Sunday 12th May, 2019
Today dawned with sunshine. It was a beautiful start to Mother’s Day 2019. We started the day with a chat to both our mothers which was lovely, the day followed with calls from all three children which was also lovely to speak with them. We rode to Fossil Cliffs offering an insight into the past environments of Maria Island. Extending along the northern shores of the island, these spectacular cliffs plunge sheer to the sea with expansive views of Freycinet Peninsula and Schouten Island. A former limestone quarry allows you a close look at the many animals immortalised as fossils in the rocks. We also rode past the wharf, the silos, the Miller’s House, the Cemetery, the convict barn and the Commissariat Store.

We had breakfast overlooking the ocean to Freycinet Peninsula. We then continued our bike to the southern part of the island to the Isthmas we had seen from Mt Maria yesterday. The ride was mainly along a dirt, gravel road, after the activities of the last 2 days a nice flat ride was warranted but unfortunately it was undulating and sometimes quite decent hill climbs. Those calves, glutes and quads were burning yet again. We rode past the Painted Cliffs, Coxswain Creek, Four Mile Creek and some beautiful beaches. We had morning tea at the beach that continues to the Isthmas, we had a lovely walk following some Tassie Devil tracks again. We then headed back and David went to Encampment Cove and I headed to the Convict Cells at Point Lesueur and we met up there, the first and largest ruins met are those of the Separate Apartments located to the west. Used as a probation station in 1845 these red brick ruins once housed up to 336 men. Now only a few cells remain intact. From here the trail goes to the barn and mill ruin. We then rode through the wetlands on our return journey. We stopped at a few buildings on the way back, Frenchs Farm, Howell’s Cottage and Mrs Hunt’s Cottage. As the day progressed I improved my dirt trail riding even getting a little faster. Thank goodness I think DB was saying. It was a lovely scenic ride albeit a little long (40km) and a bit too hilly for our tired legs.

We arrived back at camp at about 1.45pm in time to pack up camp. Looks like we will only have a quick trip around the main buildings at Darlington as we are running out of time as usual. Always trying to fit too much in to any day. At least we have reached the furthest parts and climbed the highest peaks so when we come back at a later stage we can explore the history of the island a bit more.

We have seen so much wildlife here, 100’s of wombats, pademelons, grey kangaroos, turbo chooks, Cape Baron geese, scarlet robins, wedge tailed eagles, but no Tassie Devils. Oh well maybe next time.

We have headed to Sandy Bay, just south of Hobart for a day of rest tomorrow. Finished off the night with a beautiful Italian meal at Solo Sandy Bay, thanks Gavin, Kristy, Frankie and Arlo.

Still no pictures tonight as we are headed out for a Mother’s Day dinner. I will work on the photos tomorrow and let you know when they are there to view. Sorry but we have taken over 600 photos in the last 3 days and that takes a while to go through and name.

A little bit of Maria Island history
The original inhabitants of Maria Island were the Puthikwilayti people – aboriginal people, and members of the Oyster Bay tribe. For more than 40,000 years the Puthikwilayti people were custodians of the land and surrounding waters.
European explorers first caught sight of the island in 1642, but didn’t come ashore until 1789. John Henry Cox and Lieutenant George Mortimer (English explorers) were the first Europeans to step foot on the island and document the presence of Aborigines.

In 1825, fifty convicts were brought to the island by English soldiers. The settlement of Darlington held convicts who had reoffended and they were sentenced to hard labour.
Due mainly to frequent escape attempts, the settlement closed in 1832, only to re-open again some 10 years later. The second convict era lasted for eight years  (1842 – 1850) with a focus on agriculture, industry and training. Once again convict rebellion was a factor that led to its closure.
The Darlington Probation Station is today, the most intact example of a convict probation station in Australia, and one of eleven convict sites recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
In the 1880s Diego Bernacchi, an Italian businessman, leased the land with ambitious plans for agriculture, industry, and tourism (wine and concrete!). At it’s peak the island had a population of 500, many buildings were re-purposed and others were built. The concrete silos adjacent to the jetty remain as a prominent visual reminder of his entrepreneurial spirit.
Farming and fishing ventures followed the Italian’s failed business pursuits, and eventually the island was declared a National Park in 1972.

