Banner Tasmania 2016/17

Tasmania 2017 Last updated 28 April

We are on the road again. Left 14 December 2016. As usual we spend a few hours at Horseshoe bay in Bowen first. Arrived in Mackay late afternoon. The baby and Nikaela were waiting. Luke arrived home early. Spend two nights here before departing for Rockhampton and Nikaela's parents where we spend the night. They took us out for dinner. We both had a very nice Chicken parma. Next day early on the road to visit Doug and Chris Wyer. They could not make it early but eventually we hooked up in a cafe. Lunchtime one of our usual stops. Calliope River rest area. Still very hot but a nice breeze. Parked here for two nights overlooking the river. A lot of fisherman but no fish being caught. Next stop Brisbane. Looked for house prices around Bribie Island. The friends we have on the island were not home. However the two families we kept in contact with from our China trip were home and we had a pleasant hour with them. Linda Lewellyn, our first friend in Australia we always visit and we had breakfast with her in the coffee club. Time to head further south via Kyogle to Casino where we spend five days. We chose this because last time we were here over X Mas time it was fairly busy and we new a few people here. This time it is quiet but nice and cool and that was the main purpose of this holiday. Boxing day and we had visitors from Tweed Heads. Victor and Rosanne who visited us in Townsville a month ago.

Jed 5 month Susan more X Mas dinner Casino (NSW) caravan park

Boxing day and we staying at Victor and Rosanne's place in Tweed Heads for a few days. They just moved in to a lifestyle village similar to the ones we have been looking at already for a few years. While we were there we got a phone call from Ron and Jean Edwards who we know already for years and met on the road somewhere while camping. They live in W.A. but visited their daughter on the Gold Coast. All of us had a very pleasant hour with them and it was good to catch up.
29 Dec. Left about 9AM and first stop Byron Bay. It obviously is holiday season because the roads were one line of cars for 7 KM right in to the city. Had a quick look around and when we came back the motor had cooled down enough to do some work on it. A steel water pipe had a small hole in it. One hour later and next stop Ballina. We had a look at lifestyle villages and houses but either too shabby or too expensive. The centre of the city did not appeal to me. Spend the night in a rest stop and in the morning stopped in Grafton. The city appealed to us and house prices are reasonable. Probably because it is 60KM from the coast. All real estates closed so we could not enquire further. Spend the afternoon under a Pandanus tree looking at the ocean.
30 Dec. Coffs Harbour. We got there late in the afternoon. Next morning off to the beach. We have spend a few nights here over the last ten years. We set up in front of where the fireworks were going to be. Later in the day we got joined by more and more families. The fireworks were at 9.30. Nothing to write home about. You can not compare it to the Sydney one. Waited till 12 O clock and had a bottle of bubbly and watched the Sydney fireworks on the telly. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Coffs Harbour Oxley National Park NSW Not much of a view in the morning

Jan.1 parked the bus near the beach and watched the swimmers and surfers. It was a hot day but with a breeze good where we were. We planned to stay another day but it started raining during the night Time to go inland. Here we followed the waterfall way to Armidale. A few years ago we stayed on top of a 1600 M mountain with fantastic views and the next morning the clouds were beneath us and all the mountain around us were sticking out of the clouds. No such luck this time. We did see the surrounding mountains but about an hour later the clouds moved in and even when we stayed here for another day things did not improve. The temperature sunk to 12 degrees and did not improve much during the day. For the first time we had the heater on all day. Next day no improvement to the weather and visited all the waterfalls. The area has been very dry and the waterfalls were non existent. Had a quick walk around Armidale and camped just down the road. From Armidale to Tamworth. All we did here was the laundry. We have been here a few times before. During the country music festival it is very busy, otherwise very quiet. Now two weeks before the festival is is getting busy again but we will not go there. We are heading towards Parkes and the Elvis festival.

Saves the postman a bit of work. Near Woolomin rest area NSW.

11 Jan. A bit of bus trouble on the way. My temperature gauge did not work and we are having a heatwave. First stop in Parkes the auto electrician. He could help me the next day. 100 M further down the road the bowling club where we can park the car for $20 a night. First night we did have an awful spot but after we had dropped the bus at the garage and watched and started with poets breakfast and listened to countless Elvis's. Picked the bus up late afternoon and we were put in a decent spot to camp and only 10 minutes walk to where the action is. There were not a lot of street performers but you can walk in to any pub and listen to Elvis. Also a big outdoor stage with shaded seating. 13 Jan. even hotter than the previous days. At least there is a good breeze. 14 Jan. Packed up early and parked the bus in town in anticipation of the grand parade. There was a parade but grand was a bit of an exaggeration. By midday we were on the road again heading south. At least the temperature had dropped a bit only 30 degrees.

