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[Shane V]

The South coast was an excellent way to start our journey. It certainly was the beginning of feeling more relaxed, more at one with myself and nature. The stress of the previous months was still there but it was pushed back into my memory.

The next part of our trip took us to the north east of the state. The difference between the two parts of the state is amazing, its like two totally different worlds.

Part 3 - warmth and Sunshine

Our hasty retreat saw us driving through light snow all the way back to Hobart. At Huonville we stopped and took a few pictures of snow covered hills around the area. It was still very grey and lightly snowing as we drove the 40 odd kilometres to Hobart. At least by the time we got to the capital it had stopped.

After a brief stop to pick up a few things we headed up the highway. By the time we were about 50 kms up the road the sun was beaming down on us. It was still a bit chilly but not as cold as it was at Hastings. We turned off the highway just past Campbell Town and drove towards the east coast.

The mountains of Ben Lomond National Park loomed in the foreground. They displayed their rugged beauty under the bright sunshine. We drove on through the Fingal valley to St Marys. It was Saturday afternoon and just about every shop in town was shut. It is like that down here in most regional towns. Sundays are the same. We ducked into the hotel and grabbed a couple of drinks and headed down Elephant Pass to the coast. The elephant pass road is a fun road to drive. It requires a lot of concentration has twist and turns and in places is very narrow, but it is very well maintained.

It took about half an hour to go 17 km. Both sides of the road were lush with forest. Some eucalypt, some rainforest. It is absolutely beautiful. The weather in this part of Tasmania was warm and sunny and we no longer needed our heavy jackets.

Finally after a trip of about 4 hours we reached Chain of Lagoons campground, our next stop on the trip

Part 4 - Thawing out'

Stepping out of the car into the beautiful, warm sunlight I felt relieved that I was no longer cold. Our teeth no longer chattered.

Chain of Lagoons, Lagoons Beach campground, was a large open plan campground with a lot of sites to choose from. We drove around the ground and decided that one of the sites near the south entrance would be good for us. We unpacked the newest addition to our camping equipment, a tent. It was so easy to assemble. I kept remembering the times when I was a kid putting a tent up in the back yard, it was never this easy.

This tent was spacious and I can almost stand up straight in it. There was enough room to swing a cat. I couldn't get over the size of the door...it is massive compared to the one on our other tent. We now use the other tent as a supply tent. , no more space hogging gear.

The campsite was sheltered on all sides, with two entrances. There were trees and an assortment of shrubs all around. It wasn't far from the lagoon either. Birds of many different varieties swam in the lagoon. The Black Swans were my favourite and we watched them from a hole in the trees and tried not to disturb them. It was a tranquil place. Anna got a couple of them as they were taking off, they are in the gallery, which were spectacular.

The beach entrance was located at the northern end of the campground. It came out at the end of the lagoon. The water of the lagoon was crystal clear and we could see everything that was beneath its surface. I love watching what is under the water from the surface. The animals' movements hypnotize sometimes and at other times they are just too quick to see.

The warm weather here was starting the thawing of the bones. We walked a way down the beach and found a little nook in the dunes to sit in and relaxed. Waves washed in and retreated again, the wind blew gently blowing miniature sand crystals towards the lagoon. It was my idea of paradise. Nobody else was on this particular stretch of beach. I could have spent the rest of the day just sitting there watching the world go by but nature was calling.

Lagoons Beach

There was a toilet at the northern end of the campground near the entrance to the beach, so I decided to use that one instead of leaving it till we got back to our campsite. It was one of those hybrid toilets. Inside it was clean and didn't smell but there were mosquitoes in there which were huge. We dubbed them 747 Kamikaze Mosquitoes. They bit my hand and now I have little scars from where I was bitten. At last count I was bitten 23 times and the amazing thing was I didn't even feel them biting me. My hand came up in blisters and it wasn't very pretty to look at. So beware the Mossies in the loos at the north end of Chain of lagoons.

This is a very pretty spot and watching the animals, birds and insects do what they do is amazing. This is the first place I discovered the little world beneath our feet. It started with a solitary ant dragging along a grass seed. All I could see was the little seed moving along the ground. I got up from where I was sitting and squatted down near the moving seed to watch what was happening. A few other ants wandered by and didn't stop to help the little guy. He/she eventually got back to the nest and dragged it in the hole.