Saturday 11th Mary 2019
Today we were to climb the highest peak on Maria Island, Mt Maria. We had intended starting early but after a freezing shower i headed back to bed to warm up and David went to explore down the beach. We finally got on our way about 9.30am. A little late as the expected time frame is 5-8 hours.
The start was by bike along the gravel road which was quite nice. This was followed by an uphill bush ride over Rocky terrain with a few creeks for good measure. A lot challenging for me but i made it the 4km required and 100m elevation to get us to the start of the hike. The hike to Mt Maria was a 4km uphill hike track. The last section was a rock scramble up about 400m in elevation. It was a challenge to say the least. A rewarding one but quite difficult. I am either very unfit, the challenges are getting harder our i am just getting old. I have really felt all the uphill climbs this holidays. Anyway once at the top we had a magic view of the Isthmas across to the south part of the island. The sun even came out for a glimpse for us. We had a 45 minute lunch break up there as the majority of the hike there was no view. So we made sure we enjoyed it for a while before heading back down. So it was 4km back down then we rode to Oust House which was a hops drying building in the day. Built about 1844 i think. Then on to the painted cliffs which were spectacular in the setting suns rays. That was the end of the day of activities. We were out for about 7 hours. A big day.
Again i will post the pics in a couple of days when we get back to the mainland.
Happy mothers day to both our mothers for Sunday. Los of l love. Fiona and David xxx

Friday 10th May 2019
After getting organised to head to Maria Island with our big hiking packs last night I thought we would have it all together this morning.  As always our took a while to get the last few things done.  Bike tyres pumped,  lunch made and just making sure we had everything as there are no services, shops, water, electricity and we had missed out on the cells in the Penitentiary so it was free camping for us tonight.
Anyway we made it to the very in time to check in and get our bikes and luggage tagged.  So at 10.30am we boarded the boat and head across to Maria Island.  This was about a 30 minute ride, we went past salmon farms and i was grateful for my time in the ocean as it was a bit bumpy.  The skipper had to tack across so it wasn’t so rough.
On arrival at Maria Island we had the challenge of riding our bikes with our big hiking packs and day packs.  It was a challenge.  Balance was an issue but once you got moving as long as you stayed straight it was ok. I made the mistake of loosening my straps which made my pack a little uneven so when i stopped i toppled over onto my bottom and hurt my knee a little and also my pride.  Lucky i didn’t get hurt any further.
After checking in with the ranger we headed down to the campground to set up our tent.   On the way we saw geese,  wombats and wallabies. This was interesting as we have only used it twice before, so after a little bit of investigation and a couple of boo boos we got it all together.  We then had lunch and decided to do the Bishop and Clerk summit.  This involved a 3km scenic bike ride followed by a 3km hike and finally a rock scramble to the top.  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t in our favour and the views not as magnificent as they could have been.  They were still really good but it will definitely not be the lady visit here.  The view at the summit was amazing.  360 degrees of beauty.  The climb was 599m up, so it was wit a spectacular view.  We sat up there for a while as the mist was quite thick on arrival and we were fortunate to have it roll in and out a few times while we had a rest and a snack.  The views went all the way across to the mainland.  If only there was sunshine it would have been perfect.
Time top head back down. By the time we got back to our bikes it was getting a little late.  The animals were out in force.  We saw probably over 50 wombats, 100s of wallabies and hopefully we will get to see a devil.  We got back to camp in the semi light and headed to the Mess Hal to cook dinner.  It is a tough job for the chef tonight.  Bowl 2 cups of water,  add it to the package, stir and seal, wait 10 minutes, then eat.  I had roast lamb and vegetables.  David had honey shot chicken and rice.  After a chat with the residents of the cells we headed back to our tent at about 7.30 pm.  It is toasty in our sleeping bags and very peaceful.  Sort of.  The animals area noisy, in particular the wombats.  And you can hear other animals rustling in the grass nearby. Let’s see how well we sleep. We were told to lock up our food. They supply old fashioned metal garbage bins for you so the animals don’t try to get in your tent.  They had to relocate a devil last week who was found in someone’s tent.

I will upload the photos in a couple of days when we get back to the mainland.

Thursday 9th May 2019
We had a lovely night in our warm room at Orana House. It was originally build in 1909 as a holiday home for the Pearce Family. In the 1950’s it became a boys’ home and orphanage and then in the 1980’s Orana was turned into a heritage-listed Bed & Breakfast. Orana House has become a home away from home for travellers for over 20 years. All the rooms are named after the Pearce children. We stayed in the Norman Pearce Room. The house was decorated with antique furnishings and carpets and was styled like granny’s place again. The breakfast was very nice as well, very good value for only $88 a night.

