Sea Shepherd

The anti-whaling campaign has been getting a bit of media attention lately. Particularly in relation to the boarding by activists of a Japanese vessel, many of the comments seem to have adopted a tone along the lines that "the end justifies the means".  Or perhaps "one person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter"? (Not that I'm suggesting that terrorism is involved here, but my point is that perhaps there's a conceptual similarity).
Be that as it may, here's an image of the Sea Shepherd in Hobart during December (not quite sure of the relevance of the Aboriginal flag).

Hawley House wetlands

As previously mentioned we stayed dor 2 nights at Hawley House while in Tasmania (see http://www.hawleyhouse.com.au/index.html)  .  Much could be written about this property, but of particular interest is the wetlands that have been created there.  On the website, it's stated that the gardens have been literally scraped from the bedrock, but they now include some impressive wetlands with associated vegetation (said to have a National Heritage classification).   Wandering through parts of this, with only the noisy croaking of frogs at all times of the day, you could imagine yourself to be miles from the rest of the world.   

Other parts of the gardens have a range of exotic plants from cool temperate through to sub-tropical plants.   There is also a 20 acre vineyards and a 350 acre wildlife reserve.

Within walking distance are large fairy penguin and muttonbird rookeries, although we didn't get to these.

Looking out to sea

Hawley Beach (not part of the wetlands, obviously!)

Foxes and rabbits

I was aware of the story that a fox had hitched a ride across Bass Strait on the ferry some years ago.   Whether or not this is true, there's now a brochure in Tasmania which we saw several times at tourist information offices about the issue.  The brochure sets out a number of reported sightings and other information suggesting the presence of foxes, albeit at present in very small numbers.  It asks that any further sightings be promptly reported.  The Tasmanians are worried that if foxes become established in Tasmania, they will have a devastating effect on the wildlife.  Thus, they appear to be taking this issue very seriously, for example see the website - http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/ThemeNodes/LBUN-5K438G?open.    However, although we saw lots of "roadkill" in Tasmania, we're pretty sure that we didn't see any foxes.

No doubt it's unrelated to the (near) absence of foxes, but we were surprised by the number of rabbits in Tasmania, at least in the coastal areas.   In the beachfront reserves at both Hawley Beach and Devonport, they were readily visible in the middle of the day.  And at dusk, driving along the road next to the foreshore at Hawley Beach, we lost count of the number we saw.   We were told that little or nothing is done to control their numbers in these areas.   The complacency in this respect seems to be quite a contrast to the concern that exists about foxes.  Perhaps the view is that there's enough grass to go around?

The Don River Railway

I missed out on the Ida Bay Railway while in Tasmania so I was very pleased to notice that the the Don Rover Railway was operating on the day that we had some time in the Devonport area.   In fact, this railway operates daily.   It's run by the Van Diemen Light Railway Society and uses part of the trackbed of the former Melrose line which was a branch line on the Tasmanian rail system.  However, when the preservation group took over, the rails had been lifted so they had to completely rebuild the line.   It's not a long line, but it is a picturesque route on the banks of the Don River, from the very substantial workshops in the town of Don to the previous junction with the main rail system at Coles Beach.  The terminus at this point is alongside the main railway line, although there is no permanent physical connection.    

In addition to the workshops, the facilities include a railway station (formerly at Ulverstone), a signal box (from Launceston), a turntable and quite a number locomotives,  carriages and wagons.  The collection includes some magnificently restored carriages (perhaps this is related to the fact that the society has been the recipient over the years of a range of government grants).

On the day we were there, a rail car was operating, but apparently a restored steam locomotive operates on Sundays. 

 Restored carriage

 Inside the workshops

 Driver's view down the track

 At the Coles Beach terminus

Locomotives in the yard

Spirit of Tasmania (2)

We returned to Melbourne overnight on the Spirit of Tasmania (actually, "Spirit of Tasmania 1", because there are 2 vessels which I understand are almost identical, being "S of T 1" and "S of T 2").   Again, there was a long wait to board at Devonport, but I am now clearer why this is so.   The information provided to passengers is that "boarding" commences 2½ hours before departure.    But this isn't correct.   Apparently "check-in" commences at that time, but "boarding" doesn't occur until 1 hour before departure (although I'm not sure whether this may depend on the number of vehicles).   Hence, if you "check-in" early, you're held in the "departure lounge" - in this case, in your car in a queue.   It's a pity that passengers aren't made aware of this but I suppose the organisation  wants to spread the load.

If we ever travel again by the "Spirit" I would certainly prefer to spend the time waiting for departure in a more pleasant environment than sitting in a car in a queue.

Earlier in the day, we had visited the Don River Railway (more to follow on this!) and spent some time in Devonport.

There was more "movement" on the trip back, and neither of us slept very well.    But at least there's no quarantine check as you leave the vessel in Melbourne (unlike Tasmania), so we got home quickly .

 Beach at Devonport

Ferry at Devonport

Penguin Market and Ghost Rock winery

Sunday 11 December - After a leisurely breakfast we set out for Penguin, in search of the Sunday market. Although Penguin is over 50 kms away, we made good time because, once we hit the main highway, it was dual carriageway the whole way with a 110 kph speed limit for the most part. The market was quite good, complete with a country and western band in the market square. The music seemed to be in line with the locals' taste.

