Damn You Tasmania - Part 2

Now that we have both gotten our much needed rest away from the screen, it is time to continue the Tasmanian adventure here.

Day 4

We departed from Bruny Island on the morning of the 4th Day via the same ferry. Once on mainland Tasmania, we began our drive towards our next destination which was the Tahune Airwalk in the Huon region. This was almost 3 hours away. On the way there, we decided to stop by another cheese factory that used sheep milk to make cheese. Grandvewe was a really beautiful farm tucked in a small corner.  The cheese was so good but they also had many other sheep-based products. The one that we were truly intrigued by was a kin of liqueur that was made from whey (by-product of the cheese making process). They also had smoked mutton sausages which were really yummy.

Anyhoooo, we left Grandvewe and made our way towards Tahune. Along the way, we had to grind to an emergency stop to save a black Tiger snake from being crushed by our car. I had hoped to get a photo of it but it quickly slithered away while another snake (traffic)  began growing behind our stationary vehicle.

The Distillery at Grandvewe 

Another reason why we took a liking to this place!

Well we eventually got to Tahune Airwalk and duly did the walk to the airbridge which was basically an extended platform that gave you a pretty special view over the Huon region. The good news was that we could also stay overnight at the carpark if we wanted to! Of course we took that option. Eventually when the crowd thinned, we were the only ones left behind. We set up a fancy dinner with bread,  gourment cheese, smoked mutton sausages, chocolate and liqueur as we dined under the watchful eyes of an onlooking Currawong.  

Thereafter, we walked down to the river's edge in search for platypuses. Unfortunately, we were not treated to any aquatic mammal frolicking in the water. We then took to the forest once again in search of owls and were disappointed yet again. With the stars out, we then took some astro photos, watched shooting stars and satellites moving across the sky, before a chatty guard, who was patrolling the area, saw us. With the conversation seemingly never-ending, we decided it was best to politely excuse ourselves back to our camping vehicles.

Dawn by the river

Sarah, Sang and Luke traverse one of the swinging bridges

A possum mum carries her young on her back

Just playing around with double exposures

It might look like a simple meal, but it was one our most expensive camping dinners!

Those eyes were staring right down at us the entire time we dined

And of Sang

Probably the only decent astro photo of the night

Day 5

By the morning of the fifth day, Sang and I were getting used to the routine of setting up breakfast as coached by the camping gurus Luke and Sarah. In all fairness, Sang and Sarah did most of the setting up anyway because Luke and I would usually wander off at around sunrise in search of wildlife and landscape opportunities. 

That morning, Luke and I went for our usual morning wander but returned quickly enough to give the ladies a hand with brekkie prep. As Tahune was a fairly commercialised location, it wasn't going to be long before staff and guests started arriving.

Our breakfast that morning consisted of the staples that we had stocked up on the first day. This consisted of oats, cereal, banana, butter, yoghurt, honey and bread. Oh and before you shake your head in disappointment and disbelief, yes we had coffee too. 

Notice how the cameras are on the ready

After suppressing the rumbling in our tummies, it was time to continue the journey towards Mount Field National Park. We had heard a tonne about Mt. Field and Wikicamps had some awesome reviews about the campground as well. More importantly, we were looking forward to hot showers and an opportunity to do our laundry!

On our way there, we took a detour to a small town called Geeveston as Luke had done more homework on locating platypuses. Apparently there was a nice little stream in Geeveston which was a platypus hotstpot. There, we came across a bakery selling freshly-baked pies. It was platypus over pies for us and we headed to the stream where once again, we were robbed of any platypus sightings. Filling the platypus void with steaming hot pies helped in keeping our spirits up.

Journeying on, we made a supply stop at Glenorchy before reaching Mount Field at 2.00pm. It was good to have gotten there early as it was peak tourism period and camping spots tended to fill up fast. After some rest, a private Echidna photography session and suffering a scare during which I thought I had misplaced the campervan keys, we began our walk to see the three falls; Lady Barron Falls, Russell Falls and Horseshoe Falls. It is impossible to describe the beauty of the forest. It almost felt Jurassic as large ferns and bright green moss surrounded us in every direction. The nice and cool weather added to an unforgettable experience too.

It was even called Platypus Walk!!!

Notice everyone's disappointed faces. At this point, the pies were still untouched.

