Stanley to Strahan via Cradle Mountain: "why does it always rain on me?"

Thursday

Despite really wanting a lie in we knew we couldn't. We had to have our first shower since Monday morning before taking the surprising amount of stuff we had in the room for less than a day, back out to the car. We did have time for a coffee before we checked out though. We'd had a look in our Lonely Planet book for Tasmania and found there was a recommended breakfast café located on the road next to us. We had seen it the day before and had our hearts set on it. We checked out and drove the 30 seconds up the road to get to it. Moby Dick’s wouldn't have looked out of place in a western movie, with its overhanging roof it looked like a saloon bar. After humming and hahring whether to sit outside, the strong winds eventually put us off and we found a seat inside instead. We both went for the Bushman’s breakfast, which was pretty much a full English with some potato slices and lacking baked beans. Together with a coffee it went down a treat and we could see why it was mentioned in our book (although, with it being one of the only breakfast places in Stanley, maybe it was a foregone conclusion). On our way out of town we drove up to a place called highfield, which was a high field with a view back into the village with the Nut in the background. On our way back down we noticed a road sign with a picture of a penguin on it which we had to get a photo of, so Charlotte pulled over and I popped out quickly. We had a think about it and came to the conclusion that it was probably the only place in the world that has a road sign warning about penguins potentially crossing the road. Our last quick stop in Stanley was at the tourist information centre. The one in Penguin had been such a success we thought we had better swing by. We were partly after a pin badge (but not getting our hopes up), part after a stubby holder to keep Charlotte's jar of jam cold and part after some internet to find some accommodation for the following night. There were no stubby holders but they did have a pin badge so we picked one up each. We also managed to find a room in the town of Strahan for Friday evening and the lady behind the counter even let us use her phone to book it. With all that sorted we hit the road back towards Burnie but turning right before we got there.  Our destination was Cradle Mountain, which is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tasmania and located within the Cradle Mountain-Lake St.Claire National Park. It took us a couple of hours to drive there, making a quick stop to top up with petrol that is eye wateringly cheap compared to the UK and at a place called Black Bluff, which is a viewing point that normally has views of Cradle Mountain but unfortunately, due to low cloud, we couldn't see it.

We pulled up at our accommodation for the night and could see that it had been raining quite a bit during the day. Our room was a family cabin with a double bed and a bunk bed in a block of 6 that was completely deserted when we arrived. We made ourselves some lunch in the large kitchen, eyeing up the huge amount of food that had been left on the table, which we assumed was for a tour group. We helped ourselves to a hot chocolate each which may have been theirs but I'm not sure they missed 2 sachets. During our late lunch it started raining again so we hit any plans of going into the park on the head there and then and walked to the visitor centre instead which was just across the road from our campsite. Compared to Stanley or Penguin’s it was huge and again, we managed to pick up a pin badge. We also eyed up a number of the walks available within the park, as an idea of which one to do the following morning. We picked out a couple, leaving the final decision to when we saw the weather the next morning. We walked back to our warm and cosy cabin and dried ourselves off using the heater. I passed the evening with a bit of blog writing while Charlotte entertained herself with a sudoku or 2. We could hear that a large group of people had moved into the kitchen and guessed that they were the owners of the mountain of food. We left it as long as we could before heading in to cook our dinner as we could hear it was busy. There wasn't any room at any of the 3 tables when we got in but they were just washing up and some did become available. We had tuna, pasta and sweetcorn while a the remainder of the tour group struggled noisily through a game of cards. We went to bed early as we had nothing to really do and were both tired from some long days.

