Our last day in Tasmania and we have had a great time! There is so much to do here that, although we have filled every day (weather permitting!) there is still loads more we would like to do. We have spent two days walking in Cradle Mountain National Park in NW Tasmania; on Monday we had a day walk over day one of the Overland Track, we climbed to Marions Look-out. at the start of the plateau & got some views of Crater Lake and Dove Lake and the blue peaks in the distance but Cradle Mt. itself was hidden in cloud. We carried on, squelching through the boggy ground in which half-submerged boardwalks were fighting a losing battle against the wet (reminiscent of the Black Mountains!), but then the mist came down, the icy wind howled and the rain came down in torrents. We decided to call it a day, passing several overlanders on the way back, plodding along with their sodden packs looking as if they were wondering why they were doing this. Undeterred, we returned the next day and, despite a cold blustery wind, summited Cradle Mt. (1545m). The climb was an entertaining scramble over large boulders - as much fun as Tryfans North ridge - and we were rewarded with amazing views over the plateau at the top, with Barn Bluff (picture) dominating the foreground and the cirque rising in the distance. We returned to the car in the golden late afternoon sunshine; with groups of wombats grazing on the tussocky grass. We overnighted at Devonport, the easter holidays meant accommodation was impossible to secure at Cradle Mt. itself; the town sits on the River Mersey and yes, there was a ferry! Not across it but up it; the overnight service to Melbourne. The drive down to the wild west coast of Tasmania really was a wilderness drive, nothing for miles, apart from the odd ghost-town of a former mining settlement, and forests that have never seen an axe; and the World Heritage status means they never will. We stayed at Queenstown; still the centre of tin-mining in the area and the moonscape like hills are testement to this, although planting and landscaping of the damage has reduced the impact. The town has a frontier feel, the uncertain economics of mining evident in the number of empty store-fronts and lack of maintenance on the houses (why improve what you may not be able to sell?); however tourism has come, especially with the re-opening of the West Coast Wilderness Railway. Certainly the Motor Inn we stayed in was full and the food in the bar good basic fare - half an animal of which ever type you wanted and a sack of chips. Vegetarian? Weep and starve. Wednesday was forecast wet & cold so we decided to treat ourselves to a trip on the railway. Amazing Day; in a Saga-lout moment we opted for the premium carriage - including non-stop Tasmanian food, wine and beer - & really enjoyed it. The railway itself is a true feat of engineering. Built in the 1890s to link the mines to the port at Strahan, it was constructed through virgin rainforest (including parts that, apart from the swathe cut by the track, is still the same as it was when dinosaurs were on the earth and tall Huon Pines stand which live for up to 2000 years), hugs the side of the gorge high above the Queen river (sadly still discoloured by mining tailings) and negotiated a 250m rise and fall using a rack & pinion system based on that used by the Swiss railways. The operators have managed to renovate the original steam engines and the carriages have been beautifully restored, using Tasmanian wood cladding and wrought brass luggage racks. We changed trains at the halfway point (the wonderfully named halt called Dubbil Barril) to a diesel engine (only the steam engines are powerful enough to negotiate the climb) for the journey along the Kings river to Strahan. The railway had closed in the 1963 but when Mt. Lyell Mine closed in the 1990s a group lobbied to rebuild the railway to attract tourism - they did AND raised the $30m to fund it. Now that is determination! The rain followed us back east today; we had hoped to walk in Lake St. Clair N.P. (southern end of the Overland) but morely joined other walkers, drinking coffee in the visitor centre cafe & staring glumly at the sleety downpour outside. Tomorrow we hop on another big silver bird and head north to Melbourne..hopefully to better weather!
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Thursday 16th April 2009
Our last day in Tasmania and we have had a great time! There is so much to do here that, although we have filled every day (weather permitting!) there is still loads more we would like to do. We have spent two days walking in Cradle Mountain National Park in NW Tasmania; on Monday we had a day walk over day one of the Overland Track, we climbed to Marions Look-out. at the start of the plateau & got some views of Crater Lake and Dove Lake and the blue peaks in the distance but Cradle Mt. itself was hidden in cloud. We carried on, squelching through the boggy ground in which half-submerged boardwalks were fighting a losing battle against the wet (reminiscent of the Black Mountains!), but then the mist came down, the icy wind howled and the rain came down in torrents. We decided to call it a day, passing several overlanders on the way back, plodding along with their sodden packs looking as if they were wondering why they were doing this. Undeterred, we returned the next day and, despite a cold blustery wind, summited Cradle Mt. (1545m). The climb was an entertaining scramble over large boulders - as much fun as Tryfans North ridge - and we were rewarded with amazing views over the plateau at the top, with Barn Bluff (picture) dominating the foreground and the cirque rising in the distance. We returned to the car in the golden late afternoon sunshine; with groups of wombats grazing on the tussocky grass. We overnighted at Devonport, the easter holidays meant accommodation was impossible to secure at Cradle Mt. itself; the town sits on the River Mersey and yes, there was a ferry! Not across it but up it; the overnight service to Melbourne. The drive down to the wild west coast of Tasmania really was a wilderness drive, nothing for miles, apart from the odd ghost-town of a former mining settlement, and forests that have never seen an axe; and the World Heritage status means they never will. We stayed at Queenstown; still the centre of tin-mining in the area and the moonscape like hills are testement to this, although planting and landscaping of the damage has reduced the impact. The town has a frontier feel, the uncertain economics of mining evident in the number of empty store-fronts and lack of maintenance on the houses (why improve what you may not be able to sell?); however tourism has come, especially with the re-opening of the West Coast Wilderness Railway. Certainly the Motor Inn we stayed in was full and the food in the bar good basic fare - half an animal of which ever type you wanted and a sack of chips. Vegetarian? Weep and starve. Wednesday was forecast wet & cold so we decided to treat ourselves to a trip on the railway. Amazing Day; in a Saga-lout moment we opted for the premium carriage - including non-stop Tasmanian food, wine and beer - & really enjoyed it. The railway itself is a true feat of engineering. Built in the 1890s to link the mines to the port at Strahan, it was constructed through virgin rainforest (including parts that, apart from the swathe cut by the track, is still the same as it was when dinosaurs were on the earth and tall Huon Pines stand which live for up to 2000 years), hugs the side of the gorge high above the Queen river (sadly still discoloured by mining tailings) and negotiated a 250m rise and fall using a rack & pinion system based on that used by the Swiss railways. The operators have managed to renovate the original steam engines and the carriages have been beautifully restored, using Tasmanian wood cladding and wrought brass luggage racks. We changed trains at the halfway point (the wonderfully named halt called Dubbil Barril) to a diesel engine (only the steam engines are powerful enough to negotiate the climb) for the journey along the Kings river to Strahan. The railway had closed in the 1963 but when Mt. Lyell Mine closed in the 1990s a group lobbied to rebuild the railway to attract tourism - they did AND raised the $30m to fund it. Now that is determination! The rain followed us back east today; we had hoped to walk in Lake St. Clair N.P. (southern end of the Overland) but morely joined other walkers, drinking coffee in the visitor centre cafe & staring glumly at the sleety downpour outside. Tomorrow we hop on another big silver bird and head north to Melbourne..hopefully to better weather!
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