Cradle to the Grave

Western Tasmania

November 27 to December 6, 2016

Oh me oh my, Tasmania is divine. The weather is a tad unpredictable but we're working around it (with the help of Mr Willy Weather) and doing the outdoor stuff on the good days. Cradle Mountain National Park was amazing. We even scored a clear day, a rare phenomenon as the mountains are usually shrouded in clouds.

Cradle Mountain looms above Dove Lake (late afternoon).

But back to the beginning and the beautiful days we spent near Devonport in the company of Tassie friends, Colin and Glenda, with whom we've been bumping along the mainland roads since October last year. They turned tour guides and took us to sample delectable salmon, fragrant honey, divine chocolate, sublime  cheeses and the sweetest strawberries ever. Tasmanian produce is exquisite.
We gorged ourselves and more.    

Colin, Glenda and Gaz mimicking Sheffield's mural characters.

Murals, murals everywhere, even the church.

Picturesque Mt Roland on a clear day

Mt Roland the next day, on our way back from Cradle Mountain.

Sneaky chocaholics Gaz, Colin and Glenda

Strawberry Tops. Look whose peeking out of the horse's botty. Hee hee.

Penguins coming ashore at the Lillico rookery. So cute.

Jen and Gaz give a poor cousin a hug in the town of Penguin.

Cradle Mountain was fabulous, marvellous, amazing. It's the start of the Overland Track, a 65-82km hike almost half of which is above 1000m. I was tempted ... until it started snowing above 800m this weekend. However, the day we were there the park was sparkling.

Beginning at Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain in the background.

Looking back over Wombat Pool. Someone had appropriately removed the "l". 

One of the numerous "poo" culprits we spotted along the way

First stop at Wombat Peak

The Cradle looms large.

Marions Lookout with the Cradle behind us.

Going back via Crater Lake. 

The bush was in full bloom

It was incredible how the environment changed from windswept moors to glacial lakes,
from mountain ranges to ancient forests.

I love this pic across Crater Lake. So tranquil, so clear, so pretty.

Crater Falls.
  

On the home run through the button grass plain

It was time to move on to the rugged north-west coast. 

Fields of peas leading to the lighthouse at Table Cape.

"Any chance of a fresh pea for Jen, Gaz Man." Lovely man delivered. Just a few, the farmer won't miss them. 

We got as far as Boat Harbour and stopped. A pretty, protected seaside village and a free camp.

Santa Bikie appealed to Garry, all made from tractor and car parts.

Stanley has many claims to fame but most recently as the location for the film Light Between the Oceans. A very pretty historical town.

The Nut rises above Stanley.  We had a choice of climbing it or catching the cable car.

Gaz looked longingly at the cable car (above him) but toiled upwards  ... 

... knowing there were beautiful views in store.

Our first view of the Southern Ocean from Marrawah on the far west coast. 

I mentioned Mr Willy Weather earlier. He dictated we had to move on to Strahan on the west coast to cruise Macquarie Harbour and Gordon River on Sunday. 

On the way to Strahan. Beautiful forests.

Zeehan, nicknamed Silver City. At one time it was the third largest town in Tasmania with its main street stretching two miles. Mining has declined and the town has shrunk but some classic old buildings survive. 

Mining legacy: From forest to wasteland 

Strahan, a very appealing fishing/tourist village on Tasmania's Wild West Coast. 

As Mr Willy predicted, Sunday dawned calm and balmy, another rare phenomenon. The locals told us they get just five days a year of these conditions.  A beautiful day to cruise Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River.

The narrow treacherous entrance to Macquarie Harbour called Hells Gate. The Southern Ocean is just beyond with a six metre swell. A calm day. Weather buoys have recorded 27 metre swells. 

Controversially, Macquarie Harbour is home to intensive salmon farms, each pond carries fish worth about $1 million. Recent claims of overstocking and stressed fish have so far been ignored.

Sarah Island, a penal colony and for many years a living hell for convicts.

Ruins from the penal settlement. The forest is reclaiming the land.

The entrance to the Gordon River. Memories of the fight to stop the Gordon Below Franklin Dam "flooded" back. An interesting part of our history with Bob Brown and The Greens leading the blockade.

How amazing are these reflections? The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage register in 1982 but it took a High Court ruling the following year to stop the dam.

Extensive logging of the national park has removed most of the ancient Huon Pines but the inundation from the dam would have destroyed the trees habitat forever. 

A Bracket Fungi clings to its host tree.

Moss covers everthing ...

... and drips from the branches.

A young Huon Pine, about 100 years old. The conifers can be up to 2000 years old. The timber has natural oils that resist bugs and rot and as such was highly sought after by the early settlers.

A baby Huon Pine, about 10 years old.

Frenchmans Cap in the distance.

That evening I went to a wonderful production called The Ship That Never Was (Garry watched the cricket.) It tells the story of the last convicts on Sarah Island who were left to complete the building of a boat, the Frederick. They were then supposed to sail it to Port Arthur on the east, but instead set sail for Chile. A highly amusing narrative where everyone is encouraged to participate. I was the parrot - squawk squawk. My lot in life. 

The steam train that runs between Strahan and Queenstown. The train is still turned around manually.

This is the "Grave" part of the blog's title.
Queenstown sits in the mountains above Strahan. The discovery of gold, silver, lead and copper in the late 1800s created a boom - the town was known as Copperopolis - but at great cost. Where once the hills were heavily forested they are now devoid of vegetation. 

Deforestation, erosion and plumes of sulphur dioxide from the smelting chimneys ensure little will grow here ever again.

Back to the Wild River Wilderness. 

We took a stroll along the upper reaches of the Franklin River. Just beautiful.

A selfie by the Franklin River.

Lake St Clair is the end of the Overland Track. A very peaceful, pretty lake. 

We broke out the down jackets. A nippy eight degrees. 

The Tasmanian Waratah was in bloom. It's a smaller version of the NSW flower and quite prolific.

Ahhhhhh .....

A quick stop to view The Wall, a 100m sculpted wall of Huon Pine depicting scenes from Tasmania's history. Remarkable. 

Just one more walk to a waterfall, please Garry!

Russell Falls in Mount Field National Park

Garry admitted it was one of the prettiest falls we've seen.

Photo overload. Enough, enough. We're now on the east coast of Tassie. The adventure continues.