Across the bridge to Phillip Island

A little island full of wonder

We all need to de-stress and have some me time and Phillip Island is the perfect place to unwind. So let's hit the road, and join all the other motorists inching along the ashpalt ribbon which winds past lush green paddocks and  large open spaces.

Just over an hour from Dandenong and the bridge between San Remo and Newhaven should be in sight. Cross over and here we are, on de-stress island.

The scenery is stunning

There are quite a few pelicans around

You can just drive around and take a punt on finding the right type of accommodation but if it is a busy time, and many events occur on Phillip Island, you may be out of luck.
There are caravan parks if you are travelling around in your van, or rental houses or apartments if you need some extra space.

We were lucky. Our accommodation was already organised for us. 

Clifftop Boutique Accommodation here we come. And what a fabulous surprise  after driving up the driveway  which was lined with dense coastal vegetation. But just like a mirage, it appeared . A sprawling lightly painted building surrounded by easy care gardens. And if you are lucky you may be greeted by the sight of wallabies or Cape Barren Geese. A place for quiet relaxation, what a treat. 

Cape Barren Geese having a swim in a local dam. I was so pleased to

 get this photo as

apparently they do not often swim.

We had the use of the billiard table if we so required or stacks  of books if we wished to kick back and read. How comfortable was our room? Certainly no complaints from us. The king size bed was not too soft nor too hard, but just right. We were spoilt with a large double shower and towels that really dried you. We could relax on the deck, which over looked the grounds, and watch the surfers trying to master the waves at Smiths Beach. How nice  to sit back and enjoy a wine.

The coastal scenery surrounding  Phillip Island is stunning.Many craggy rocks being battered by huge waves, or yelllow sand being dragged back and turning the sea a muddy colour. But please do not swim if you do not understand the beaches. The water  can be very dangerous. Me, well I like to just sit and watch the waves batter the sand or rocks.
There are so many tourist things to do here. You can check out the little penguins or indulge in fine chocolates. If history is your thing you can visit the Vietnam Veterans museum. We spent many hours there.

The Nobbies

There are many places to sit and have an enjoyable meal or just coffee and cake. And if you need supermarkets, well the town of Cowes will cater to that need as well.

I cannot thank Rachell and her staff enough. We had such a relaxing time and were thoroughly cared for, so if you are after a relaxing time and a place to lock the modern world away this is the place to do it.


Happy travels everyone.

Strahan

Strahan,a town full of surprises

Strahan is a tiny seaside town set on the waters edge of Macquarie Harbour. The roads that you must travel to access Strahan consist of many twists and turns. As we set off  from Cradle Mountain it was not long before the tight bends began. Luckily we did not encounter any snow. I was bad enough dealing with the bends, I can't imagine what I would be like with both snow and hair pin bends at the same time. But the bonus from travelling the high roads is always the view. And Tassie is one place where the views are magnificent.We travelled through some lovely little towns on our way to Strahan.

We found a friendly place for a rest stop at a town called Tullah. There is a wonderful large area to pull up with your caravan and very clean toilets. This is also the place where you will discover the Wee Georgie Wood Steam Train. We had the pleasure of having a chat with the guys who were working on a new engine and they invited us to view their workshop. Thanks Guys we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 

                                 http://www.weegeorgiewood.com.au/

Zeehan was also another interesting town. We had a walk along the main street, admiring the old architecture. The museum took our eye and we debated as to whether to enter or not. We decided that we would continue on. We have since been told that the museum is fabulous and worth a stop. Of well, you win some and lose some.

There are so many interesting stops on the way, so give yourself time to take it all in.

On arrival at Strahan we checked in to the Strahan Beach Tourist Park. A nice small park with very friendly staff. It is close to the water and there is a walking track into town. Our cabin was cosy, warm and had everything that we needed.

                                 https://www.strahantouristpark.com.au/

One of the reasons that I wanted to visit Strahan was that my grandmother was born there, my great grandfather worked as a harbourmaster there, and my great uncle's name was on the war memorial there as he was one who did not return from World War One. So I was pleased that I could throw in a little bit of family history research. Now I am regretting driving past the Zeehan museum.

Spirit of the Wild

We did discover that some businesses close down in the quieter months but not Gordon River Cruises. It was not on our list of things to do but I am so pleased we chose to relax on board Spirit of the Wild. The cruise takes you out through Hell's Gate; a quiet glide up the Gordon River and a  walk through the UNESCO World Heritage area. Also is a stop and wander around Sarah Island. What a miserable life the convicts endured whilst there. A buffet lunch is also supplied and by gee was I hungry. And to top off the day, we were greeted by a pod of dolphins on our return. It was well worth the money.

