Woolnorth Tour

 We prebooked our tour with Laura from Woolnorth Tours because we heard it was popular. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't ideal, but we set off from Stanley to drive one hour to the pickup point and hop aboard her mini-bus, which would take us through several locked gates.

The Woolnorth property was initially owned by the Van Diemens Land Company in 1826. Its chief Agent, Edward Curr, was responsible for the company and started the construction of Highfield House, which overlooks Godfreys Beach and the Nut at Stanley. George IV initially granted the company 350,000 acres.

The $90 per person tour is the only way to access the Northwest Cape and Cape Grim.

The tour also allowed us to visit the Bluff Point and Studland Bay wind farms. The more than forty staff members who work permanently on-site to keep the turbines in working order have given Laura a wealth of knowledge about their operation. This work includes cleaning the blades, removing rust from the towers, and repairing or replacing the motors that the blades are attached to. 

Morning tea was served in the shearing shed, which is no longer used. It was surrounded by quad bikes in the paddock, which were no longer used.

Matthew Flinders named Cape Grim, the two small islands called the Doughboys, and the wild and untamed part of Tasmania in 1798. Laura discusses the cape's Indigenous history and the subsequent massacre of Aboriginals there.

Laura also explained the operation of the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, which monitors and records uncontaminated air from across the Southern Ocean. The nearest landmass is 19,800 km away at Cape Horn, on the tip of South America. There are only three of these premier stations in the world: this one at Cape Grim Mauna Loa in Hawaii and Alert in the Canadian Arctic. Cape Grim constantly has the cleanest air, thanks to the fewer land masses in the south.

Burnie and Around

After leaving Cradle Mountain, we took a short leisurely drive down to the coast to our next destination, Cooee Point Reserve, just west of Burnie.

 We'd prebooked a free site through their website for a permit to stay for a maximum of two nights. Drinking water is available and a dump point for those requiring it. 

Unfortunately, the site is not monitored, and people in tents and slider vans with no facilities stay and use the few small trees and shrubs as their toilets. Those in caravans throw their water onto the ground with little respect for the site's leaving-no-trace policy.

After setting up, we drove to Burnie, walked around the town centre and watched a surf carnival. The water would be too cold for us, but they are used to it.

The town centre has some lovely old buildings, but many businesses have closed, leaving the place tired and rundown.

We stocked up at the local Woolies on our second day before driving to the Emu Valley Rhododendron Gardens. The site, which covers 11 hectares or 23 acres, was donated and is now run by volunteers with rhododendrons worldwide. There are three large lakes, and we saw a very elusive platypus that surfaced, but our photos don't do justice.

The lady who took our money said that we may encounter tiger snakes while doing the walk and just to calmly walk past them. Wow, no way was that going to happen, so after seeing our first snake, I decided to leave. By the way, Ros didn't disagree. It's not a particularly good photo, but I wouldn't stop and take a better one.

Cradle Mountain check in Wednesday 29th January

 After our recce to Cradle Mountain two days beforehand, we had determined our route via the Bass, Ridgley and Murchinson Highways. Before booking, checking the weather conditions for these days, we booked four nights. While there, we also checked out our premium-powered gravel site to see if it suited us. Site 41 will do just fine. But at $84.50 per night, it's the dearest we've ever paid for a caravan site. 

With check-in at 2pm, I called the park, which advised that because we were on a powered site, they indicated that checking in earlier would not be a problem. We had a leisurely start before driving through Latrobe and onto the Bass Highway to head west and take the Ridgley and Murchison Highways.

Arriving at 11:45, we set up, enjoyed a beer with lunch, and headed towards the visitor centre to purchase our bus tickets at $30 each. Some walks, like the Dove Lake Circuit, are eight kilometres from the centre, so it's impossible not to buy this ticket. That afternoon, we walked along the Enchanted Walk, a 20-minute circuit that leaves from the Interpretation Centre Ranger Station, and then the King Billy Walk. This 40-minute circuit takes you through a rainforest with large, old King Billy pines. Pencil Pine Falls are at the start of the Enchanted Walk.

We had another beer on our return while sitting in the sun, followed by an early dinner of sausages and vegetables cooked on our gas COBB cooker, and then we retired into the warmth of the van.

On our first morning, the temperature inside the van was 8.7 degrees compared to 5.3 outside. Our weather app said it felt like 1 degree. So we turned on our diesel heater and lay in bed until the temperature increased to 16 degrees before making a move and brewing some coffee, followed by breakfast.

Then, we went to the Visitor Centre to catch the eight-kilometre shuttle bus to the Dove Lake dropoff point. The Dove Lake circumnavigation is 6.5 km long, and walking clockwise is recommended. The track includes gravel steps and all-weather boardwalks with steeper sections. Light, misty rain cleared after we started the walk, but the weather remained overcast. The peaks of Cradle Mountain were occasionally covered in clouds, and a cold wind blew on the exposed parts of the walk. 

