We arrived at the Port Arthur Holiday Park around lunch time where we were booked for 4 days. This is a former Big 4 now run by the NRMA. As far as NRMA parks go it was reasonable at $35/night after our discount. The sites are a good size and most seem to be drive thru. Unfortunately the pads are quite uneven and our site dropped away at the front and back making for a difficult levelling operation. The sites are separated by trees so quite private and lots of wildlife in the park. A few parrots introduced themselves while we were trying to get the awning out. Amenity block is a good size and kept relatively clean. 3.5 Stars. The park seems to get quite a few school groups through so the amenity blocks are busy.
It rained most of the day but the girls still did some laundry. Had to use the dryers at the campground for some bigger stuff and hung quite a bit out overnight under the awning.
Monday morning was cloudy and windy but we set off for a drive with the Ransleys. We stopped briefly at the Port Arthur Historical site to gather information about costs and hours of operation. Beautiful new building but not really any area to seek information other than the ticket lines which were busy.
Our first stop and short walk was at Remarkable Cave. We walked down a short set of steps to a viewing platform which looks out through the cave towards the ocean. It was quite peaceful when we were there but signs advise to not go to viewing platform during big seas.
We next did some short drives on either side of Wedge Bay at Nubeena/White Beach. We did a short walk through the sand dunes to Roaring Beach which wasn't living up to it's name the day we were there. Looked like quite a nice beach although not warm enough to tempt Rans and I for a swim.
Next stop was Lime Bay State Reserve on the North West tip of the peninsula. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on a rock ledge overlooking the water towards Dunalley. We completed a short walk around the Coal Mines Historic site after lunch. A former coal mine run by prison labour from Port Arthur was quite a dismal place and certainly didn't look like somewhere you would have wanted to be when it was in operation. We did get some lovely photos of the old ruins while there though.
We then travelled East to Eaglehawk Neck. We stopped at Pirate's Bay Lookout before continuing on to the "Tessellated Pavement" which is a unique rock structure created by salt water over millions of years. Quite fascinating!
We headed South from here back to our campground. Most of our washing was finally dry when we returned.
Tuesday morning the Ransleys set off to visit the Port Arthur Historical site. Sandra and I decided not to go as is a very dark part of Australian history, both from the penal colony and the mass shooting that occurred there. Instead we set off to complete the Cape Raoul walk. This is a Grade 4 walk that is about 15Km return and projected to take 5 hours. We set off about 9am and headed up the hill on a well marked and smooth track. The weather was good other than strong winds which we could hear as we walked through the trees. After about an hour of gradual climbing we reached our first lookout point which offered a great view of the coastline and the Cape Raoul bluff we would soon be venturing to. Well constructed lookout with solid fence which was good as was a straight drop down the cliffs and ocean below! Sandra loved a couple of chairs we came across on our journey. The first was called the Echidna chair and made out of wood, while the second we think was to look like a seal or a whale made out of black steel.
We headed off again for quite a level stretch through trees before beginning a gradual descent through rain forest like flora. The temperature dropped in this section but fortunately so did the wind. Quite a few sandstone steps in this section before we levelled out somewhat on the actual bluff. The flora changed again to scraggly bush such as along beaches in some sand dune areas. A bit spooky looking. This ended near where the cliff portion of the walk began in earnest. The vegetation here looked almost alpine with very short plants that were obviously exposed to harsh winds.
Another couple of lookouts at this point looked down into a large rock crevice which we walked around. Got a call from Stephanie while we were near here which was funny as we didn't have mobile service for much of the walk. We also spotted a small echidna near the path here which cooperated for a few photos.
The walk continued through some more scraggly trees to the two main lookout points. The first looked directly down over the unique rock structure that is Cape Raoul. Good views of the surrounding sea and land as well.
The second lookout point was called Seal Lookout and gave a much better view of Cape Raoul itself from the side. There was a seal colony at the base of Cape Raoul which we could see fairly clearly with the zoom lens on our Canon camera. A couple of backpackers took advantage of our camera as well to get a better view of the seals. We enjoyed our picnic lunch here overlooking Cape Raoul and the sea colony. A lovely spot and well worth the effort to get there.