Parkes Elvis Festival. Thank you very much.

Next destination Melbourne via West Wyalong, Wagga Wagga, Albury Wodonga. Stopped at our Favourite spot beside the Hume dam.
In Wangaratta we visited Bill and Phil, Dutch friends we met in West Australia many years ago. He has an old truck in the yard and the wheels and tyres are the same size as my front tyres. I am changing from tube to tubeless wheels. Saved myself a few thousand dollars.
Next stop Myrtleford. Also friends we met on the road. They visited us in a campsite beside the river with a heap of grant kids. They had a ball in the river. Next day at their place for a coffee and the laundry. We are still 350 KM from Melbourne. Camped near Lake Eildon and drove to Rie Oude Meilink. In the meantime we met up with Paul. Had lunch and the slight disagreement we had was all forgotten. We arrived just in time for happy hour at Rie's place. Spend the night in the car park of the retirement village. Next day off to the beach at the Mornington Peninsula. Paul planned to celebrate his 40th birthday at the beach with a couple of friends. We had the spot all pegged out at 6.30 in the morning because they planned to be here at 10 AM. They turned up at 1 PM. We met Paul's new girlfriend. And a friend from Townsville who had moved to Melbourne. It was a very successful day. Late afternoon drove to the harbour to be ready to depart for Tasmania. The boat departed 2 hr late. 10 Hours later we were in Tasmania.

Paul and girlfriend Christie at 40s birthday party Five days with a view like this in Penguin Plenty of oysters here.

24 January. First full day in Tas. Because you are not to bring any fruit and vegetables in the first thing is a trip to the supermarket. From 31 degrees in Melbourne to 20 degrees in Tas. Luckily with sun. Spend the first three days in Forth. A little place just out of Devonport. Because Tas. is so small there is a very great likelihood of meeting people you have met before and we did. Also we had our first batch of mail. Not too many bills. 27 Jan. Via Ulverstone to Penguin. Yes it is called that way because there are penguins here. We are parked beside the railway line with a rocky beach just past that. There is only one train a day. The wind has picked up again with 21 degrees outside. The weather has been glorious for the first four days overcast and rain on Tuesday. Five days in Penguin was enough. In the meantime had a chat with Paul and the relationship with Christie is now definitely over.
Burnie is not too far away and they have a nice camping spot at Cooie Point. A few days here and we are heading west towards Launceston. Three days at Old Mac's farm. This is not really a caravan park as there are no facilities apart from toilets 10 min. walk away. The idea is to be self contained but the setting is beautiful. Little lakes wit caravans and motor homes all around them. We were here two years ago and had a lot of wild plums. One tree was already finished and the other not quiet ripe. Still got some off it.
Before we moved on and after some shopping I had to have another look at Cataract Gorge. We had been here a few times before but is still is a magnificent site to see. Next stop Gravelly Beach. It is not really a beach but a stretch of mud and rocks beside the Tamar river. The weather was perfect and all we did was put the chairs beside the bus and look at the view. There are a lot of oysters here and I got a few last time we were here but found out that they are not healthy to eat so I left them alone this time. Two days here and next stop we visited Gwen Rinaldis a motor home friend which we met many years ago and has moved to Tasmania. She build a modern house at Beauty Point close to the Tamar River. We had a very enjoyable day here and a "few" glasses of wine.
We are heading west. First stop Bridport. This is a favourite holiday destination for Tasmanians for the last 80 years. Nice beaches with massive round boulder outcrops in between. When we stopped along the coast here I found a lot of oysters stuck to the rocks. This is close to the open sea so no heavy metals in them I hope because we had two meals out of the catch.
10 February. Next stop Mount William National Park. This is in the north east of Tasmania. We found a spot overlooking the ocean. Only one drawback. The weather was 20 degrees and a bit of a drizzle every now and then. Next day the sun came through and a beach walk. You can walk here for miles without seeing anyone. 11 Feb. and we woke to a very cold morning 14 degrees and the heater did it's work till 11 in the morning when the weather turned for the better. After three nights here we are heading slowly towards Evandale.

