Tassie: Part II

Thursday: I had a big day planned for Thursday. Along the way, we met another couple who had visited the iconic Cradle Mountain National Park and not been terribly satisfied. You can hike the mountain in a day, but there is also a shorter trek around Dove Lake, which is what they had done. They told us it wasn't that big of a deal. Hearing that news, I felt relieved. It reinforced my idea. I had planned for us to hike the less popular Walls of Jerusalem Park. This park is less documented and to be honest, I was worried. "Well experienced bushwalkers only," was on everything I had read. Yikes. Other people had told me you need at least 12hrs or a few days to really enjoy the park. Nonetheless, I was wanting to check it out.
We drove and drove and drove until we found the hidden trailhead and parking lot. We slept in the parking lot so we could get an early 7am start. It was a little eerie being all alone in the woods, but this was also the first night that we were able to see a million stars. Wow.
The morning was cold. The trail had ice crystals on it. There were tiny pebbles and pieces of dirt suspended from the ground. It looked like the ice had made little bridges up to meet them. It even snowed on us a bit. Along the way there were ponds, lakes and trees. This part was known as King Solomon’s Jewels. Upon reaching the "Walls" you enter between 2 towering cliff's known as Herrod's Gate. The sun had started to pop out and it got a bit warmer...4 seasons in one day. Seeing all this, I could now appreciate spending a few days in the walls part of the park. There were lots of tall mesas and cliffs to climb and explore.
Two raised planks of wood side by side, created the trail through the valley of the park. The valley was grassy with huge mounds of thick hard moss, and heaps of little ponds created from bubbling fresh water springs. We walked through the valley and through a snow patch to an upper ridge where we could take in the view. It was so beautiful. I love mountains so much. We only encountered one other couple this whole time, so we felt like we had the entire place to ourselves.
On the way back, we chatted with a guy dressed strictly in a black long-underwear outfit and boots. He tried to convince us he had been hiking for days, and then said, "just kidding." Odd.
In the end, everything was fine. We had an impressive 9hr day of hiking and exploring. The hike was shorter than I imagined, so we drove on. We coasted into at a place called Sheffield. Sheffield is 'The Town of Murals' and it isn't hard to see how it gets that rep. Even though were only there for a minute, we fell in love with it and, at present, want to retire there. We got some petrol and of course some fish and chips and were on our way again.
We arrived at the Cradle Mountain Caravan Park at 6:30. To our amazement, it was closed. This was the most corporate of places we had seen in oh, forever. Closed was closed, no bell to ring; the drives were gated. We drove closer to the park entrance only to find that you aren't allowed to drive into the park. As an option, we hoped to set up camp in the huge parking lot for the shuttle bus stop, but found signs stating: No over night parking! Hmmm, where to sleep? Returning to the camper park, we used the payphone to call an 800 number to see if there was any room available for the night, even though they were closed. The only thing they had was a non-powered site for $26. The most we had paid this entire time was $18, which included an electric hook up. Frustrated and tired, we decided to bag this place and kept driving. So long Cradle Mountain.
The beauty of a campervan is you can stop anywhere and have a bed to sleep on, water to drink, and gas to cook food. We drove a bit further, but it was getting dark and it had been a long day, so we just stopped along the road at a pull off/turn around area. Not really pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but literally in the middle of nowhere. Again, the stars were amazing. I loved that simply, with the draw of all the curtains in the van, you can take some weird location and make it feel safe. It didn't matter what was on the outside because you are in your safe little cocoon.
Friday: We awoke to find we were no longer alone. There was road construction being done just a few meters from out spot. For brekky, I made us some eggs, oatmeal and coffee. Soon after, we were on the road again. Having been without a power source for 2 days, we were unable to charge our cameras. A vacation nightmare. Luckily, we were able to plug the cameras in at a cafe in Tullah, on the west side of the state.
We were on our way to the "Mother of all waterfalls," Montezuma Falls in Rosebury. It was a bit off the beaten path, but well worth it. Falling 104m (341 ft) it is most impressive. Again, we were the only ones there. You are able to get so close; you can stand under it if you wish. There is a crazy, but quite safe, suspension bridge crossing the river, which is about 50m below. Of course we had to walk on it. Before heading back, we snacked on some PB & J, which have been the staple item of nourishment during day outings.
Later, we passed through a mining town called Queenstown. It is surrounded by mine waste and looks desolate. To be fair, the main street of town is charming, similar to Georgetown, CO. We quickly changed landscapes and entered Franklin-Gordon National Park. Here we stopped for a quick view of Nelson Falls and continued on. We really wanted to stay at a caravan park this night. We wanted to charge the cameras and also be clean for our plane ride the next day. We ended up in Tarraleigh, a town that only seems to exist because of the caravan park and a hydro electric plant. (The Tasmanians love hydro power. It's everywhere.) After settling in and having a much needed (free!) hot shower, we took a stroll through Tarraleigh. This was short of course. You could see from one end to the other. The place seemed kind of creepy, like where The Others lived on Lost. The houses are fairly new, with trees and shrubs that are still infants. Even though was after 5pm, no one seemed to be home. Garages were shut and lights were off...weird. Before we ate at the pub, we enjoyed chatting with some camping neighbors who mention that this was their return visit to Tarraleigh Campground. It was good to know we would survive the night. Despite the odd surrounds, the campground has everything, including two deer in a pen. They pounced away from us as we drew closer to them.
Saturday: This day was a whirlwind, as we had a lot to see before catching our flight home. We awoke early and headed to Mt. Field National Park, outside of Hobart. We were a well oiled machine at this point. We parked and walked to Russell Falls and Horseshoe Falls. You could tell we were a bit closer to civilization, as every stop got a little more crowded. We spent a satisfying amount of time viewing the falls and head back to the van.
I wanted to see Salamanca Market, which is a street market in Hobart that is only open until 3pm on Saturdays. Jim got us there with about an hour until close. We browsed and ate sausages. After getting back in the car, we drove up to Mt. Wellington, which has a famous view of the city. This windy road is steep and busy. At this point, we have seen so much. We made a quick stop and snapped a pic. It was time to go.
I wasn't quite sure of our flight, but we got to the airport with an hour to spare. We were sad to leave the living quarters of our mobile command unit, but also glad to go back to our slightly bigger apartment. It's hard to believe that Jim and I spent every waking and sleeping moment together for 8 days. It was great.
When vacations are over they seem like dreams. This one was hard to wake up from.