Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden

The photos speak for themselves…

Stanley

We managed to survive the wind on the west coast, but that was nothing compared to the wind on top of The Nut at Stanley! The walk to the top was hard work, and then we had a sprinkle of rain (we read everything there was to read in the reading room...). As we did the circuit at the top the wind would pick up and then subside, but I think that was more to do with how the wind travelled up the side and across the top than the wind speed actually changing. When we saw the fence we could hear the roar of the wind but it didn't feel too bad, but with each step towards the edge became harder - it was definitely the strongest wind we've ever experienced (yes, even stronger than Green Point at Marrawah).

A few days later we went back to Stanley and it was a beautiful sunny day. It was still quite hazy, though, so we decided not to bother going back up to the top.








We've just arrived in Wynyard and the tulips are beginning to flower. Even though it was overcast the colours were still spectacular.

The Wild, Wet & Windy West!

We'd heard it was windy on the west coast, and our first night was about as windy as we've ever experienced. We were camped just behind a hillock, but that was all there was to protect us from gusts up to 100kph (according to the NextG weather). In spite of the fact that the caravan was buffeted we didn't sleep too badly. We did decide, though, that we wouldn't spend another night at Green Point, but would head down to the caravan park at Arthur River.

The sea was just as rough down there, but there is some kind of wild appeal that has kept us going back to The Edge of the World lookout in spite of the wind and rain. (This photo was from inside the car.) We are more sheltered in the van park, but there have been rain squalls and strong gusts of wind almost every day. The weather moves across so quickly that one minute can be beautiful and sunny and the next it feels like the van might blow away!

One afternoon we did manage a glimpse of the sun setting over the ocean - a novelty for east coasters like us.

Even the changeable weather is spectacular

On Saturday we went for a drive to Alum Cliffs and Devils Gullet. We took a back road to Sheffield and across the Gog Range. We love Mount Roland, and Dazz couldn’t resist stopping on the side of the road for a photo.

It was lovely and sunny at Mole Creek, but mist hung over some of the mountains to the south. We decided to go to Devils Gullet anyway, and the views were spectacular. Looking a few hundred metres straight down still made our knees wobbly even though there’s a platform and fence. We stood at the lookout as a light shower passed over and watched the patches of rain and sunlight on the snow covered mountains in the distance and the valley below. Cradle Mountain is on the far right in the panorama. This is definitely on our list of places to go back to on a sunny day.

On the way home the breeze kept the clouds moving which let through some brilliant shafts of light. There’s just something about this area this that continues to fascinate us and draw us back…

Another hard day at the office

Another day, another steep, rocky mountain to climb, another cliff edge not to get too close to, another picnic lunch...

...And the boots need polishing, again.

We really enjoyed our days walking around Cape Huay, Fortescue Bay and Mount Brown. Our favourite walk on the Peninsula remains Cape Raoul.

With the walks done and more marking looming it was time to head north to a cheaper van park and prepare for the next part of our adventure in the north-west. We spent a couple of nights along the Midland Highway and really liked the historical buildings in Oatlands. The weather wasn’t great for photos, so we’ll have to go back. We stopped briefly in Ross to see the bridge – it was a real wintery day.

Now we’re happily set up at Turners Beach with laptops and cables everywhere. We even entertained visitors in the middle of everything the other afternoon (Leanne’s sister’s in-laws). We did tidy everything up for them the previous day for a scheduled afternoon tea, but they stopped in the next day and saw how things usually look!

We’re looking forward to going back to church at Burnie on the weekend to catch up with friends we made there while house-sitting, and if it’s a nice day we’ll probably go and see the rhododendron gardens.

The Tasman Peninsula

We had a massive driving day on Friday – all the way from Bicheno to Port Arthur! It took all day, but we did stop for a walk up to the lookout in Bicheno, and then lunch and a walk in Swansea on the way. We’ve decided to bypass Maria Island for the time being, and hope to come back mid-summer when the days are longer (to make the most of the price of the ferry over). The promise of a few days in a row of sunny weather spurred us on towards the Tasman Peninsula and all the cliff edge walks that awaited us there.