Over the next couple of days we watched clouds roll in and I thought we were in for more rain and hoping for no snow. The rain didn't eventuate. We watched a particular point in the sky and it seemed like there was a barrier there. The clouds would hit this spot and then dissipate to nothing. I don't know what caused it but it was cool to watch.

Our first stop on the north east coast was great for thawing out the body as well as the mind. Getting in touch with nature and watching the little things that go on around me was a lesson well learned.'

Part 5 - Bay of Fires Calling

The morning we packed up to leave I was really excited. The next stop on our journey was the Bay of Fires. I had heard many people say this was a beautiful place and seen many pictures. It was one place we were going to go on our day trips but didn't manage to get there. Well, now we were going there. Yeehaa!!!

It was only about a 45 minute drive from Chain of Lagoons to St Helens. The trip was scenic, with views of the mountains to the left and the ocean to the right. The first thing we did was check out the shopping district. St Helens is a large regional town with quite a few shops, no large department stores but some very interesting little stores.

After this we grabbed some food and water and headed out to Dora's Point Campground. It actually took us a bit to find, the camping guide had the directions all wrong. After talking to one of the locals we found it. We were on the right track just didn't go far enough.

There is a lookout on the road to Dora's with spectacular views up and down the coast. We stood there for a little while drinking in the gorgeous view. St Helens point was the most prominent view. It was a rocky point out into the ocean which came around to a beach. The water was shimmering in the sunlight and the white sands of the beach were almost blinding with their brightness. I couldn't wait to get closer and see what the water felt like.

Dora's Lookout

First things first though, we had to find a campsite. That was pretty easy. On the left, just past the day use area, there is a turnoff with a couple of secluded sites, one on the left and one on the right. The one on the right we earmarked and drove a little further down the main track to see what else was around. We found the amenities block and checked that out. The track went further but we decided to go back to the earmarked site and set up the tent.

Everything was set up in no time. After grabbing the camera and a drink we headed to the beach. I stood at the top of the sand dune, with mouth agape, staring at the stunningly beautiful vista before me. I can't remember seeing another beach like this one with my own eyes, except in documentaries and they were in the tropics.

We slid down the dune to the waters edge. It looked so inviting. I put my hand into the water and immediately pulled it out. That was the coldest water that I can remember putting my hand into, without having a wetsuit on. The water may have been calling but it was also laughing at me when I put my hand in it. We snapped some beautiful photos and headed back to the campsite.

Chilly but beautiful water

That night we had our first encounter with a pademelon at this site. We heard noises in the bush beside the campsite and turned the light towards them. We didn't see the creature at first, then it bounce out of the bush and into the light. It stopped, looked at us and continued on a path past the site to where the light was not shining. We tried to get a picture of it but it was almost impossible without the aid of a spotlight. It was a cute little thing with a Joey in its pouch. When I moved to get something it bounded off and we didn't see it again till the next day, although we did hear it in the darkness, munching on the grass.

There were possums in the area as well. One even tried to get into our supply tent. They make a lot of noise for such a small animal. I remember leaving out some dishes one night and we heard the clanging of knives and forks on plates and in the morning the dishes had been cleaned. From then on the dishes were done straight after the eating was finished. Rubbish was put in the car so they didn't attack the tent.

It was cool to sit by the fire and watch as the nocturnal animals sniffed around for something to eat. Watching the fire was also a favourite past time, it is a good way to relax before heading to bed of at night.

This was also the spot where Anna tried, for the first time, marshmallows toasted on a fire. It had been years since I had done it and I had completely forgotten how they tasted. They were so YUMMY!! It is amazing how such little things bring so much pleasure. It was like being a kid again, rediscovering the flavours. I think it is good to revisit your childhood even if it just with little things such as this.

We spent the next week or so at this site discovering different places and things. Then we moved on, but not too far away

Part 6 - Sloop Reef

While at staying Dora's we took a drive around the area to see what the other campsites had to offer and discovered Sloop Reef. This was the next place we stayed. We saw the campsites here and thought that the one overlooking the ocean would be perfect for us.

It was a fine calm morning so we decided to pack up the site at Dora's and go to Sloop. It didn't take us long to pack up, but it never does when you get into a routine.

Upon arriving at Sloop Reef Campsite we pitched the tent. It was situated behind some bushes, which protected us from any weather coming from the west. The site was in a bit of a clearing between the bushes and the rocks which fell off to the water. Our view of the ocean and Sloop Rock was only obstructed by a couple of trees. These trees provided good shade.

