. There were lots of campers in the only large flat area but we found a quiet spot up a small track. We went to the ‘Edge of the World’ for some photos and later that evening I talked Judie into coming with me to do some sunset photos down on the beach. Nice hamburgers at the local cafe!

Next day we tackled the Western Explorer – a dirt road from just south of Arthur River through to Zeehan. There is a river crossing at Corinna where you have to take the Fatman Barge. Maximum wheelbase allowed on the barge is 9 metres. We measured 8.86 metres so only fit by 140mm!  The Western Explorer was a beautiful drive with some spectacular views. The road is very narrow in places with some steep ascents/descents. Most of the steepest parts have been tarred but we still descended some in 1st gear using the caravan’s manual override brakes.

We stayed at the Golf club at Zeehan for two nights. Our original plan was just for one night as we were going to stay at Corinna. There are limited places to stay at Corinna and they were all booked out ’til mid March. We drove out to Trial Bay while staying there. Lots of Tassie ’shacks’ and a few limited campsites but beautiful scenery.  

Next stop was Strahan and we had been sweating on the weather as we had booked in for a cruise on the Gordon river. The last time we were in Strahan was 18 years ago and it was pouring with rain so we decided not do the cruise. We were lucky this time and the weather was perfect! Although there are a lot of people on the two boats that operate out of Strahan it was still a very enjoyable experience. As well as the good weather, we were lucky on the seating. When we booked they only had centre seats available but we ended up in the second row from the front window, on a lounge type arrangement designed for three but with just the two of us. 

Macquarie Harbour is six times the size of Sydney Harbour but the entrance is through a very narrow channel 120 metres wide! Hairy enough in a powered vessel so I can’t even imagine what it would have been like in a square rigged sailing ship.

Sarah Island was one of the stops on the cruise and was one of Tasmania’s infamous convict penal settlements. The worst of the worst offenders were sent there. One famous convict was Alexander Pearce who escaped several times. When he was recaptured he was always alone – he’d eaten the others with bits of one of them found in his pockets.

We drove 41km to Queenstown the next day where we stayed in a caravan park. This gave us a chance to catch up on the washing and to have some nice long hot showers rather than the super quick ones we have when on our tank water. We booked in on the Wilderness Railway which was not operating the last time we were there. The trip from Queenstown to Lynchford is only a short journey. The train had a magnificent steam engine that also uses the Abt system (cog and rack) for the steeper grades. Judie had a go at gold panning when we stopped at Lynchford but didn’t have any luck.

From Queenstown we started the long winding climb out on the Lyell highway. The workmen were putting out cones and some where a little close – only managed to knock one flying! After the long climb we stopped at Nelson Falls for a look and some photos. Some of the best falls I’ve seen and as it had rained the night before they were flowing well.

Our stop for the night after leaving Queenstown was Derwent Bridge where we were lucky to get a good spot as well as dinner at the pub. However, gale force winds hit as a low pressure system crossed Tasmania so we decided to stay another night. Unfortunately though the diesel heater died on us!

And so we leave the west coast and are now heading to Hobart.

More photos below.