Saturday we did Cape Raoul and really had a mix of weather. It was breezy – not really windy, but enough to keep pushing the clouds through all day. We even had a brief shower of rain on our way back. Fortunately there were a few patches of sun to keep the photographer happy.









On Sunday we walked to Waterfall Bay and once again waited patiently for the sun to come from behind the clouds for photos. In the afternoon we went to Eaglehawk Neck and the Coal Mine Historical Site for our first taste of convict ruins. A really sad part of our history. (We'll do Port Arthur in December when we come back down here with the family.)












The last two days have been mostly spent inside marking. Today it’s been showery, which has made staying inside a lot easier. The next two days are supposed to be clear, so there are more walks on the agenda. Stay tuned for more cliff edge photos!!

Another mountain... almost

Wednesday morning broke clear and sunny. 'Let's go!', 'Gotta make the most of a sunny day!', 'It might not get any better' and other such phrases were heard, and off we went.

By the time we got to where the walks started a few fluffy clouds had started to appear, and there was a bit of a breeze. By the time we were three quarters of the way up (that's 350 metres almost straight up) it was windy and the clouds were growing ominous on the other side of the bay. Once again the 'walk' involved scrambling over rock, only this time it was granite, and that means very, very slippery when wet...

The lead climber kept saying 'I'm not sure if you'll get up this bit', but the expedition coordinator did keep clambering and scrambling up. At about 350m it was a bit steep and a bit windy, so it was agreed the lead climber would go for the summit (with camera) and the coordinator would wait. A time limit of 30 minutes was set (but no clear instructions were given as to what should occur if lead climber had not reappeared by said time...).

At 35 minutes she started yelling, and a few minutes later he started yelling back. Success!! Unfortunately the prescribed time limit wasn't quite enough to go around to the Wineglass Bay side of the mountain, so the photo is of Coles Bay instead.

After sitting, waiting for half an hour the coordinator was rather cold, so a hasty retreat was made down the mountain so lunch could be eaten in the relative warmth of the car.

Since the expedition had only taken half of the day we stopped at Sleepy Bay on our way home. The clouds had started to clear (probably would have been beautiful views of Wineglass Bay!) so we had a nice afternoon wandering around taking photos there.

Wineglass Bay

'Frost then sunny' is our favourite weather forecast! That's what yesterday was and it was another picture postcard day of walking. The winter sun is low in the sky so even middle of the day shots are a bit shadowy, but at least there aren't so many other people around.

I wasn't feeding the wildlife, but he looked like he'd been fed before, so I put my hand out for him to sniff and was rewarded with a photo. I'm sure Dazz will put more photos on his album when he's had a play with them. The next 'frost then sunny' day is Friday, so we're hoping to do Mount Amos, which is just behind the lookout for Wineglass Bay, but about twice the height. Stay tuned for more photos...

The Freycinet Peninsula

We've torn ourselves away from the Bay of Fires, only because there are more walks further south that we want to do before our next lot of marking starts. We're staying at Moulting Lagoon, and even though we did get a very pretty sunset the first night, it doesn't really compare to the Bay of Fires.


Yesterday started off overcast but fined up nicely so we went to Bicheno (The Blow Hole) and also had a look at Friendly Beaches and Cape Tourville. We're saving the Wineglass Bay walk for another cloudless day, which may be tomorrow.

What a difference the weather makes...

… especially to the sea. A few fronts and a bit of wind and our crystal clear perfect little waves turned into washing machine suds! We walked up on top of the little headland and watched the waves pound in. There’s just something about waves…

The weather made a huge difference to our experience of The Blue Tier, too. It’s a small (by Tassie standards) mountain range just west of St Helens. The first day we went up was cloudy and the wind was blowing off the snow on not-too-distant Ben Lomond. We dressed for the occasion and really enjoyed our walk. The diffuse light through the cloud was great for photos of the lichens and sphagnum moss bogs.

The next day was sunny so we went back to do some different walks. The night had been clear so it was still a bit frosty when we started out. Unfortunately the air was a little hazy, so panoramas weren’t inspiring to the photographer.

There’s a coral-like lichen on the mountains around here which is supposedly know as east coast snow. We decided ‘mountain coral’ was a more appropriate name.

Remnants of tin mining on the tier… is this what our old Jackaroo has to look forward to???