Day 4: Travelling to Smithton

 

After a lovely 2 Course Breakfast at 

Grain of the Silos - Launceston

we hit the road once more.

A short 4 km sidetrack took us to Cataract Gorge.

Unable to cross the Suspension Bridge as it was being restored, I took the opportunity to take some awesome Reflections Photos.

By the time 10:00 came we were looking for Morning Tea and it didn't disappoint - 

Tea and Scones at the Van Diemens Land Creamery. 

(With Icecream tastings too!)

Anyone would think that all we did was eat - But with a lot of miles to cover today our next stop was 75 km down the road at the delightful coastal town of Penguin, where we enjoyed a Picnic Lunch with the Ducks at Hiscott Park.

Next Stop - Stanley.

Standing 143 meters above the Town of Stanley The Nut is the core of a long extinct Volcano 

It was here that I truly tested going outside my comfort zone.

A Chairlift ride to the top 

And if I had let fear get the better of me I would not have enjoyed the magnificent 360 deg views over the Town, Across Bass Strait and towards Rocky Cape National Park.

Safely back on the ground we head off to Highfield House.

"Highfield Historic Site offers a historically accurate vision of a gentleman's home and farm of the 1830s. The house is being restored over time and its elegant Regency design, convict barracks, barns, stables, and a chapel are surrounded by a large ornamental garden."  **

Highfield House, built by Edward Curr who was Chief Officer of the Van Diemens Land Company in 1824 as a home for his growing family. Times were Brutal and the environment inhospitable.

It has been sympathetically restored over the last 20 years and interesting sections retained.  

I particularly liked the selection of wallpapers on the staircase.

"The approach has been more to stabilise and retain the patinas of age than to restore it fully.

You can see the effects of time and almost feel it's passage at Highfield and the ever-present gusts of the Roaring Forties further adds to that feeling." ***

There is a haunting soundtrack playing in some rooms adding to the atmosphere, bringing a connection with the Past.

Some say the house is haunted... 

I did not sense anything but the coolness that accompanies these Historical properties.

 

Well, that concludes our trip today.  

It has been a big day, travelling 256 km. 

Dinner and accomodation for tonight is at Tall Timbers in Smithton.

Further reading and quote references:

The Nut - Chairlift

Highfield House

Restoring the Timber Floors

** Highfield Quote:

***  Restoration Quote

Day 3 - The Road to Launceston

8:00 am may have bit a BIT early to arrive at a Winery but we were not here for the Wine Tasting,

although that was on offer, 

We were here for an appointment with ...

... A Helicopter!

After the mandatory Safety Briefing it was Off to see Wineglass Bay and the Freycinet Peninsula from a different perspective.

And it was such a beautiful morning too!

We went out over the water and beyond the breakers

Coming around to see the paths we travelled yesterday..

If you are able to look closely at this photograph  - you can see The Cape Tourville Lighthouse and our Companion 'Chopper.

It was an absolutely awesome experience.

That we both thoroughly enjoyed!

But it ended all to soon and it was time to Hit the Road.

This afternoon we toured the Historic "Woolmers House" circa 1820 - Early 1840's.

There is more to this estate than what our tour covered, but taking into consideration other Historic Properties, we thought it needed a lot of restoration.

Next we were treated to an unscheduled stop at The Tea Equation.

I didn't know that tea was grown in Tasmania having the most Southerly Tea Farms in the World.

And we were treated to as many samples of the different varieties as we wanted.

Back on the Bus and 10 minutes down the road we pulled in to our stay for tonight. The beautiful Peppers Silo Hotel  - Launceston.

Situated on the confluence of the Tamar and North Esk Rivers it is a repurposed heritage building made up of four 35 m Grain Silos.

Today we travelled 190 km - Tomorrow is another Adventure

 

Click the link for more Info:

The Tea Equation:

Peppers Silo Hotel

Freycinet and Wineglass Bay

Day 2 of our tour and we are starting to get to know our fellow travellers and Crew. 

At the end of each Evening Meal we were introduced to "The  Board".  It was 

- of course- Tomorrow's Itinerary.

We were advised to "Take a Photo of this... 

That way everyone knows what we are doing and more importantly WHEN."

(I found it useful to send our DD this so family also knew where we were.)

Our Morning Tea Stop was the beautiful township of Richmond.  Here we were sent off to explore on our own.  We could have had Morning Tea at the Bus but DH needed a 'Real Coffee' so, after asking the locals we arrived at "The Best Cafe in Town"

 

Built in 1823 with Convict Labour, the Iconic Richmond Bridge with its 6 Graceful Hand Laid Sandstone Arches spans 41 meters across The Coal River.  It remains Australia's Oldest Stone Bridge still in Use.

