Tasmania bound - January 2019
Also having recently lost both my computer and external hard drive with all my photos, it has added incentive to my posting.
The trek we are planning is one of the most challenging offered in Australia due to its extreme unpredictable weather, steep terrain, and remoteness. I've been creating and dehydrating vegetarian cuisine high in protein for the trip as Australia doesn't seem to have much freeze dried trek food for vegetarians. I've been planning for months now.
I am still recovering from losing all my muscles from the snake bite and so this will be especially challenging for me.
More to come...
January 18th Townsville - to- Emerald
Starting the drive.....
Made it to Emerald for the night and now we are heading on south. Just went through an area with amazing bottle trees....
January 18 Emerald to Dubbo
Now we are heading through Surat with some cute old buildings.....
The village of hebel has not much more than a classic outback pub. Very hot and dry today.
Hebel Pub...
Made it to Dubbo by 8:12pm and it was baking hot (37 degrees). We stayed at a budget ibis hotel which was cheap compared to other hotels, but we soon found out why when we opened the door to our own little room of hell... Ok it wasn't hell, but it stunk of the stale burned meat smell from the restaurant next door and the air con, even though turned on, did little more than blow the foul air around the cubby which was called a room. The space was so small we had to slide sideways to get around to the far side of the bed.
After 20 minutes in the space, I knew there was no way I would be able to sleep in that heat with no cool or clean-smelling air. We asked for another room, away from the restaurant or we would need to begin a search for another spot at 9pm. Luckily they had another room available far away from smells. It was still a cubby but had a new air con and no smells so I was happy and we both crashed very fast....
"The Cubby"
January 19th Dubbo-to-Melbourne
Drive has been a bit more enjoyable today... probably because we knew we would be in Melbourne this afternoon
A classic highway sign. These make me laugh as it isn't something you would see in other countries
This is a funeral service for those individuals who say "nothing fancy" when asked what kind of funeral they would like. Haha
River In Wunghnu
Falafels in Shepparton
Even the highway signs say "Yea Melbourne" Haha!
Finally!!!
We got to our AirBnB, located in Carlton North, so we are pretty close to downtown, HELLO Victoria Markets!!! And are only paying a steal of a price for downtown locale... $55 bucks a night! That is cheaper than the hotel cubby last night!!! Awesome!
We have one full day in Melbourne (Tomorrow) and then Monday we are setting sail for never, never land otherwise known as Tasmania.
We just got word that Tasmania Parks have closed almost all the parks (including the Western Arthurs) to Bush walkers due to extreme dryness and Bush fire risk so if there is no rain in the next week (which doesn't look like it will happen) our entire trip may end before it begins.
We will still go across tomorrow, but the entire point of choosing Tasmania (the supposedly wettest and coolest part of Australia), was to go into and experience the wilderness.
I really needed this and now I don't know what will transpire. This was also David's last chance to do a trip this big on long service leave and when he is still in relatively good shape. His knee is getting worse, so it may never be an option in the coming years.
I'm pretty down today.
Jan 21 - Boat to Devonport from Melbourne
We got up early, ate some of my homemade granola and drove to the ferry terminal in Melbourne. It was pretty fast moving going through quarantine and getting positioned to board the boat with our Pajero.
I was impressed. Usually things take a lot longer than that. Most of the wait came from the unloading of the previous passengers.
We boarded without drama and now had the long 9 hour journey across the bass straight. The water was surprisingly calm and the pitch fairly subtle.
We caught up on our reading and enjoyed the time snoozing or snacking on little tidbits.
The boat had a game room and even a cinema for entertainment, but I prefer the quiet.
We arrived in Devonport a bit late (8:25pm) and as nothing was open for food, we hit the local coles grocery to grab some breakfast items for the next morning and to get david a pastie (I skipped dinner as I am not a dinner person)
January 22 - Tasmania..... who knows where...
We left the airBnB we had stayed at, around 8:30am and headed toward Launceston. Midway David pulled into a small town for a coffee refill and toilet stop.
In Launceston we bought food for the next few days and headed out exploring.
Heading toward Ben Lomand Park we traversed through the hilly Eucalypt forests ascending until we reached the top. Very dry open and hot it was, and we had arrived right around 2pm so it was pretty exposed to the heat. The reflection off the rocks caused radiating heat phenomena, which made it feel like you were standing in an oven. I couldn't last long in that intensity.
We decided not to camp here, but to find our own patch of secluded pitch, so we continued on into the state forested areas, where you can camp anywhere.
Our camp beneath the open sky...
January 23 - Griffin Forest Reserve -
I am thoroughly enjoying the cooler weather here in Tasmania. The day time temperature seems to be just right at around 23-25 degrees and night is wonderful at 18 degrees. My body is loving it.
Last night; Bennetts Wallabies were nibbling grass all around our tent, I could hear them hopping around. This morning their little offerings were scattered around. They are a much smaller and darker wallaby and also very cute. The possums here are the size of very large house cats!!! Huge!
Definitely not in Townsville anymore...
We packed up slowly this morning, enjoying the cool air and the fact we had no need to be anywhere in particular. We drove all the back roads to Ringarooma and on to Scottsdale
We stopped in at Scottsdale to fill the Pajero before heading back out into the less populated areas and david found a local brewery so stopped to sample what was on offer.
(Here is David enjoying a "Pony" which is 200ml of brew)
*Australia has all sorts of names for different amounts of beer which vary between states, but I have never heard of a "Pony" before.*
The different sizes are as follows:
Smaller beers: Tasmania 200ml is a Pony, 285ml is a "ten"
285mL of beer; In Victoria and Queensland it's a “pot”, but in New South Wales, Western Australia and Canberra you’re asking for a “middy”, the Northern Territory ask for a “handle”... and that's just the smaller sized beers....
When you get to the larger sizes it gets really confusing because
Different places use the same name for different sizes. The large size 425 ml "schooner" as it's called in most states, is the smaller size 285ml in Adelaide.
The largest is the "Pint" which is 570mL, but if you ask for a pint in adelaide you will get the 425ml size. If you want the 570ml in adelaide you ask for an "Imperial Pint"
And it goes on... but it is too confusing for me.
January 24 -
Fields of Hops growing...
Guests wanting to share my chips or fish.
After supper, we camped at a free camping site just out of town. It was a bit feral, but as it was free and unmaintained, I couldn't expect more.
We did leave as soon as we could in the morning. I didn't take any photos there.
January 25
We stopped at a winery on the way down to Hobart...
