Tasmania Middle and East

There are train days and there are car days. Today was supposed to be a bit of both. The plan was to drive up to Devonport and the Don River Railway before arriving back in Hobart for the Festival of Voices bonfire, stopping at interesting small towns along the way. Travelling along the Midland Highway we got as far as Perth before Alex complained of feeling motion sick.

Realising how much further we still had to go we decided to return to Hobart, but via the East Coast route. It was a long, but spectacular ride. I'm too tired to write so I'll tell the story with photos.

Morning mists across the Derwent at Bridgewater

Winter trees along Highway 1.

Historic Oatlands houses the rebuilt Carrington Mill

Post Office at Ross, another historic town just off the Midland Highway

There were many sheep farms along the way. Ben Lomond is in the background.

River along the Lake Leake Highway (B34) as we head towards the East Coast.

The Ben Lomond National Park in the background, touched by snow.

The railway followed us as far as Fingal. It would make a very scenic trip, but sadly no commercial passenger services are operated in Tasmania, only tourist trains.

From St Marys it was a nerve wracking ride across the ranges and down to the coast

We followed the Tasman Highway (A3) southwards down the coast

Bicheno was a pleasant coastal town where we stopped to buy fresh fish and a snack of oysters and fish and chips.

The Blowhole at Bicheno. We'd love to do a slow trip down the coast.

Vineyards, Great Oyster Bay and the Freycinet Peninsula

Although we were in a hurry, we couldn't help pulling in at Swansea.

The smell of seaweed, waves gently lapping against the shore while strong surf was heard but unseen

The bare and lonely coastal landscape had a real beauty about it

The road turns inland again at Orford

The Sun was setting and we were concerned about kangaroos on the road

We had seen these long causeways across the Coal River from the air yesterday

Finally, the Tasman Bridge into Hobart

We arrived at Salamanca Place just in time to watch the procession of singers with their torches.

The lighting of the bonfire

Showers of sparks rise into the air

We returned to the hotel where I prepared a dinner of fresh fish and pasta. Today underscored how beautiful this island state is and that this trip is just too short to take it all in.

Comments

Springs, castles and the end of the line

I am never happy to stop before the end of the line. It irritates me to know that there is still somewhere unexplored lying ahead. So when I only got as far as Gujo Hachiman on the Nagaragawa Railway last year I knew I needed to return for more. Especially as this private third sector railway is, by its very nature, always at threat of closure due to low patronage. But did Gujo Hachiman deserve another visit? Sure it's a nice enough town, but had we missed out on enough last time to return? Mum's trip provided the excuse. I originally planned the Oito line, which wI'll be partly closed when the Shinkansen line is extended to Kanazawa. However, when I thought of special places in Japan that deserved to be shared Gujo Hachiman was at the top of the list. Before we could go anywhere Mum needed her coffee. There was a Tully's Coffee opposite the hotel entrance, so I parked her there while I booked our seat reservations. Mum got her fast train ride on a ...

One night in Canberra

It's the April school holidays and we are too busy to have a break but need one because of that. And because it's the Easter weekend the options are limited, so we just drive down to Canberra for the night. No, this isn't our first trip for 2023. I wrote about Japan on another site . I refuse to wake up early so we depart after 8.30 AM. There is not much to say about the drive except that the clouds seem so low and Lake George is very full. We stop at a rest area and at the lookout up the hill to take it all in. Everyone is hungry so we first stop in Dickson and then can't think of anything to eat, so I drive us to Civic, where we can't decide and end up eating at the Singaporean Killiney Kopitiam branch. The Canberra Centre has nice shops. I dream of getting an iPad from the Apple Store, we buy a blanket and toothbrushes from Muji and wish that Lego wasn't so expensive. Nothing we can't get in Sydney, but then we rarely go out shopping in the city. It...

The Carlingford Line

We close the year and the decade with a local adventure to mark the closure of a railway line. On the January 5, 2020, the Carlingford Line from Clyde will close to be partially replaced by the Parramatta Light Rail. This is Sydney's quietest line, a single track branch for most of its length from the industrial centre of Clyde to the northwestern suburb of Carlingford. According to Wikipedia, power supply and signalling issues mean that only a single four car train can utilise the line at a time. Newer Sydney trains run in fixed eight car configurations. This will be the first and last time I traverse the Carlingford Line in its current configuration. The weather of the day is certainly appropriate for an ending, the brown smoke haze lending an apocalyptic air to proceedings. I drive to Padstow and catch the T8 line to Central, followed by the T1 towards Parramatta and Penrith. The historic homes of the Inner West give way to industrial complexes, rail storage yards and t...

travelling allrite

Search This Blog