The Big Adventure Continues: March 2011

Monday, March 7, 2011

Heading for the Walnuts 21st February - 08th March

While we were at Freycinet we had applied for a few jobs, time to top up the coffers! So we left Melbourne early en-route to Blue Mountains (where we had a job interview) via Wagga Wagga to catch up with an old friend. Enjoyed a few beers with Ben and admired his outstanding artwork - hope it gets the recognition it deserves. Great to see you after so long and thanks for the eggs they were delicious

Lake Canobolas

Spent the next day exploring Lake Canobolas just outside Orange where Rob had once lived and camped at the Federal Falls campground. Rob showed me where he used to live with Mal and the kids and where he had worked. We touched base with some old mates of Rob's and checked out the "old haunts" a day of reminiscing for him. Orange is a pretty city and lots happening.

We arrived at Bilpin camping reserve in the Blue Mountains. Both with mixed feelings about the job interview in a couple of days. Headed for Blackheath the next day and did a tourist route through the Blue Mountains avoiding the crowds at Katoomba. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed strolling through the Rhododendron Gardens and parks at Blackheath. We had a great scab at Vinnies - this has to be the best op-shop I've ever ventured into! Met some friendly locals, drank good old fashioned milk shakes, and had a beer at the local!

Next day we headed for Kurrajong Heights and after seeing the job and meeting the owner we high-tailed it out of there as quickly as we could! Work that we had been offered on a walnut farm was looking decidedly tempting and we rang to confirm our commitment immediately. With that in order we headed for Sydney both shaky after the meeting with our perspective employer at Kurrajong.

Beautiful Coogee

Arrived at Coogee and quickly donned our cossies and dived into the beautiful ocean. I've always loved the eastern beaches of Sydney and it felt good to be home. Caught up with Luke who was pretty excited about finishing his current job and heading to the Philippines for 5 weeks with his partner Lyn - Hope you guys have a ball (sorry we missed you Lyn).

Spent the evening with some old friends and shared some great Thai! Thanks heaps John and Mary so good to see you again and reminisce about the old days....

Rob Anne & James

Next day picked up James and headed for the Harbour. Whhooo sailing on an ex-America's Cup boat is quite something and the harbour really is beautiful! I really enjoyed the opportunity to be interactive - although I don't think there is a future for me as a 'trimmer'! Thank you so much to the crew at Kookaburra Tours and Spirit - What a job James - glad to see you're following your passion

Rose (not my pic - but had to use it)

Caught up with the beautiful Rose and Nick who also happened to be in Sydney at the time - both looking great. Good to see your photography Nick it is pretty amazing! Thanks for the soap again Rose - I think Rob eats it!

Nyrang Homestead

Well time to earn some dollars so Griffith here we come! Another stopover in Orange to catch up with Rob's old mates Kevin and Lou and stayed over at Nyrang B& B with Stephen and Andreas. What a meal Andreas - I'm still drooling.

Griffith here we come......

Hobart, Devonport, Melbourne 18th- 20th February

Tasman Arch/Devils Kitchen

Left Port Arthur and took the tourist route through White Beach, Eaglehawk Neck, Tessellated Pavement, The Blowhole, Tasmans Arch/Devil’s Kitchen, all worth a stop. We called in at the quirky Doo Village on the Tasman Peninsula where the tradition of naming holiday homes and shacks has existed since the 1930s. As you drive through Doo Town you will notice that the inhabitants have named their cottages, or shacks as they are known in Tasmania, with ‘Doo’ names (Doo Me, Doo Us etc).

We had plenty of time and decided to head towards Launceston via Hobart and take a look at the controversial Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). We were welcomed by friendly staff and were blown away by the immensity of the Museum which has taken years to complete. David Walsh, the museum owner has described MONA as a "...subversive adult Disneyland.." and the multi-million dollar, mostly underground, building is full of beautiful, shocking, disturbing and thought-provoking art from around the world. Well it was certainly confronting but excellent presentation. Anyone want to see pooh coming out of someone's bum????

Next day met up with an old friend for lunch at the Tranquility Gardens just outside Launceston overlooking the beautiful Tamar valley. Thanks for lunch Steve - catch you in Bello hopefully.

Arrived in Devonport for an afternoon walk and an evening of fine dining and friendship with friends we met at Corrina on the West Coast some weeks back - a fantastic way to end our Tasmanian experience thanks so much Leigh and Dimity

Woke the next morning and headed for the ferry - Bit of a rough trip with 4-5 metre swells hate to admit it but yes I did get sea sick!!! Got to Melbourne after 6pm and managed to get lost on the tollways E-TAG certainly made a good profit that night...

