Monday we visited Sheffield the town of murals and they are not wrong with that claim. There are many buildings that have their outside walls painted. The murals depict the history of the area and cover from the early explorers through to honouring a doctor who served the area for many years. One that took our interest was that of horsemen up in the mountains. The story was that an electrical storm came up and a severe flash of lightening startled the men’s horses so much that one was thrown to the ground resulting in his back being broken and he died 6 weeks later. One can only wonder at his suffering being up in the mountains with only his fellow horsemen for assistance.
We drove up to Railton (the Topiary town) and drove around admiring the work that the locals have undertaken in forming these wonderful sculptures. Finding a small park we stopped for our normal afternoon cuppa and when exploring the park, found it was actually the old railway station. We glimpsed a van through the trees and wandered down for a look, and there were a couple of campers set up in the park which offered a free site. How small the world is was demonstrated by the fact they came from Casino and know Lawrie’s cousins who live there. Just shows you have to behave because you never know who is around. Another motorhome drove in whilst we were chatting and they were from the Gold Coast so the 6 of us spent an enjoyable couple of hours sharing stories. Not a lot of sight-seeing done but a very enjoyable time spent chatting to fellow travellers. This of course is one of the delights of travelling this way. What a shame we had to drive off back to our caravan instead of being able to join the evening session.
Tuesday we decided we would be leaving this delightful stop we have had at Carinya Farm in Roland. Our hostess Christine is the daughter of our hostess Barbara in Bothwell. Christine and her husband Gary have 2 holiday chalets on their property where guests can stay. Their property was previously a dairy farm and the land is lush and green. They have a billy goat called Bill (of course) and he enjoys being fed by the guests. He came running when I walked towards his yard and rustled the plastic bag of bread slices. This was a wonderful place to stay and we reluctantly headed off so as to continue our adventure. We headed up towards the coast and travelled along the highway to Burnie where we were able to fill up with gas (light was blinking!) and have a cuppa overlooking the beach. There were surfers in full length wet suits (the water must have been very cold) riding some very small waves. We were rugged up as the wind was quite chilling and the clouds were not allowing any sunshine through so the thought of being in the water made me shiver.
Deciding to take the less twisting highway south we travelled out through Ridgley and saw timber plantations everywhere we looked. There were areas that had been felled and others that were newly planted and others that looked ready for felling. Not many cattle or sheep but trees everywhere.
We called into Waratah a small village now that had been the site of a huge tin mine in the late 1800’s through to the mid 1940’s. The discovery at Mt Bischoff was considered the largest tin deposit in the world and led to the battery being built at Waratah where use was made of the plentiful water supply. The average rainfall is over 100 inches so use was made of water wheels and turbines to power the battery. It is believed it was one of the first uses in Australia of harnessing hydro power.
Waratah Falls At the height of the mine operations there were nearly 3000 residents with a thriving shopping centre however by the mid 1950’s the population had dwindled to less than 100. We headed out of Waratah and started looking for another camp spot for the night. We came across Fossie River Rest Area and pulled in and spent the evening with another van and motorhome, both from Qld along with another motorhome from ACT. There was a convoy of 4 motorhomes that also pulled in however there was not enough room so they drove on. The clouds rolled in and the wind turned decidedly chilly so we all snuggled down in our ‘homes’ for the evening. Morning brought misty rain and still a very cool temperature. We rugged up and said hello to the neighbours and I had to explain why I only had thongs on when it was so cold. We had bought me a new pair of leather boots in Sheffield and needless to say I had developed a blister on my left heel so at the moment I am not wearing any shoes, until it heals. I explained that once my toes were numb they wouldn’t feel cold anymore!! The day looked rather overcast and foreboding however we decided to continue on to Queenstown where we planned to stay for a few nights on power.
Within about 15 km from our camp site we were in blue skies and sunshine so the cloud had cleared from our direction and was going to be more pleasant than expected after all. Temperature range around 8 to 17 degrees. Jeans and jackets the order of the day along with a beanie for Lawrie as heads get a little cool with not much hair to keep them warm! Oh well what a good job he has his own spinner along, woollen beanie coming right up sir.
The drive to Queenstown was mainly through timber plantations again, and up and down a few mountains (well rather high hills at least). Only problem is that these Tasmanians seem to like to drive on both sides of the double white lines as they come around corners so you have to really be on your guard. Takes a little gloss off the fun of towing your van around. We were quite impressed with Mt Murchison and took a photo with the cloud on top. There was also a Lake Murchison which was quite large and the road crossed it twice.
Mt MurchisonJust past Roseberry we came across the Stitt River rest area and stopped for a cuppa. This area has been developed by the local Lions clubs and there are new tables and chairs and viewing platform that have been built for the convenience of travellers. I couldn’t help but take photos of the glorious dahlias that were flowering in the park. Their beauty made a distinct contrast to the mineral laden hillside where the light green coloured water flowed over very orange ground. The Stitt River below, ran over rocks which created small rapid like waterfalls. A very pleasant cuppa stop.
Queenstown hillsides are slowly becoming greener after being known for their ‘moonscape’ appearance. We visited the railway station and checked out about the Wilderness Railway trips that run between Queenstown and Strahan daily. The cost was $129 per person, (no concessions) but does include lunch and the return bus trip so we decided it would be well worth it. We had been told of this train trip by others and all encouraged us to take the trip so tomorrow we are booked to go. We checked out the heritage display at the railway station and marvelled over the photos of construction during the late 1800’s where there were only picks and shovels to build the railway line through the mountains and approximately 40 bridges. The original line took 2 ½ years to complete and the restoration took 3 years. The original line built by the Mt Lyall Mining Co had been in use till 1963 and it was in the late 1990’s that the decision was made to resurrect the line and bring back the small steam engines that use to ply this route previously. We were at the station when the train arrived and damn but my camera was in the car…….oh well there is hopefully a chance tomorrow. We were able to watch the engine uncouple and go to the turntable to be pushed around 180 degrees by the driver and assistant so that it could re-connect to the end of the 3 carriages for the return trip. We are certainly looking forward to our day out.
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