Sampled their offerings and bought a couple bottles of what we liked. They had a really nice riesling.
We had another Bush camp spot as the local campground was full of RV's with their generators all chugging and it was right on the roadway, so I knew I would never get to sleep, not to mention being asphyxiated by carbon monoxide of the generators. We drove to a state forest and camped. It was very quiet and had almost no traffic. The smell of smoke and particulate from the fires shroud this whole area. I was a little worried about being in a wooded area, with all the fire risk, but we listened to every report and there were none in our immediate area.
Jan 26th and 27th - Hobart
We drove to Hobart and visited the Salamanca markets before they closed then continued onward to David's cousin Kaye's house for the evening.
We spent the next 2 days cleaning, washing our clothing, pouring through old family photos that Kaye had from her mother, relaxed, enjoyed a few meals and wine together and caught up on life stories.
This is the adorable resident cat "Mole"
This is a photo of David with his horse Prince and his cousin Paul (Kayes older brother) is riding it.
Jan 28th - Hobart Bonnet Hill with David's lovely Cousin Kaye.
We did a little walk down to the beach near Bonnet hill today with Kaye. It was only a little smokey so we ventured out.
Jan 29 - Hobart - MONA
We have been in Hobart catching up with David's cousin and trying to wait out the fires, which seem to be getting worse not better. The area, which is usually cool and wet, has been having similar weather you would experience in Townsville. Dry, hot and risk of fire.
We decided to visit the Museum of Old and New Art and spend the day there.
We took the Museum boat up the Derwent river to the entrance of the museum (as it was designed to be entered from the water side).
It's a bizarre and interesting place. All the art installations are interactive, or mechanical, or bizarre or mind bending. It was much more stimulating than a regular museum in which one just shuffles through looking at artifacts or artwork. We spent 5 hours there and it felt more like 2 hours, so I wasn't completely burned out by the end. We did miss out on some sections, but overall it was an interesting experience.
These were some of the seating options on the boat.... there was also a big cow..
Entry to Museum... mirrored bent and polished metal
In the front court
The Fat Car
Rainbow serpent of faces
Wind drawing... this contraption drew a pattern using wind. As the mill sped up so did the drawing and as the wind changed direction, the drawing platform also changed direction, thus creating an image.
This was the drawing created on my birthday...
Smoke rolling in on the derwent river when the wind changed direction causing more fire flair-ups
January 30th - Hobart part 2
Went to town today to find David's ancestors' grave stone. He was one of the "First Fleet" convicts who was brought to Norfolk island for hard labour and then granted a ticket of leave and made a "free-settler" in Tasmania with his own block of land. David is 6th generation from Jacob Bellett through his mother's side.
...and dessert too at the "Honey Badger"
January 31st - Hobart town
Rained a little today which is good for the firefighters, although not enough to extinguish the lot.
We went to Hobart and spent the day touring old second hand book shops and other neat shops to pass the time.
One shop we went to had an excellent range. It was called "cracked and spineless". Haha
We got to meet Kaye's son Oliver and his partner Wojtek, who were great guys and lovely to talk to.
We had a shared dinner and a late night of talking and eating and wine-ing.
David choosing a coffee
February 1st
Got a late start due to the previous late night. We headed off to New Norfolk to tour the old antique shops, which I love to do in any trip. Bought a few old things including another whisk (I have a whisk fetish).
An old Bedford truck
An old farm trailer.
February 2nd - Battery point, Salamanca and Mount Wellington
We went to the Saturday market once again to pick up some things and walked around old Hobart Town called Battery Point.
We then drove up to Mount Wellington to get a vantage point of Hobart from above.
Salamanca market bustle....
We have learned of the epic flooding in Townsville hoping our house is intact while we are gone. It is the most flooding Townsville has had in years.
We have bushfires in Tasmania and flooding back home... oh dear!
Mount Wellington.....
The diamonds indicate all the closed active bushfire/ risk areas.
The grey areas are the spots already burned down.
February 3rd -Low key day
We spent the Sunday helping Kaye with things around the house and got some food and packed for and booked our trip to Maria Island on Monday.
We booked a couple of bikes and will ride them with our back packs on, to the campsite (a 4 hour walk from the ferry terminal)
Riding with large packs isn't very comfortable, but I've done it many times before, as that is how I used to get my groceries in Vancouver.
I am hoping that the campsite won't be over-filled. Because it is summer here, there are many people out camping, mostly foreigners but some Aussies too, so space can be limited in camp spots. In the free campsites, people don't understand camping etiquette of burying your own faeces far from camp, so often you camp amongst toilet paper and smelly landmines, which is horrid.
February 4th - Maria Island
(pronounced "ma-rye-ya")
We got up early, ate and left to drive to Triabunna, where the ferry departs. The smoke from the nearby fires, was very evident this morning driving through Hobart to get on to the highway.
Murky sunrise...
On the ferry with breakfast of Croissant we had bought in Hobart on Saturday.
Due to the limited signal on Maria, I haven't been able to post...
When we arrived on the Island and retrieved our packs from the cargo bins, we walked to the old town of Darlington.
David getting some information from the rangers in one of the old convict buildings (complete with whale bones on ground)
There are no facilities on the island for food or drink purchases and no garbage service either. You must be 100% self-sufficient and pack out all your waste. They do provide toilet blocks in the main 'town' and at the campgrounds (some are pit, some are flush) and there are a couple taps to fill water containers. The 'town' is just all the old buildings from when there was a real town there and they have made some into basic accommodation (for those who don't want to camp), but you must provide all your own food etc.
Riding with a 20 kilo packs toward our camp spot
Camp site : French's Farm
We peeled our heavy packs off our sweaty backs and setup camp. The ride into French's farm was about 1.5h or a 4 hour walk. It was an old Farm house and shearing shed from the 1800's, but now plays host to dedicated trekkers wanting to camp for free. They have installed a pit toilet to keep it sanitary and there is a small rain water tank catching water from the old farm house, which trekkers can use for drinking, if there has been rain. The tank was almost empty, but we had carried our own water in a 5L bladder from Darlington.
After we setup camp, we had the rest of the day to do things, so we rode our bikes 2 hours out to the sandy isthmus beyond our camp. It was tough riding in loose sand but we spent a bit of time enjoying the beach on either side before returning.
Sandy track to isthmus
David being his silly self and happy to not be at school.
We got back to camp fairly exhausted from all the sluggish sand riding (which requires a significantly greater expenditure of energy than hard ground riding). We had a simple meal and after cleaning up, the resident wombat came out to feed.
