Lake Cethena, a man-made lake on the Forth River, created to feed a chain of hydro power stations positioned upstream and downstream. The small community of Lorinna nearby is home to a few people. It lies between Devonport on the coast and Cradle Mountain inland.

We made our way to the lake on the Thursday, because we knew the road in was narrow and winding along the hill sides above the lake and didn’t want to come across traffic coming the other way on our way in. The weekend would possibly be busier. Rod had assured us no one would be camping there this weekend and when we arrived at the campground it was deserted, just as we like it. The lake greeted us as we turned the last corner with a scattering of long drowned trees reaching out of the water away from the shoreline, a reminder that there was a forested valley there before it was flooded to create the lake. It was an overcast, drizzly day and the raindrops speckled the surface of the water, with the low clouds hugging the hills on the other side of the lake it was one of the many faces of Tasmania we have come to know and love.

 

Looking around we picked out a flat piece of ground and parked up then climbed into the back to relax and wait for the drizzle to stop. Next day the sun came out and the birds and wild life in the surrounding forest welcomed us to our new temporary home. Just before lunch a couple of 4x4s turned up and headed around the shoreline to set up camp then another one turned up towing a trailer loaded with four wheeler motorbikes and kids looking very excited. Not long after, another 4x4 with a camper on the back pulled up. We will have the campsite all to ourselves Rodney had said, no one goes there he said, it was starting to get populated.

Rod turned up later that arvo towing the boat, and after a bit of ribbing him about the peaceful camp, set up his camp. He and his mates son, who had come with him, set about putting the tinnie into the lake. Rod backed the trailer into the water and his mate pushed the boat off, no one grabbed the rope attached to the boat and so it gently floated out into the lake with both of them looking at, and blaming each other for the runaway boat. Rod won in the end and the other had to go for a cool swim in the icy water to retrieve the runaway tinnie. The weekend was off to a flying start.

 

The morning had been peaceful enough but the afternoon progressed into a barrage of kids racing back and forth on their motorbikes and the camp on the other side cranking up the music, which wasn’t too bad except for the slim dusty and hank Williams songs slipped in every couple of tracks. The people were friendly enough and we decided to go with the flow of the celebrations of the weekend.

Early next morning Rod woke me up announcing the young fella was going to take me out and get a couple of trout. Rodney had ended up having a big night celebrating the start of the fishing trip and felt he should stay on shore and maybe start breakfast for when we returned, so we left him to It, and Din still in bed, and hit the lake.  Spent a couple of hours trolling up and down but didn’t catch one, the views of the surrounding countryside made up for the lack of fish.

The weekend progressed much the same with sporadic trips out onto the lake and Rodney and his mates bantering with each other and us, and all the time kids on their bikes wizzing back and forth with various tunes blasting out from the camp up the track. Even a flag up for Australia day.  Not the peaceful camp we had imagined, but all had a good time regardless.

 

 

The boat had three rod holders, one each for two occupants and one out the back called the community rod. Whenever the community rod caught a fish, Din claimed that she had caught it. But you would never get her onto the boat. She caught the most fish that weekend. The catch ended up consisting of two rainbow trout, two brown trout and a blackfish. Two of them were too small and were put back, but due to Dins amazing skills I ended up having rainbow trout for dinner, she wouldn’t eat anything out of the water if you paid her.

 

Weekend over and everyone slowly packing up and leaving, we anticipated the silence to come. With no good reason to move on just yet we stayed when they all left. What a contrast, the hustle and bustle and noise of the last few days gave way to stillness and bird calls. Spent another four days there alone, enjoying the lake. All in all, good with the bad, these are the unforgettable experiences you get in a life on the road, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.