Friday

We didn't even have to get out of bed to know what the weather was doing outside. It had been pouring all night and we knew this because the sound of it on the roof kept waking us up. We were faced with a dilemma. Do we go in the national park and get absolutely sodden doing a walk and then face a long drive to Strahan to get there in time for something we had planned at 5 o'clock or do we set off early and do a walk we had found and hope the weather is better there and then have a shorter trip to Strahan? We mulled it over breakfast while we received glares from the group who were taking up the entire kitchen once again. From overhearing conversation, we guessed that they were actually students of some kind as they kept talking about Geography. We didn't hold out much hope for one of them though after she enquired to the entire room “what is St.George? Is it a mountain?”. We got out of there as quickly as we could and had made up our minds to cut our losses and run. We packed up the car and set off towards the rugged west coast. We stopped off at a town called Roseberry mid morning and picked up a coffee from a café that had just opened gone 10am. We used the facilities and set off in search of a walk that was featured in our book of 60 short walks in Tasmania. It was simply called Montezuma Falls and it told us that they were the tallest waterfall in Tasmania. We veered of the highway and followed a tarmac track until it turned into a gravel one. We were reluctant to precede too far in our non 4x4 vehicle so I went ahead on foot to scout out the rest of the road. I wasn't convinced so we both went on to find where the walk started. It was only about half a mile down the road, so we decided to leave the car where it was and set off from there. We went back to the car, piled on the laters and jackets and headed off. For a “short walk” it was fairly long at 4km each way and our book told us it would take about 3 hours. The walk led us through thick rainforest but had a pretty flat pathway the majority of the way. Bearing in mind there had been 4 cars more suited to the conditions than ours in the car park, we were starting to get worried when we hadn't passed anybody until well over half way, then they all started appearing. After the activity, we passed a sign saying look out for the tram ways which we guessed had been used for mining years ago. There were hundreds of sleepers submerged in the sodden ground and it was a task to spot them and not trip up. A while after the sleepers had started we passed the shaft of an abandoned mine camouflaged by foliage but we didn't dare venture down it. Finally, we could hear the roar of water up ahead and knew we were getting close to the falls. The pathway narrowed to a single file wooden walkway and we had 2 choices of straight on or right onto a very narrow, high, slippery looking suspension bridge. I chose the bridge but after getting a little way out questioned my sanity. It was rather high and rather wobbly and rather slippery but when I got out the view of Montezuma Falls was incredible. Charlotte didn't fancy the bridge and had stayed on solid ground so I had to take the snaps on my own. I returned to Charlotte and we carried straight on to a viewing platform that was almost under the falls. We couldn't tell if we were getting wet from spray or from the rain that had just started falling. We didn't loiter around long as we were getting absolutely soaked and we retreated back to cover by the bridge. I went out for one last look and made it right across but didn't bother continuing down the path that was on the other side. Again, I returned to Charlotte and we started heading back towards the car. It rained the entire walk back and by the time we got to the toilet at the start we were drenched. We hung our wet clothes up in the car, wolfed down some late lunch and put the heater on max in an attempt to warm up a bit. The walk had taken us just under 3 hours but we did rush the return leg as we were both desperate for the toilet. The falls were fantastic though, so much better than we had both been expecting and probably worth missing Cradle Mountain for, as we would have had to have missed them if we'd done a walk there. 

We joined back up with the road towards Strahan and went straight there as we were getting a bit tight on time, it was about an hours drive and we arrived just before 4 o'clock. Our first stop was at the visitors centre. Our Norwegian friend Sigurd and his family had been to Strahan (pronounced Strawn) on their visit to Tasmania and had recommended we take in a play there that had been running continuously for over 20 years. It is called The Ship That Never Was and is performed in an outdoor amphitheatre just behind the visitor centre. We purchased some tickets from the centre, as well as a pin badge and then hunted down our room for the evening. We only had an hour and a half until the play started so we had to be quick. We made a quick stop off at the supermarket and picked up some dinner and then drove down the road to Strahan YHA campsite. The man Charlotte had spoken to on the phone hadn't really sold the room too us, saying it was very small and only consisted of a bunk bed. We were generally happy with most things though and this room was absolutely fine. No smaller than anything we had ever had and it even came with a small heater. We didn't hang around long and after sorting some things out in the room, hopped back in the car to go the play. We'd heard from both Sigurd and lonely planet that there was quite a lot of audience participation in the play so when we entered the dainty amphitheatre we sat in the back row in an attempt to be missed. We were handed blankets and hot water bottles upon entering as it was a freezing evening with a bitter wind coming in off Macquarie Harbour. The basic story of the play is about a group of convicts who steal a ship they are building on Sarah Island off the west coast of what was then called Van Diemans Land.  Neither off us got picked out to do anything until fairly near the end when they were looking for a hero. One of the actors eyes landed on me and said they were after Billy. After getting all cosy in the blankets I was reluctant to leave them but I certainly didn't want to be the party pooper. I headed down to play my part. Being the hero, I had to wrestle an imaginary tomahawk from someone's hand and then try and wrestle a gun from someone else's, all the while getting scratched by the ships cat. It was short and sweet and in 5 minutes I was back up next to Charlotte trying to warm up. It was really good fun, very funny and a very entertaining way to spend an evening in the small town of Strahan. I won't ruin the full story just incase anyone reading ever makes it out to Tasmania. If they do, definitely get to Strahan and give it a watch. The main cast of 2 told us it had been running continuously for 22 years and is the longest running play in Australia, so it was a privilege to be part of. We left very cold but very pleased with our days achievements and were looking forward to having some dinner and warming up in bed. It was pasta again for dinner with some mince we had picked up at a fairly reasonable price from Strahan supermarket. We had been told to expect things to be quite expensive in the remote areas as all the things have to be trucked out but the mince was no more expensive than home.