Port Arthur 14th - 18th February

Chain gang - Port Arthur

Penetentiary building

We were in two minds about traveling to Port Arthur because of the sadness of more recent history. However, my interest was sparked when I learnt during a recent discussion with my dad, that a convict relative (not quite sure if it was my great grandfather or great uncle) had worked for a free settler in Tasmania. However dad was unsure if he had done time at Port Arthur. So I had a specific interest in seeing Port Arthur again - last time we were here was 1996 and the memories were still fresh in our minds.

Port Arthur was originally a timber station (1830). However, the 1840s witnessed a consolidation of the industrial and penal nature of the settlement as the convict population reached over 1100. In 1842 the old flour mill and granary (see above) was transformed into a penetentiary. It had 136 single cells but most of the prisoners lived in dormitories on the top level housing 513 prisoners. Although all the timber in the building burned up in a fire in 1897, you can still see a lot of details and imagine a life in a 135cm long cell.

Separate Prison

A few years after finishing the Port Arthur Penitentiary, in 1848, the Separate Prison was built, reflecting the new philosophy of building of gaols in England. The 80 cell prison was used to house re - offending prisoners already incarcerated in prisons on the Australian mainland, and was considered to be the harshest prison in Australia at that time.

Anomity mask & rules

Prsioners were called by numbers instead of their names, they were denied speech, they wore head masks while in the exercise yard, and while in the church they’d be separated in different boxes.

A separate Boys Prison was established at Point Puer (1834 - 49) on the sea-edge of Port Arthur for 'little depraved felons'. It was the first British purpose-built reforming institution for criminal boys.

Point Puer

Around 3000 children, aged between 8 - 18 were transported to this special purpose-built prison renowned for its harsh discipline.

Non-demoninational Church

Like the adults, the boys were used in hard labour such as stone cutting and construction. Such as Australia's first non- denominational church, built in a Gothic style. Attendance of the weekly Sunday service was compulsory for the prison population.

Asylum

The dead from the prison were buried at the nearby Isle of the Dead, where there are 1,646 graves of convicts and guards situated there. Only the graves of the prison guards are marked.

Is it any wonder that many of the prisoners in the Separate Prison developed mental illness? An asylum was built next to the model prison in 1864 to house mentally ill patients. It is extraordinary to contemplate that 12 500 convicts served their time at Port Arthur between 1830 and 1877. And yes, I did find a relative more research is needed but it seems to match up with what I now know James Peters convict #55920 who arrived on the Waterloo (1) voyage 122 on the 03 Mar 1835.

Port Arthur Historic Site is an important part of Australian history, although somewhat horrific. Rob and I thank the staff and locals for the condition it is kept. We admire and respect the silence maintained in regard to a more recent tragedy. Quiet observance is best, and as you leave Port Arthur, you feel respect for those who survived, and remember those who didn't.

Remarkable Cave

There is so much more to Port Arthur the coastline is spectacular. A short drive south of Port Arthur will take you to Remarkable Cave, a cave-like opening that leads out to sea. From here you can walk to Crescent Bay, a secluded curve of striking beauty backed by huge sand dunes. A big thank you to Lee and Steve for their warm hospitality and a night of wild entertainment :))

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Cockle Cove - Police Point 13th -15th February

Cockle Cove

We decided to head on to Australia’s southern-most point Cockle Cove nestled among the tranquil coves of Recherche Bay on the edge of Tasmania’s Southwest National Park. and spend some time exploring the many walking trails.

A short stroll around the foreshore takes you to a whale sculpture and interpretation sign explaining the bay’s whaling history.

Southern Right Whale sculpture

Our camp spot

Cockle Cove

Cockle Creek Bridge

We managed to find a magical little spot at the head of a small bay not far from Cockle Creek a bit wet but we were glad to have it to ourselves.

Cockle Creek was once a thriving settlement of over 2,000 people. The area’s rich human history is reflected in Aboriginal sites, abandoned tramways, gravestones and ruins. It is the southern entry point to the Southwest National Park in Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage area.

We had planned to stay here and do some of the hikes in the Southwest National Park but after checking weather reports and realising that we were in for 3 days of rain we decided to head for Port Arthur.

A close call

Heading on to Port Arthur decided to head in and take a back road through Police Point - on a windy dirt road doing about 30 -40 km per hr with the master of song -"Leonard Cohen" blasting from the CD player. I was belting out a tune when suddenly I lost control of the silver ghost. on a very slippery bend... Everything happened in slow motion - I looked at Rob and thought Oh no this is it we're going to roll and it will be his side. The drivers side wheels lifted off the ground teetered and then rocked slowly back. "What do we do now" I shakily ask? "Get out - you're door," Rob answers authoritatively. Shaking like a leaf I head to the nearest home to ring for assistance. A lovely lady said no worries "I'll ring Ian, he'll get you out; he's had to rescue a few.. So back to the car I head to wait for Ian. Rob gives me a cuddle and we are grateful to be so fortunate. A small scratch on the passenger side of the duel cab window where a fence post scraped shows how close we were to toppling over. It must have been the wait of Rob's tools that rocked us back - lucky he has all those tools eh?