                               https://www.gordonrivercruises.com.au/

Hells Gates

Floating along on the Gordon River

We had the benefit of meeting some lovely people on the cruise. Everyone was always ready for a chat to discuss what had just been experienced or seen. Nev and Anne from Gilgandra were wonderful to talk to and like us, were thoroughly enjoying travelling around this beautiful island state.

Strahan has many things to see and do, but you need to scratch the surface to find them. You can drive out to Macquarie Heads or perhaps jump on the Wilderness Railway. If you are keen on bushwalking you may like to do a short walk to Hogarth Falls. This walk features as one of the 60 Great Short Walks.

Hogarth Falls

                                       

 https://www.parks.tas.gov.au/

Yes there is so much to do in Strahan, and there is always someone who is willing to help you or offer great suggestions

Happy travelling everyone and stay safe.

 

CRADLE MOUNTAIN

Cradle Mountain - A must See !!

On our trip to Tassie I had hoped that we could get to Cradle Mountain. But, as with all plans there are many things that you have to consider. 

In this wonderful island state, the weather is something that concerns me. 

And in July snow is a distinct possibility.

When we left Devonport Discovery Park  we were told that the roads we would be travelling on  to Cradle Mountain were passable, if we were driving through Sheffield, but not if we were travelling from Burnie. 

The Tasmanian Police Facebook page is worth checking out too,  as it has road closures listed, or links to them.

Ute packed up and off we went, and very soon found the drive  interesting and very pretty, and discovered that it was going to be one where you cannot completely accept the arrival time that your sat nav tells you as there was always  somewhere to stop along the way. I either had the window open and taking photos or hubby was stopping so I could get out to take some photos of

unique scenery

We discovered the town of Sheffield. Please do not drive straight through. You need to take a break and walk around the streets and admire all the murals. The town has an annual mural festival and these amazing paintings are worth the time spent admiring them. Such very clever people! 

Me, I can't paint to save myself and I really admire those people who can wield a paint brush with incredible results.

There is quite a large carpark in the side street behind the IGA supermarket with plenty of room for caravans, and clean and neat public toilets.

Don't forget to stock up on some food and fresh water if you need to, as  there are no supermarkets up on the mountain. The Cradle Mountain Discovery caravan park has a small shop where you can grab some essentials.

After leaving Sheffield it was not long before we began our ascent up the mountain. 

Lots of wildlife to see

Was I stressed ?

Yes !

A bit of an anxious passenger am I !

But overall, the drive up was not as bad as I had imagined. Oh yes, we had plenty of tight bends, and long drops when you looked over the side. And I was looking at the tree tops. But hubby stated that he would not have a problem towing the caravan up to the top.

We did have snow, but only along the edges of the road at the final section of our ascent.

Checking in at Cradle Mountain Discovery Park was easy and the staff friendly and helpful.
https://www.discoveryholidayparks.com.au/

So nice to arrive at our nice warm cabin, a gas log fire glowing welcomely.

And little Pademelons were sitting in the snow next to our cabin, waiting  to greet us.

Snow at Discovery Park Cradle mountain

Plenty of these cute pademelons roam the caravan park

After an early night we headed over to the Tasmanian Parks visitor centre to jump on a bus up to Cradle Mountain car park, as private vehicles are restricted. 

We had purchased our Parks Pass whilst on the Spirit,  and you must have one to allow you to enter the parks. There is no charge for the bus trip which covers approx. 7 kms of winding road but stunning scenery.

Once you arrive there are many walks that you can choose to attempt, or you can just sit and take in the scenery.

If you are walking you will need sturdy boots, and a good quality coat to keep the wind and rain out. I am so thankful for my great hiking boots, waterproof coat, beanie and gloves.

Not all the walking paths around Dove Lake are this good.

There are stone steps and water on some tracks

We tackled the Dove Lake walk which took us 2.5 hours. It is a walk that has water on some sections of track, some well constructed boardwalk, but also some steep stone steps but awe inspiring views. Was it worth it ? Hell yes ! 

While I carried my camera bag, hubby carried a back pack with a thermos and cups so we had the opportunity to enjoy a cuppa in the shadow of Cradle Mountain.  A memory  that will remain with me for a long time.

Well if that walk wasn't enough, we returned for more walking the next day. But this time we jumped off the bus at the Ranger Station. These walks were much shorter than our Dove Lake walk, but the scenery was still spectacular. Tree ferns  and waterfalls were a big component of these walks and they were definitely worth filling in another day of walks. 

Knyvet falls

Lots of boardwalks to make access to these places a bit easier

A holiday at  Cradle Mountain, no matter what season, is something that is worth considering, but make sure you are prepared.