We then had a rest day, a bit of shopping and a swim. Some good savings at the hiking stores and a parking fine or two. Ouch!! Ouch!!

This afternoon we drove to Triabunna and organised ourselves to head across to Maria Island tomorrow. We will stay there for 2 nights and camp in our hiking tent as missed out on accommodation in  the Penitentiary cells. So a little organisation of food and backpacks was done tonight as there are no shops on the island. Hopefully the weather holds for the next couple of days as we can’t seek refuge in a B&B till we come back to the mainland. Wish us luck.

Wednesday 8th May 2019
Today we started the day with a nice breakfast in our quaint little B&B. The Old Colony Inn. It was filled with antiques and reminded me of things from my grandmothers era. The little old lady gave very good customer service. The meal we had last night was lovely – lamb shanks and gravy, cauliflower and broccoli au gratin, peas and carrots. A lovely home cooked meal.

We then headed away early as we had a 5 hour hike up to Mt Eliza 1289m high and we have to drive 2hours to the start near Strathgordon in the far south west of Tasmania. The drive was beautiful and scenic, we went through the area of the January fires and the damage was incredible. Unfortunately our plans to walk to Mt Eliza were thwarted as the track was closed due to fire damage. So we got to give our legs a rest, maybe for the better but David was very disappointed and annoyed with himself for not checking before we drove there. In hindsight it didn’t really matter as the drive, the views of Lake Pedder and Scott’s Peak were beautiful. We also went to Gordon Dam, the dam wall was 140m high and they abseil from it, the wall was built in an arc for extra strength and at a lower cost. The Dam wall gave a beautiful view of Gordon Lake.

The day was quite good considering the forecast, even though we missed out on our hike, we had a lovely drive. It was over 450km and 7:12 hours driving time without stops. We headed home about 3.30pm and arrived in Hobart about 6pm to another B&B tonight. We are getting a little soft, but the nights have been very cold. Only 1° last night so the accommodation has been welcomed.

So yesterday we were as far south as you could go, today as far to the south west as you can go. We have travelled far and wide so far this holiday, I will be interested to see all the roads we travel by the end of the holiday.

The Gordon Dam, also known as the Gordon River Dam, is a major gated double curvature concrete arch dam with a controlled spillway across the Gordon River, located in South West Tasmania, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Gordon.

The dam was constructed in 1974 by the Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS) for the purpose of generating hydro-electric power via the conventional Gordon Power Station located below the dam wall.

Tuesday 7th May 2019
Well this morning the day started out cold and sunny. Our aim to set off early and start walking at Cockle Creek by 9am was almost a success. The sun was shining and we were on our way walking from the most southern road of Tasmania along the South Coast Track in the Southwest National Park by 9.15am. The hike was a 7.5km track to South Cape Bay. The terrain was reasonable easy, on a well formed track and boardwalk with a slight elevation of 40m, up and down along the way. The vegetation changed from rainforest to wetlands, and was quite scenic. It ended with a beautiful bay with a lovely rolling surf beak. We would have loved to have our boards with but would’ve liked to get dropped their by boat. 7.5km is a bit far to walk with your board. It was lovely to see the sun today and it really showed in our photos. The water looked beautiful, a contrast to the last week or so. Once at South Cape Bay we walked along the beach further to Lion Rock. It was very picturesque. After a little break or not so little thanks to ‘Have a chat Broadbent’ we trekked back to Cockle Creek. All in all it ended up an 18km hike over about 4:45hrs. It was a lovely day. We have definitely improved our fitness as our legs were still going okay at the end.

Due to time constraints and roadworks we had to cross Hastings Caves off today’s agenda and leave it till next visit. As we are trying to fit other adventures in we headed back to New Norfolk (just northwest of Hobart) to shorten tomorrow’s drive to our hike at Mt Eliza in the Strathgordon area. Hopefully this is possible but the weather will be our guide tomorrow.

We arrived at our accommodation at about 6pm and had a lovely dinner  in their restaurant. Lamb shanks and vegetables. Yummy.

Monday 6th May 2019
Today we tentatively planned an early 2.5hr walk followed by a Bruny Island Cruise, weather and sunshine dependent. Well the weather changed that plan. We would have headed out on the walk at about 7.30am but it was still cold and quite dark with the overcast day, so we decided on a later walk and to save the cruise for when we are older and can’t enjoy the longer walks.