He was a bit shabby and slow, and we got the impression he was an older one as he seemed to need to stop feeding, plunk his bottom down, and rest every few minutes.
Much later, more wombats came out which were more healthy looking, so I took more photos.
Wombat from our tent
We went to bed around 9pm which was still light out
February 5, 2019 - 'Saddle joints and saddle sores'
we had a few people race by us to get to the top quickly and we just let them pass because the misty weather told me we wouldn't be seeing much from the top if it was bathed in cloud. Many people like having their lunch at the top, but I prefer to eat beforehand, as then when you get to the top, you are usually there to enjoy it alone. Also in my experience, the top is usually unprotected, exposed and either too hot or too cold, limited space and no where to go to the toilet, should the need arise.
As we walked up the boulder zone, we met up with the folks who had charged past us, as they came back down. They were drenched with what I can assume was a cloud misting whilst they ate their lunch. They told us it was slippery and wet up there without much view. But as the clouds were moving, we kept moving too.
A toast to a successful day without injury
A brown tree frog that joined us at camp in the evening (Litoria ewingii).
We got back to camp at around 7.30pm and were tired from the cycling. Our butts were very sore, as we weren't used to sitting on saddles and the saddle joint on my opposing thumbs were also not used to bike handles anymore.
The inflating mattresses never felt so good.
February 6th - Last day on Maria Island
We spent some extra time stopping to take photos along the road we had travelled 2 days ago. We were more keen then, to get to camp and setup knowing we would pass by this spot again today.
Back on the Ferry over to the mainland.
We drove back to David's cousins place to get clean and have a rest before figuring out what to do next in this fire-stricken region.
February 7th-
Gear Clean-up and planning day.
It was raining the whole day, which gave us some hope to the parks being possibly reopened at some point. We spent the day cleaning/drying the tent, clothing and anything else. David helped Kaye rework her sprinkler system.
Friday February 8th- Lime Bay
We spent the morning preparing food and gear to go do an overnight on the Port Arthur peninsula and walk.
We left at around 1:30pm to drive to a little bay campsite called Lime Bay.
(our camp before being boxed in)
(Local resident; A Pademelon)
Little did we know it was a long weekend in Tasmania and every weekend warrior came out to the Bay to camp as well.
When we arrived, the place was pretty unpopulated, but by 10pm a huge number of people showed up and surrounded us with camper-vans, huge palatial tents and gazebos.
The loud noise of their drunken presence, including thumping techno music, was far from restful.
At one stage in the night the lady from this camp setup, was screaming and banging pots at a possum who had started eating some of the food she had left out.
We departed early the next morning to start our walk early and get away from the *boguns (*Aussie slang for Hicks)
February 9th - Cape Raoul walk.
We departed at around 6:30am from Lime Bay camp site without eating breakfast and decided the best course of action would be to drive to the trailhead and have breakfast when we park.
(*Hot Drinks)
When we arrived, the skies had darkened and the temperature was quite a bit cooler. Just as hot drinks had boiled, the tinkering of light rain rapped on our rain jackets.
We ate my homemade granola cereal and had our hot drinks before lacing up the trekking boots and heading off.
At the Walker registry we had to decontaminate our boots to stop the spread of a type of fungus.
(*David in the boot cleaning station)
The trail was a very easy groomed path and even though there were hills, the path was very easily traversed.
Some of the view points along the way.
Pretty, twisted forests
The Cape Raoul scenery.
Lunch packed picnic on the return journey.
We made it back to the car park by 2:08 pm and started driving back to Kaye's place as we had dinner reservations for 6:30.
We got back at around 4:12 pm, just enough time to clean up and have a glass of red wine.
We all walked down to the beach from Kaye's place and had a huge meal of Japanese Tapas at a place called Panko Chan. The meals ranged from Flathead in soy, lotus chips, to tuna sashimi, tofu and edamame. It was our one extravagant meal because we didn't get to do the big trek, we needed to treat ourselves.
February 10 - Clean gear and make more cereal.
Today I am making more granola because we have run out. It's another day of discussion as to what we can do. Apparently it is a long weekend, so everything is closed on Monday, which doesn't help much.
*Note to self: before planning a trip, find out how long the kids are out of school for and if there are many public holidays*
February 11- Bruny Island
We decided to head to Bruny Island for an overnight camp and to walk around Labillardiere Peninsula.
We got some groceries for the walk and breakfast/dinner and drove to Kettering to board the ferry.
Getting On the ferry...
We drove to a little oyster restaurant called "Get Shucked" to get David some fresh Tasmanian oysters. They weren't cheap at $20/Dozen or $14/half dozen, but a fresh treat for an oyster-lover.
We then headed to the Bruny Island Cheese Company to get a bite to eat and David went to try what they had on offer, on tap.
Oxymoran was the name of his favourite one, A Dark IPA. Hence the name.
(Mid-chew Into My Pizza)
I had A Pizza, being the least expensive item on the menu for a vegetarian.
We then started driving toward the South crossing an isthmus called "The Neck".
David at Trigannini's Lookout
Next we headed further South to find a campspot near to the start of our walk.
We Camped At Jetty Camp which Used to Be A Free Camp but now costs $10
The Evening Was Clear Which Was Nice to Enjoy.. We did A beach walk And David inspected The oysters..
February 12, 2019 - Walking Day;
Labillardiere Peninsula
When we awoke, the winds were blowing and there was an occasional spitting of light rain, but nothing indicative of what was to come...
We made breakfast and hot drinks and as we began to eat, more small drops of intermittent rain tapped our shoulders, but again, nothing to be bothered with.
We decided to leave the tent up to dry out whilst we walked and we just packed up the tents contents into their various compression bags and stuff sacks and left them piled inside.
We stuffed our lunch and a warm jacket into our day bag, plus a sat phone, knife and a small 1st aid kit.
We put our boots and water proof coats on and headed off.
Not 3 minutes after setting off toward the trail head, did the rain return in a more steady stream... it was going to be a wet walk.
By the time we got to the trekkers sign-in book the heavens opened up and it was teeming down, making it very hard to fill out the paperwork.
David Snapped a shot.
We started walking in the pounding rain, glad we both had recently invested in new long, ass-covering rain jackets when they had gone on sale... we remained warm and dry in the worst of the rains.
We began on Luggaboine Circuit track which was about 40 minutes, then veered off to the left instead of completing the circuit (which is only 1.5 Hours total) we continued onto the Labillardiere track which followed the entire Peninsula before turning back in the same heading, to where we started.
