A short drive on to Arthur River, there are many camping options here, we opt for the campground south of the bridge called Prickly Wattle. Away from the busier van sites closer to the village. Our site is sheltered from the winds and very private, it feels like we are the only ones here. We have stumbled upon such a lovely spot – bring on the long weekend.

The river banks and beaches are strewn with driftwood – of all sizes. Its remarkable just how much is here – and the range of timber species is varied and exotic, we foraged for hours along these shores, and have a booty of character filled driftwood we hope to re-invent when we get home.

We found this Tee Pee along the beach…..

So then Leni & I made this one – at the ‘Edge of the World’ not quiet as big, but still fun. While the boys were having a men’s meeting with Ranger Fi and a few locals, they shared some yarns and made things from Kelp.

Here we collected our little pieces of driftwood to make our Oz in the sand, Leni made a heart while I worked on Australia….

We were so lucky to be here over the long weekend, Ranger Fiona had many workshops on and we attended them all. She was fab and we all got a lot out of the activities. First was radio tracking, as used for research on Tassie Devils & Quolls, then Art about Tassie animals, Kelp for Men, followed by Kelp for everyone later in the day, here we made craft from locally farmed Kelp. Gaz made a stubbie cooler, then later in the day we made a pocket knife sheath and baskets.

As this is the Arthur Pieman Conservation area, no wood can be collected from any of the parks, luckily the sandy riverbank was strewn with free firewood. So we loaded up the wood rack and headed back to camp.

Max & Leni cooked the Bangers for Australia Day lunch. The sun was shining and we had our best weather day yet….

And that night, while sitting around the fire just after dusk, Gaz & I heard some movement in the bushes behind us, to our surprise and excitement we saw it was a Spotted Tail Quoll (like the stuffed one max is holding above) They are an endangered animal and we didn’t think we’d get to see one in its environment. Very Special.

We are lovin the west coast have spent the weekend at Arthur River… today we had perfect weather – simply stunning! Cheers to all….

Off to the remote west coast town of Arthur River for the weekend. First stop was the Tarkine Adventures at Dismal Swamp. A quick lunch in the car park then its straight for the slide!!

Dismal Swamp is a massive Blackwood Forest in a draining sink hole. So once down the bottom there is boardwalk paths meandering their way around the sink hole floor, it is currently dry on the swamp floor but could be boggy – hence the boardwalk. Dotted around the floor were many sculptures, along with the beautiful forest habitats.

Our lunch stop today was overlooking the little town of Boat Harbour – a place my mum & dad loved too. It was a bit windy but still the view was fab.

After a drive back into the forests for the afternoon, we head for Stanley for the night – and take the kids to climb The Nut at sunset and wait for the mutton birds to come home to their nests, something I did as a child with my mum & dad too. Its cold and windy, but Max and Leni were excited to see the birds, so they made it up the steep incline.

We did the 45min circuit track first, and along the way on the path we saw only our 4th snake of the whole trip. A little tiger snake, surprising as it was a cold night.

The birds came, they circled around in the updrafts near the cliff edges before swooping into their burrows, we were all glad we made the effort to get out of the comfort of the cabin we had for the night.

Next morning we took part in one of the free National Parks activities. It was a Rockpool Ramble, on the beach below the nut. Ranger Jess taught the kids about starfish, waratah anemones, urchins and the very cool decorator crab – it covers itself in seaweed for disguise – see in the container below.

A drive south from Burnie today to Dip falls and the Big tree. We were surprised at the amount of industry here, dairy farms on drained swampland, alongside hardwood plantations – still plenty of clear felling of forests thoughout the maze of roads we were driving on.

Dip Falls were unique to see, as the water flows over Basalt columns, we had a view from above at the platform lookout and then down many steps to the river bed to see it at the foot.

After our stop here we begin to head back toward the north coast, along the way I spot a sign to Black River Picnic area, so we take the detour, it weaves its way though many forestry roads and we are about to turn back when we are greeted by a lovely river crossing – lined with myrtles, blackwoods and giant tree ferns. Complete with a hut and fireplace on each side of the river. Some friendly locals were there, and we played in the river for the afternoon, before setting up camp on the other side.

