Lorinna

 

Leaving Dee, we made our way back to Forth and our mate, who, we had promised to give a hand to do some needed repairs to his house, and cut a long dead tree down on his property.

 

The jobs were done quickly, though spread out over a few days. With these out of the way, and some nights around the fire in his front lawn, we once again took to the road. This time it was Lorinna we set our sights on. Lorinna is on the shores of Lake Cethana, another hydro lake on the Forth River in the mid north of Tassie. We have been there a few times before, a couple of times with our mate and his Australia day fishing trips. It is somewhat out of the way so not many campers go there. Lorinna is a small collection of houses with a few permanent residences perched on the mountainside just above the Lake, a place wonderfully lost in time, mostly people looking for a simpler and more natural way of living dwell here, and there aren't that many.

Driving down to the campground, you come to the shoreline, the mirror flat lake, with trunks of long dead trees standing like sentinels in the water, sacrificed, when the dam wall was built and the area flooded.

A small, wooden shelter, built a long time ago, is where we squeezed the truck between the tall trees and made our home.

Out came the fire pot, table, chairs and cooking gear. Next was the shower tent, we had moved in.

Beautiful sunshine sparkled off the calm lake water as we walked along the edge. A splash caught our eye and a small shape glided in and out of the standing dead trees, a platypus, casually diving for his daily food. We watched for a long time, spellbound, enjoying this special moment.

 

Day three and four were not so glorious, clouds rolled in and rain showers followed. So it is this time of year here, a few beaut days and then a few not so beaut. We take it as it comes, a good fire keeps the cold at bay,and if we can’t have that, out heater in the truck is a lifesaver, a haven away from the blustery weather outside.

 

We had enough good days there to make it worth the trip, but as always, the time came to move on, and we did.

Cockle Creek

 Ned's wheel stud still needed fixing, our friends, on the farm up at Nieta was the place I chose to do the job, he had the tools and equipment if needed if anything went wrong.

As it happened, nothing was needed, just parked up on the front yard and removed the back hub and replaced the offending broken part.

when all done and all caught up on the local goings on, thanks were given and farewells said, the southernmost point of the island was beckoning.

 

We wound our way southward, and I mean wound, Tasmania is a land of mountains and large hills.  Except for the midlands part, driving around involves a lot of steep, winding mountain roads.

 

Taking the inland route, we entered the highland lakes area. The largest o these lakes is called, appropriately, The Great Lake. There is a hotel overlooking the lake and we called in as it was approaching lunchtime. A crackling fire in the large fireplace welcomed us into the dining room, nice and cosy, as the temperature outside was dropping fast. Having had a very nice meal and a cool refreshment, we continued on our way.

 

Less than an hour later we drove along the shores of Bradeys Lagoon, a smallish lake with a free camp which we decided to make home for the night.

There are many lakes in Tassie, a lot of them are man made, creating storage reservoirs for the many hydro electric power stations dotted around the state. These lakes also provide recreation opportunities for the population, trout fishing being very popular. Water sking and swimming are also done, though I think you would have to be mad or Tasmanian to do ether.

 

Ended up staying for four days enjoying the good weather. We were at a high elevation, which meant temperatures were low, but not unpleasant.

 

Again the time came where we should move on, and so we did. Dropping down from the highlands, we took another few days to get past Hobart and onward to Cockle Creek, the most southern point you can drive to.

A free camp just outside the national park is where we parked for four days. A short walk takes you to the beach and a short drive through the national park deposits you at the states edge. We had been there before, but visited again and Din kissed the whale sculpture at the point as she had done before.

Dull and sometimes rainy days saw us leaving after the four days, still, it was worth the trip.

 

On the way north again we called into Hobart, where a friend of ours lives. Spending a night parked outside his house we caught up and were on our way the next day.

 

Heading north again, we took a different road into the lakes, we were headed to Dee lagoon, another lake in the highlands. Tasmania being the size it is, destinations aren't  that far apart, though times are longer given all the slow, winding mountain roads.

 We arrived at Dee in the late afternoon and set up camp, which consisted of pulling up and opening up the side awning. In the morning, I scouted about and found we were all alone again, just how we like it.

Another five days spent there, a couple of fishermen the only people seen. Fly fishermen are interesting to watch, deftly swishing the line backwards and forwards in graceful arcs until dropping the fly in a predetermined spot where the trout sees it as a tasty bug to pounce on.

 Unfortunately, no one caught a fish while we watched, but we were entertained anyway.

 

 

 

Tasmania

 Devonport welcomed us with clear skies and cold gusts of wind. Driving only a few ks around the coast, we arrived at Forth Sports grounds, our usual first stop when disembarking. 

After catching up with our old mate Rodney, we moved on further east, to a spot we discovered on a previous summer tassie visit.

There was a long weekend coming up, and this place was a little out of the way, so hopefully, not too many people would be there. Also, the spot was close to, or at least in the same direction as the shop I needed to go to, to pick up the wheel nut I needed.

After calling into the parts place in Berni and picking up the wheel nut, we headed out to the camp spot.

 They had had good rains in the previous weeks and so the track in was a bit eroded with a few bog holes along the way. Nothing that would stop us though. Winding along the sloping track, we passed through dark, damp, temperate rainforest, finally breaking through to a clearing beside the river.

Recent heavy rain had washed out the creek crossing to our former camp site, so another site down river was selected for camp. An equally pleasant spot, the river a short stroll away and the area clear enough to let the warming rays of sunlight in.

For the next five days we had the whole place to ourselves. Nothing but the gurgle of the water flowing over the smooth worn rocks and the echoing calls of currawongs in the treetops. 

All too soon, the time came for us to move on. Rain clouds were gathering over the nearby hills, the track in was sketchy as it was and we didn't want to climb out of there after bad weather. After packing up and making sure we left only our footprints, we crawled away up the track.