Mount William National Park Penny farthing in Evandale

13 Feb. We are back in the real world. Susan got a bit jittery without telephone for three days. Stopped in Derby, an old tin mining town. Lovely spot beside the river. The landscape changed drastically the more we headed west. Very hilly and twisting road with spectacular views. Stopped for two days in Scottsdale. This is a free camp with shower, toilet, dump point and water. Because of this, the place was fairly quiet when we arrived at 11AM but by 5PM it was more packed than a popular caravan park. Also a lot of backpackers here. The weather so far has been very good. After two days to Launceston to do some shopping. And off to Evandale where the penny farthing races will be held. First night in an overnight camp and booked in at Morven park where a lot of motor homes are packed just for two days. The weather has deteriorated. Night time temperatures 10 degrees which is OK and daytime 23 and sunny. But now cold nights and cold and windy days. Lucky the sky cleared up for the world championships penny farthing races. A good day was had by all.
Next heading towards Scamander where we have friends who live here but used to live in Townsville. Paul Dingjan and Lies Schippers who have a house overlooking the ocean. We only planned to stay two days but it stretched to four. Very enjoyable and also a bit of trouble with the bus which took nearly a day to get fixed.
24 Feb. And off to the Bay of Fires. Beautiful beaches, good campsites and reasonable weather. It is only 10 KM north of St. Helens.

Bay of Fires Conservation area

Three days at the bay of fires. Beautiful weather but time to move on. This time south to Little beach just south of St. Helens. It is a winding road following the coastline but great views. Little beach is one of the better camp sites. We parked beside a fresh water rivulet and had the ocean in front of us. I am not a campfire fanatic but there was a couple who had the fire going every night. And no better way than spending the night beside the fire with a glass of wine and likeminded people. But you can't be here forever and the path south led us past Bisheno, Swansea, Port Arthur to Remarkable Cape. When we were here two years ago this is the area we had not explored before. The main reason is that it involves a lot of walking in the Tasman National Park. From the Remarkable Cave car park you can walk up to Brown mountain with spectacular views of all the bays. This walk took me three hours and I expected to be sore the next day but all was well. The next day a four and a half hour walk to Cape Raoul. This time all my muscles were really stiff for the next couple of days but it was worth it. Every time there is a lookout spectacular views and the cliff edge goes straight down at least a hundred metres. It is a popular walking track. You could hear and see the sea lions at the bottom of Cape Raoul. Spend the night in Dunalley behind the pub.
4 March. It is Saturday and in Hobart is the famous Salamanca market. We spend a few hours walking around. A beautiful day for it. Last month was the coldest month since 16 years.

Cape Raoul from Remarkable Cave lookout. Cape raoul

4 March. Hobart and the only place worth seeing in my book are the Salamanca markets. We found a parking spot 1 KM from the markets at the side of the Derwent River where we also spend the night there. The markets were reasonably busy. We did not buy anything apart from food but every time I am there it amazes my the amount of creative ideas people come up with. Next day direction Cockle Creek. This is as far south as the road goes in Tasmania. Here we found the biggest oysters ever. The weather was perfect most of the time and had a quiet time at a quiet beach. After four days had to leave again. Could have stayed longer but Susan is getting restless.

On the way back from Cockle Creek we had a "small" mishap. When I stopped on the side of the road to let another motor home pass there just happen to be a drain with a lot of undergrowth. I got too close and the bus slipped on the embankment. Lucky there were a lot of people to help us and brought us to Ida Bay. A lot of phone calls to Ken Tame our insurance agent and after explaining the situation they send a small flat bed trailer who was useless. Another lot of phone calls to Ken Tame and they organised a proper recovery team. They also informed us that the insurance only pays for one tow and we had to pay the second one ourselves. This will disputed as soon as we are in the rally. We did not sustain any injury and the recovery team got the bus out without any damage. We are in Hobart now with friends from Paul. Troy Sharpe lived with us in Townsville for some time a long time ago. Next day to Naomie and John. Naomie is the daughter of Maarten and Norma Black, family from Susan. Naomie was not home but we had a pleasant day there and they live very close to where the motorhome rally is.
12 March and off to the rally site in Pontville just north of Hobart. There were very few motorhomes in front of us and we were on our spot in 10 minutes. We were straight away greeted with good to see you because a few people heard of our mishap. There are 600 motorhomes here. The weather is perfect and everyone is close to where the action is. Normally they have a banner parade to show the different chapters. But this will be the last one. There are about 110 and it takes too long. The banner I am carrying is from another chapter in Townsville because they had no representation. Our chapter is the Tropical Coast Wanderers.

