Weather and Photography by Jane Gough, Melbourne, Australia
Tasmania April 2007
~ Day One ~
My husband and I had the opportunity to spend our Anniversary away on a holiday, and I had no hesitation on suggesting Tasmania. Having travelled there before (some 20 years ago), I knew just what an amazing place it is, full of history and stunning natural landscape. I hope you enjoy reading about our trip and marvel at the amazing scenery as I did!
We departed Station Pier in Melbourne around 8pm for the night sail aboard the 'Spirit of Tasmania I' to Devonport.
It was still dark when we arrived in Devonport, after a calm nights adventure, and although not too much sleep was had in the Business Class seats, we were excited about the six days ahead of us! Once through Quarantine, we made our way to the Mersey Bluff Lighthouse just as the sun was beginning to rise.
We then made our way along the Bass HWY, past beautiful paddocks of fertile soils and rolling hills, where we stopped in Penguin for breakfast. After a walk along the beach we took in the view from the cemetery.
Continuing our journey along the Bass HWY, we drove through Burnie and Wynyard and onto Table Cape Lookout and Lighthouse. Also in the area is a tulip farm, but unfortunately, it's the wrong time of year to see the masses of colour in the fields near the coast. Table Cape was named by Bass and Flinders, and is a flat-topped volcanic plug extending 190 metres above sea level. The lighthouse was built in 1888.
Rocky Cape National Park was our next destination along the coast, where jaggered rocks meet beautiful white sandy beaches.
It's not hard to understand why it is a popular summer holiday destination.
Before making our way to Stanley for our first night, we detoured south off the coast and went to Dip Falls. Unfortunately, as with all the waterfalls we visited in Tasmania, there wasn't terribly much water due to lack of rainfall. The sun was also brightly shining on the top of the falls making photography quite a challenge. But it was worth the steep decent down to the bottom, tripod and all!
A short walk from the Dip Falls car park is the remains of an old boiler from a saw mill - a remnant of the past when the area was logged. You can still see the stumps of trees with the holes cut into them for the foot supports.
The first two images below are from the top of Dip Falls. You can see the hexagonal shaped rocks, but not much water flow! The third and four following images are of the 'Big Tree' only a few kilometers drive away within the park. The Eucalyptus obliqua, or Brown Stringybark, is estimated to be nearly 400 years old, 62 metres tall and 16 metres in diameter around the base.
Stanley was our final destination for the day, and where we spent our first night. Stanley is a small town situated below 'The Nut', which is the remains of the base of a volcano. The flat topped geological structure dominates the skyline, and is certainly photogenic!
There is the option of walking up a steep track to the top of The Nut, or cheat and have a ride on the chair lift! We, of course, cheated! Although the ride is not for the faint hearted! It is steep and we felt quite exposed, but the view was second to none! Once at the top, a walking track took us around the circumference where we experienced the magnificent views of the Bass Strait coastline and Stanley.
After descending via the chairlift (it's worse going down...) we drove around the township...
...and then onto the ruins of the Convict Barracks on Green Hills Rd to the North of Stanley. Being late in the day the sun had already gone behind a line of close by pine trees, shading the ruins. The images below have been adjusted somewhat to bring out the foreground details without losing too much of the sky.
'The Nut' in the early evening from our hotel balcony, the second with a flock of Shearwaters (Mutton birds).
A very hectic, but rewarding day with over 400 images taken! We ended the day with a wonderful meal in the restaurant Stanley's By The Bay (highly recommended!).
Click for Day Two
Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six