Stanley, Montezuma Falls and Strahan had all been fantastic and we were both really enjoying Tasmania and were looking forward to more to come. A visit to Cradle Mountain would just have to wait for another time.

Devonport to Stanley: March of the Penguins

Wednesday

I had been expecting to be awake long before the wake up call, either from the motion of the ocean or an abandon ship announcement. So it was a pleasant surprise when “we have arrived in Devonport” was the first thing I heard. We couldn't disembark until 6:30 so we got our bags together and sat around on a table by the exit. We stepped off the ferry and were instantly reminded of home by the refreshing sea breeze in the air. It was the first time we had been cold like that for a long time but it was nice. We entered the terminal and visited the man at the Hertz rental car desk in order to pick up our home away from home for the next 2 weeks. I had always expected rental car salesman to be less than friendly but the 2 we had sealed with in Australia had been really friendly and given us good information for our journeys. He handed us the keys to our silver Hyundai i20 and we loaded our bags into the boot ready to set of and explore Tasmania. Our first port of call was just across the Mersey river in the town of Devonport. We didn't get the ferry unfortunately (although there is one), instead driving 5 minutes up and over a bridge and parking up in the supermarket car park. We did a big shop in Coles, picking up things such as drinks, snacks and provisions that would hopefully last us as long as possible. After our mammoth shop at Coles, we dropped everything back to the car and headed back to a shop called K-Mart, which is sort of like an Australian Matalan. We had a sizeable list for here too, although we didn't end up getting some of it. Instead, we just left with just a $2 mug each, a $3 flask each and I picked up 2 t-shirts totalling $6. Clutching our bargains we wandered back to the car, that was already a mess. With our backpacks in the boot, all the food and other belongings had made their way on to the rear passenger seats. We only had 2 hours worth of parking in the car park and despite only being quarter to 9 we had almost used all of that, so it was time to move on. The last thing we were looking for was a shop that sold walking/climbing gear, as we were both in desperate need of a new pair of walking shoes. Mine I had bought in Edinburgh, and were 6 months old and had holes in the soles and stunk after they got soaking wet in Cairns. Charlotte had already ditched hers in Brisbane and had had them since we left. They also had as many holes as a block Swiss cheese and he had an odour since day one, so it was a relief to be shot of them. We drove through the centre of town, keeping an eye out for a suitable shop and noticed Kathmandu of off the main road. We pulled up in a parking space and hopped out. We'd been in a Kathmandu in Sydney, so we had a vague idea what they had to offer. We decided to have a quick wander through the adjacent streets to see if there were any other appropriate shops but there didn't seem to be any. We walked back to Kathmandu and pretty quickly picked out a pair each that we liked (they were the only ones that were on sale and they were by far the cheapest!), tried them on and decided they were what we were after. We tend to chuckle at people we see who wear his and hers items of clothing but our new shoes were pretty much that. The same brand, the same design, just a different colour.