While we were at Cradle Mountain we  did not have the opportunity to see falling snow much to hubby's disappointment, although the temperature seemed cold enough. 

But then if it did snow we may not have been able to head to our next destination, Strahan.

  

Tasmania, with or without the caravan

TO TAKE THE CARAVAN OR NOT ?

Tasmania, the island state of Australia situated south of the mainland. 

And how do you get there. 

Well certainly not by road. So your choice is left to either plane, or you jump aboard the Spirit Of Tasmania.

 Now if you want to take your caravan, obviously the Spirit it is, and research is your best friend.

We looked at prices, and compared different times of the year. 

                                                         www.spiritoftasmania.com.au

It is easy, just get on to the website and put in dates and details and the prices will come up. Now when we added the caravan, the extra cost was between $1400-$1500 for the return trip, on top of the cost for the two of us and the ute. I then looked into Tasmanian accommodation prices, using approx $100 per night. Given the weather was going to be cold, so was not really conducive to free camping, it was financially better off for us  to leave the caravan at home. Most of our accommodation came in under the $100 per night, due to caravan park specials, so for our 17 nights in Tassie, it was mainly caravan cabins for us. 

And the fuel cost without towing the van was a hell of a lot cheaper. 

Mind you, we will be back with the van, but when the weather is a little bit warmer.

We had never been to Tassie on the Spirit, so this trip would be a learning experience. 

 We arrived at Port Melbourne quite early and had the ute fully packed with thick coats, hiking boots and thermals, ready for our trip around the Apple Isle.
 Now, before you board, you  will be inspected by bio- security, as fresh fruit and vegetables is a no-no, along with a few other items. 

We booked a cabin as we sailed at night. And I am so glad we did. Wow! What a rough crossing it was. The weather forecast had said that it was going to be a large swell, and for once they were right. It seemed like , if we weren't rocking side to side, then we were rocking front to back !

 ( Alright, I know there are boating terms out there, but they are foreign to me ! )

I am so glad that I had bought a packet of Kwells sea sickness tablets!

At least with having a cabin we managed to get a couple of hours sleep.

The staff on the Spirit were all so friendly and could not do enough for you. The choices of food available were amazing, and there was a wide choice of entertainment if you did not want to sleep.

When we docked at Devonport it was very early and quite dark but it did not take long to disembark and drive off  on to Tassie soil. 

Our Holiday had begun.

We started our day with breakfast at the Edgewater Hotel before exploring the town of Devonport and surrounds. 

As it was pouring with rain we stayed in the car for a while and ended up driving to Port Sorrell. A quiet little town with a  very pretty coastline. We did manage to go for a walk along the beach between the showers. Yep those coats and beanies are going to come in handy. 

Once back in Devonport we found a small cafe and had a nice warm cuppa. Next job was to find a supermarket.

Coles it was, so shopping was done before heading to Devonport Discovery Park for the night.

                                         www.discoveryholidayparks.com.au

Our cabin was warm and cosy and quite suitable for the two of us. The caravan park staff were friendly and the park was nice and quiet.

On checking out the receptionist rang ahead to get an up date on road conditions for us.

                                                         Next stop Cradle Mountain.

Nathalia, with our new caravan

To change from something that you have felt happy with can be a daunting decision. 
Your current caravan feels comfortable and homely, you know all the little quirks and characteristics
But after much discussion we bit the bullet. 
Yep, we began our hunt for another van.
We travelled to quite a few caravan shows and dealers yards, and spoke to many sales people. We constantly shortened our list of new vans. It was always pleasing when you threw lots of questions at them and the return remark was " you really have done your homework haven't you."  And that is the key - Do your homework. Know what you want and need, and don't be swayed by sales talk..
And have a budget in mind.
We knew what we wanted, and we knew our budget.
And surprisingly, while we were looking at new vans,  an excellent caravan popped up in the second hand market so we became it's next owners.
So our caravanning changed from our lovely little Roma pop top to a full van, complete with ensuite.

It was quite a few weeks of ownership before we  were free enough to head off for our first trip.
And our first trip was to  the little town of Nathalia in northern Victoria.
It is an area that we have driven through but never stopped. You know, one of those towns that are on a main road but you are always heading somewhere else, so you have no time to stop and explore.
It is not really that far from our home base in central Victoria, so many of the towns that we drove through on our trip have always been quite familiar to us.
But for those caravanners out there, Stanhope has a good area to park the van right near the public toilets, which we have always found clean and tidy.  Turn left just as you enter the town, if you are travelling east.
Travelling along the Murray Valley highway from the Echuca direction the entrance to Nathalia is so  beautifully set out and welcoming. The median strip is very  lush and  wide.
We had booked into the Riverbank caravan park which is walking distance to the main street and situated  along the banks of the Broken Creek.
It is a small and well maintained caravan park with shady trees and large grassed sites, clean amenities and friendly staff.