Sadly though we now had to retrace our steps to complete the walk. Quite a bit of effort to climb all the steps back to the original lookout. Our feet were hurting a bit by this point and we enjoyed a break and a snack at the lookout. Had another look as well as the weather had improved even from the morning visit. The remainder of the journey was mostly downhill but we were still pretty tired by the time we got back to the car. The walk took us just under the 5 hours but an hour of that was probably lunch, snack breaks, and lookout appreciation! We headed back to the campground where we had a quiet night. The Ransleys had enjoyed Port Arthur and did a bit more exploration of the Eaglehawk Neck area.
On a sad note we received a few pieces of bad news today. Firstly, was the terrible bus tragedy that occurred in Canada involving the Humbolt Broncos Junior Hockey team. At last count 16 of the 30 passengers on the bus have passed away, mostly young men between 16 & 21. It's hard to explain how travelling on a bus with your ice hockey team is such an integral part of growing up in Canada. The members of this team like many, came from several towns/cities across Western Canada. So many lives would be affected. The second piece of bad news was finding out our good friend from Fort McMurray, Darlene Perrier, had passed away after a lengthy illness. We had enjoyed so many good times working and playing together over the years in Fort McMurray. Our hearts go out to her family. It was a very glum evening for us!
Wednesday morning the four of us set off on another challenging walk. This was another grade 4 walk to Cape Huay which was considerably shorter than Cape Raoul at 9Km return. I think Sandra and I set off a bit cocky as would be easy after the walk yesterday! Well we were wrong, wrong, wrong! Yes it was shorter but most of it was vertical, with thousands of steps up and down! The walk began with a large climb to the top of the ridge which a Ranger confided was called "Heartbreak Hill". The walk then consisted of a series of 3 valleys and climbs culminating in a short walk along the cliff edge into the lookout point. From the lookout you could look down on two rock formations called the "Totem Pole" and the "Candlestick". Both are amazing structures but quite difficult to see from the lookout above. You need to hang out over the lookout fence to really see both of them which is quite terrifying. I think I was the only one of our group to really get a good look and even I was pretty nervous. Huge straight drop off the lookout! The good news is we all made it to the end for at least a quick look and to say we had done it. The weather was quite varied throughout our walk with lots of cold wind and a few showers. The sun came out a few times though so we were forever putting extra clothes on or off!
The bad news is we now had to retrace all those steps to return to the car park. It was a huge effort for all of us and we were definitely worse for wear by the time we made in back! I think the pictures say it all! Very sore feet and tired legs. Rans and I chugged a cold beer in the parking lot!
We then headed to Eaglehawk Neck for a fish and chip lunch. Girls were able to get a large package of gluten free hot chips while Rans and I had some squid & chips.
We had a quick look at the "Blowhole" and "Fossil Lookout" after lunch. We then had quick stops at the "Tasman Arch" and "Devil's Kitchen". All were amazing rock and raging seas attractions. Well worth the visit although we couldn't fully enjoy due to our state of exhaustion.
Back to the campground where we soaked our feet and did little else! We enjoyed a lovely dinner that Carol had prepared for us.
Thursday we packed up in light rain to head a bit North to Dunalley. This is a small town that is at the very Northern tip of the Tasman Peninsula. We stayed in a large field behind the Dunalley Hotel which was a free camp. No facilities although you could use the Hotel toilets during operating hours. The wind was blowing a gale when we arrived. It changed direction 3 times in about 2 minutes as we drove across the field and began to set up. The wind was so strong that the bubble in the level was rocking back and forth as we tried to get the van level! We also couldn't get the fridge started on gas because it kept blowing out. We eventually got it going and covered most of the vent with some cardboard to keep it from blowing out. We will need to get it looked at again when we get home as it really shouldn't blow out in the wind. Rans and I enjoyed a couple of cold beer in the Pub to thank them for our stay during the afternoon, but most of the day was spent in our caravans sheltering from the wind and rain. We decided during the day that we would do the Pennicott Wilderness Tasman cruise on Friday. This is the same company that we did the Bruny Island cruise with and we were able to reserve spots for Friday morning.
We woke up to sunny skies and the four of us headed South in the car back to Port Arthur. Arrived there just after 9 where we paid our fares and did our final bathroom stops. We then took a bus back to Eaglehawk Neck where we boarded the two boats. Same boats as the Bruny Island cruises with lots of power and of course, the fashionable red wet weather gear!
