NSW – Tasmania trip 2021: 7 – 10 March

Monday – Cradle Mountain National Park
We had booked a helicopter scenic tour at midday, so we were at the CMNP Visitor Centre around 11.15am where we obtained maps of the available tracks and their duration.
The carpark was huge, and about 90% full!  There is also a 65km ‘overland’ track (which ends at the bottom of the NP, ie Lake St Clair, which we visited earlier this trip and where we did a full day hike).  Needless to say, there were many people out and about enjoying nature.  We decided which track we were likely to follow then went to the helipad.

It was not sunny at this stage, but the clouds were thankfully above the mountain peaks, and we enjoyed views of all the lakes, the highest mountain in Tassie (Mt Ossa) and Australia’s deepest ‘Fury Gorge’.  We made sure we saw the Crater Lake, as this was also one of the lakes on our planned hike.  We had the chopper to ourselves, and we enjoyed this 20minute outing immensely.

Off we went to catch the shuttle bus into the NP, which is included in the NP pass (which we had purchased prior to arrival in Tasmania as it is needed in all National Parks, or you pay a daily fee).  The shuttle bus is a very frequent hop-on-hop-off bus, well-organised and flexible as you can choose any track and destination without having to return on the same track.

Dove Lake is where Cradle Mountain is mostly photographed, and we started there.  The map below shows the tracks we chose, and what the views we had.   It was a great hike, with lots of variety – we scaled one of the mountain’s rocks sideways, we saw waterfalls, and various lakes, and wombats, and a black snake.  Meanwhile, the clouds separated, and we had some blue sky and sun.  After we finished our 2.5 hour hike, we hopped on the shuttle back to return to Dove Lake and take a few pictures of it and Cradle Mountain in the sunlight.

Got back to our van very satisfied around 6pm, to enjoy a beautiful sunset on the mountain peaks surrounding our small caravan park.

Tuesday – (Sheffield)/Devonport
Early phone call to the Sheffield mechanics (the closest ones at 15 minutes in the right direction for us) to see if they had replacement tyres and the time to fit on the van, and we were in luck!  So at 9.15am we were at the shop, and found out from the experts that our current tyres were the wrong type for a caravan, and furthermore with way too low pressure.  Obviously the latter was as per the (incorrect) instructions.  So we count our blessing that $280 was the only price we paid.  It could have been much worse for us safety, damage, cost and time wise.  We are still flummoxed that this could have happened to a newly purchased van, delivered with tyres (imported from France)!

Anyway, we were advised that we should be good for another 50,000km with the new ones, so we feel much safer now.

Without further ado, we headed for Devonport where our favourite caravan owner Luke gave us one of the best spots without anyone in front us to spoil the water views! He also gave us a (very!) late checkout tomorrow as the ferry back doesn’t leave until 7.30pm.

Arno washed the car! It was long overdue!  Jen met Chris for drinks (a friend of a friend), who then came back to our van to visit a bit longer.

Wednesday – Latrobe/Tasmanian Cheese & Wine Conservatory/Spirit of Tasmania
Our very last day in Tasmania! The time has gone fast, and if the Spirit was not fully booked (till at least August!), we would have quite happily delayed our return to the mainland.

But we enjoyed a nice last day at Mersey Bluff Caravan Park, in our prime position.  Arno managed to get a bit of practice in at the local driving range, and Jen a nice brunch at Drift, just below the park on the water.   In the afternoon we met Andrew and Marg at the Tasmanian Cheese and Wine Conservatory, 25 minutes south of Devonport, just below Sassafras – via Latrobe where we stopped and had a look around this unusual town.

The Latrobe buildings are quite lovely, and ‘Reliquaire’ was a most interesting place with ‘something for everyone’; it is a huge shop/exhibition with themed nooks and crannies, from fairy tales to Harry Potter, to Game of Thrones and whole areas dedicated to hobbies, and games, and collector passions (eg door knobs/handles!). In Jen’s humble opinion, it was not even kitsch!

Anyway, we had a lovely last drink with our dear friends, who were on their way to welcome some 30 people arriving from the mainland in Devonport tomorrow morning on the Spirit.  They organised a 2-week Tasmanian rally with their fellow vintage Rolls Royce enthusiasts, and so they start their rally tomorrow morning.  A picture of us 4 in front of their burgundy vintage 1929.

We packed up the van, and headed off to board the Spirit around 5.15pm (it’s literally a 3-minute drive from the park), and found our booked cabin.  We then headed out onto the deck as the sunset was beautiful and we were hoping to take a picture of where we had camped so happily our first 4 and last 2 days. However, this was not to be, as we left late and by then too dark when we passed the park and lighthouse.

Rolled into bed early, as we expected a wakeup call before 6am when we arrive in Port Melbourne. Goodbye Tasmania, we’ve enjoyed your beauty and all you have to offer!

This post’s route.

Below a picture of the map with all visited routes highlighted.