                           https://riverbankcaravanpark.com.au/

Shops and  a couple of pubs line both sides of Nathalia's main street
And yes, during our stay, we visited the bakery, and there were no complaints with the food. A brisk walk was definitely needed after lunch.
Opposite the bakery is the local I.G.A. supermarket which has quite a useful selection of much needed groceries.
And at the local butchers we purchased a very tasty amount of beef stir fry for tea. They had quite a range of products so if any one is in the area it is a good place to grab some meat supplies.
During our stay we found plenty of tourist attractions to keep us entertained.  
One thing that hubby neglected to throw in the back of the ute was a fishing rod so it was off to the hardware shop to purchase another one. He was happy being so close to a body of water, but all he was able to remove from the Broken Creek was a pesky European carp. Oh well, he was satisfied with his minor fishing exercise.
If you are caravanners who carry bikes with you, then the shared paths along the river may be something that you could tackle. We walked, but not terribly far.

A most interesting drive is the Silo trail. We decided to make  a day trip further east  to check them out. It was roughly 80ks to our fist stop, St James, but so pleased that we did. For all those heading to the north/ north eastern area of Victoria, mark these small towns in as a must see.
A row of four silos is painted at St James, with plenty of people stopping to admire the artistic talent of these artists. And the great thing is, there is plenty of room near them to park your caravan.

St James Silos

Devinish is a short drive further on and the three silos are painted to honour our war veterans. 
You have to admire the artists and the subjects. You stand and are dwarfed by these tall structures and wonder how the artist achieved the correct  proportions. It must be such a challenge to be working at such a height and painting giant sized people.

Devinish

From there we headed to Goorambat. And looking straight down the main street were Clydesdales. Just wonderful, and yet again, so clever. The colours used were magnificent and the detail astonishing. And make sure you take a walk to the other end as there are another two silos painted which face the other direction.
Now I will let you in to a little secret. If you are checking out these silos  around meal time take a wander in to the pub and treat yourself to a nice tasty morsel. Lamb roast for me, followed by  lemon tart. This made it well worth the drive. And the young guy behind the bar was extremely friendly. Funny thing while we were there, a helicopter landed opposite the pub and the four occupants hopped out and wandered in for lunch. And strangely enough the male occupant was someone that hubby knew from his early pre married days when he lived in  Elmore Victoria. How small is our world ! And travel makes it so much smaller.

On our way back to Nathalia we made our way to Tungamah to check out their silos which sit on a small rise overlooking the town. Also worth a look, but no one else was there when we were there.

Tungamah

A must do when you are in the Nathalia area is a cruise on the Murray with Kingfisher cruises.
                                    http://www.kingfishercruises.com.au/

Head up to Barmah township and follow the signs near the pub. The cruise leaves from the Barmah forest day area. The little boat can take quite a few  passengers but there were only six of us on this quiet Saturday morning. The river was quite low, with many logs stretching across the water.  None of which caused any problem to our small craft. Our very capable Captain was even  able to maneuverer completely over the top of one stubborn log. 

I thought we would just have a recording playing with all the information, but no, it was our captain commentating for the whole cruise. She is such an encyclopedia of information, all ready for any questions. And she was able to answer any questions that were thrown at her.  
She must have really excellent eyesight as she could spot the very small birds before any of us passengers did. It was wonderful to see the Kingfishers hiding in the reeds. I never realised they were so small and have such bright colouring.  

We were informed of some very interesting facts about the Murray River, the Barmah forest and the region in general. What a learning experience while floating sedately along.

The Barmah forest is certainly a place to drive through but take care with the road and weather conditions. And do not speed as there are plenty of animals which call the forest home. You will see the stately Barmah Brumbies running freely through the bush. Kangaroos are very common  and emus run along the roads. We did not see any wild pigs or deer but if information is correct, they roam Barmah forest as well. And if you can find a spot to sit quietly you will hear different bird calls.

Barmah Brumbies

                                  All in all our few days at Nathalia was a relaxing time, but also a learning time. We managed to do a few different things and learnt  quite a bit of information about the region.  We found the  people in the area very  friendly  and always ready to share useful information. We also had time to get to know our new caravan as it is quite a bit different to our Roma. Our bed was comfy , the stove and fridge worked well. And it towed well. You may say we are extremely happy with our Kingdom caravan.

                       Keep enjoying your caravanning and travel safe