The rain lasted for the first 2 hours. Heavy in the beginning but lightening (not to be confused with "lightning") toward the end and then just a few spot showers.
Along the way we went to a stone beach which was a challenge to walk, as the stones were oval, always shifting under foot and were big enough (about the size of a football) to make you stumble with every step. I had to take care not to twist an ankle.
Back on the trail as it undulated through clearings, heath scrub, wind-knarled bonzaied forests and taller tree stands.
It was a relatively easy walk, but very pretty nonetheless. Many unusual species including some strange lichen or moss or fungi... I couldn't distinguish.
We dipped in and out of treed areas and forests of tall bracket ferns as well as walking along the sandy beaches back to and over headlands.
Around the North Western side we got blown about with strong winds, but the sun came out intermittently and we enjoyed seeing the other side of the island.
We decided to eat lunch after we had passed the last of the exposed beach sections and were back in a protected heathy forest.
David enjoyed a chunk of smoked Wallaby to accompany his veggie-wrap lunch. I stuck to hummus, avocado, cucumber, tomato, tuna, and cheese wrap.
For dessert; some delicious green gauges we bought at the market.
We started walking again to aid in digestion and began the walk back along the northern side of the route.
We saw all the fish farms lined up in the ocean currents, feeding what I can only assume to be farmed salmon. A huge enterprise.
We enjoyed a bit more wind protection along this aspect and walking with the wind to our back seemed to hasten our footsteps.
We got back to camp by around 2:15pm and as I packed our wet tent and dry gear inside into the truck, David walked over to the register to sign us out.
We jumped in the truck and headed toward another walk I wanted to do on the eastern shore.
We first got david some of his beer he enjoyed the day earlier and then parked in the carpark to walk to Cape Queen Elizabeth.
It took about an hour to get to the beach and although the sun was now shining, the wind was a force to be reckoned with.
The walk was mostly on an old 4WD track until the last 1km or so when it turned to single track through the beach heath.
Walking was on soft sand.
The beach was beautiful.
The wind played with the grains of squeaky sand to make them dance over the beach in seeming waves, meeting up with the adjacent rolling waves of the ocean.
The sand swept up and prickled our exposed areas of skin. We had to hold onto our hats even though they had chin straps, because the winds fingers seemed to be able to thwart the cording.
We wandered around the cracked and layered rock formations.
A large arch had formed where the wind had ripped the stone face bit by bit over the centuries.
The waves were curling and blowing backward before they had a chance to crash.
The tide was going out so the remnant pools of water reflected the sky.
We were lucky to have the entire beach to ourselves.
After we were sand-whipped enough, we headed back to the trails and truck.
We got back Just in time to drive to the ferry and straight onto the boat without waiting in a queue. The trip back was rougher because of the white-capped seas, but went without issue
We were hankering for fish & chips and with limited options we decided to try a local Kingston Pub for dinner. Kingston is the closest commercial suburb to David's cousin Kaye's place
We ate at "Robbie Browns" Right Next to the Beach. It was a Yummy meal served in A Rolled Fake Newspaper And Stuffed In A Pail. Very Cute.
When we got back to Kaye's we were exhausted and fell asleep quite easily with the subtle aches of the walk reminding us of the where we had been.
February 13 cleanup
With our tent and gear being hastily packed up, we needed to clean and dry everything to avoid the risk of mildew forming. While I cleaned up and began the task of reorganizing, I sent David away to a local Distillery to get a tour and tasting.
He enjoyed it and I got things sorted that I needed to do.
February 14 - 17th
After a few days (14-16th) stuffing around deciding where to go with all the blocked off hiking areas, being closed from fire, then reopened, then closed again, we finally left Hobart and with all our belongings jammed into our vehicle and made our way through New Norfolk once again (via a back road) and onward toward Lake St. Claire.
This is the jumping off point to do the overland track, which is a very popular track and very busy in the summer.
We are not doing that, we are just going to check out the lake and have a place to camp while we decide if we can do another trek nearby called Frenchmans Cap.
There is a huge theft and vandalism problem at the car park at Frenchmans Cap apparently, so we would need to park our car at Lake St. Clair and book a bus pick up and drop off on either sides of the trek, which would be expensive and a pain in the ass, but there doesn't seem to be much other in the way of options.
I never understand why people feel the need to destroy others belongings when there is no reason behind it.
The city of Queenstown is one of the roughest in the state due to the high number of unemployed, uneducated ex-miners. They hate all green party supporters due to losing mining jobs, and they take it out on the travellers passing through (and parking) to trek.
The police don't seem too bothered, as no real steps to stop the problem have really been taken.
For us, this would be a nightmare as we can't afford another vehicle and the insurance on this one would only cover about $3600, minus the deductible of $600. $3000 is nowhere near enough to replace this vehicle due to the sum of its parts we have already fixed.
We are going to ask at lake St. Claire about options, if they have a ranger there.
One option of catching the bus at 11am to go to the trailhead means we miss half the daylight hours of trekking, to the first camp. The first camp is 8 hours away. And coming back, the problem is the same, there isn't much leeway if you don't get back down by the pick up time.
You must book the exact bus you want, so have to guess when you will be finished. Makes it very hard.
Heading out through New Norfolk, the rain started to patter on our windows. Nothing too heavy, just a steady tinkle.
The drive to the Lake is only 2.5h from Hobart via the Lyall highway. We went an indirect way and got to see the rolling forested hills on a very winding, narrow road. It was a pretty drive.
We arrived at lake St.Clair visitor area just as they were shutting up shop at 5pm. They share the same complex as a private accommodation/tour organization- Lake St.Clair lodge.
The lodge runs the camping and the charge is $30/night.
David spoke with a ranger before he went home for the night, and he told us of a free camping area further up the road past Derwent Bridge, called Lake William. We opted for that method.
He also said he hadn't heard of any recent vandalism at Frenchmans Cap since they had moved the parking lot off the main hwy.
I hope he is correct, because we would like to return to our vehicle intact.
We have nowhere else to park, as we learned leaving our vehicle at the Lake entails paying 150$ in camping fees plus the cost of hiring a bus to drop us off and pick us up.
We are hoping for just a little good luck with our truck and are taking the risk no idiot's are going to have the time to smash and thieve our truck while we hike this one trail.
This is all weather permitting of course.
We got to the free camp site and being a late Sunday, it was almost completely deserted. The area was huge and we only saw 2 other people. It was a bit spooky with all the dead trees.