And behind it is Australia's Oldest Roman Catholic Church!

Moving on - Our next Stop.

An Easy 600 m - 20 minute Walk to stretch our legs.

Cape Tourville Lighthouse - At just 11 meters this small unmanned lighthouse dosent need to be tall on this cliff - giving it an elevation of 126 meters.  

It was built in 1971 to replace the inaccessible Cape Forestier Light.

Gotta love a Hike with a Map... 

and a recommendation to "Take a Photo of this before you set off"

Not that it was too useful once we started walking, there was only one option and that was to follow the path!

And Follow the Path we did - until we reached the point where we could return to the Bus or Keep going..

Somehow I got talked into the latter.

I hadn't packed my Hiking Pole as I knew that there was a stash in that Aladins Cave that is "Under the Bus" - so taking a firm grip on that borrowed Pole - I carefully set of.

Was it worth it?

To quote our D.DIL - 

OH Heck Yeah!

Wineglass Bay Lookout is a 3km Return trip on a Grade 3 Track that is supposed to take 1.5 hours.

Well, If you want to actually enjoy the Hike and take many Photos and stop to listen to The Bush, and lay down Memories...  

It is going to take you longer.

Well, from here it was on to our accomodation for the Night at Freycinet Lodge.

Click the Links for Further Information on the places we have Visited:

Richmond Bridge - 

Cape Forestier Light

Wineglass Bay

Exploring Hobart

We have Friends and Family living in Hobart, and it was time to make good on the 

"When we come to Tassie - We will catch Up" promises.

So Coffee with a Friend (ex-Colleague of DH) 

and Dinner with my Niece.

(Stowaway Frog was a bit shy but came out of my pocket long enough to check out the menu.)

We went to the Museum where we could touch actual Antarctic Ice. 

 

And learned that unlike the North Pole, which is all frozen Sea Ice.

 

Antarctica has solid ground under it with Mountains, Plains, Valleys and Lakes!

We Strolled along the Famous Constitution Dock

- Finishing Point for the Melbourne and Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races.

...and home to some pretty awesome Restaurants.

And we are off...

... well, we will be eventually.

Today's flight from Melbourne to Hobart was delayed because QANTAS didn't want to send us off in a defective aircraft.

Then, when we were all onboard the replacement, the Pilot tells us that they can't leave because "We have no Snacks and Water" and so we waited until ..

The Pilot announces "Hey, you know what?  We have sat here long enough.  We can live without Snacks - we are going...." 

2 Minutes later ... (very dejectedly)  " they won't let us go without Water.... ".  

So Our 75 minute, 11:40 am Flight Melbourne to Hobart finally touched down at 6:09 PM

Just as well 

(once we arrived in Hobart) 

We had nowhere to Go and All day to get there!

Christmas Day 1974

 "Santa never made it into Darwin
Disaster struck at dawn on Christmas Day
Santa never made it into Darwin
A Big wind came and blew the town away"

* * *

In the early hours of Christmas Day 1974 Tropical Cyclone Tracy swept through Darwin.

She was small and destructive. 

With winds that exceeded 217 km per hour before the anemometer at Darwin Airport was destroyed.

This girder is part of the Tracy Exhibit in Darwin Museum.

* "Cyclone Tracy had a profound impact on the Darwin community with over 70 per cent of Darwin’s homes destroyed or suffering severe damage, all public services including communications, power, water and  sewerage were severed, 

41,000 people left homeless, 35,362 people (of the 47,000 total population of Darwin) were evacuated and tragically 66 lives were lost."

50 years on - She remains one of the most destructive Natural disasters in Australia's History.

Santa Never Made it into Darwin, written by music duo Bill and Boyd.

*Darwin.nt.gov.au/ Cyclone Tracy 50th anniversary

Pharaoh at NGV

"The British Museum is delighted to present Pharaoh - Our first collaborative Exhibition with National Gallery of Victoria"

 500 Items spanning 3000 years on exhibition in Melbourne.

Having been privileged to see the Tutankhamun Exhibit at the Melbourne Museum in 2011 (and not permitted to take photographs) I was excited to attend this exhibit.

It was awesome - 

From the Grandest Statue. 

(Statue Pharaoh Ramses II as a High Priest.)

