07.02 Tas: Cradle Mountain - Marion's Lookout
On our return to Dove Lake at 4pm we were greeted with blue skies, puffy white cloudy and sunshine! Yes! Sunshine!! And we could clearly see the top of Cradle Mountain! So we parked the car up and headed out on the walk that we wanted to do at 8am, to Marion's Lookout! We didn't see any wildlife on our walk, and Wombat Pool didn't quite live up to its name, but there was plent of 'scat' balanced on rocks & steps! It was definitely the worth the wait...!              After a very nice evening meal at the Cradle Mountain Lodge we decided to go for a drive down to Dove Lake again! From the park entrance this is about an 8km drive. The aim was to hopefully see some of the wildlife that inhabit the area, and there is no better place to see it in Tasmania than Cradle Mountain! By the time we reached Dove Lake it had started to rain again, so we headed back up towards the park entrance. It was at this point that it start to sleet! We're in summer and it' sleeting in Tasmania! We weren't disappointed with the wildife, coming across Wombats, a pair of Possums in a punch-up, Pademelons and Wallabies!! They all come out at dusk! Labels: big_trips, cradle_mountain, crater_lake, dove_lake, joanna, lake_lilla, magna, nathan, photos, tas_day_7, tasmania, wildlife, wombat_pool
06.02 Tas: Wilderness Cruise - Gordon River
The second part of our Wilderness Cruise was a short trip up the Gordon River. We passed a jetty leading to a historic fishing hut, which is still used to this day. A circular walk through the rainforest at Heritage Landing was very interesting, and it also included a sighting of a Tiger Snake sunning itself on a log!!     Labels: big_trips, gordon_river, photos, tas_day_6, tasmania, wilderness_cruise, wildlife
06.02 Tas: Wilderness Cruise - Macquarie Harbour
An early start meant that we left before the Strahan Backpackers YHA office was open - oops! I think it just goes to show that Strahan is just too small for the amount of visitors that it attracts, or perhaps you should book your accommodation before arrive! I'm sure that we weren't the only ones without a pitch that night and making use of someone else's facilities!!  Anyway we arrived on the quay side to pick up our Wilderness Cruise on Macquarie Harbour! The entrance to the Harbour is known as 'Hells Gate' and is only about 80 metres wide! Due to the number of grounding incidents in the 1800's a harbour wall was built. The wall also maintains the depth of the channel by reducing the amout of sand that is drawn in and out of the harbour. A railway was used on the completed sections to drop the rocks forming the wall into the harbour. The original tracks, now rusting and twisted, are still visible! For every breath you take in Tasmania you, allegedly, live an extra 5 minutes due to the clean air! The reason for this is the next land mass to the west is Argentina, and the winds only pass over the ocean - these winds are known as the "Roaring 40's"!      Labels: big_trips, entrance_island, hells_gate, macquarie_harbour, photos, strahan, tas_day_6, tasmania, west, wilderness_cruise, wildlife
03.02 Tas: Wineglass Bay
From Bicheno we went down to the Freycinet Peninsular to check out the iconic view of Wineglass Bay from the Wineglass Bay Lookout! However, the weather wasn't quite what you'd expect, but the clouds hanging over the bay certainly made it feel very atmospheric! When we parked up we were greeted by some very tame Wallabies, with one of them carrying a Joey in her pouch!          Labels: big_trips, freycinet_peninsular, joanna, nathan, photos, saddle_seat, tas_day_3, tasmania, wildlife, wineglass_bay, wineglass_bay_lookout
02.02 Tas: Bicheno
From the Bay of Fires we headed further south to Bicheno, where we would be camping for the night.  One of the many sightings of native wildlife! We saw about three Echidna's just on this day alone! However, there is an awful lot of roadkill, so much more than on our massive journey from Melbourne to Adelaide & Sydney and back again!   Bicheno is a really nice little town with a small harbour.   Relaxing down after a long day's drive, enjoying a nice cup of tea from the thermos!! Our tent pitch for the night was at Bicheno East Coast Caravan Park, which was very conveniently placed for the town and the beach! The camp kitchen was a converted garage and contained everything that we needed! Labels: bicheno, big_trips, camping, echidna, joanna, nathan, photos, tas_day_2, tasmania, wildlife
07.12 Grampians: Halls Gap Lakeside Caravan Park
In a desperate bid to catch, we have managed to compile the following posts for our weekend trip to the Grampians! I think that this will bring our blogs for 2007 to a close, and hopefully allow us to get back on track with 2008!! After a couple of hours driving we arrived at Halls Gap, which is pretty much in the centre of the Grampians. We stayed in a campsite called Halls Gap Lakeside Caravan Park, which was situated just outside the town next to the local dam!  First job was to clear the kangaroo pooh with the aptly named 'kangaroo sh*t shifting stick'!   The tents are quickly erected under the close gaze of a 'mob' of kangaroos!  The view from campsite, and the area where the 'mob' collects!    Other spectators take their positions! Labels: camping, grampians, halls_gap, matt, nathan, photos, victoria, visitors, wildlife
|
|
