Day 12 - To Tasmania


We flew to Tasmania arriving at lunch time.  MelbourNe was again wet and cold.

For the second time in a week and in my lifetime the flight aborted landing due to gusty winds.  The second attempt was successful but a bit scarey.

We went to pick up the hire car But there was a huge queue and we waited over an hour.  Just after leaving it started raining, then sleeting, then a full blown blizzard with snow starting to settle on the roads.  

 
Snow beginning to settle on the roads
 

Within 10 minutes we were in warm sunshine.  This continued for the rest of the afternoon until we arrived at our hotel in Deloraine.  We drove through towns and villages with names of Brighton, Bagdad, Melton Mowbray and Kempton.  The route took us over the central mountain range and we were at over 1000m altitude.  The scenery was amazing ranging from vineyards, lakes, mountains, farmland and Eucalyptus trees.  We saw Kangaroos and Echidnas and lots of birds including black swans.

 
Scenery just north of Hobart 

 

Vineyards near Hobart

Melton Mowbray Hotel


One of the many small lakes we passed

 

This lake had a car parking area so we 
stopped for a while

Heron on lake

Black Swans on lake

Viewpoint over Great Lake



 
View from the plateau 

 
Echidna 

 
Massive irrigation/crop spraying machine that we have seen in the arable farming areas 

We checked into our hotel and went for a walk as it was very sunny and quite warm.  The town has a real outback feel to it.  It has what looks like a working railway running through but trains stopped years ago.  It has a "Train Park" with an old steam engine.  The tracks look as if they are used regularly.  The first train service in Tasmania was from Deloraine to Launcestone.

Our room.  Small but cosy

Meander River 

Statue and fountain in the town

Former steam train where you can climb steps to the engine.

Coot type bird with chick

Distant Mountain

 
Ducks on the river 

 
Male Duck 

 
Falls on the Meander River 

 
Blackbird.  Flies and calls exactly the same as our 
blackbird but I havent heard any birdsong 

 
We found somewhere for a drink! 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 1 - Arrival in Sydney

Image
36 hours after leaving home we finally arrived at our Sydney hotel . We had a very good trip with no delays.  Malaysian Airways were excellent and we managed to get a shower at KL Airport during our 5 hour stopover.  Our hotel room in Sydney was ready so we were allowed in a couple of hours before normal check in time. After a coffee and a bit of unpacking we first went to Darling harbour but there was a lot of building work going on and it was quite noisy. Darling Harbour We then went to Manly Beach which involved a tram and ferry.  Ferries are a part of the Sydney transport system along with the trains, trams and buses. There was a strong breeze which made it feel quite cold.  Manly is supposed to be better than Bondi .  It certainly is a lovely beach and many were surfing.  We had a drink at a cafe and then walked along the coastal path before making our way back to the hotel.   Sydney Harbour Bridge from ferry Sydney Opera house from ferry...
Read more

Day 15 - To Hobart

Image
We didnt get a great nights sleep.  2 trains woke us up, inconsiderately tooting their horns at 1:20 and 3:55.  I looked out and watched the later one.  It seemed to go on for ever. We checked out of the hotel after breakfast and started to make our way south to Hobart.  The hotel had provided a very useful map of short walks in this area (which we used for previous walks) and there are 2 more on the way back.   First stop was Liffey Falls.  It was a 4km drive from the main road up to the Upper Car Park along a very rough and twisty road.  The walk was just over 1 km through Eucalyptus trees and ferns.  There were several viewing points over various stages of the falls.  The view at the bottom was really good.     Liffey Falls walk    Liffey Falls    Liffey Falls walk    Ferns     Liffey Falls    Liffey Falls    Video of Liffey Falls  Not sure what this ...
Read more

Day 14 - Around Deloraine

Image
We first went to do a walk at Fern Glade which runs from the ticket office at Marakoopa Cave to the cave entrance. There is a road between the 2 but the walk is so much nicer.  As per the name, the walk through the woods was predominantly large ferns and alongside a stream.   Fern Glade Fern Glade Fern Glade One of several bridges across creek We then had a coffee and cake at a community cafe in the pretty town of Mole Creek.   Former railway with trees growing  between rails Houses in Mole Creek Masked Lapwing Afterwards we went to Honeycomb Cave within the Mole Creek Karst National Park.  There were several entrances to the cave and we went a short way into each entrance.   Scarlet Robin Australian Shelduck There was a sign to toilets but this was in what looked like a lookout shed up with steps leading to it.  Paul went to investigate and found that whatever was deposited into the toilet had a long drop into the chemical containe...
Read more