1279 - 1213 BCE

To the smallest bead, 

(This Spacer Bead - used to separate several strands of Beads). 1069 - 656 BCE

And QR Codes to See the Back of things...

(Which BTW still works - so try it!)

The Kids also had easier to understand explanations.

Eyes that gaze across the Centuries.

Mentuhotep II

c 2055 - 2004 BCE

Hoping for Immortality after death.

He lived and died 2000 years before Christ.

To have His Name and deeds not forgotten. 

Surely this is immortality.

* * *

With so many exhibits

I couldn't read all the detail plaques, so decided to buy the souvenir book.

267 pages of Photos, Maps, History and in-depth background information. It complimented the Exhibit perfectly.

Outback Spirit

This Side Trip to Uluru (Ayers Rock) was our first with Journey Beyonds Outback Spirit Group

And I must admit when I looked at the route and how many Kms were were to travel I was a little apprehensive.  

I needn't have been.

We were looked after from the first time we climbed aboard the 24 Seat Mercedes 4WD Bus to when we said Goodbye 6 Days later.

If we were Hungry or Thirsty - It was our own fault.

Morning Tea and Lunches magically appeared from 'Beneath the Bus'.

I am sure they had more Drink options than our Hotel!

(Marshmallows for your Hot Chocolate anyone?)

There was Water and Walking-poles

Tables and Chairs 

There was Fresh Fruit and Lollies

Hand sanitizer and Sunscreen

Even Books to borrow - if you were bored.....

And first time travellers were sent a complimentary 'Explorer Pack'  with everything else you would need and some!

We were expecting maybe some pamphlets... not anything like this!

(Subsequent tours, you get Past Passenger Discounts and no pack.)

Some Facts & Figures for Fun:

1,380 km 

16 hours on the Bus

35 Stops, Photo Ops, etc

The longest time on the road was just 2 hours,

The shortest: 6 minutes

To say We Went "There and Back Again to See How Far it Is "

Is certainly an understatement.

Would we travel with them again - It's already booked!

More Fun Facts:

The Ghan:

Adelaide to Manguri 891.5 km 

Manguri to Alice Springs 666 km 

Alice Springs to Katherine 1,114 km 

Katherine to Darwin 308 km 

By Road via Stuart Hwy 3,030 km

Day 10 - Katherine

There are but a few places on this Planet where I have left part of my Soul behind

One of which, is the Beautiful Nitmiluk Gorge 

last time we were here I said I would return.

And This time I was torn between cruising the Ancient  waters of the Katherine River or going Deeper into the History of this Area.

And Deeper we did go!

From an Entire Train Full of People just DH, Myself  2 Others (and the Journey Beyond Staff Member) chose the New Katherine Excursion to the Cutta Cutta Caves.

As we have traveled the opportunity to check out a "New" Cave has become a To Do Item.

Compared to some, the section of Cutta Cutta that is open to Tours is relatively small.

Limestone caves are Uncommon in Northern Australia and Cutta Cutta is the only one open to the public. 

It is relatively easy to get to and with the exception of One 'pinch point' and a few steps, quite accessible.

Unfortunately we didn't see any of the Rare Ghost or Orange Horseshoe Bats.

We did see signs that local Snakes (Harmless Brown Tree Snake) had visited recently

I was just happy to enjoy the 'Private' Tour as it gave me the opportunity to see just how well my iPhone performed in the low light.

(Taking good Photos in Caves is notoriously difficult.)

Discovered c.1900 and named 'Smiths Cave' then '16 Mile Cave' during WW2 and finally in 1979 to Cutta Cutta the Jawoyn Name for "Many Stars".  

The Aboriginal People didn't enter the Cave as they believed it was where the Stars rested during the day.

THIS is because in places, the Cave Sparkles!

After collecting the rest of the Travellers we headed on to the Nitmiluk Visitors Centre. 

We were treated to a Shared Meal which included Kangaroo, Barramundi and Crocodile all delicately flavoured with Indigenous Salmon Gum, Citrus Myrtle, Saltbush and River Mint.

From here it was back to Katherine Station where many a traveller waited to get that Iconic Photo of the Ghan engine... only to be disappointed that the Train was being hauled, as it sometimes is,  by  Pacific National.

(This does not detract from The Ghan experience)

Our Time with Journey Beyond and Outback Spirit is drawing to an end.

Just one last beautiful Evening Meal on Board as we watch the Sun Set through dusty windows, as we roll into Darwin.

 

Ghan Photo:By Bahnfrend - Own work, 

CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41744599