Gordon Foreshore Reserve

Wednesday April 4th saw us say our goodbyes to Bruny Island and head back to the Tassie mainland. We managed to get the 9:30 ferry which was completely full and enjoyed our quick trip back to Kettering. We headed south from there to Gordon which was only about 25km. The road was poor as we are beginning to expect. Very narrow, winding, and hilly but speed limit still 100km/hr. I think Daniel Ricardo would struggle to keep it at the speed limit here. One of our favourite sign combinations was found here with a 35km curve sign about 20 feet in front of the 100km speed limit sign. The turn was at least 90 degrees on a hill so the 35 was definitely appropriate! It took us about 45 minutes to travel the short distance with the caravans which say quite a bit.

We found a couple of spots along the waterfront at Gordon Foreshore Reserve. Another lovely little council camping area with the low cost of $5/night. Good flush toilets with sinks in an ensuite configuration. The toilets were cleaned regularly but whatever they were paying the cleaner was too much. He was in and out in about 5 minutes and not much more than the floors got a clean. 3.5 Stars though. Also lots of garbage bins and a dump point. Unfortunately the dump point was below par as no running water working there.

The weather appeared to be the best day we were going to get, so set off to explore as soon as we got the caravans setup. We headed off South again passing through Cygnet before heading North to Huonville where we took the Huon road back towards Geeveston. From here we headed West to Tahune Airwalk Adventures. We stopped for our lunch at Arve picnic ground. We did a lovely short rainforest walk from there which was only about 15 minutes and beautiful. Lots of beautiful greens with huge trees and fallen giants.

From there we continued a little further West to Tahune Airwalk. Our first activity was for Sandra, Carol, and myself to do the paragliding. We took turns being strapped into a harness which was lifted via cables to the top of the trees across the river. You enjoyed a short view around the tree tops and down the river before flying back down the cable to where the starting position. It was all controlled but still good fun. The girls really enjoyed it! Rans took  a pass as he's not a big fan of heights.

From there we did the actual Airwalk which is a raised walkway that culminates in the Cantilever which hangs over the river from the tree tops! Carol and I made it to the very end which had  bit of sway to it! Sandra made it most of the way out too which was good.

We returned to the ground where we took a couple of km walk along the river through the giant trees again. We than crossed over the river in two locations on giant swinging bridges. This was Sandra's least favourite part of the adventure as she didn't enjoy the swaying motion when other people walked on the bridge. We all made it across with the pictures to prove it and returned to the main visitor centre.

We retraced our route and stopped to fill our jerry cans with water in Franklin and fuel in Huonville before returning home to Gordon. A long day but a good one with sunshine most of the day!

The weather was still reasonable on Thursday morning so we went exploring again. First stop was Snug Falls. There was a relatively short but steep walk into the falls. We all felt it in our legs by the time we returned to the car. The falls themselves were lovely although not too much water was flowing. Beautiful reflections on the pond in front of the falls however.

We did a short driving tour around Snug and Margate next. Both of them were nicely kept towns with pretty waterfront areas. Next we ventured into Kingston where we had lunch at the Salty Dog pub on Kingston Beach. Quite good!

The weather was still quite good and we could see the top of Mount Wellington so made a quick decision to head up for a look. The roads leading to the top were the usual winding, narrow, and steep with the added bonus of cliff edge in some areas. We made it to the top as a few rain clouds passed by, one with a lovely rainbow. The temperature was cool and the wind blowing while we explored the summit. Great 360 degree views from the Pinnacle and several viewing areas. We got some beautiful photos of Hobart and surrounding area with lots of clouds and rain threatening. Also caught a few workman up one of the towers doing some work.

From there we retraced our way down the hill and returned to Gordon via Margate. Another long day but with some real highlights.

Friday we had wind and rain in the morning so took it a bit easy. After lunch we took a drive to Cygnet where we did a bit of a driving tour along the coast from Petcheys Bay to Glaciers Bay. We found a huge blueberry farm in our travels. We then did a bit of shopping and exploring in Cygnet before enjoying a drink at the local pub. Had the rare experience of having a full service diesel fill-up at the local fuel station. We were a bit shocked and had a good laugh how our kids would have reacted; as they would have never probably experienced in their lifetimes!

Saturday we got an early start as the Ransleys were keen to take in the Salamanca Markets in Hobart. Sandra and I had been before but were happy to do a return visit. We arrived in Hobart around 8:30 and found a carpark. A short but cool walk brought us to the markets where we enjoyed 1.5 hours touring the many stalls. We enjoyed a few food samples and a couple of small purchases. There were quite a few nice things but the majority were on the expensive side. The markets were starting to get quite busy by the time we left.

On the way out of Hobart we stopped at BBQ Galore to fill up a couple of empty gas bottles. We then stopped in Kingston at Woolworths and Coles to stock up our groceries before heading back to Gordon. We packed up most of our caravans during the afternoon to prepare for our move to Port Arthur on Sunday.