We had a great night here, more locals turned up and we had a very entertaining chat with Edwina & Mick while all the kids played in the crossing. They were very friendly and I think they might of stayed all night if they didn’t have a dinner to head off to!

The morning was calling out for a BBQ breakie, we haven’t been able to have fires on the mainland so its nice to finally be able to use some of the kiln dried firewood we have carted with us since leaving home.

Followed by a quick game of darts and more river fun…..

We stumbled across a Whisky Distillery here, and it sells keg strength whisky made from locally grown barley. We took the tour – then the 3 of us pressured Gaz into filling his own bottle of Hellyers Road whisky!

Gotta love the Tassie coastline. Every time you see it, its different from the last.

Another day and another tour, this time we try our hand at paper making. Its an interesting tour at the Makers of Burnie. They make the papers from recycled cotton, not trees, and source the cotton from offcuts and 2nds of – towels, tablecloths and jeans. Sometimes adding interesting fibre for texture – most recently its been Kangaroo Poo and Wombat Scat – a bi-product from a nearby sanctuary. Lucky for us it was green towel pulp today for the paper we made!

Lunch at nearby Ferntree Gully, the challenge was set – kids won the bet!

Back to Burnie Park to find the Freshwater Lobster! There seems to be many industries closed now in Burnie, but much progress with new ways to showcase the talent and history of the area. Modern buildings and public art displays – it appears to be a fresh, thriving town.

A quick bite to eat in Devonport and we’re on the road west – when we spy a sign to Leven Canyon, as it’s still so early we decide to take the detour and check it out.

This place looks so inviting, we decide to stay here for the night – only problem was we didn’t go shopping for milk, bread, fruit & vege before we detoured. But no worries, we will survive a night on what we have in the kitchen.

The walk to the canyon was to a high lookout which amazed us with its commanding views of Leven Canyon. Over 275m to the floor. The lower lookout was 697 steps, carved into the edge – but with rope handrail all the way. It was nice to be walking in Tassie again – but we wore Leni out!

The only problem here was the March flys were like bee’s – noisy and persistent. Out came the net again, for some respite.

Our drive back to the coast was through districts of Poppy fields, Potato and Cattle farms.

Feeling all sparkly clean and smelling fab – we hit boarding just as the cool change blows into Melbourne – happy days!

Suite!!!

After a smooth crossing of Bass Straight with a 5:45am wake-up call, we’re in the truck ready to go at 6:30am – Tassie here we come!!

Our drive today from Port Fairy on the south coast of Vic, to Melbourne was during the week long heat wave. We pulled over at a free metal dump along the way to chuck the frame of the broken marquee  To make way for our shiny new one we picked up at Warnambool

We drove thru many salt lakes and farming districts to avoid the Great Ocean Road, during the peak tourist time. Next stop was Geelong for some retail therapy to replace a missing camera Slurpee’s cooled us down

From here we drove to stay with Melissa,Mark and the kids for 2 nights. It was SO hot in the city! We really appreciated their new house and were able to clean ourselves, clothes, bedding, tent and truck after 6 weeks on the road.

Not to mention the air conditioning, TV and great company!

Lets go cool off…

Well it’s been great fun here for more than a month – we cant believe the weather conditions we have had – lots of cold weather and only a handful of hot days, but its time to head for Melbourne to get on the Spirit of Tassie.

A few more beach stops today as we farewell SA. Beachport was a stunning stop with a quick dip – as the water was less than half the outside temp today (SA heatwave day)

The Pool of Siloam is 7 times saltier than the sea – eeww!

The Blue Lake at Mount Gambier looked vivid today – much nicer than the salty dog above.

Umpherston Sinkhole was a nice relief from the heat, down under the plants and rock face.

Treating ourselves tonight in Port Fairy  – it our ‘Yeah Halfway!’ party with aircon and 2 telly’s!!!