7 replies to this topic

[Mystic]

Shane and I have just decided that we are heading back out on a mystery tour for the next few weeks. Not sure how long we will be gone for.

Hopefully all will be well with the site in the meantime, though we have had recent attacks and will have the means to correct those with us if required, but may not be able to get internet capacity for a few days at a time. Please be patient if any problems arise during the next month, it happens.

Maybe we might catch up with some of you during the month we are away. So far I can say that we will be in Hobart tomorrow (Saturday), probably at the Irish pub for dinner tomorrow night, then Bruny Island until Monday or Tuesday, after which we head down to south east cape. From there we could go anywhere.

If you see Jessica (white volvo with the realtasmania website address on the side), say hi.

Take care, and we shall see you on our return.

[tassiesim]

your going to Bruny Island ohh woweee have fun take thousands of photos and travel safe,
see you when I see you take care my friends

[Mystic]

Slight change of plans due to crappy weather down south. We went north and are currently around the Bay of Fires area. South may have to wait for another time.

[Mystic]

We have returned home a touch earlier than we expected, but that's nothing unusual. All good plans are best kept flexible, especially when camping in Tasmania during winter.

The shot below shows what conditions were like yesterday afternoon as we drove home. The highway was lined with snow for about 60 km, and this was after a day of bright sunshine, with the shot taken late in the afternoon.

Our original plan on going south changed when we stopped at Ouse for breakfast on Saturday and noticed the newspaper reports of flooding and heavy rains, which were expected to continue for the next week in all points south east. We decided to turn left at Hamilton and head up to the bay of fires.

The weather was a little better in that place, but a strong southerly that came through on Tuesday night, bringing icy gales the following morning convinced us it might be best to pack our small tent and head for the warmth of home. The snow falls of the previous night had forced the closure of numerous roads in the west, and more was on the way.

We did enjoy the time we had and will post a few pics and stories later, that will be sometime after I wake up and recover.

[Shane V]

We woke to a cloudy start on the west coast but as we travelled along we could see the clouds starting to break up. As we neared Queenstown they broke apart showing some beautiful colours in the western sky, which contrasted with the colours of the surrounding hillsides. Low cloud hovered over the town. A very chilly wind blew up the gully...Thank god for Volvo heaters :-)

As we drove east, through the WHA, the clouds once again began to gather. A few showers of rain fell. We stopped at Ouse for something to munch on, they make yummy bacon, egg and cheese rolls. While there, we saw the newspaper and our plans to go south were changed and we headed north instead.

St Helens was the destination. While driving through the Fingal Valley we saw rivers had burst their banks, the hills were beginning to turn green after all the rain that they had received recently. It was quite stunning. We drove down St Marys Pass, which was something we wanted to do ever since the fires of a couple of years back. The Australian bush is amazing, it has now greened up a lot although there were spots where it was obvious that a bushfire had gone through in the recent past.

Photography wasn't on the agenda when we reach St Helens, it was bucketing down! We stopped to do a bit of shopping and when we got out of the car we got drenched on the short walk to the shops. Finally we made our way out of town towards Dora point camp ground, definitely one of our favourite spots in the area. The road was being worked on, which made it very slippery and we slid , very scarily, around some of the corners.

The rain slowed to a sprinkle when we arrived allowing us time to get the tent set up. We took a stroll down to the beach to see the scenery and it was murky. The wind was blowing, it was dark and we could see more rain coming in. An early night was had, I was buggered from the drive.

The next morning I woke to the sound of birds chirping and I thought that it may be a nice day. When I got out of the tent it was still very cloudy but the wind had died and it didn't really look like it was going to rain. Most of the day we spent wandering the area with our cameras. It was good to be back here, very relaxing. The clouds cleared, mostly, during the day and we had a beautiful sunset.

That night was also the first time we saw our wallaby at the campsite. She stayed just out of camera range, checking us out while we watched her. Over the next few days she ventured closer and we were able to get some very nice shots of her. We called her Spot, because she had a white spot on her ear.

The Chippie Chippies, aka Superb Fairy Wrens, also paid us many visits. They would flitter around the campsite looking for bugs and other things to eat. This time they amazed us. We actually had them come so close, they ran between our feet and even jumped on Anna's leg and back. When we have seen them before, they never came that close. I wanted to get a shot of them running between my legs but they were just too quick.

The campfire that night was mesmerising. We sat for hours watching it and chatting. What a way to spend a night! I recommend it for anyone who needs to relax! There's nothing like watching flames dance. We also watched the possums climbing the trees above our head. It was cool to watch them change trees. They would grab the branches of the tree they wanted to go to and wrap their tails around the one they were on and when they had a solid hold onto the other the they would let their tail go from the other tree.

We were able to wander around the area, under blue skies, with only a little bit of cloud, for most of the time we were there. The days were warm, surprisingly much warmer than the west coast, well I suppose it isn't really surprising seeing as it is a totally different environment. The light made for good photography. It's a shame we forget to grab the tripod when we left home.

The last night we were there a strong wind blew up from the south and it rained most of the night. I laid back and watched the tent light swing backwards and forwards, there was a full moon behind the clouds which illuminated the area despite the cloudy, rainy weather. When we got up the next morning it was freezing and we knew that the weather that had hit the south a few days before was coming this way. We decided to go home.

On the way home we stopped in and visited Sim, Tassie Sim here. It made for a nice break in the drive. Thanks for the cuppa and chat Sim, most enjoyable We headed across the top of the state. We could feel it getting colder the further we went west. Just Past Ridgely Anna noticed snow on the side of the road. The Highway was lined with snow for most of the way home. We stopped in at Waratah to get something to eat and the whole town was covered in snow, it hadn't melted from the night before.

Overall it was an enjoyable trip. Watching the animals, melting into the scenery and wandering in a beautiful area made for a relaxing time away.

[Mystic]

Good description Shane, and some very nice shots too. A few more shots that fell out of my camera when I shook it ....

Bassian Thrush


Black Cockatoo


A couple of locals hoping for dinner


Our temporary "pet" wallaby, Spot


Superb Fairy Wren

[tassiesim]

ohh what fantastic photos, Shane and Anna your trip away sounds magical and it was lovely to catch up over a cupa on your stop home, Love spot the wallaby :-)

[Shane V]

Forgot to reply to this one Sim, sorry my bad.

Thanks for your comment. It was a great time and I enjoyed the time we spent on the east coast and also the cuppa with you and Jason. Say hi to him for me