It was portrait photography 101 with Echidna

Any closer and Luke would have had to pop a macro lens on. Echid-you-not!

Starting on the Three Falls Walk

It was pretty much this kind of landscape all the way

Munching on our healthy treat as Horseshoe Falls flows in the background

We raced through the last 45 min of the trail as I was hoping to get to Horseshoe Falls and Russell Falls before the sun had set. Unfortunately, by the time I made it there, the angle and diffusion of light made it unflattering and boring.  Not to worry, you will get to see photos of them later. 

Eventually, we got back to the campsite, showered, laundered, dined and called it a night as the nocturnal marsupials made their usual appearances.

More ferns. Has Jurassic Park ever been filmed here?

That's the shadows of ferns plastered on our faces as the sunlight streams through them

Luke, Sarah and Russell

There's Russell again... 

Day 6

Unsatisfied with the photos of the falls I had gotten the day before, Luke and I decided to take a leisurely morning stroll back to the falls with better golden light streaming in as the run rose. This time it was well worth it as you can see from the photos.

Russell Falls

The moss that lined the trees and branches were really interesting!

Horseshoe Falls

Sang and Sarah washing up our utensils from breakfast. Again, camera at the ready!

As usual we had our morning meal while we discussed our next plan. We learnt that Walls of Jerusalem was not going to be possible due to the time needed to see it. You would need to walk for a few days apparently. So we decided that we would head towards Lake St. Clair which was apparently a must do in Tasmania. When we got to Lake. St. Clair two hours later - starving - we realised that the eatery in the visitor centre was a tad too pricey. Therefore, we backtracked a couple of kms out to the Hungry Wombat cafe where we got to dig in to burgers at a fraction of the cost.

With our blood sugar levels on the road to upward recovery, we began the Figure of 8 Loop at Lake St. Clair. Supposedly, this would take us through yet another platypus walk where we would see platypuses. Long story short, we didn't see this elusive creature which would make this our third unsuccessful attempt. The trail was nice though and we even managed to hydrate from a fresh spring-fed river. It tasted soooooo... Well it was water. It was tasteless. That's a good thing!

Many trees were tunnelled in this manner. Wonder why...

Spring water. As fresh as one can get. 

Peeping for Platypuses

Lake St. Clair

These two lovebirds fooling around with each other. Awwwww!

With the trail conquered, we drove on to our campsite for the night which was once again decided after reading trusty reviews from Wikicamps. Here, let me take a moment to thank Ebony, my work colleague, who introduced me to this app. Mid-way through our journey, we stopped by at a farm to buy firewood and free-range eggs from a friendly farmer.

The farmhand looked awfully familiar

Firewood locked and loaded!

The drive to Lake Burbury was so spectacular that we had to get out of our vehicles on a number of occasions just to soak in the beauty and marvel at Mother Earth in all her glory. Unfortunately, too little people take time to appreciate this anymore.There was one particular spot along the Lyell Highway just after it passes over Lake Burbury where the landscape just blew us out of the water.

Lyell Highway

We had to take a selfie here!

We had to step out of the car to soak this whole scene in

We eventually reached the campsite which would be our first bush camping experience for the trip and Sangeetha's FIRST EVER bush camping experience. I must say I am really proud of her for taking it right on the chin without fussing about it too much. That's probably a trade-off of having a camping spot snuggled in tranquillity between a mountain and a lake. Shortly after, Luke got the campfire going while Sang and Sarah prepared some food and desserts. I went marshmallow stick hunting after a quick lesson by Luke before sharpening them down.

Lake Burbury - This was our backyard for the night

Where does he find such long and straight sticks?

Stoked with this stoking photo

Sarah proudly presents her desert preparation

Sarah's not-so-young padawan with her first ever bush dessert

Ensuring that our marshmallows are penetrated effortlessly. Erm...

Baked potato with sour cream, carrot and cheese.

Enjoying the marshmallows of our labour

Soon after we had our fun, the skies decided it was time for them to reign supreme. The heavens opened up as we scurried into our mobile accommodation. Sang and I managed to stay dry through the night thanks to our more fancy accommodation (a campervan). Sarah and Luke's top-of-car tent unfortunately got a bit wet with the rain falling sideways thanks to the strong winds. This brought Day 6 to a close. It was an experience never to forget.