Tasman Peninsula

After leaving Coles Bay we stopped off at the Spring Vale winery for some tastings and a few bottles of Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc. We drove around the Great Oyster Bay stopping at Swansea for lunch then a big drive to Dunalley for the night. There is nothing much at Dunalley except the hotel lets you stay overnight in their paddock for free. After spending more money on dinner at the hotel than we would have on a campground, we continued on to Port Arthur in the morning and booked into a campground in a lovely natural setting by the water. Over the next 3 days we explored the beautiful Tasman Peninsula with it's rugged coastline near Remarkable Cave, pristine beaches like White Beach and the eerie Port Arthur Historic Site. We also met some wildlife that we had never seen before including Pademelons, Potoroos and Bettongs. Around the campfire there was some stiff competition between Simon and Julie over fire-building techniques and the perfect fire for successful marshmellow toasting. We christened the cast iron camp oven with a delicious madras curry.

Freycinet Peninsula

Our next stop was further down the East Coast at the popular holiday destination of Bicheno, but it was pouring with rain so we didn't stay long. After one night in an overpriced but very tidy caravan park, we drove South to the Freycinet National Park. This park is a peninsula of mountains called The Hazards that are surrounded by beautiful white sandy beaches and steep granite cliffs. We had a couple of great days here and particularly enjoyed a half-day boat cruise around to Wineglass Bay. The skipper was extremely knowledgable about the local landscape and wildlife and showed us a Sea Eagle and it's nest, Albatross, dolphins and seals.

Bay of Fires

On Wednesday 10th Feb we drove through the Tamar Valley, past many vineyards, to Launceston, where we picked up Grannie and Poppa and headed to the East Coast. Bryan and Julie are joining us for ten days and the girls have been excited about the visit. We reached the coast at St Helens early afternoon and went a bit further north to the beautiful Bay of Fires. Early explorers named the bay after seeing Aboriginal fires along the shore. We turned off the dirt track to a beach called "Cosy Corner" and here we had our first free-camping night and a real camp fire!! (and real pit toilets...) The beach was amazing with red lichen-covered granite boulders sitting amongst the waves, and white-as-white sand that was coarse and pebbly at the top of the beach and fine and powdery along the shore.

Beaconsfield and Green's Beach

From Crayfish Creek we drove East back through Devenport and along the B71 toward the Tamar Valley. Along the way we saw lots of Poppy fields with big signs warning people to keep out. We stopped at the Blue Berry Barn cafe at Frankford where the lovely owner named Debbie made good coffee and told us about Green's Beach. Our next stop was Beaconsfield where we had lunch in the park and toured a historical museum with lots of info about the gold mining and the rescue of Todd and Brant. It was a really interesting place and Hannah and Ashleigh enjoyed panning for gold and exploring the miner's hut. Green's Beach is at the mouth of the Tamar River and was a lovely spot to stop for 2 nights. The tide seemed to go out forever and a lot of time was spent exploring the rocks and sand. Ashleigh also caught up on some school work that we are already behind with (by week 3!)

The Big Penguin AND the Big Crayfish

The big penguin is in fact at the town of Penguin on the north coast of Tasmania. After a 10 hour ferry ride (oh what fun) from Melbourne we arrived at Devonport at 7pm Thursday 4th Feb and drove about 15 minutes to the caravan park at Turners Beach. This was a beautiful spot right on the beach and only cost $17 per night (yipee). Ashleigh became an expert with the fly swat as she was introduced to March Flies. From here we explored west along the north coast to Ulverstone, Penguin and Burnie. We found 2 amazing spots at Sister's Beach and Boat Harbour - white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. Further west we stayed at Crayfish Creek for 2 nights and climbed The Nut at Stanley (home of the big Crayfish).

Made it to Melbourne

From Lakes Entrance we decided to push through and do the big drive to Melbourne as we wanted to have a couple of days before heading to Tassie. At about 7pm we pulled into the Ashley Gardens Caravan Park in Braybrook, Melbourne and headed straight for the pool! Thank goodness Warwick loaned us his GPS before we left or we would have arrived a lot later. We really had no idea where we were going but the NavMan saved us!! The following day we did a big Melbourne tour. We did a few loops of the city in the free tourist tram, walked to Lygon Street, lunched in Chinatown, took a river cruise up to Toorak, looked around Federation Square, Flinders Street Station and the gorgeous narrow laneways throughout the city. Then back to the pool! It was a full-on day (and about 32 degrees) but really fun.

Our First Border Crossing!

Just after lunch on Saturday 30th Jan we crossed the border into Victoria. Our first stop was the sleepy seaside village of Mallacoota at the mouth of the Genoa River. Mallacoota is popular for it's beautiful beaches and fabulous fishing but unfortunately it was blowing a gale the whole time we were there so we didn't do too much. The most exciting thing that happened was that Ashleigh lost her first tooth. The bottom one had been wobbly (not wallaby) for a few days and we were awaiting it's departure. Sam visited church on Sunday - a combined Uniting and Anglican Parish. From Mallacoota we crossed the famous Snowy River and moved on to Lakes Entrance. What an amazing place!!!! We loved the waterways and the huge expanse of Main Beach.

Eden - our final stop in NSW

On Friday 29th January we left Bermagui mid-morning and took the road South to Tathra, stopping at beautiful Aragunnu Beach in the Mimosa Rocks National Park on the way. Tathra is a small sleepy town right on the edge of a very long beach. The water is crystal clear and keen fishermen work out at the Tathra Wharf. After lunch we drove on to Eden and spent our first night in a caravan park. Eden is a beautiful town on the magnificent Twofold Bay. The next morning we visited the Killer Whale Museum and the Fishing Wharf.