I set up the tent right away.
The heavens have been threatening to rain, with little spitter spats here and there, but so far has held off.
We had to sort through our gear to prep for the next day leaving. I had a bit of a shutdown trying to go through scenarios in my head, but it is very hard to do when I'm not alone.
We had instant noodles, but David put waaay too much water in them so he had both portions. I made a cous cous dinner.
We headed to bed under an ominous sky...
Feb 18
Didn't have much sleep due to rain. The morning didn't give much hope of the trip going forward. We got to the trail head to discover bus loads of trekkers and other cars all already on the track. That combination, with the teeming rain and wind, meant there would be many people crammed into the warming huts and with any gaps in weather, people would all be moving in groups. This entire trip was to escape the hoards not to be crammed with them.
We cancelled our 2nd attempt at a hike and, our time here is almost over so it looks like we won't get to do anything we wanted on David's last bit of leave.
Queenstown - Ugliest Mining Area In Tasmanian Wilderness Due To Copper Mine And smelting.
We drove to Strahan to see if anything was available in accommodation, as we were pretty down about being drowned out.
Nothing available so we continued on toward Zeehan.
Along the way, I saw my first Tasmanian devil, just not in the form I was hoping.
Someone had killed it on the road.
So sad...
We found a motel room in Zeehan for $130 and seeing as it was 730 PM We Accepted And Ordered A Pizza via Room service and went to bed.
Feb 19
David had a dream that the pizza smell in the room was drastically upsetting me and that if he could smell it, I must be able to smell it and "it must be driving you crazy". He shot out of bed saying he needed to put it outside the front door (it was 1:12am). I quickly told him that every possum would smell it so that it wasn't a good idea and to go back to bed. Which he did and was asleep again in 2 minutes. I of course couldn't get back to sleep until 4am (Laughing in my head)
Leaving the motel we drove through Zeehan town centre.
It seems they are trying hard to revamp the historic town to look less rundown. Fixing broken buildings and repainting to look like it once had, in its mining hayday.
In a few years time, they may have another booming tourist spot, with cafes and accommodation to take in the overflow from Strahan, but for now it is somewhat empty.
There is a rather large mineral shop, a pharmacy, a post office, a coffee chuck wagon and a museum.
Leaving Zeehan about 10 min north we could see the first areas of fire destruction. The rolling hills blackened with char and already the green shoots of buttongrass fighting their way out of the ashes.
Took some apocalyptic photos of the region.
Driving to the next locale was a pretty drive with tight densely packed Bush surrounding us on either side of the road. It felt like we were in one of those mazes made of hedgerows. Winding back and forth with just tight green leafy views. Every once and a while there would be a cut away area scooped out of the green and 50 or so beehives tucked inside.
I think the bushes were the Tasmanian Manuka but they had already finished blossoming.
We eventually got to a small opening onto a river with a buzzer to indicate to the ferry man, we wanted to come across.
We took the car ferry across the Pieman river to Corinna, which cost is $28.
Corinna was another historic mini village but even more tiny and quaint than any of the other towns. Everything was virtually miniature because there was minimal space nestled in next to the river and mountains.
We did a short boardwalk walk to have a look at a Huon Pine that was growing there.
The Huon Pine is a very slow growing tree that is protected by law against cutting.
They were cut out in vast amounts in the early settling days because it is a very dense wood that was extremely water tight and excellent for ship building.
Now it is rare and seeing a live one is cool.
David got a coffee at the local pub to support the village and we continued along the road to the west.
We saw an enormous mushroom just outside the town.
The vast areas to the North of the town of Corinna had also fire devastation and some regrowth.
The road from here onwards was very twisty bumpy, steep, a mix of gravel and pavement (on the steep sections).
There were some very strange landscapes we traversed through on this less-used road.
It rained on and off the whole day and was over cast the other part of the day. We stopped for lunch on the road at around 2pm in a small forest clump of strange regrowth possibly due to fire. The greenery seemed to climb the poles of dead trees... or that is what it looked like.
We drove through pretty forests and into a scrub land called Arthur Pieman NP then right out to the coastline and a point of rocks called Couta rocks.
It was bizarre because it looked like the ocean was on a higher plane than the beach... almost tsunami like, but it wasn't... it was an optical illusion.
The rocks were upright razor-thin layers that had been turned to face the skies. It made for some interesting viewing. The waves really tumbled and crashed along this coast line.
We were lucky to have a short blast of sunlight to photograph some of the formations.
I happened to get diahorroea right then and had to make an emergency pit stop into the tidal pool as there was no time... it was isolated and tidal so at least it will have gone to sea, but there wasn't much in the way of options beside shitting myself or going in the ocean. At least I didn't leave it out on the rocks for someone else to trodd in.
As it was getting later in the day, We decided to drive back on the road we had come on, back to the area of state forest instead of national parks. State forest you can camp for free as long as you do the right thing and leave no trace. We went to Rebecca 2 forestry and traveled to the very end of the mossy back road where there was a perfect spot in a cul-d'sac of greenery and moss. We pitched a bivvy for a kitchen area (as the threat of heavy rain seemed possible) and put up our tent on a flat mossy spot.
It was a quiet space except for the croaking of tree frogs (which sounded like someone twisting an inflated balloon over and over) and the occasional squawk from a sulphur crested cockatoo.
The rains splattered us in inconsistent bouts as we sat in our lightweight camp chairs rocking bundled in warm gear beneath the bivvy. We had a simple warming dinner of soup after the late lunch.
We decided to see if we could spot the elusive Tasmanian devils by torch as they are nocturnal and can often come out in the twilight hours of dawn and dusk. We left our camp and headed toward the road. We went for 5 km along seeing many wallabies, pademelons, and a few huge, fat brush tail possums, but no devils. They are pitch black which makes them even more difficult to spot in the dark, but the rains stopped and a giant full moon rose in the sky illuminating our path. We decided to call it quits and head back. I supposed the Devil continued to remain elusive.
We made it back to the last kilometer before camp and I said to David, "well this is the last kilometer, we have to see one now or never". No sooner had I said that, then the light shone on something dark and fluffy in the middle of the road. It was a devil! A Tasmanian devil was walking right in front of us. I followed it across and toward the bush, but I didn't want to frighten it, so left it at the side of the road. I was happy to have finally seen the endangered and unique animal only found in Tasmania, and I got to see it in its own environment. No cages, no bars, no tourists, just a devil enjoying the night, like we were and we shared the space and time in that instance together.
