Day 3
Lake St Clair (Derwent Bridge),
Queenstown and Strahan

Driving in Tassie was both a challenge as well as a pleasure. Driving is something we both enjoy. And as expected, we spent most of our honeymoon "fighting" over who should be driving. *big grin*

The major benefit of a self-driving holiday is that you get to see a lot more than you would in a package tour. If you do however, having 2 drivers is important, because distances can be deceiving in Tassie. The road maps don't show all the twists and turns, and so a distance of 100 km as the crow flies is actually more like 150 km actual driving distance. If the map does show a twisty bit, there are 10 times the number of actual bends and hairpin turns for each twist on the map. Of course, the shalom course nature of the roads makes it even more tiring for the driver. In the end, we both got more than enough time behind the wheel.

The drive from New Norfolk to Strahan was long (~260 km). And the terrain grew noticeably more rugged with each km we travelled westwards. We stopped at the Lake St Clair visitor centre at Derwent Bridge for a look around and lunch. The weather was drizzly and so we didn't bother to follow the short walks around the lake. There is also a small museum of the flora and fauna in the area.

The informative sign that accompanies this stuffed Swamp Antechinus says, in part:- "...Male antechinuses die soon after their first mating - this one was found beside the track." The poor things...

As we drove on, the lush greenery dramatically gave way to a disturbing martian landscape. Bare soil and scrubby bushes as far as we could see. The ground was also massively eroded and was in such stark contrast to the rest of Tassie that, had we not been forwarned in Mike's route description sheet, we might have be tempted to turned back for fear of entering some accursed land. (Okay okay, we wouldn't have, but we would have been quite alarmed at any rate!)

Queenstown was (still is?) a mining town, and that industry was responsible for denuding the surrounding countryside. Erosion took care of the rest. Driving was VERY VERY taxing at this point. First mostly uphill mountain driving in twisty roads, then after cresting the highest points, some of the SCARIEST DRIVING that we had ever encountered (and we have driven in mountainous terrain in Scotland, France and elsewhere). All that is ostensibly there to stop you from going over the cliffs down more than a thousand foot drop is a skinny rope at the cliffs' edge. The road was none too good and narrow, plus many heavy vehicles lumbering up or down.

More than once did our hearts skip a beat when we had to go hair-raisingly close to the edge of road. Imagine looking out the side windows and not see any ground... Warning to all drivers, especially those not experienced in driving in mountains: Drive slowly and try not to freak out.

After passing through Queenstown, we turned onto the B24 towards Strahan. More twisty driving followed before we finally reached Strahan (pronounced with a silent "h", like "Strarn"). Strahan appears to be just another sleepy fishing village, but that initial impression belied the fact that it was a major tourist magnet. As mentioned in part 1, the relative quietness was apparently due to the slowdown in tourist arrivals.

Risby Cove is a a nice retreat style small hotel that is also known for it's kitchen. Set in a cosy little corner of Strahan harbour, in lovely surroundings with rustic accents, Risby Cove even has an art gallery with works for sale. When we arrived, we were a little surprised to see that there were quite a number of really formally-dressed (Black Tie!) people there. Apparently, it was a reception and art exhibition.

The room we got was called "The Punt" (a type of small boat, I think). It was very comfortable and roomy, with a living area, kitchette and separate bedroom.

Since it was already quite late in the afternoon by the time we arrived, we just drove about town to have a look around, after snapping various pictures around Risby Cove itself. At the Strahan Visitor Centre, we managed to check our email. Internet access centres can be found all over Tasmania, just keep a lookout for the signs. Rates vary, but average A$5 per half hour. We returned to the room for a short rest before having dinner at the hotel.

Sidenote: As with most places in Tasmania, we had made reservations. In some places, reservations are necessary, because if there aren't any, they won't open for business at all that night! Risby Cove falls into the other category, they are popular and without a reservation, you'd be sorely disappointed. In some areas, your options for dining can be limited, and if you don't have a reservation at some restaurant or made arrangements with the accomodation you will be staying with to prepare a meal for you, you might be going to bed hungry!! This is an important point to stress to Singaporeans, who tend to be used to the idea of food being available round-the-clock and round-the-corner! If you haven't already heard about this phenomenon, read this article Tim wrote.