At the end of the trail is the Boat Shed, built in 1940, and from here, it's a short walk back to catch the shuttle bus.

After another cold morning, the temperature was just one degree warmer than yesterday's. With blue skies forecast for our second day, we decided to head back to Dove Lake to photograph Cradle Mountain and the Boat Shed. 

We took the shuttle bus to the Ronny Creek dropoff point for a different track this time. The famous six-day Overland track begins from this location.

We walked some boardwalks before exiting to view the Waldheim (meaning forest home) Chalet, built in 1910 by Gustav and Kate Weindorfer. After a fire, the original chalet was demolished in 1976 but reconstructed using King Billy Pine shingles.

We then crossed Lilla Creek and continued toward Dove Lake along the Lake Lilla Track.

This track started with boardwalks but progressively got worse and much narrower the closer we got to Lake Lilla. It continued like this until we were almost at Dove Lake.

Lake Lilla with Cradle Mountain in the background.

Week one from Tuesday the 21st January

 Before leaving Latrobe, we stopped at the local tyre service outlet and had them balance all our van tyres.

Our next stop was the small town of Railton, just thirteen kilometres away. Ken Tame insures our van, and as part of the insurance, we must also be members of the Caravan and Motorhome Club of Australia. Membership entitles us to cheap accommodation at their CMCA Parks, which costs just $7 per night. 

With the Australia Day weekend approaching, we initially booked three nights but have already extended our stay for another three nights to cover this period. We plan to head to Cradle Mountain, but we will watch the weather before booking to ensure the best weather for our stay. During our stay at Railton, we drive out daily to see the towns and sights.

There are two CMCA parks in Tasmania: the one where we are staying and another in southern Tasmania, at Geeveston.

Railton is known for its topiary. Over the past ten years, the residents have been busy growing and shaping shrubs into wonderful characters.

Even Railton is embracing the murals.

It's January 23rd, our first day of wet weather. This morning, the outside temperature was just thirteen degrees. Mind you, the rain is just misty and annoying. Ros has an appointment for a haircut this morning before we drive the twelve kilometres to Sheffield to view some of the murals the town is renowned for. It was cold, with misty rain falling, as we walked the streets before having coffee and meeting Ludo and his alpaca, Pedro. 

Today, we drove north again, bypassing Latrobe as we took some minor roads to Braddon Lookout, with expansive views across farmlands below and looking out to the northwest with ocean views towards Turners Beach and Penguin. 

We rejoined the Bass Highway before taking the Turners Beach exit to visit the Berry Patch, where we enjoyed delicious coffee and strawberry tarts. I also picked up a large container of freshly picked strawberries. The Turners Beach Campground was very busy, but at $10 a night, you have to expect that. Sardine City has generators everywhere, which is what you must expect in Tasmania at this time of year.

Turners Beach left a lot to be desired. It certainly isn't like the lovely beaches we have at home.

 We enjoyed lunch at Penguin Brewing Company, but we sat inside, and the occasional spit of rain and cold breeze made it quite uncomfortable to sit outside on the deck.

Today, January 25th, we headed southeast, taking minor roads towards Elizabeth Town and briefly joining the Bass Highway into Deloraine. We then drove another thirty kilometres towards the turnoff to Liffey Falls. We took the dirt forest track for about one kilometre before a sign stating the road was only suitable for short-wheelbase vehicles. As the trees started encroaching over the track, we turned around and returned to Deloraine, where we parked, walked the main street, and purchased fruit and lunch before heading home.

Today, January 26th, the camp host at the CMCA park here at Railton put on a sausage sizzle and supplied lamingtons for our Australia Day celebration. After lunch, we enjoyed a quiz on Australia and several games, which we all enjoyed. Our Chev, "Betty," needed a little TLC, which was a quick wash after negotiating a few dirt roads the day before. Otherwise, it was just a lazy, relaxing day. 

Another recce today is to Cradle Mountain via Claude Road from Sheffield. It rained during the night, and Mt Roland was shrouded in mist as we left Railton and passed through Sheffield. We'd heard Claude Road through Gowrie Park, and Moina was douable towing a van, but it was not the best. Even though this route is shorter, there are long, very steep sections with 15 and 25 km/h corners to negotiate for much of the way until reaching Daisy Dell on the Middlesex Plain, where the road flattens out for about 10 kilometres before turning onto the Cradle Mountain access road. It also rained the whole journey, with much of the road and surrounding country covered in thick fog.  

On our return journey, we turned left onto the Belvoir Road before joining the Murchinson Highway and passing the turnoff to Waratah and then taking the Ridgley Highway that would eventually take us through Ridgley before joining the Bass Highway for 46 kilometres before reaching Latrobe to shop with just another 14 kilometres to our camp at Railton. This road from Cradle Mountain is much broader, in better condition, has no sharp bends and is more enjoyable than the other road. 

Our recce today was to determine our route for our four-night stay at Cradle Mountain.