Coles Bay

It's Friday 27th and we've decided to stay on here until Monday, when we'll definately leave. The weather improved yesterday and we got out fishing again catching ourselves 18 flathead and two Ruddy Gurnard Perch. I think they are more related to lion fish than gurnard with their big heads and massive spines. Whichever they are related to, they have to be treated carefully as the spines are nasty and quite poisonous.

We put 3 pack fo fish in the freezer, gave our lovely neighbours Malcom and Barbara a feed of fish and ate the 2 gurnard thingies for our dinner. I made a crumb mix with pistachios, breadcrumbs, parmesan and parsley for the fillets and we baked them. They were wonderful-firm, meaty and very delicately flavoured. Russ was talking to the guy at the desk who eats them, but says lots of people throw them back as they look so difficult to deal with.

We had a drink with Malcom and Barbara last night before dinner. They headed off this morning, but we might meet them in Strachan if we ever get over that side of Tassie.

I can remember one or two people hinting to us that 10 weeks would be more than enough time in Tassie, but with the fishing so much fun, we can see it won't be long enough. We've already decided not to rush and come back in a couple of years to do the rest of it. Iwould extend our stay if it wasn't for Kobie's first birthday, the new house and the weather-I think we'll be feeling the cold by April 7th.

The weather turned bad today so we didn't fish. Russ went and picked us some wild blackberries and I just made us a pie which we are about to eat for dessert. We also froze the same amount to use at a later date.

Feb 24th Coles Bay

Cape Tourville

The weather has turned a bit cold and nasty, so we've had a couple of days without fishing.

Yesterday we sat around for most of the day, then went out to Cape Tourville (for views into Wineglass Bay) and Sleepy Bay for a couple of short, (bracing) walks. It was threatening to rain and the seas were quite wild, but it was good to be out in the fresh air.

Sleepy Bay

Today we went to Swansea for a look round. It was very windy here when we left and it poured over there, but once again it was nice to get out. We had just finished lunch when our neighbours (here in the park) arrived and we sat talking to them over coffee.

It's about 60ks to Swansea from here around a large lagoon and Great Oyster Bay. We drove out to Bagot point and could almost have walked over a channel in the lagoon to Swanwick-a little town about 3ks from Coles Bay. We arrived home to calm seas and a beutiful sunny day.

We booked another couple of nights here to make up for the two we just lost to bad weather. The woman behind the desk said people are pulling out due to the weather-we are the only ones she has had extend. I quite like it here and wonder how far you'd have to drive through nasty weather to get to better and maybe you wouldn't get to better so would be setting up in the rain. I prefer to get cosy in the van and wait it out!

Feb 22nd

Coles Bay





We had a nice day today. After a yummy breakfast of bacon and eggs, we took a drive into Bicheno stopping off at all the beaches, lookouts and blowholes we missed on Thursday when we had the van on. After we'd done a bit of shopping and got some fuel, we went to a little aquarium to see the sea horses. It was in a garage and didn't have many exhibits, but I really enjoyed it. He had a couple of huge crays, some cute baby squid and the very elegant seahorses-and they were all in such lovely clean tanks and water.

On the way home we stopped and bought some Bass Straight scallops so I can make our own curried scallop pies. Curried scallop pies are a real Tassie thing and they want between $5.50 and $8.00 (so far)-I reckon I can make better myself and have got my pastry so am ready to go.



It was a lovely afternoon, so we weakened and took the boat out. We had a bit of a tour around the Bay doing about 20ks in total. It was beautiful. We'd taken a tiny bit of bait along "just in case" and managed to catch 10 big flathead. We threw back quite a few legal sized ones that we reckon are just to small to bother with! I'm so glad we bought the vacuum sealer and freezer and hope lots of people come to fish cook-ups when we move into our new home!

Day 2 Fishing

This morning we headed out quite arly and were back before lunch. We brought home 22 flathead and 2 barracuda (good bait), we missed a squid on a hook, then lost our best old squid jig trying to catch him. Tonight we gave our nice WA neighbours Derek and Liz a feed of fish and had battered flathead and chips ourselves. The neighbours aren't interested in fishing so had never had fish as fresh Liz told us later.

By the time Russ filleted all the fish and we had our showers the day seemd to be over. Must get out into that National Park very soon.

Fishing in Coles Bay!!!!!

Surpise, Surprise, we went out fishing today. It was a surprise too. Kev who we chatted to last night said it was THE best flathead fishing ever and he wasn't wrong. We brought home 15 good sized ones and threw back around 20 legal and a dozen undersized ones as well. He (Kev) said 37 was the biggest he'd caught out there, and while most of ours were 33 or 34 cm, we caught a 37cm and 40cm one so we were pretty happy about them. It's another beautiful spot to fish too-the scenery is stunning.

Three Years Tomorrow

Tomorrow we've been on the road (or out of our house at least) for 3 years. I can't believe it as the time has flown and we haven't seen half of all we want to see yet.