Penguin certainly trades on its name – see the image below.

We were on our way back to our accommodation (via the coastal route to Ulverstone, which runs literally next to the sea) by mid-afternoon, so had time to stop in at the nearby Ghost Rock winery. We sat on the deck and enjoyed a glass of the local wine overlooking the vines with Bass Strait in the distance.

Dinner was less formal than the previous night, at the local golf club. However, it was perfectly adequate.

We're the only guests at Hawley House tonight, and chanced on the operators on our return. Hawley House is larger than a B&B, but when you're the only guests, B&B etiquette prevails. This involves reporting on what one has had done during the day and providing feedback on the recommendations that have been provided to you in the morning (in our case, the visit to Penguin Market).

View from Ghost Rock winery

         

Hawley House

A reflection on activities on Saturday 10 December – It doesn't look very far on the map, but the trip from Geeveston to Hawley Beach was quite a drive, especially the last 50 kms or so over secondary roads (sealed but often relatively narrow with quite a few hills and bends). We had lunch at Ross, which is a pleasant town with various “antique” markets and similar activities.

We visited Hawley House in February 2008, so this is a re-visit. Last time, the area was affected by drought but this time it looks much better. There are lots of flowers in the gardens and the wetlands have adequate water.  The frogs croak all the time (good to hear).

There is a group of 24 here, and we're the only others.    The group ate in the dining room, and dinner for us was set up in the lounge room, by the window. We felt quite aristocratic, being waited on separately. The dinner was good, too. And there's a good wi-fi connection.

 Huon Estuary

 

Hawley House/wetlands

Hawley Beach (just in front of Hawley House)

Reflections on the Tasmanian Deep South

Thoughts for Friday 9 December - Sitting in the lounge room at the B&B with a glass of wine and listening to a shower of rain on the metal roof, things seem pretty good. There's platypus in the stream at the bottom of the garden. Only catch? No internet! I sometimes get 1 bar reception on my Telstra mobile (but not even that further south), but the Vodafone wireless modem obviously doesn't get a thing. One of the cafes in town has a sign stating that it's an internet cafe, but on enquiry, no guarantees existed that it would work and besides you had to have your dinner there and pay $5. We passed on that one.

I wanted to go to the Ida Bay railway, but of course the day we're here is the one day in the week when it doesn't operate. So we went to the Hastings Caves instead, which were really good. The guide was very informative and the caves were excellent.

I tossed up about driving to Cockle Creek which is as far south as you can drive in Australia, but the additional 20 kms there on a gravel road (& 20 kms back) seemed a lot to go through for a fleeting photo opportunity. So we went looking for a cappuccino at Southport. Ummmm, lovely beach, boat ramp and a phone box, but definitely no coffee shops. Apparently the only option is the 60s style pub/general store/holiday park/petrol pump (most southerly in Australia) a couple of kms inland. Again, we passed, and retreated to the aforesaid glass of wine and creature comforts of the B&B.

Dinner was at a restaurant in nearly Franklin (called “Petty Sessions”, in a former court house). Again, we were impressed by the standard of the offering. 

Beach at Southport

Richmond and B&B etiquette

This is the post for Thursday 8 December coz in Tassie you don't have to go far to be out of internet range! Hence, I'm a couple of days in arrears.

Richmond is historic and cute, with all that that entails (hint – think souvenirs!). I thought (after consulting the map) that we'd get there from Hobart via Risdon Vale. However, this wasn't such a good idea, because the map didn't make it clear that this route involves a long and winding climb over a big hill and down the other side. Still, we got there satisfactorily (with the aid of the GPS) and had a nice coffee and later on some lunch.

I visited the Old Hobart Town model village. Although not very big, it does have a lot of detail and claims to be authentic.

Moving on to the Huon region, our accommodation was a B&B. Over the years, we've stayed in many forms of accommodation, including guest houses that have many of the characteristics of a B&B. But this is the first time we've stayed at a B&B in the “classic” sense of the expression, namely about 4 rooms and operated by a couple who provide breakfast cooked to order in the kitchen adjoining the dining area. I've read that an important issue is for the hosts to get the balance right between being friendly and helpful versus intruding on the guests' privacy. The people who run this place seem to have got the correct balance, and on top of that, provide a great breakfast!

We're still working out a couple of the finer points re B&B etiquette. The main issue we're grappling with is, when do you lock your room? We don't think you're supposed to do so when you're out of the room but still on the property (having breakfast or sitting in the lounge room). However, we did lock our room when we went out for dinner, but not when we went out during the day (on the basis that access to our room would be needed to service it). However, since we're newcomers to B&B'ing, perhaps there are things we still need to learn.

We had dinner in the hotel a couple of kilometres down the road. Certainly, it had a “country pub” atmosphere, but the food was really good. We recently went to Pure South (at Southbank) who do “Tasmanian” food. Well, this pub was right up there with PS. Perhaps not quite so much finesse, but the quality was there and the prices about 60% of Pure South!