I slept better that night. Even with the rain pummeling down on the tent.
Feb 20
When we awoke, the rain was still falling, but only in a light misting with the occasional short heavier bout.
We packed up the gear in the tent but tried to leave the tent up as long as possible to dry it out... this didn't happen due to the rains that followed.
We had breakfast under the bivvy and cleaned up then packed the wet tent into the truck lastly, as to let it spread out over the back area.
We said goodbye to our nice hidden camp and continued to the highway.
We drove past the turn off to Couta rocks we had visited the day before and didn't drive long before seeing a sign to Nelson Bay, so we thought we'd check that out.
A short drive toward the shore once more, down a sandy gravel track brought us to a beach with more unusual rocks but these ones had rounded scalloping and some cross-hatching. The rounded coloured formations were quite pretty and unique to anything I've seen.
One looked animal/horse/unicorn-like which I sat on and got david to take a photo of...
We spent about an hour or so here admiring the isolation and intrinsically mesmerizing waves.
After moving on and driving along the road again we noticed all the tasmanian devil warning signs and rumble strips to slow vehicles from going too fast. This was obviously a well known area to have accidents with the endangered animal. Maybe my evening spotting the night before was not so rare, but it was for me.
We stopped a few places along the drive to pick up some cool looking driftwood pieces as souvenirs to make things with.
We drove up to a curious sign on the road saying "Edge of the world viewing platform", and unless the 'flat-earthers' were right all along, I had to presume this was just a gimmick to bring people into the region.
We were hoping to see some unusual water formation or the like.... maybe a big waterfall into the blackness of eternity... ok maybe not.....
It seemed to be a collecting point for much of the wood logs that had gone to sea at some point in history... it also had some unique jagged rocks on their edge similar to the first beach we had visited the previous day.
This Rock Had Wave like Patterns Carved into the stone...
We took some photos and then the coastal low that we could see heading toward us from the ocean, made landfall and we were whipped by rain and high winds so decided to head back to the vehicle and keep on driving North.
As we passed over a long single lane bridge (over the Arthur River), we realized we were coming to the end of the forests and the beginning of private properties again.
Barbed fences, no trespassing signs and tracks of cattle grazing country, where once there were forests, now predominantly captured the vista.
It was a restrictive and sad introduction back to civilization after days of open, unfenced beauty.
The next few hours of driving was through mainstream highway type traffic through farm land. Pretty in the quality of the farm land (compared to Queensland) but it was nothing compared to the wild areas in which we had been.
Had some lunch at a location called "the nut" which was a scone or biscuit-shaped lump of land sticking out into the ocean made of stone that had been weathered by time/wind/ erosion.
The town surrounding was called Stanley. We ate at a proper restaurant and David treated himself to a Tasmanian lobster (his first experience). It wasn't cheap at $60 for half of a small one, but he said definitely worth it in flavour experience. I had fish called a striped trumpeter, which was pleasant and beer-batter chips for $17. It was a splurge for sure!
We next needed to find accommodation as our tent was drenched and I really wanted to have a hot shower. We decided on a little cheap roadside motel in Somerset and as we needed to dry all our sodden gear, we got on task.
For the rest of the evening we decided to see if we could watch the penguins coming home from sea, back to their rookeries. We located a rookery and laid in wait.
You must wait until nightfall as they are timid and only come back to shore under the cover of darkness. It was a long cold wait.
We heard a commotion behind us and realised the little buggers had snuck around us in the dark. We got to see them as we were leaving and David thinks they may have even been moulting so they would've stayed in their hollows until that was finished. We got a couple quick pictures of some in their hollows..but we didn't want to bother them further.
We got home at 10pm and since we hadn't eaten, we had a cup-a-soup and called it a night.
Feb 21
We left the motel just as it rolled on 9:50 am hastily packing everything into the truck as to not incur any late checkout fees (10am checkout).
We headed toward Burnie to pick up some breakfast and lunch items at coles, but saw a fruit and veg shop on the way in. We decided to just get some staples at Coles and all the fresh stuff at the fruit and veg shop. But we couldn't remember where we saw the shop exactly... Google took us on a circuitous route through the steepest hillside suburb in the area.
Finally we got to the market shop and bought all the fresh stuff we wanted before heading out and back toward Somerset then due south toward Cradle Mountain NP.
The clouds crowded the skies once again and the rains pummeled the truck as we drove through farms then slashed timber forestry plots, gutted lands that were once leafy, fertile and beautiful were nothing more than piles of deadened and twisted logs, greyed by the bleaching UV light above.
It was so sad looking.
The huge truckloads going past us with trailer after trailer of logs heading off to be wood chipped.
We also saw huge dumptrucks full of carrots being carted down the road... carrots were strewn about here and there on the highway like something Elmer fudd would try to trap bugs bunny with. A bit bizarre to see.
The driving then changed back to thick old growth wooded forest, which was much nicer than the drone-like monoculture of the state forestry replantings.
The drive to Cradle Mountain was cold and the light essence of fog danced on the road in front of the vehicle lights. The heat from when the sun was there in the morning evaporated to reveal the vapour from the chill.
At the highest road section david got out to attempt to take a photo of the valley and lake, but given the poor visibility, I remained in the vehicle.
The way into the cradle mountain area wasn't much better. There were people everywhere, even with the bitterly cold rain and high winds, there was nowhere else to go. They don't even allow you to go to Dove lake in your own vehicle until AFTER 6:30pm as there is only one road and the large coach buses use it all day.
I wasn't in the mood to sit on a bus to be paraded around a lake with a million other people in weather where you could barely see what you came to see.
I felt so claustrophobic amongst all the tour groups I needed to get out of there.
On the way out the skies seem to get better and we even stopped to see a healthy echidna walking along the road.
We stopped to get him off the road and of course take photos. They are just about the cutest things.
We opted to leave and at 4pm we drove toward another town in a North Easterly direction called Sheffield. As we arrived, the rains died down and we chose to spend another night in a hotel. This time it was an old fashioned pub accommodation above the town pub for $80.
I was a little worried about the noise and smells drifting up from the restaurant, but the room seemed to be almost free of any offensive odours and the bathroom was newly renovated and ensuite (which isn't common in pub accommodation, usually you have to share a communal toilet and shower).
The town was a cute done-up historic tourist town, as in, they restored all the buildings and utilized them all in unique and innovative ways.
There were painted murals on most of the sides of the buildings representing the images from the past.