We squeezed the shoe boxes into the boot and we set off along the North coast of Tasmania. With Charlotte driving, I was directions boss and had the road map we purchased in Adelaide spread across my knees. About 20km west of Devonport in the small, seaside village of Penguin. We could not resist stopping here and having a look around. We'd read about it beforehand, so we knew about the large statues of Penguins that are dotted around town. We parked up on the promenade and wandered into the visitor centre. After a quick look around, we asked the elderly couple behind the counter if we were still able to watch the Penguins coming ashore at this time of year. We had read in our book that there are a few places around Tasmania that have colonies of wild Penguins. She told us of a couple nearby, one back towards Devonport and another east, in the town of Burnie. After that, we got chatting about other things such as what we had planned in Tasmania and there holidays they had had around Australia. They gave us a few pamphlets on various things to do around the island, some we were interested in and some that were slightly out of our price range, like the $700 seafood excursion. The couple were really nice and were interested to know whether we use information centres a lot. I was honest and said that we were probably guilty of relying on the internet but if we do use them it's in the smaller towns like Penguin and not large cities. The lady highly recommended Melbourne’s one though, so we said we'd have a look when we went back there. We said our thank yous and both signed the visitor book with glowing comments. It was time to take a few snaps of the Penguin statues and have a look at the beach. After that, we headed on all the way through to our bed for the evening, a town called Stanley, located on a small peninsular on the north coast. We could see it from the road as we were driving in, stretching out into the Bass Straight at the mercy of the waves and the wind. Towering over the village, which has a population of 481, is the Nut, which is a volcanic rock formation that you can walk up and admire the surrounding coastal scenery. We found our accommodation, which was the Stanley Camping and Tourist Park, located right on the sea in the shadow of the Nut. We checked in, parked up outside our building and went in to have a look around. The part we were staying was actually billed as a backpackers hostel and was a lot cheaper than the individual permanent caravans that were also on offer, so it was perfect for us. The building consisted of 6 double/twin rooms, a kitchen, lounge area and 2 bathrooms. After 2 nights of travelling, the bed was incredibly inviting but we resisted the urge and went out to get better acquainted with the Nut. We had the option to walk or drive to the car park and bearing in mind the drive was longer than the walk, we opted for the walk. We went up some steps, up a slope and we were in the car park. Here, we also had 2 options. Take the chairlift for $16 return or walk the 450 metre, incredibly steep, zig zagging pathway to the summit. We'd been eating quite unhealthily recently so it had to be the walk, the pricing for the chairlift seemed quite steep anyway (excuse the pun). The makers on the sign that said steep were not kidding. It was very steep, but good exercise and very rewarding. At the top of the Nut is a walkable 2km circuit that takes in various viewing points in different directions. The first couple were looking out to see and the waves crashing into the base of the hill. As we moved round though the village of Stanley and the peninsular came in to view. We stopped at one for a little while and an elderly gentleman caught us up and started chatting with us. Again we compared travel stories, with him having been to a few places I had in the highlands of Scotland and highly recommending New Zealand's South Island. We moved on after a while and took in the last few viewing points before descending the very steep pathway back into town. On the way back to the campsite we stopped off at Stanley Supermarket to pick up some milk for our tea and coffee. Before we went through the check out, we decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream after such a tough climb.

We got back to our room and had a coffee while deciding what to do. We wanted to try and see some Penguins while we were here and only really had one option. Which was to drive back to the town of Burnie and meet with a volunteer at the penguin viewing centre in the town, who takes people along the boardwalk on the seafront to try and spot them. While we were looking into things we both fell asleep on the sofas in the lounge and were only woken up by someone coming into the building. Despite our tiredness we decided to go as we would regret it if we didn't. We retrieved our large jackets from our bags and and got in the car for the 50 minute drive back to Burnie. We arrived early, which was lucky, as we weren't sure where the walk would start from. There were a few people loitering around the penguin viewing centre but we walked up and down the boardwalk just to be sure it wasn't anywhere else. At around half 7 the volunteer turned up to be greeted by quite a large group of people wanting to spot the penguins. Charlotte and I had fully expected to be the only ones there so it was a pleasant surprise such a crowd had turned up. After telling us about the penguins, their habitat and habits, we all proceeded out onto the boardwalk to see if we could spot them. We weren't allowed to use torches to see them, so we had to strap red cellophane on to the ones we had brought, so as not to blind the penguins. The sun had long since set and it was a gloomy evening and the red torches didn't do a particularly good job at lighting up the area. While we were standing there staring into the gloom, Charlotte caught a glimpse of a beak shining in the little streetlight that was making it to the beach but wasn't sure that it was a penguin. After a while she saw it again waddling around and could see its white belly, and now was sure it was one. I could not see it through the darkness and eventually the penguin moved on. We moved from spot to spot but I just couldn't pick them out through the darkness, which was a bit disappointing. Eventually, we found a spot where there were a few penguins were milling around and somebody had a bright enough torch for me to just make be able to make out their forms, white bellies and heads. This made us feel much better about coming across to see them. We watched them for a little while before deciding to get out of the constant wind and drive back to Stanley before it got really late. We thanked the volunteer and headed off into the night, arriving back at about 10 to 10. We cooked a quick dinner of pasta and baked beans and finally settled in to a comfortable bed for the first time since Sunday evening.

James and Charlotte