TASMANIA 11 - THE NORTH COAST

If we were asked what part of Tasmania we liked the best we would undoubtedly say the north coast. We arrived at Montague Park on New Year’s Eve and were fortunate enough to jag a campsite right beside the water. Although some people said we would be sorry if the easterlies came in we parked the van so that the awning side was sheltered and we had beautiful views through the windows. Sitting down at mealtimes looking out over Duck Bay was fantastic.

 

 

We probably also loved the place because, even without the tinny, we could still catch a feed of fish and abalone. John jumped into his wetsuit on day 2 and within half an hour had eight lovely green lipped abalone. With directions as to how to prepare them and a taste of some cooked in lemon pepper from some hospitable locals, we managed to have a beautiful meal that night.



The sea birds at Montague are well fed and always appear when someone is cleaning their catch.

There are plenty of nice walking tracks through the bush with access to the shoreline so Leo really enjoyed his morning and afternoon walks. He still hasn’t managed to catch any wabbits though and the pademelons are much too tricky for him and judging by the one we saw at The Nut in Stanley he could get more than he bargained for anyway.

Check out the pecs on this pademelon at The Nut in Stanley.

We took a drive down to Stanley while at Montague and visited Highfield, an historic old house which sits on a hill overlooking Godfrey’s Beach and the town of Stanley. The house is slowly being restored and lots of information is provided about its history. It was built in by Edward Curr, chief agent for the Van Diemen’s Land Company and he lived there with his wife and 15 children, overseeing large land holdings throughout the north-west.

I asked John to take my knickers off the mangle before he took the photo! Says he forgot.

Quite a view!

Since we had to return to Hobart to have some work done on the air-conditioner in the van, we decided to take a few days and explore the rest of the north coast on the way. At Stanley, we spent a night at a free camp below the cliffs of the Nut out at the boat harbour. The owner of the wooden boat and fishing tackle shop also owns the land and is happy for travellers to camp there free of charge. He even provides a toilet for them. The jetty is obviously a very popular fishing spot both with tourists and locals. We are told the fishing there is very good but nobody was catching much while we were there. We did see one guy catching some squid though but our attempts at squidding were unsuccessful.

The Nut as you drive into Stanley domintes the landscape.

Looking from Highfield across Godfrey's Beach to The Nut and Stanley.

Our camp below The Nut.

Before leaving Stanley, I was determined to walk up the Nut which proved quite an effort as the track is very steep. I made it though. Most people seemed to be taking the chair lift and then doing the ½ klm walk around the top where you can see where thousands of mutton birds, (short-tailed shearwaters) were in the middle of their nesting season in burrows amongst the thistles and bracken fern. The views from the top of the Nut are also well worth the walk.

Highfield from The Nut.

Mutton bird nest on The Nut.

Looking down to the jetties and free camping area.

This lovely little grove is on top of The Nut.

The easy way up.

We also had fish and chips at the local fish shop. Next door you can see live crayfish, gummy sharks and stripey trumpeter in tanks, ready for sale. Make sure you have plenty of money though if you are planning on trying the crayfish. They aren’t cheap at $70 to $80 per kilo, live. While waiting for our fish and chips, we strolled up the street to the childhood home of Sir Joseph Lyons, Tasmania’s only Prime Minister of Australia – so far. It has been maintained in its original state and the volunteers who man it were really friendly and helpful.

After Stanley, we drove east and checked out two coastal camps at Black River and Peggs Beach. Both are nice although Black River is very spread out and most of the campsites seemed small and not level. We found Peggs Beach pleasant with easy access to a nice beach so we spent a night there before continuing on to Boat Harbour Beach. This is a beautiful spot. The beach is pure white, squeaky sand and the day we arrived was really hot so I actually had a swim. The water was cold but really invigorating. I think if we were going to live in Tassie, this is the spot we would pick. There is a great free camp just behind the beach overlooking a rocky bay and there were toilets and cold showers handy.

On our way to our next stop at Penguin, we drove in for a look at Rocky Cape and Table Cape. The views from Table Cape were specky. We also noticed very large paddocks full of Thai lillies of all colours. They must look beautiful when they are in flower. Ang again we encountered acres and acres of poppies and hay stacks.

Looking back from Table Cape to Boat Harbour Beach.

Looking east from Table Cape.

The poppies will soon be ready or harvest.

 

We didn't go right into Penguin, but stopped at a lovely spot beside the surf club about 6 klms to the west of the town. There were plenty of other campers there and we had a lovely evening chatting to some of them.

The beach from our camp at Penguin.

From Penguin we drove south to a lovely little bush camp called Pioneer Park at Riana. This is a lovely little park and we were lucky enough to jag one of only a few powered sites. The cost is mimimal and there are hot showers at $1 for 5 minutes. We found this spot really peaceful and would have stayed longer except that the fire at Montumana was still burning, sending smoke over us and the weather was still very hot. Instead of taking a full day to explore the Gunns Plains area and perhaps spending a night or two in there we decided to take a drive out there. It is a lovely area. As you drive down you can see a wide vista of plains adjacent to the Leven River.

Gunns Plains

 

There is a nice camp beside the river at Wings Wildlife Park but dogs aren’t allowed. We did see a pleasant little roadside park beside the river about halfway between Wings and the Caves reserve which was obviously popular as there were several vans there. Again, because of the fire warnings we didn’t get to explore Leven Canyon either. Maybe next time.