We had dinner at a restaurant called Mountain Mumma. They made predominantly pizzas, so that is what we had. I had a pumpkin and carmelized onion and a type of cheese pizza. David had smoked salmon and a pear halloumi salad. I had a riesling from blustery banks winery ...... And David had a smokey red called a dornfielder from white rock winery.
We walked back to the hotel and i noticed a few places I wanted to visit in the morning so we planned to spend the morning in Sheffield maybe antique hunting and enjoying the town offerings (including a funky antique emporium right beside the hotel). We got to our room and went to bed by 10pm
Feb 22
We awoke and enjoyed the hot shower, got everything packed back into the truck and headed over to a coffee place across the street from where we had spent the night. The coffee and handmade fudge shop was called "Fudge N' Good Coffee". A cute name and funky shop.
It showcased local artwork and a strange old-fashioned mechanical woman in a glass box like what you would see in an old circus display. It kind of freaked me out. I felt it was staring at me while we sat for hot drinks.
We also had scones with jam and cream and a croissant. A bit decadent for breakfast.
David bought some fudge and after we ate we walked around the far end of the town where there was a boutique with sort of french nouveau era feel to it we got two decorative umbrellas for $25 each then after walking around the rest of the town, went back to the antique emporium that I had been waiting for, to open.
It was exactly as an antique shop should be; eclectic, funky, interesting and not overpriced.
The owner was a funny, eccentric dreadlocked man, in his 60's I would say.
His humour came out in his signage around the shop. He had a vaguely british accent hidden deep under an aussie drawl and he definitely had an English impish sense of humour.
This Was A Coffin Lid, Without Base. Too Funny...
We purchased a pile of neat items for very good prices and this included the elusive Huon pine, tassie blackwood, and myrtle blocks of wood, rare and good condition LP's, a cool wooden drawered storage box with iron rivets, a pottery water urn, some local honey, huon polish, a play by Aubrey Beardsley and Oscar wilde, an old enamel cook pot etc.
After spending so long looking at all the treasures and making our purchases, we stacked everything into the truck and headed off toward the south again.
I needed to fit and repack the wood into our already tight vehicle, as well. This pitstop afforded me the opportunity.
We continued driving through pretty and dense natural forest turning West toward the Solomans caves area, but not to see the caves there, as it costs money.
We went to look for a camp spot near Mole Creek Karst NP.
There we found a small little camp nestled next to the Mersey River which only had around 7 camp spots, 3 of which were in use, but we got one right next to the river and since the weather was clear today, we set up camp with ease around 4:30pm.
David went into the shallow river for a quick refreshing swim.
We rehydrated one of my chilli trekking meals for dinner and sipped on the leftover wine from a bottle we had bought a while back.
The kidney beans were the slowest to rehydrate, but they got there eventually.
Feb 23
We didn't have any rain last night so it was pretty quiet.
I hadn't done much the previous days so I didn't sleep all the way through the night but I didn't have any nightmares.
We had breakfast and packed up easily. We started driving back along the road we had come on yesterday toward Mole Creek.
When we got to the village of mole creek, there were caravans everywhere, apparently they were there for a festival of tribute to Queen, and CCR etc. There were the largest confluence of people without teeth wearing tight clothing over 60 that I have ever seen. Guts like sausage tubes ballooning out over their 1970's band touring teeshirts ( which they had bought when they first saw a band in their TEENS and have been saving the shirts for this festival).
To say we drove through quickly, would be an understatement.
We drove toward Deloraine but avoided it heading instead for the main highway to get to Launceston for a morning snack and coffee and to see Launceston a little bit more than the first brief visit we had had to fill fuel when we arrived in Tassie.
We had a coffee/croissant/eggs at a little cafe called Sweet Brew in the downtown area.
It was a funky little cafe offering a good choice of places to sit and sip a drink whilst munching on some yummy snacks.
We left Launceston around 2pm to the northeast and headed toward some wineries to taste the Tamar region offerings. Saw a few Alpacas enroute...
Funny art at Pipers...
We had a tasting and a cheese platter at Pipers and wine at a little known winery called Brook Eden, who had the sweetest besenji dog.
We headed out of the area in search of a place to camp one last time. We crossed the Tamar River drove through the little nothing town of Beaconsfield and headed into the reserve areas looking for somewhere we could bushcamp. We had overspent the last week with eating out and staying in accommodation at least 3 times to have showers and a bed, so we needed to camp to have enough money for our last day in Tasmania tomorrow (plus petrol for driving back the 2,700km back to Townsville from Melbourne).
We searched everywhere as we drove and finally found a back road to a powerline track. We drove up the power line a while until we found a side track, backed the truck a little of the way down and flattened a spot for the tent hoping the trail isn't frequented by off-road motorcyclers. Or at least not for tonight or tomorrow morning...
Hidden Spot
February 24-
Last day in Tasmania
I heard strange sounds last night in the bush around me. It was a heavier sounding animal like a wombat walking (it wasn't hopping like most night animals here). Then it started making a bizarre repetitive high raspy barking sound about 10 times in a row then quiet. Then I heard it again much further away from us about 10 minutes later. That was it.
I heard possums around our tent, but these were different sounds... the first sound was bizarre though... I have never heard a sound like that before....like a deep-voiced chihuahua with laryngitis or something.... (maybe it was the, now mythic, Tiger).. not really extinct, just too smart for humans to find. I don't know what they would've sounded like anyways, because I don't think there is a recording of them. But it was definitely the most bizarre thing I have ever heard to date.
....Last day in Tasmania....
We left the creepy bush camp and went to the town of Latrobe and visited a cherry shop and got cherry pickles. Went to Reliquiere shop and spent a few hours there looking around and talking to the owner and bought some puzzles and cards and David got some new wood working tools including a beautiful new solid brass mini hand planer which cost over $100 but hopefully it is cared for and lasts a long time. Quality Woodworking Tools are David's great love.
I had a hot Oat latte here and David had a Turmeric Latte, then we left Latrobe and headed to Devonport once more. The place where we had first arrived in Tasmania 39 days and 2314km ago.
We needed to kill some time before the ferry arrived for the night sailing at 7:45pm, so we went to another antique emporium at 4:35pm to wonder through the ages of human accumulated accoutrements. Always a fascinating and sometimes hilarious peek into ourselves.
We left when they closed at 5pm, having bought a rough cut disk of Huon pine that I will make into a cheese board and I also procured an 1800's copper and brass ink well for my art ink.