Our first stops were revisiting some of the attractions we had seen the day before from above. The "Tasman Arch", "Devils Kitchen", and Waterfall Bay. Great views of all of these as we were able to go right into a couple of caves to explore. The rock formation here is all sedimentary or horizontal layers.
When we left this area we came across a large pod of dolphins and a large number of Albatross. The dolphins played with the two boats for quite a while giving lots of photo opportunities. Seeing a large group of Albatross like this is quite rare as they usually are quite solitary. The guides explained the rough weather of the previous few days had created perfect feeding conditions for the dolphins which attracted the birdlife including the Albatross. Huge birds with up to 3 meter wingspans! We also saw a couple of White Bellied Sea Eagles high in a tree along Waterfall Bay.
From here we continued along Fortescue Bay to Cape Huay. Here the rock formation changed to vertical pillars. We were able to view the "Totem Pole" and "Candlestick" again at water level from both sides of Cape Huay. Amazing and a much better view than from our walk yesterday. We even saw a couple of climbers on beginning to climb the "Totem Pole" which is 4 meters in diameter and 67 meters high. Apparently this is one of the most challenging rock climbs in the world. The "Candlestick" is also a highly sought after climbing location. Not for us as you need to repel down from the lookout before swinging across to the base of either. This is followed by a completely vertical climb!
From here we headed off across more open waters to Cape Pillar and Tasman Island. Huge 300 meter sea cliffs are the highest in the Southern hemisphere. We were lucky enough to see a sailing yacht go between us and the cliffs as we went around Tasman Island. There was large colonies of male Australian Fur Seals around the base of the island. A few were out swimming in the water but most just lying around on the rock ledges. Quite amazing how far up the cliff face they are able to climb for large clumsy looking animals.
We headed off in open waters again heading towards Port Arthur along the "Black Cliffs" which rarely are exposed to sunlight. We happened across another feeding frenzy of dolphins, Albatross, and seals. What a treat to see the water churning as the dolphins surround the bait fish and funnel them up to the surface where they all feed on the trapped fish. Not so great if you are a bait fish, but pretty amazing to watch!
A few more spectacular rock formations along the way before we turned into the relative calm of Safety Cove which led up to our docking point at Stewart's Bay. A short walk took us back to our starting point. After a quick nature break we jumped back in the car and headed North. We stopped at Eaglehawk Neck again for fish and chips before returning to Dunalley in mid afternoon.
Just want to highly recommend this tour as was very good value and very entertaining. Might even be a bit better than the Bruny Island cruise which of course we rated as excellent as well! Make sure you take in one or both of these cruises when you visit this area of Tasmania. Well done Pennicott Wilderness Team!
That night we enjoyed a few drinks and a meal at the Dunalley Pub which was excellent. The girls got lamb shanks which offered two huge shanks each while Rans and I enjoyed Parmesans. Mine would have been the largest I have every seen. Covered my whole plate and was quite thick. To top it off it was delicious and tender! I could only eat half of mine but luckily they had take away boxes. We all had enough for another meal the next day!
The weather was forecast to return to wind and rain so we decided to move on in the morning given the camping area was very exposed to the elements. We headed off Saturday morning in wet conditions travelling the short distance North West to Sorell. We checked into a small Council operated Self Contained RV location. There were no amenities but the sites were well marked and there were a couple of BBQs and a rubbish bin. There was also potable water and a dump point although the latter was out of service. Check in was self service with a low cost of $7.20/night which is a bit of an odd amount.
Once we got setup we decided to go for a short drive to explore the peninsula on the South East side of Hobart. We headed south at the Hobart airport travelling through Seven Mile Beach, Lauderdale, and South Arm before arriving at Opossum Bay. This is directly across the Derwent River from Kingston and leads up into Hobart Harbour. A few stops along the way to explore a beach or lookout but not a lot to see. There were some nicer residential areas though as was probably less than an hour from Hobart.
We returned to the caravan park stopping for some oysters at Barilla Bay along the way. We enjoyed our leftover lunches from dinner the night before at Dunalley Hotel. After lunch we did some shopping at Coles and Woolworths to prepare for the next section of our journey where we set off to explore the East coast of Tasmania. The afternoon was quite miserable again with very high winds so we spent most of our time inside.
The Tasmin Pennisula has been one of our favourite stops so far in Tasmania. Would have been even better with some finer weather although we did get fairly lucky for our two long walks and especially our boat cruise.
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