Great Eastern Highway & George Town

We left Hobart and relocated to the most north-easterly tip of Tasmania.  We rented a house in Low Head just outside of historic George Town.  We have a view of  Lagoon Bay, where the River Tamar empties into the Bass Strait separating Tasmania from the rest of Australia.  We have access to the ocean just 25 meters from our front door.

Our Home For Four Days

Lagoon Bay - River Tamar

First Beer at the Beach

Instead of driving Tasmania’s #1 highway north through the center of the state, we drove the Great Eastern Highway north to St. Marys before cutting inland to Launceston and north to George Town.

The drive took over six hours with stops in Tribunna for morning coffee, Swansea to view the East Coast Heritage Museum, Bicheno for lunch, the Elephant Pass between Chain of Lagoons and St Marys to scare the crap out of ourselves with the narrow road and steep drop off to oblivion, and finally at St Marys for gas and a walk-about to calm the nerves.

Coffee Stop in Tribunna

Aboriginal Art - Bicheno

Camel Farm on Elephant Pass - No Elephants

There wasn’t a whole lot to see in the way of people or towns.  That is to say, if huge farms, a whole lot of sheep and breathtaking vistas of the sea is “nothing”.  Both Swansea and Maria Island (just outside of Tribunna) were once second stage convict prisons.  After a convict had completed their “hard time” they were moved to probationary prisons where they could go to work on local farms and businesses to prepare themselves for life after prison.

The French were the first to explore Swansea and I liked the sentiments expressed in a letter I read in the museum.  It seems the French (at least this one) had a different view of the aboriginals than the British.

We arrived in George Town and stocked up on provisions before covering the last 6 km to Low Head.

George Town had its start in 1804 and is the third oldest settlement in Australia after Hobart and Sydney.  It has a long maritime history and is now a service center for the Tamar Valley’s thriving agricultural industry. 

Low Head sports the oldest group of Pilot Station lighthouse built by convicts in 1805 to help guide ships into the Tamar River.

George Town Harbour

Walk Between Low Head and George Town

One of the Low Head Pilot Lighthouses

That’s it for now.  We are here for four days and intend to explore the region.

Bonorong

One of the “must-see” points of interest in the Hobart area is the Bonorong Wildlife Rescue Centre. 

We took a one hour drive north from Hobart to the town of Brighton and visited the center located on the top of a hill.  The center operates on volunteer labor and without financial support from the government.  It depends on tourist dollars to keep going.

The mission of the Rescue Centre is to take in, care for, and hopefully release back to the wild, animals native to Tasmania.  There is no shortage of animals on offer.  It is estimated that 500,000 marsupials, birds, and reptiles are killed accidentally on Tasmania’s roads each year.  This is only an estimate as many injured animals leave the road to die while others are carried away by carrion-eating species so the actual number could be much higher.

Our guide was well informed and communicated clearly the stories of the marsupials in attendance. Many of the marsupials are pregnant when they are killed.  We were advised that if you hit or come in contact with a recently killed animal, check its pouch for little ones.  They are so small that they often survive being hit by a car. Even a young Wombat the size of a jellybean can be rescued and survive.

A Near Adult Wombat Raised in the Centre

For those looking for Koalas, you might be disappointed. Koalas are not native to Tasmania.  There are two little guys there but they are leftover from a former zoo so when they go, they will not be replaced.  They are shy and we didn’t really get a good look at them.

I let the pictures tell the stories.

Deborah and Her Wallaby

Rhonda the Wombat

Tasmanian Devil

Randall and Randall

Randall the Echidna

Blue Tongued Lizard

Tiger Snakes

A 78-Year-Old Sheep Farmer Was Killed Last Week.

Tiger - From the Yellow Stripes on its Underbelly

Huon Valley

We Took The Long Way Home Around the Peninsula

We picked up our rental car on day five in preparation for our move north.  We took advantage of the freedom to explore the Huon Valley, southwest along the peninsula out of Hobart.  For those of us from home, it reminded me of the Okanagan Valley in the 1960s and early 70s.  Fruit orchards lined the road with a few vineyards and wineries sprinkled in.  The history of the valley traces its roots back to the 1800s and is dotted with picturesque small towns and bays. 

Our first stop was the Homehills Winery just out of Ranelagh.  At this latitude white wines are their specialty.  The ladies did the tasting and the results were less than favourable but like most wineries, a beautiful setting to visit.

Homehills

The Boys Waited Patiently For The Girls

Back in the car, we headed to the village of Cygnet for lunch.  What is most interesting about these little towns is the lack of modern buildings and major chain stores.  You can stroll the main street’s few blocks and feel like you have gone back to a much simpler time.  I visited the local museum and learned that it was first explored by the French and had its most productive early years as a logging community. 

We returned to Hobart via a secondary road along the water.  In honour of those in the car we stopped for pictures at Randall Bay and gave a nod of recognition to the village of Gordon.  We didn’t know anyone by the name of Flower Pot so we breezed right through. 

You See A Lot Of These Signs

We also stopped at a sheep cheese and vodka farm operation.  Grandewe Cheese Shop makes use of every part of the sheep.  The milk is used for the cheese, the whey is used to ferment vodka and the meat is ground into sausage.  The paddock has a grand view of the sea and tables are available for picnics.  The only unsettling part was the Beware of Snakes sign.  The proprietor assured us that while plentiful, the Tiger snakes (one of the most deadly snakes in Australia) would be slightly less aggressive than usual due to the cooler weather.  Tiger Snakes are the #1 biter in South Australia at a rate of about 3000 a year.  Suffice to say we didn’t picnic. 

A Little Ewe Art

The Southern Ocean in Background

Deborah Didn't Even Like the Sign

We finished the day at home with a feast of a mixed grill of local meats.

Master Griller Randall

Beef, Lamb, Sausage, Veggies & Salad (& Wine)