There was a little bit of a breeze blowing, but it wasn't that strong. During the day though the wind picked up in intensity and by nightfall we were almost getting blown away. We had to erect a wind break for the fire because it was getting blown all over the place. The tent was being blown so hard it kept hitting us on the head while we were sitting inside.

We went for a wander around the area and discovered the beach, more rocks and a lagoon, Sloop Lagoon, tucked away behind the beach. In the mornings this lagoon gave off a very pretty show. The water was mirrored and flat and reflecting everything that was happening above. The colours were amazing at all times of the day; from reds and gold in the mornings to beautiful rich blues and greens during the day and back to reds at sunset.

Sloop Rock

The wind howled through the nights. A couple of times I thought trees nearby were going to fall over on us. When we woke in the mornings though it was calm, there was no wind to speak of. The water was flat and clear and the sun shone warmly inviting us to sit on the rocks and just watch everything that was happening. Birds flew around us, little, puffy clouds slowly crossed over head and everything was quiet.

We found that when at Sloop Reef the best time to do anything was in the morning. We began waking before dawn and sitting on the rocks, watching the sun rise over the rocky outcrop to the south east. We got many beautiful photos of the sunrises from this spot.

There were lots of birds in this area; from little finches to large pelicans and everything in between. One of these I nick named Mr. and Mrs. Yellow Leaves. I was wandering around the campsite and spotted a bird, I didn't know the name of it, and when I went back to the campsite proper I said to Anna, "I just saw a bird with yellow leaves fly past." Before I realized what I had said Anna was laughing her head off. "So this bird has got yellow leaves has it? How many trunks has it got?" she asked through laughter. At that I couldn't help but laugh myself. It's just one of those moments that happen.

In the end we decided to leave here because it was too windy. But I loved the place. The beauty of the environment and even the wind played its part in making this place spectacular. It is one place I recommend everyone stay at for at least a day to experience what this beautiful, rugged land can throw at you.

Part 7 - Back to Dora's for a bit

After being blown away at Sloop Reef we headed back to the sheltered confines of Dora's Point. This time we stayed at the other end of the campground. It was much quieter here although there seemed to be more traffic than when we stayed at the site near the start of the campground. I suppose that was because it was the end of the track and people were checking out if there were any campsites there.

From here we did a few walks, mainly along the beach, including one to Humbug Point. I really enjoyed this walk. The sign says it is only an hour and a half, I think if you do this walk in an hour and a half you haven't seen anything. You can't take a walk like this one and not stop to check out the sights. There is such a diverse range of flora, fauna and scenery along this track and you will see different things on the way back that you may have missed on the way out. This is definitely one of my favourite walks.

One thing that amazed me about this area was the tidal movement of George's Bay. When we first arrived the bay was full of water and the tides weren't erratic. They seemed like normal tides. Then there was a change and the low tide mark seemed to get further away from the beach with every tide. At one stage we went for a walk along the beach and ended up walking out to where the oyster beds were, about a kilometer away, without getting our feet wet. It was an amazing feeling to be walking where there should have been water and you knew that in a few hours there would be water there again.

We spent only a few more days here. We had things to do and people to see in Hobart. I felt really sad when we packed up to leave. The atmosphere of the town and area is welcoming and it feels like your are at home. The people are very friendly and helpful, and they will go out of their way to do anything if asked.

We drove down the coast on the A3. This highway wound it's way though many different landscapes. At Cranbrook we had to stop. There was a lookout there which overlooked Moulting Lagoon, a game reserve and sanctuary. There are about 8,000 black swans living here on a full time basis as well as other birds and wild life. This reserve is a Ramsar listed site and it is 4580 ha.

Ramsar is a list of International Wetlands of Importance, developed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. The Vision of the Ramsar list is?




QUOTE

"To develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the ecological and hydrological functions they perform."



Looking past the lagoon, over the ocean we saw the western side of Freycinet National Park. This has to one of the most beautiful pieces of Tasmania. Granite mountains thrust upwards from the turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. I stood at the lookout and was overwhelmed by beauty of the landscape before me. We finally drove on and found another place near Swansea to stop and get some more beautiful photos of Freycinet.

We finally reached Hobart and that was the end of our North east adventure. It was definitely a beautiful part of the state and we vowed to return there as soon as we could.

Freycinet NP