We headed out for our walk at about 9.30 when it had warmed up a bit. The day was still overcast but the cloud a lot lighter than yesterday. We were doing a 7km walk in the South Bruny National Park on the Fluted Cape walk. It was very pretty and more scenic than yesterday’s very long walk. We hiked up 272m which was quite a steep climb. It was a lovely morning.

We then headed to “Get Shucked Oysters” for lunch. I chose 6 natural and 6 crumbed (GF) Asian fusion oysters. I should have stayed with the natural as the crumbs and asian fusion detracted from the oyster flavour. I should know better. Whilst there enjoying my oysters I can understand why they have an Asian fusion option. David had chips and warm artisan bread and butter. He was very happy.

We then dropped in to Bruny Island Honey and then headed to the ferry. We caught the 2pm ferry back to Kettering Point. After a yummy Valhalla Vanilla Bean ice cream we took the scenic drive through Huonville to Dover on our way to Cockle Creek for tomorrow’s walk.

It was a very pleasant day.

Sunday 5th May 2019

A lovely peaceful night in the South Bruny National Park. We headed out for our walk on the Labilladiere Circuit (18km) at about 9am. Suggested time was 5.5-6.5 hours. Let’s see how we go today, at least it isn’t raining at the moment. It is overcast and cool, but not cold and wet. Yay!

The hike goes all the way around the peninsula. It was very similar to walks at home and I am sure it would have been a lot prettier had the sun been shining and the sky been blue. Oh well you can’t have everything. We finished about 2pm after stopping for morning tea and lunch. It was all in all a pleasant walk.

We then drove to Cape Bruny Light Station. It is the second oldest extant lighthouse tower in Australia, as well as having the longest (158 years) history of being continuously manned. It was first lit in March 1838 and was eventually decommissioned on 6 August 1996. This as always presented spectacular views.

After the lighthouse we drove to Cloudy Bay and then to our next home for the night. We are still on South Bruny Island at Adventure Bay. It is quite cool tonight.

Sat May 4th 2019
Well today was time to move on from our warm little sanctuary at Hobart. Washed and dried we are ready to venture out in to the cold again. I think!

We left Kingston and headed on our way to Kingston. We were 1.3km from the ferry port at Kettering Point when we saw some Targa Tasmania cars again. We hadn’t seen them since we were at Burnie a week ago. We stopped to watch them drive past for a while, they were driving between race legs. David decided he would like to go and watch one of the Race Legs which was back where we had just come from, but only a 30min drive. So off we go to find a good viewing spot, The first one was no good as there was a bend and with the sprinkling of rain they weren’t going fast enough for DB. So on to the next spot where we walked through a farm paddock to reach our viewing spot. The cars were in all different categories and went from slowest group to fastest group, so we had a little while to wait for the fast dudes. Lucky us!! It was quite interesting to watch, there were many different types of cars, old, new, specialty, noisy and fast. We spent the next couple of hours standing in the paddock amongst the cow dung watching fast and not so fast cars drive a stretch of road. Woohoo! It was a bit of varied fun. Nothing like a change to keep the holiday interesting.

So we watched almost till the end and headed on our way to the ferry at about 1.30pm. We almost made the 11am ferry. Hehehe!!

We just missed the 2pm ferry. The sun had come out for a little while but it has been hiding most of the day. We caught the 2.30pm ferry across the North Bruny Island and went for a drive around the North Island before heading down to the south island to camp at Jetty Beach campground in the South Bruny National Park for the night.  It was still raining but hopefully the weather forecast will be right tomorrow for our bush walk. Only time will tell. Anyway. Off to bed for me.

Friday 3rd May 2019
Well we were grateful for our home last night as it rained a bit during the night but we woke to a beautiful blue sky and mild temperature. We had planned to go to MONA today as it was supposed to be wet all day. We thought about changing our minds and hiking but decided we were both too tired and needed a bit of a rest day, or so we thought.

The Museum was an amazing day of varied art and structures. The corridors, buildings and art were so interesting even before you got inside the door. The tunnels you travelled to get to different levels and galleries were art in themselves. It was easy to get lost as there were half levels and corridors going in all directions. I have put some pictures of the art but some were too big, dark or difficult to photograph.

I hope you enjoy a little glimpse of MONA but it really needs to be seen in person.