This morning for the first time in three years we packed up in the rain (must be in Tasmania LOL). We drove a leisurely 115 ks along the coast road stopping in Bicheno for brunch (a bit late for brunch so we had a pie) and some shopping before arriving here in Coles Bay just after 12 o'clock. I think the coast road is as beautiful as The Great Ocean Road-it just doesn't have Loch Ard Gorge or the Twelve Apostles. It was quite wild and interesting in the misty rain that cleared to brilliant sunshine at times. We spotted the tall ship James Craig in the Bay at Bicheno-we have seen it twice at Monkey Mia in WA too.

Tasmania is renowned for small caravan parks with small sites and we couldn't fit our medium sized van on the first one allocated to us. The second one was a good size, but we nearly burned the clutch out backing UP onto it in 4WD! We'd booked for 4 nights, but after the performance parking, went back and booked another 3 so we don't have to do it all again too soon! Besides, the Bay looks like a lovely spot to fish and there are a number of walks to do in the National park.


We drove out to the park and bought our holiday permit, then came home and sorted the boat out. As we went to put the motor on, a neighbour came over to help. I recognised him as a man who we met at a lookout two weeks ago! Tassie is a small island sometimes. He has a boat and says the fishing is wonderful here. It was nice to chat to him (Kev) and his wife Deb-they have been travelling for many years and are still loving it even though she had a stroke last year.

Goodbye Neighbours!!

Hallelujah, the're gone. They were up at 6.30 with him telling her to "get out of my way you stupid bloody cow" etc and 4 caravan legs all in need of CR40. They clattered and banged until they left around 7.30 never (we hope) to be seen again!

We are just back from a few hours fishing. It was a bit quiet with only 3 flathead and one leather jacket to go in the freezer. It's braised rabbit for us tonight. The two we are cooking are the last of the 5 we bought in SA. I keep telling all the baby bunnies in the park here they better watch out!!!!!!

St Helens

We keep extending our stay here in St Helens-I just called up to the office and changed our departure to Monday which will bring our total nights to 11. It's a lovely little town and the fishing is OK so we figure it's worth that much out of our 10 weeks.

A few days ago (maybe Tuesday) we went out fishing and came home with 8 flathead and two leatherjackets and did the same again today. We figure it may be the best fishing spot we find and the weather is pretty good here and now, but will certainly get cooler in the next 8 weeks.

I was happy to find out the people behind us are leaving in the morning-although I bet it's the noisiest departure of all time. They are up just after 6 most mornings and had the TV on at 2.30 this morning and were talking. I was seriously considering pulling the antenna plug out. Their van is parked directly behind us about 2 metres away. The man has a loud, high pitched (read whiny) voice that he loves to use. When I asked the park manager about their date of departure, he said they can't wait for them to go either as they are weird and always bothering them in the office.

Out For A Drive

We've been feeling so, so sad with all the news of the fires, then hearing about Natasha, Robert and the little girls that we haven't done anything for the past few days. Today we decided to get away from the TV for a while and take ourselves off for a drive through the local area.

We left here and went to the Pyengana Cheese factory. The car park was right beside the cow track down to the dairy and was so smelly-things didn't get off to a good start! The cheeses were expensive and not all they were cracked up to be. Nevermind.

Welderborough Pass Rainforest Walk


On top of Weldboruough pass, we took a walk through an ancient Myrtle rainforest. It was just a short walk, but really beautiful. So green and peaceful. Just what we've been needing.

Our next stop was for a wander up and down the main street of Derby. It's a funny little former copper mining town that has a few cafes, galleries, gift shops a Tin Centre (too expensive for us) and a couple of pubs. It was an enjoyable walk though past some lovely old buildings-library, old police station, churches and schools.

Branxholme Pub


We stopped in Branxholme (another mining and hop growing town) for lunch at an old country pub. As the only customers we figured lunch would be either great or gross-it was great. We had a chicken schnitzel and parmiagana with chips and salad-all super fresh, crispy and well cooked. The publican was friendly and took a few minutes to give us a local map and discuss the route we'd decided on for the rest of our drive. He really knew about HOSPITALITY. Something else we've noticed on any drive we've been on is how well Tasmania caters for free campers. The areas are large, clean, tidy and usually have toilets. They are usually well signposted.

Ledgerwood War Memorial


He told us that Ledgerwood with it's carved war memorial wasn't to be missed. It was really quite moving-the cyprus trees the figures are carved from were originally planted as an avenue of honour after WW1 so the carvings are really appropriate. There wasn't much more to the town-the milk factory is now bottling VIRGIN spring water (probably from a tap out the back we reckoned!)



There was even less at the tiny town of Mathinna. We felt it was very like the ghost town of Gwalia we visited in WA's central gold region-except for the people!