Sunset over Strahan as seen from Risby Cove Resort

We sat down to three course dinner, accompanied by a golden sunset. Dinner was so delicious that we were beginning to form the impression that Tassie food should be rated as one of the yummiest in the world. This is no doubt due, in part, to Tassie's agricultural prowess. In particular, beef is very very good. Tender, juicy and full of natural flavour. While it might seem to the naive traveller that seafood would be the forte of Tassie cuisine, it is actually the steaks that are the best!

We had the Antipasto Platter (Assorted seafood served with Virgin Mary dipping and herb bread) and Beef Capriccio (Thai style eye fillet drizzled with chilli oil and served with a coriander croutie and leafy greens) for entrees, followed by a Seafood Linguine and the the Risby Cove Gourmet (Chef's special indulgence - Veal medallions served on mash with pink peppercorn sauce). In particular, the Beef Capriccio was fabulous! Wafer thin slices of beef were cooked "blue" and just had us in gastronomic ecstasy! (Incidentally, we have only seen the term "blue" in Tasmania. In terms of cooking time, "blue" is before "rare". Anywhere else in the world, I think it's just called "raw"! We think only Tassie beef dares to be cooked blue...)

Dessert at Risby Cove - Yum!!

For dessert, we had the Risby Cove Delight (selection of homemade ice cream served on mini pancakes with a delicious pistacchio syrup. In the background of photo above) and the Spicy Apple Parfait (Sensational spiced apple parfait, sandwiched between roasted walnut, brandy snaps, dehydrated apples and cider caramel. See photo above). Tassie chefs take great pride in their dessert creations. Everywhere we went, the desserts were both creative and mouth-wateringly good. Occasionally, when we couldn't find the space to squeeze in dessert after the first 2 courses, the chefs who came out to chat even looked crestfallen that we didn't get to try their creations!

Day 4
Strahan, Macquarie Heads,
Ocean Beach and Henty Dunes

It promised to be a beautiful day and we headed out for some adventure! We took the C250 then the C251 out of town towards the Macquaire Heads. The C251 is a gravel road but very well maintained and easily accessible by 2 wheel drive vehicles. In fact, most of the other cars headed out there were family saloons. The scenery on the way was very pretty. There was an airfield on the way. But we'd been told that all helicopter and aircraft scenic flights had been cancelled due to the lack of tourists. In fact, Mike had booked us on a fixed-wing scenic flight around Strahan for this day, but it was not to be.

To drive in the Swan Basin nature reserve, or in fact ANY nature reserve or park, a National Parks Pass is necessary and has to be displayed on the dashboard. We had a pass for the appropriate length of time purchased for us by Mike. However, in many of the park or reserve entrances, there are often self-service honesty boxes where you can purchase a pass.

When we reached Macquaire Heads, there was a sign that stated that only 4WD vehicles were allowed beyond that point. Finally, a chance to go off-road! The RAV4 is really just a "toy 4WD" without serious off-road capabilities like low-range gearing or differential lock, but it was perfectly suited to the sort of beach driving we encountered here.

Driving on "Ocean Beach" near Macquarie Heads was absolutely fun!

Macquaire Heads is at one end of the 33 kilometre long Ocean Beach. We only covered a couple of km, but it was truly fun to drive. The beach is really wide and there is plenty of space for other vehicles to pass each other at high speed. Remember, although Ocean Beach is firm enough for even the most novice of off-road drivers, it still IS sand and care should be taken. For example, you really must brake very gently, or you'll skid to a halt and dig your tires into the sand... Then you are stuck! Also, driving is best on the slightly damp sand down the middle of the beach. The white powdery sand above the high-tide mark and the wet mushy sand close to the water's edge are no-go areas, okay? Be safe, not sorry.

A collection of government and private interest groups have published a free brochure Crusin' Without Brusin' that compiles a list of popular 4WD tracks and off-road adventures, all rated Easy, Medium or Hard. A useful set of rules, regulations, tips and tricks for 4WD touring are included. We found this a useful guide.