We looked for a place to grab a bite (which ended up being a kebab and falafel shop) and we ate it on the waterfront waiting to see the Spirit Of Tasmania on the horizon.
When we finally did, we made our way back to the truck, through town, and into the queue of people going through quarantine inspection.
Heading to the mainland, they were mainly interested in weapons and LPG fuel, which we didn't have so we sailed through quickly.
They are not concerned with fruit and veg like they are when you come into Tasmania.
When we were placed into our designated lines according to size, we just had to wait to load onto the boat. The boat was late due to a cruise ship blocking the port docking in Melbourne so the boat had to wait to disembark, which then slowed the cleaning and refueling process before it could return to Tasmania and load us back on.
Apparently because The Spirit Of Tasmania is a government subsidised transport service, it is lower on the pecking order for port docking, hence the delay.
We obtained all this information from a local Launceston retired chap who was parked beside us in a brand new Porsche Carrera 911. It wasn't his car... apparently his job was to drive one of the 12 Porsches queued beside us, back to Melbourne from Tasmania. They are vehicles that were hired out by rich people on a specific wealthy-person tour company where they zoom around Victoria and Tasmania in porsches as part of their tour, then fly out to the next activity, leaving the cars behind and needing to be driven back to the Porsche dealerships. These people pay €37,000 each to do these tours! I don't know what the chap gets paid to return them, but they fly the drivers home from tullamarine, so I would assume it would be decent.
Spooky-looking travellers-Van graveyard Made Me Think Of Wolf Creek. Near to Where We Had Camped.
Amazing Handmade Bears From England.
David in our ship berth.
Once we boarded and found our cabin easily and started underway, it was already 10:45pm. I fell asleep easily after a much needed hot shower. I paid a little extra for a private inner berth with bathroom, which gave us 2 bunk beds and a shower/toilet, and a mini table. It cost more for an outer window berth and since it was a night sailing, I thought, why pay for something you can't even see out of....
February 25th
The morning came very quickly. I felt like I had just gone to bed.
We disembarked at 7:30am and our vehicle was the 1st row to exit the boat, so we were underway quickly.
As much as I was wishing we could stay in Melbourne for the day, or at least have breakfast there in one of their amazing food venues, we knew we had to do a long day of driving and got right onto the ring-road to leave the city. The morning traffic coming into Melbourne was bumper to bumper and we were glad we were in the opposite direction with empty lanes all to ourselves.
We decided to stop at a little town way out of the Melbourne grind to have some breakfast and a caffeine infusion for the long day ahead of us.
We stopped at a little historic town called Broadford which was conveniently located not far off the main highway north so we called into a little health food shop which sold coffee and we got some danishes from a bakery up the street and ate in the morning sun where we still can enjoy a sun without the bite on your skin, that Townsville has.
We continued north, this time opting to head to Coonabarabran instead of Dubbo, as I really had a bad stay in Dubbo on the way down.
We got to Coonabarabran by 8:45pm, just before the staff at the motel were about to shut up shop. We paid $85 for the room and ate bits and pieces from our camping food for dinner in our room And Went To Bed.
Feb 26th
We showered and had my homemade granola in the room and hunted for a morning coffee place locally. David went to a place called Feather and the caffeine fix for the day.
We started driving north toward Narabri then Moree. Then on to Ashley, Garah, Thallon, Nindigully and St. George.
From St. George, it is a straight shoot to Surat again, Roma, injune, Rolleston and finally Springsure where we can hopefully get accommodation for our last night on the road.
Saw Emu's today...
The Hills Near Carnarvon Gorge Were On fire as we Drive by...
February 27th - Last day on the road
Mount Elliot having some fires on the way into Townsville.
We both got a whiskey in Tasmania haha
Tassie Crabbe Apples
posted by jannahsworld at 7:41 pm
13 Comments:
Looks like you're ready!!
yummy food to have each day too...
We'll be thinking of you both as you follow your maps, and dreams along the Range!!!
Be safe, and bring back stories to share.
Love Mom and Dad
I hope to... I hope I'm ready and I hope to return with stories. Life is empty for me without exploration.
Enchanted trees! A wonder...thanks for tagging me along...
Sounds like your accommodations worked out for the better... Sorry for the Tasmania fireban and park closures...it was something that Western Canada experienced last summer with hundreds of fires dessimating an abundance of the trees of forest. Hopeful an better answer will appear..for your travels..mom
It's disheartening because I've been planning for a year now and it's been a lot of effort that goes into making all the food and dehydrating it, plus the cost to get here including our animal care, it just won't be feasible in the future, so I am bummed.
So glad you're back to exploring and taking photos so we can share the beautiful vista's!😘 The rocks are inviting and the wombat is very healthy looking! It must be very frustrated not to be able to explore the range ...happy you are there and will check back soon..xx mom
Fires are pretty bad here. Very scary for a many people. Not much we can do except wait it out and see what the weather does. It may be we have to stick to the same way we came down, although some of those areas have also had fires which have been lit by fire-bugs who are intent on ruining things
That's horrid! Fires are bad enough...but intentionally being set is immoral! So saddened to hear this is happening to Tasmania. Sounds like Queensland is receiving all the rain for the whole country at this time!! Floods, swollen waterways, roads...etc.. Wish rain heads toward Tasmania!
Our house seems to be fine as we are on a slight slope and not near the river systems, but Townsville looks in a right state at the moment. Worst flooding ever. Fires here continue to burn although Hobart has had some rain today, it isn't everywhere. We would probably need a week of rain in the fire areas for them to reopen the parks.
Sounds like so far so good for your home... Townsville is on the local news daily..and we've witnessed via video the horrors of the water onslaught...from one extreme to the next..bone dry draught to torrents of mud,water and snakes,Crocs and all the other animals touched by this system.. sending our thoughts to you..xx
Welcome to endtimes.
...lol
Finally got caught up on all your posts..!! Glad you're able to seek out some trekking routes.. outstanding vertical stone cuts!! And water views! Nice to have use of your prepared food treasures!! Looks like a wonderful place to explore. You guys look happy. 🚘🌊😎😁
love from OS xx
I wouldn't really call them trekking routes... maybe closer to saying they were day-walking routes. The word trekking feels like it should be more of a challenge to me... lol. We haven't used my dehydrated food yet... they are reserved for when light packing is needed for multiple day, and we haven't had that yet.
We are happy enough to enjoy the things we have gotten to do, not happy that we haven't gotten to do any of the trip we had planned. Some beautiful areas here none-the-less. I need another month to see the rest.
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