Evercreech Forest Reserve with it's huge white gums was beautiful too. The largest, at 91 metres, is one of the tallest trees in Tasmania. The reserve had excellent faciities-toilets, fires, wood, a great picnic shelter and we were the only ones there.

Evercreech Forest Reserve


All in all a lovely drive through some steep hilly country and some very peacefull little valleys. A good day out!

Fires

We had dreadful news of our good friends last night. They lost their daughter, son-in-law and two small grand daughters to the fires. I can't imagine how that can feel and how they could want to go on.

Victoria Burns

So much death and destruction in our home state Victoria. Bushfires are burning out of control in a number of places and to date, 65 have died and 650 homes have been destroyed. It's an awful day for the state.

My ex husband is cut off in his Paradise Beach home with no electricity, his nephew has lost his home and our friends daughter and family live in Kinglake. Kinglake is gone!

Fishing

Yesterday we got out fishing in the estuary just out front the caravan park. We managed to catch ourselves 4 nice flat head for dinner and also caught 3 enormous leather jackets and two smaller ones(threw them back) a tailor (he became bait) and almost got a silver trevally in the boat.

I used to love leather jackets when I lived in Gippsland, but the big ones we saw in WA weren't good eating, with their nasty dark, weedy tasting flesh. However, a local back at the boat ramp assures us these leather jackets are excellent eating. Bummer, the three big ones were around 40cm. He says the flesh is white and firm and cooks up beautifully.

We both managed to get a bit sunburned-I have a face like a big, red apple!

Today's Lesson

Don't dare to tow a full caravan over a piece of road marked on a map with the words "Welderness Pass" written on it!

We missed a turn in Launceston and ended up heading out of town the wrong way to Scottsdale so drove up THE steepest, windiest road we have ever towed the van over (and that was just the burbs). We eventually crossed over to the the "right" road and headed off.

It was 163 ks and we estimated (as we sped along the nice flat, wide road) we'd be there by lunch time. It took us 4 hours of driving from Launceston (we lunched quickly in Scottsdale) and was a beautiful, but awful drive. I swear we came within 4inches of wiping the whole side of the van out once on a hairpin bend and twice had almost nowhere to go but down twice when two big trucks came around corners on our side of the road.

If I had to drive it again, I think I'd ask to be helicoptered out!

Trout Fishing and Another Grandchild

Dan and Verity are expecting a second baby in Mid Septemeber-so another grandchild for us to love!!!!! We are certainly going from none to some in record time. Some other exciting news yesterday-Verity had a driving lesson and loved it and has booked her next one. I'm so happy about that too!

We bit the bullet and paid our $18 for one 24 hour licenc, and $7 for 10 (big, fat) worms and headed up the river in search of trout. I went the first time and while we saw a few fish jumping, didn't catch a thin. The next time Russ went our I stayed home to mind our roast of pork as it cooked-much more exciting actually.

The second time he went out, he met a farmer at his pump on the river who said it is a difficult river to fish-especially when it's up like it is at present-and he doesn't bother but goes up to fly fish in the lakes instead!



Oh well, it was pretty out there and so exciting to see a platypus on the bank rather than crocodiles!

Tomorrow we head from this lovely park to St Helens for our next week.

Tassie and the Heat

I never dreamed we'd ever be complaining about the heat in Tasmania! It was so hot on Thursday, Friday, and then Saturday, although it was still hot, you could tell the worst had passed. It's now a pleasant 20 or so which is lovely. We put the doona under the bed for the fist time in over 12 months as I don't think the weather in WA ever got as hot.

Lilydale Falls


On Friday we drove to Bridport for lunch on the beach. Along the way, we stopped off for a walk into Lilydale falls. It was pretty, but really too hot and still to enjoy it much. We had thought about going swimming (at Bridport), but it was much cooler there and didn't seem like such a good idea in the end. On the way to Batman Bridge, the tar had turned to liquid-most often on our side of the road as we drove up hills. It was awful driving over the smelly, squishy stuff. We drove back along the Tamar river into Launceston and once again thought it one of the prettiest drives in Australia with the windy, narrow road running right along the river and past some beautiful old homes.

Old Jetty Bridport



Saturday we had a quiet day here in the park-we put the boat in and took a tour a few ks up the Macquarie River out front here. It's beautiful, and we saw lots of trout jumping in the shallows amongst the reeds. It's made us determined to get out and have a try catching one at least once!

Longford CP on Macquarie River


Yesterday we went to Evandale for their Sunday market. I wasn't expecting it to be as big or as good as it was. We came away with some lovely local cherries, apricots, just dug new potatoes, carrots and a stainless steel fruit dish for the new house. After lunch at the market (really delicious baked spuds) we drove to Ben Lomond. It's a ski field out back of Launceston and i really stunning in the summer. The dirt road to the plateau is one of the steepest windiest pieces of road I've been on and would be worse in snow with chains on!

Jacob's Ladder Ben Lomond