Scary !!

Ian and his neighbour Charlie arrive with tractor and discuss the best way to get me out. I mention that I should know better and shouldn't have been driving that fast on these roads, I tell them I was singing along to Leonard Cohen, Ian interrupts - "ahh Bird On A Wire" was it? We all have a bit of a chuckle and they manage to get us out no problem.. Ian tells me I'm number 16 since he's lived there and number 3 incident this year - his fence posts are loose so he can just pull them out - not worth fixing it up properly someone will go through it again he jokes...

So after a cuppa with Ian and Ursula we set off again, Rob admits that he was thinking that it wouldn't happen to him but guess what all the time we have been driving neither of us have had a close call like this and not far from Port Arthur Rob had a near miss when a vehicle stopped suddenly a couple of cars ahead of him. We decided it was a good time to stay off the road and have a good rest at Port Arthur.....

Hobart 11th - 13th February

Sarah Hodgetts and Dave Adlam

Decided to catch up with the beautiful Rose in Hobart Town and see her partner Dave star in a love story "The Cauliflower Homicides" a very funny and whacky production which we enjoyed immensely. On the way to Hobart we spent a night with some friends we met at Corindi Beach at their home at Old Beach. They have a magic little spot with blueberries, olives and a magic vege garden. Thanks so much for the veges Jude and Bob and the hospitality - we had a ball!

Next day on to Hobart another stop-over at Tim and Kristyn's and their beautiful girls, who arrived home well celebrated after finalising the sale of their market stall - congratulations and thanks once again for having us. Collected Rose from the airport and headed into Hobart town for some dinner and theatre - a great night.

One & All

Royal Australian Navy Band

Next day headed into Hobart to take a look at the Wooden Boat Festival - some very interesting exhibits Rob particularly loved the tall ships and I fell in love with some of the old wooden tender boats - there was something there for everyone and more boats then you could poke an oar at! We caught up with Rose and Dave again and were entertained by the Royal Navy Band - very entertaining, but something not quite right about Rock and Uniforms....

Fully restored tender

Fruit Stall Huon Valley

Decided to head down through the Huon Valley just 20 minutes from Hobart with its quiet farmlands, scrumptious cheeses boutique vineyards, waterways and rugged coastline. The region is dotted by honesty stalls where you can pull over and purchase fresh cherries, apples and stone fruits.

Vineyards - Huon Valley

The Huon valley is also the stepping off point for Bruny Island. Very pretty area and worth a longer stay then we made time for.

Freycinet National Park 7th-11th February

View from Cape Tourville

Freycinet is the oldest national park in Tasmania, founded back in 1916. The park covers most of the Freycinet Peninsula, and the area is covered with eucalyptus forest, and ringed with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. In fact Wine Glass Bay is voted as being one of the top 10 beaches in the world - so "Yes" it is touristy. Freycinet does have it all from the soft white sand beaches and clear turquoise waters of sheltered Wineglass Bay, to the stunning pink granite peaks of the Hazard Range, Tasmania’s Freycinet National Park is one of the most spectacular corners of Australia and apparently gets around 300 days of sun

Wine Glass Bay

There is a great choice of hikes at Freycinet. Whether you just want a short 20-minute walk around the lovely Cape Tourville, or you decide to take on the challenge of the two-day Freycinet Circuit, the varied terrain, dramatic seaside cliffs, abundant wildlife and incredible coastal views will take your breath away. 'The Hazards' form a magnificent backdrop to the pristine stretch of Wineglass Bay and dominate the Coles Bay landscape. From the various lookout points, you are rewarded with visions of pink granite mountains and beaches ringed with rocks covered in orange lichen. The water is so clear you can see the sandy bottom and serenity is the word that floated through my mind, it is not very difficult to find a spot away from the crowds.

Hazards Lagoon

Honeymoon Bay

The wetlands and billabongs were full to the brim and teaming with life - so lucky to see it like this! We enjoyed soaking up the sun, and the many hikes the camping particularly the unpowered is quite secluded and a huge range of choices to be able to get away from the main tourist area such as the Friendly Beaches and Honey Moon Bay. We were so lucky to get a spot as a Ballot system operates between December - April for camp spots.

Below are some of my favourite pics....