Carrying the Thuringowa Drifters banner Oaklands rest area Jed and Susan in Melbourne

20 March. Rally finished and we are slowly heading north for our last week in Tasmania. One week later and we are back on the big island. We arrived Saturday night and had arranged dinner with Paul, Luke, Nikaela and Jed. No problems getting of the boat and in to Melbourne where the restaurant was. It was good to see everyone again. Luke and Nikaela had won a $1000 travel voucher during the Christmas work party and used it to come here. Next day to Bart and May Goedegebuur. We have spend here many a time when we are in the neighbourhood. We also visited Ria and Arie Bakker in Corio. Far related family from Susan and they also spend time with us in Townsville. Tuesday is their coffee morning with Dutch friends. And we were also invited for the party with Dutch delights. After lunch we were heading north via Ballan, Kyneton, Heathcote, Seymour to Benalla. In Seymour we had some welding done to the suspension of the bus which was probably caused by the accident in Tasmania and the bad roads in Victoria. During those few days a severe tropical cyclone threatened to hit Townsville but luckily it hit further south and no damage to our place. Luke and Nikaela who live in Mackay only had minor damage to a fence.

Susan drinking coffee besides the Murray river Susan helping out in the kitchen Easter weekend campsite beside cotton field

31 March. The mornings are cold around 10 degrees but de days are great. Much better than when we came down in January. Today drove only 70 KM to Yarrawonga. Blue skies and 21 Degrees. Found a nice spot besides the Murray. Only stayed here one night and moved via very poor and wobbly roads to Wagga Wagga. In NSW they don't believe in fixing up the road they jus lower the speed limit or place a sign "rough road". And we have seen a lot of those signs. In Wagga there is a large free camp with toilets, water and dump point. A lot of people use this park. Next morning off to Cowra where we visited the Japanese Garden. During WW2 there were a lot of Japanese POW here. We planned to stay here but the campsite was a bit noisy and moved 30 KM to Canowindra. Next morning 7 degrees. The heater got a good workout again. 3 April: From here via Orange to Cassilis. We have been putting in around 300 KM a day because I liked to do a stint at blaizeaid again. See https://blazeaid.com/ Susan was not too keen but after the first day she slowly warmed to the idea. Lucky the days are dry, a bit nippy in the morning but otherwise good. Everything you need is provided. Because we have a motorhome I have to hitch a ride with another volunteer to the farmers site. Susan works in the kitchen. There was a big fire in February and a lot of fences and houses were burned down.
www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-13/nsw-fires-wipe-out-dozens-of-homes-with-numbers-expected-to-rise/8264870
After six days and sore muscles we are driving again. It always takes me at least a week to get used to work again. Susan put in a lot of hours in the kitchen. Again a spot of mechanical troubles. The two brackets holding the alternator in place decided to go on holiday. Got the bit welded together in Bingara. There is also a big free camp beside the Gwydir river where we spend two nights. Slowly drifting towards Brisbane where we are going to visit a few friends. Easter spend near Milmerran beside the river. There were a lot of campers here which is normal for the Easter weekend. On Sunday we drove a bit closer to Brisbane where we had a hole program of visiting friends. Arrived in Brisbane Monday morning and first visit was Barbara and Jim Erskine. We met those for the first time in Port Keats (NT) Next stop Chris and Dough which we also visited in Rockhampton on the way down but had sold up and moved down south in the time we were in Tasmania. We had a beautiful lunch there. Next stop Linda Llewellin which we also visited on the way down. Because it was Monday night all restaurants were closed and the only place to have dinner was in a pub. We all agreed we had better pub grub before. At eight O clock we had to find a place to stay for the night but the TomTom directed us on the freeway with few stops. Finally after an hour a large petrol station with a large parking lot.
18 April and we are heading north. First stop Gympie and a laundromat. Now we are heading north the heater is not required anymore. When we wake up it is close to 20 degrees and during the days around 27. We are doing the same boring stretch home with a few favourite stops like Galiope River and Carmilla beach. 23 April Mackay and Luke and Nikaela. Also visited Ian and Lesley Dawson. Old friends from out time in Ingham. Two days in Mackay and still 400 KM to home.

Luke and Jed Nikaela and Jed Battle of the Coral sea Remembrance

26 April and spend one day at home before we moved further north to Cardwell and the 75th commemorations of the battle of the Coral Sea. About 20 motorhomes here and good to sea friends we have not seen for a while. 33 April back home.
The housesitter we had was not the best from the many we had over the years. She rearranged a lot of things in the house. A number of items were broken. Our wine and whisky supplies vanished. But it could have been worse. The house could have been empty. A few days work in the garden and everything is tip top again. As far as this is possible with the limited amount of water we are allowed to use.

*********************************

Total KM driven: 11227 Diesel used: 2236 L Days on the road 137