Tasmania - Getting There

With all the excitement of Amy's and Jamie's wedding, held on Saturday 13 September, now behind behind us, we spent the next couple of days getting ready for our 3 month trip to Tasmania.  The van now has a new gas air-heater installed - a welcome addition for the expected cold weather of this trip.

Wednesday, 17 September - All packed up, we hooked up the van and set off around 9:30am. We chose an inland route to travel to Melbourne, only because we haven't been that way before.  Travelling south to Lismore and Casino the roads were quiet and picturesque winding through mountains and valleys.  The weather was clear and sunny.

Lunch stop - Mallanganee Lookout

Mallanganee Lookout

After Casino we were due for lunch but there were no rest stops around.  Spying a turnoff to Mallanganee Lookout as we climbed to the crest of yet another steep hill, we took a chance and drove along a steep dirt track and were rewarded with a stunning spot for lunch. Perched high up on top of a hill we parked the car and van beside a beautiful rest area. Sitting inside our van, we took advantage of spectacular uninterrupted views north to Mount Warning in the distance. We would have loved to have stayed here but more bitumen, hills, valleys and Tasmania were calling us.  

Night one for this trip was in a pretty little van park in Tenterfield. It is cold but with clear skies above we got out the deck chairs and sat outside until the air was colder than the beer from the fridge.  

The car and van both performed well and it was so good having the freedom in our hearts and the open road in front of us once again.

We planned to spend two nights in Tenterfield but with school holidays starting this weekend we have decided to push on to the Warrumbungle National Park tomorrow (Thursday) to try and get a good spot before the expected crowds arrive on the weekend.

Morning Tea stop 

Leaving Tenterfield the next morning, we fuelled up for a big day of driving. The morning was cold at 6 degrees but the skies remained clear. We had a headwind and that, coupled with the constant rolling hills, played havoc with the fuel consumption. Once again we spied a pretty morning tea spot beside a creek with several of my favourite Weeping Willow trees lining its banks. Ducks paddled the waters, little superb blue wrens were nested in trees outside our van and various types of colourful parrots were feeding in the short grass around us. We sat in the sun on a bench and watched the pretty scene while we had our coffee.

We travelled quiet backroads through to Glen Innes, Narrabri and on to Coonabarabran where we turned west and drove the 40klm into the Warrumbungle National Park. The park is quiet and we were able to get a good powered site - yes powered site in a national park - in Blackman campground No 2. Weary from the drive we set up and relaxed in the sun until it disappeared over the mountains in the west. Night started to fall, together with the temperature, so we went inside to enjoy the warmth of our heated van because we have a powered site in a National Park!

Campsite at Warrumbungle NP

Ignoring the signs

Using the firewood

Collecting firewood

We had a great three nights here filling our days with the spectacular walks in the area and relaxing by the fire from late afternoon. We tackled the Grand High Tops walk on the last day (Saturday), expecting it to be busy. We didn't see a soul for the whole walk. The track has had some upgrades since I was last here about 18 years ago. Paved paths and staircases took us all but to the very top. Work on the stairs at the top prevented us going directly to the top but we pushed on walking to the right of the base of The Breadknife before completing the full circuit walk. A little weary from our 15klm hike we relaxed around the campfire on our last night enjoying a lovely roast (vegies) meal from the camp oven.

Clear skies gave us great views of the Universe

Temperatures got down to 3.6 degrees overnight and up to a warm 24 degrees during the day. The skies were clear and the expected crowds didn't appear. A great time was had by all (well both) of us.  A short trip to the Sliding Springs observatory was interesting.

Grand High Tops, Warrumbungle NP, NSW

Spring has sprung - wattles are blooming everywhere

Sunday, 21 September - with us having to catch the ferry to Tasmania this coming Friday (in Melbourne) we reluctantly pushed on today. Molong was our target, located west of Orange, which is west of Bathurst, which is west of Sydney. We travelled the backroads as much as possible , particularly enjoying the drive from Dubbo to Molong. Almost every farm property had a "thing" on a pushbike out front. There were redback spiders, elephants, grubs, frogs, cows etc all riding push bikes. We don't know what is was all about but it kept us entertained all the way.

We are in need of a wash day and a general tidy up so Molong Caravan Park fitted the bill well. About 350klm from Warrumbungle NP it was a good step for our next stop down near the Murray River. For those of you who we know will come this way - the park is small (16 powered sites) and basic, just perfect for those without kids. A powered grassy site is $20 per night (stay 3 pay for 2) and they have free washing machines and driers!

Cobb & Co buildings in Molong

Bill and Ben have a job

The town itself is very nice and tidy with the original Cobb & Co coach buildings nicely restored. 

Along the way somewhere we must have hit a hard bump. The bottom tray in the fridge had broken dropping all it was holding into the vegetable crisper. The van has been over some extremely rough roads and tracks, so the bump must have been a beauty to finally break the shelf in two places. The expected failed attempt to supa glue the pieces together made me decide to replace the shelf with some marine ply which works a treat.

All washed up, the next day we headed south towards the Murray River. Using Wiki Camps we decided on Tallangatta Caravan Park for a couple of nights. I phoned up to book a site and the lady laughed at me. "Darling we are so quiet, there's no need to book". Wondering why they were so quiet, given we are in the middle of Qld, NSW and Victoria school holidays, we arrived at a beautiful, empty caravan park, other than the many "permanents" with tiered sites overlooking the Hume Dam. With only one other van in the place, we were able to choose a fabulous site near the water with great views. We still don't understand why they were so quiet. The Tallangatta schools were empty of children and so was the town. It was though the Pied Piper had just been through. 

Views from camp, Tallangatta overlooking Lake Hume

The place was so nice we stayed an extra night. We had picked up a nail in one of our tyres so we had that fixed. I replaced the fridge tray with the marine ply and built a box around the air heater under the bed we had installed before we went away with the leftover ply. The next day we took a drive along the Murray River checking out future camping spots. We found a nice one and set up the car awning to shelter from the showers while we had lunch.

Lunch by the Murray River at Neil's Bend camp-site

Finishing the the loop that took us towards Corryong we arrived home as the forecast rain arrived too. The wind direction was kind so we were able to sit out under awning looking at the view while the rain pattered on the roof above.

25 September - Packing up the next morning in the rain wasn't all that much fun, but Julie was able to remain dry. Heading south-west the clouds cleared and we were travelling in lovely sunshine once again. Our target, again provided by Wiki Camps, was a bush camp in a State Forest a little east of Castlemaine in Victoria. The Mount Alexander Koala Park is a real gem. The climb up the mountain was okay, although a little steep, windy and narrow. The campground is very large with flush toilets and lots of firewood around. Perched high up on Mount Alexander there are views across the plains below through the gum trees - which I assume are supposed to contain koalas.

Mount Alexander Koala Park, Victoria

We spent a great night here with only two other tents 100's of metres away. Today we get ready to drive to Melbourne to board the Spirit of Tasmania. We leave at 7:30pm tonight and are due to arrive in Devonport, Tasmania at 6am tomorrow.

We already have had a great trip discovering many new places. The expected crowds have been nonexistent which has made our travels even more enjoyable. 

We are both well and very much looking forward to Tasmania and what we expect to be a different type of holiday for us - spending longer in each place and poking around a lot more.

Stay tuned for the next episode from Tasmania.