Then of course, there are those who think of the beach as a place to practice stunt driving. While we had stopped to take pictures, we saw a beat-up old Toyota stationwagon driving in crazy circles, doing handbrake turns in the distance. As they got closer, to us, they seemed to get even bolder with their manoeuvres and as expected, they eventually dug themselves into the sand. Two scruffy looking chaps, in their late teens, immediately hopped out and started digging. It was obvious they did this often and with practiced efficiency got themselves out. But of course, they got stuck again, and no amount of digging could get themselves free...

One of the guys came running up and I was more than a little wary. He politely asked for a tow since we were the only 4WD vehicle in sight at that time. Never having done anything like that before, much less on sand, I was hesistant, but eventually, we figured we might as well give them a hand, since Tassie folks are generally so friendly and honest. They had their own (equally scruffy) "snatch strap" which is a kind of bungee cord that is often used in this exact type of situation (Did I mention they seem to do this sort of thing often?). Fortunately, I HAVE seen lots of vehicle recovery operations in the field (in National Service, of course) and had an idea of what to do and what not to do. With a little gentle tug, we got them free. The chaps, ever so polite, thanked us and then proceeded to drive about like maniacs somemore.

Our exploits were apparently observed by some other folks on the beach that day. Later on, on another part of the beach, a guy drove up and asked if we could tow someone else whose engine had quit, back to Strahan. He thought we had a snatch strap since we had "done such a great job earlier". But unfortunately, we couldn't help this time around.

Our impromptu "Vehicle Recovery Service"

We had a simple lunch in a bakery back in Strahan before proceeding north on the B27 to reach Henty Dunes. The dunes slope inland for a couple of kilometres, reach heights of 30 metres before suddenly ending. The dunes are actually taller than the forest surrounding them, and standing at the top, we were actually looking down at the treetops. The dunes also form vertigo inducing "cliffs". We saw some guy do a running leap off the edge and from our angle, we thought he was trying to commit suicide! When we rushed to the edge, we saw that he had merely been trying to "bobsled" down the steep slopes.

While in Strahan for lunch, we had tried to make a reservation for dinner at the Macquaire Restaurant at the Strahan Inn, which as a commanding view of Strahan harbour. Unfortunately, the whole restaurant was booked for a corporate retreat, so we decided to have dinner at Risby Cove again.

We had the Asian Calamari (Salad with roquette and sweet chilli sauce served with a ginger dressing) and the Beef Capriccio again. Main courses were the Cove Eye Fillet (a tender steak served with seasoned roast vegetable, topped with a veal jus and garnished with a grain mustard pesto) and Grilled Macquaire Salmon (Supplied fresh daily and served on herb pasta, topped with a tomato, olive and dill salsa). Dessert were the remaining two choices on the menu, the Winter Pudding (Traditional bread and butter pudding served with tasty caramelised sugar, made to melt in your mouth) and the Chocolate and Nut Indulgence (Tantalising chocolate and macadamia tart, served with King Island double cream and a berry coulis). If that didn't make your mouth water, trust us, if you were there, you would have ate yourself silly.

Day 5
Heading North, Murchison Dam
and Destination Wynyard

We were heading north to Table Cape and Skyescape at Wynyard, 200 km away. Mike had given us plenty of detailed route information, with several possible permutations of sights to see and routes to take. For example, we could have gone to see the Mining Museum in Zeehan, or take a ride on the Abt Railway near Queenstown.

However, we decided to spend more time at Table Cape, since we had already spent 2 days around Strahan. So we set off on the B27 towards Zeehan, then joining the A10 northwards through Rosebery. Near Tullah, we saw a sign indicating the turn off for the Murchison Dam, and we decided to make the small detour to have a look.

Tassie gets much of it's electrical power from hydroelectric power stations, and therefore, there are plenty of dams with spectacular views. The Murchison Dam isn't particular spectacular by Tassie standards (or so we hear), and Yi Peng sniffed that it was puny compared to those that she's seen in the US... But Tim had never been on one, so it was interesting nonetheless.

Go to Part 3 - Wynyard & Cradle Mountain