Images are (1) detail from model village and (2) B&B at Geeveston.

MONA

Hobart's privately-owned Museum of Old and New Art is provocative so we were well prepared for our visit. First, the enjoyable aspects. The space in which the exhibits are displayed is indeed spectacular. It's dug into the solid rock, and the display areas and walkways are quite amazing. I quite liked a number of the exhibits.  For example, there's a device that uses drops of water to form words (see image below).   However,  there were others that I struggled with. Is a heap of coal “art”?

Many of the items have sexual themes, sometimes quite challenging. Even a couple of the exhibits that seemed to be innocent enough turned out to have sexual overtones when you read the description on the electronic guide that you're given. Ultimately these types of themes are are matter of personal preference, even if some of the treatments seem somewhat gratuitous. However , this is what MONA is known for, so it's hardly cause for complaint.

But (as no doubt intended) I was definitely confronted by a number of the items. In particular, I found disturbing the displays involving various forms of mutilation and cruelty, some very specific. True, there aren't a lot of these, but even so, the question again arises as to whether such things really are “art”? No doubt terrible things do occur in our world, but personally I think there are better ways of dealing with them than via art. I think there is a real risk that the result of displays such as these is that we will be de-sensitised.

We tossed up whether to take the ferry up the river to MONA. In fact, this is a good option, although you do have to decide in advance (when booking) how long you're going to stay. 2 or 3 hours for the museum plus some time for refreshments (perhaps in the cafe) seemed to us to be plenty of time. If, in addition to MONA, you were going to eat in the up-market restaurant (separate from MONA, but on-site), you'd need more time. Another option would be to go to the wine bar (again outside MONA) rather than eat in the cafe.

The Central Plateau

We took the Great Lake route from Devonport. This climbs out of Deloraine through some very impressive scenery before passing through the Central Plateau Conservation area. It runs alongside the Great Lake and crosses the high plateau. We cut across to the Derwent Valley and got to New Norfolk in time for lunch.   And, by the way, who needs to go to Afghanistan to get their fix of poppies?    We were checked into our Hobart hotel by early afternoon. This gave us time for an afternoon walk around Constitution Dock and for a drink in Salamanca Square.  Later we ate at a restaurant overlooking the docks.

 

The Spirit of Tasmania

Well, it was nearly an hour and a half from the time we arrived at the security point (which only took a couple of minutes to clear) until we were getting out of our car on the ferry. That is, 90 minutes sitting in various queues on Station Pier. This was notwithstanding the fact that we arrived just a few minutes after boarding was scheduled to begin. I can't work out what caused the delay. The vehicles would move slightly forward, then pause. Even in the final holding area before driving on to the ferry, there were times when nothing seemed to happen for minutes on end. I accept that loading a ferry may have its complications, but internally the vessel is well fitted out so that different types of vehicles can be directed to appropriate areas. Compared with our experience (admittedly some time back) on the Queenscliff/Sorrento ferry, it was just unbelievable and very frustrating, especially given that there seemed to be staff everywhere.  Is it just my pre-conceived notion, or is the level of staffing a fact of life in the Australian maritime industry? I wonder how by how much the Australian taxpayer is subsidising this operation? Clue – our invoice states that the subsidy on the cost of our car is $388.  

On board, there didn't seem to be anything like a full load of passengers, and so there was plenty of room in the lounge areas. There were a couple of school groups. No, they didn't misbehave but of course they were excited and a bit rowdy. I heard one group being told off. I suppose the teaching staff know best but I thought it was a bit tough!.

We were happy with our internal cabin and slept well, gently rocked by the movement of the boat. The food for purchase was fairly plain, pub-like I guess you could say, and in the same price range. There's also an upmarket dining area, but it is expensive ($56 for 2 courses, $64 for 3).

There was nearly full moon, but even so, I couldn't see much going down the Bay. I always enjoy going through the Heads, and got a great view looking backwards at the Queenscliff leading lights.

Disembarkation at Devonport wasn't too painful, although the order in which you board the vessel has nothing to do with the order in which you get off. There was quite a queue for the Tasmanian quarantine check, but I suppose they're just doing the job.

We had breakfast at Deloraine then drove down the Lake Highway past the Great Lake and through the Central Plateau Conservation Area. Fantastic scenery. I have only done this route once before and had forgotten how great it is. More about this later. Here are some images as we left Melbourne.

.....

Tasmania

We're off later today on the ferry to Tasmania.   Although we've been on the Spirit of Tasmania before, previously we've travelled on daylight crossings.  Although these were more than satisfactory - and good value - daylight crossings only operate between Christmas and Easter.    So this time, we're going overnight.  We'll let you know how it all works out.

I'm taking my netbook, but roaming coverage in Tasmania is often said to be not good and Vodafone who I use generally have the least coverage.  That said, in their defence, I've found that their availability has met my needs in the past, in various of capital cities, the Blue Mountains, the Surf Coast and the Sunshine Coast.  On top of that, their prepaid plan is pretty good value, too.    We'll see how we go in Tassie!