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Adventure Bay Arthur River AUS Australia Battery Point Bicheno Boat Harbour Beach Burnie Coles Bay Cradle Mountain Crayfish Creek Derwent Bridge Douglas River Falmouth Fern Tree Geeveston Glebe Gormanston Hastings Huonville Legana Lower Beulah Macquarie Heads Marrawah Mole Creek Mount William Orford Port Melbourne Pyengana Queens Domain Rheban Richmond Rocky Cape Sheffield South Bruny Southport St Helens State of Tasmania Strahan Swansea Table Cape Tasmania Temma Trowutta Victoria West Launceston Wynyard Zeehan
ur road trip around Tasmania in a campervan, autumn 2019. Tasmania is reached by car ferry (460klms, 10 hours) crossing the Bass Strait between Port Melbourne and Davenport. We spent 3 weeks exploring Tasmania's coastline, national parks and reserves. From Davenport, we drove west along the north coast via Penguin, Fossil Bluff, Table & Rocky Capes into Australia's largest cool-temperate rainforests. The area we explored is known as the Tarkine, our rainforest walks include Trowutta Arch, sinkholes, Lady Chisholm. On the northwest coast, stood at the "Edge of the World" and camped at Arthur River, Tasmania's most western town. From here, a 5 hour cruise aboard MV George Robinson on the pristine Arthur River took us deep into the Tarkine wilderness with a rainforest walk from Turk's Landing and a BBQ lunch. Driving inland, our next camp site was in the Cradle Mountain National Park. Walks: Dove Lake, Weindorfers forest, boardwalks across alpine meadows, the Enchanted forest and seeing the Devils at Cradle. Our next camp was at Strahan, on the mid west coast after a stop for lunch amongst whale bones at Trial Harbour. The Gordon River is a world heritage wilderness area which we explored in the rain with "worldheritagecruises". The boat went to Macquarie Heads, landed at Sarah Island penal station for a walk in the rain before venturing up the Gordon River for a rainforest walk. Leaving the coast on the Lyell Highway (lane each way with a line down the middle) we stopped at the former Iron Blow mine site, Horsetail Falls and for walks in the Wild Rivers area. Our camp tonight was in the Lake St Clair National Park. Next day, severe storms forced a change in plan so we drove south to camp the next few days in the pretty city of Hobart. In Hobart, went to the waterfront and to Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. Exploring the south, we drove up a very windy Mount Wellington, through the Huon Valley & its vast apple orchards to visit the wood carving town of Geeveston, descended into Newdigate cave and walked in the Hastings Caves hot springs reserve. We took our van on the ferry to Bruny Island and stayed at Adventure Bay. Joining a Pennicott wilderness cruise, we went out into the Tasman Sea hugging Bruny islands rugged southern coast passing Fluted Cape, the Monument, Breathing Rock and onto The Friars to see Australian Fur Seals. The next day, off in our van to the Neck which is a slither of land joining north & South Bruny. At the Neck is the Truganini Lookout and a penguin colony (but wrong season) Next place to visit South Bruny National Park to view the wild Tasman sea from it's southern tip at the Cape Bruny lighthouse. Returning to Adventure Bay area, we walked along coast to Grass Point Pebble Beach and explored the Mavista rainforest. Our last night on Bruny Island. Back to mainland Tasmania and off to the important birding area at Orford on the east coast. Went via Richmond to see the convict built oldest stone span bridge in Australia. Next is Freycinet National Park to see Wineglass Bay. We looked at another convict built bridge near Swansea known as the Spiky Bridge due to the jagged flagstones on top of the bridge walls, put in place, not to protect humans, but to keep cattle safe. The path to Wineglass Bay lookout winds through weather coloured boulders and narrow gaps and when you reach for the top, it opens out with spectacular views. Its a narrow twisty drive to Cape Tourville & from the car park a boardwalk that runs around the cliff edge to the lighthouse provides stunning coastal. Sun sets over the Great Oyster Bay from Honeymoon Bay is a magical experience. On our way to the Bay of Fires, watched Bicheno Blowhole in action, walked on many beautiful deserted beaches & in nature reserves. To explore Bay of Fires, we stayed at St Helens on Georges Bay - the oysters from here are milky & smooth and the scallop pies some of the best we had. The Bay of Fires stretches 50 kilometres from Bin