The campsite at Ulverstone was difficult to find at first. Make sure you turn right across the bridge if you are coming in from the west. The original site was past the rowing club but due to construction of a new rail bridge, it is blocked off. However, there is a really pleasant, grassy spot adjacent to the rowing club where it is apparently OK to stay overnight. It is right beside the river and is an easy walk into the main town area, via a fantastic park area. There is a walking path which follows the river past a new wharf precinct and through several memorial parks dedicated mainly to various Australian Navy ships, battles etc. We thoroughly enjoyed our walks here.

 

We were now starting to head toward Hobart again to get some work done on the van so we took advantage of our proximity to Devonport to catch up on some banking etc. We also visited the weaving mills where you can usually pick up some bargains if you need towels, linen etc. They manufacture for Dickies and several other well-known manchester companies. I had also been told by another traveller about a shop in Latrobe which is a must see. It is called Reliquaire and is in the main street. It really is quite extraordinary. Even John enjoyed exploring all the rooms full of dolls, teddy bears, toys, costumes and an amazing range of antique house fittings such as door knobs, hinges etc. We especially liked the Dr Who room and the “spooky” section. Of course I loved the dolls. Most are collectors’ dolls and bears, some worth thousands of dollars. Obviously an indulgence but still beautiful. I did manage to find a reasonably priced but beautiful fairy doll for my darling granddaughter though. Take a look at their virtual tour. This shop is amazing.

http://www.reliquaire.com/

From Latrobe we drove out to Port Sorell, hoping to find a nice camping spot and some oysters. We were somewhat disappointed on both counts. All of the campgrounds were cramped and crowded and the oysters were loose and sitting in mud so difficult to open. We collected enough for a meal though and opted to continue south through Deloraine and on to Bracknell where we found a really pleasant little camp spot beside the Liffey River.

Since we hadn’t yet seen the lakes of the central plateau we travelled south through Poatina so that we could take a look at the camp sites on Arthurs Lake on the way. The camp at Jonah Bay is OK but there seem to be a lot of locals with shacks there and there are lots of trees, so if you have a big rig or need sunlight it’s not so good. We thought Pumphouse Bay was much nicer and there is easy boat access. Again, there was a bushfire in the region near Interlaken, so we didn’t stay. Instead we went through to Kempton so we could just drive into Hobart in the morning. There is a handy little travellers’ stop in Kempton where there is easy access to power for a donation only. You can also access showers and toilets if you want to pay a bond for a key from the council offices. Kempton itself has some very old and interesting buildings which made our walks with Leo more enjoyable.

The road up the middle of Tassie passes through lots of picturesque, rolling valleys.

After Hobart it was back up north via the Longford area where we visited Brickendon, a World Heritage Listed farm which has been occupied by the Archer family since the 1820’s. The convict area is freely accessible and the buildings of some interest.

The pillar granary is built on concrete stumps to keep out the bugs etc.

Inside the granary.

The cookhouse

There are still lots of farm animals around.

???????? Someone's creative efforts gone wrong?

Unfortunately, the main house is still occupied by the family but you can stroll around the gardens and get a sense of what is must have been like in earlier days. You can also walk to Woolmers, another historic estate, from the convict area at Brickendon if you fancy a longer stroll.

The gardens are still beautiful.

This bunya pine was quite impressive.

We saw lots of fancy shoe scrapers at the old houses around Tassie.

Travelling westward again, we were disappointed with the camp stop at Bishopsbourne so we spent another night at Bracknell before continuing on to Ulverstone, via Reliquaire at Latrobe – again – then back to our favourite spot at Montague Park, where we had great fun catching mullet with fresh chicken – never thought it possible – and of course John was back into the diving for more abalone. The people here are so friendly and generous. We have also been given a huge squid which was absolutely delicious marinated in garlic, ginger and chilli. Another treat were the whitebait patties which were also given to us by a generous Smithton resident who was spending a few days at Montague. They were delicious! We had some lovely times including some very friendly get-togethers with other campers.

 

Half an hour and a handful of chicken breast resulted in a nice feed of mullet.

While at Montague we also met a couple who were here for the big muster of wagu beef cattle off Robbins Island. The cows and their calves are driven across Robbins Crossing, a very shallow area which almost dries out at low tide. They are then driven several kilometres along the beach to the property just behind Montague Park, where the weaners are separated from their mothers for fattening and then the cows are returned to the island via the same route. The day I went up to the crossing to have a look there were over 700 head in the herd so it was quite a sight and a real novelty as well. We could also clearly hear the weaners for the next few days calling for their mums. Apparently they take the cattle off in several lots and it can take them two or three tries if the cattle decide they don’t want to co-operate.

Part of the muster at Robbins Crossing.

The weather was very kind to us most of the time we were at Montague. We did however encounter the dreaded easterlies, which made our beachside camp a bit blustery – the van was rocking all night the wind was so strong. You can’t expect things to go your way all the time! Anyway, our two weeks at Montague were fantastic and we would definitely spend most of our time here if we come back to Tassie. Hopefully, Buster, the camp caretaker will still be here. He does a fantastic job and is very helpful and friendly.

Maca and John were pretty happy with these King George whiting.

John and I caught these wrasse one morning. They are plentiul around here but the locals don't like the. They call them "shit fish" but we were happy to eat them. They are definitey better eating than the salmon.