(Writing this from Airey's Inlet Vic belatedly by a long shot)
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Waiting to board the Spirit of Tasmania
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Our cosy nook
in the restaurant
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Saturday 10th December 2022
We boarded the Spirit of Tasmania at Geelong - the day trip as opposed to the night. A glorious flat sea and blue sky day. After cruising around the boat for a while getting our bearings, we found ourselves a table by the window. A power point nearby and I had my computer with me hoping to do some blog writing.
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Land Ahoy! We head into the Mersey River
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It was all way to distracting for me to get much of that done. We had a lovely smorgasboard lunch and got chatting to a fella on the next table. Lots of people-watching, Pete and I taking turns to get up and stretch our legs and go outside onto one of the many decks for a bit of fresh air. I was sporting Deb's hat and Mum's cord jacket - taking those precious ladies with me for the ride.We found a hipcamp on Wiki Camps ahead of time so we knew where we were headed off the boat at 8.30pm when we docked. Sherwood River Camp on the banks of the Mersey River at La Trobe.
It was still light at 9.30pm when we arrived down the long steep drive into the paddock beside the river. We were delighted with this spot. The flood had been through which was quite telling - at least that meant lots of driftwood around for our fires. We swam in the icy waters of the Mersey for our baths over the three days we were camped here. A few other campers came and went - a lot of people like us who seek out these remote spots aren't that keen to socialise - which generally suits us - we all just did our own thing. It can get a bit tedious when people want to talk about your van and their van and their heating and what ailments they have! You have to suss out your tribe!!
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Sherwood River Camp Mersey River La Trobe
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We
had eaten our pantry and fridge down to zero before the boat trip because you can't take a
lot of fresh stuff and honey and the like into Tassie - the quarantine staff go over
your rig with a fine tooth comb as you board the boat.On that first night in the camp I broke my tooth on a piece of hard Aldi choc coated honeycomb (impulse bought the last day in Geelong...). Sheared the whole crown off at the gum on the top back right of my mouth. . Having a compromised mouth due to radiation treatment five years ago I had to find an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon to take a look - and was lucky to make an appointment with one in Launceston a few days later. He booked me in to remove the remainder of the tooth a month hence on the 11th January. Luckily I was in no pain - just wanted to get the tooth sorted while in civilisation. Would have been a bad idea to live with it then find myself in trouble in the outback some months down the track.  |
Visitor to our camp
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After the floods -
amazing under soil rock layer
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While at this camp I did a massive shop at Devonport - filling the fridge in the car and the one in the van as well as every available nook with stores. It was not long before Christmas so the supermarket was busy as.
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our outlook
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Curried Scallop Pie Bridport Cafe
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Both Pete and I have previously been to Tassie three times, this is the first time together. Pete was most keen to head to the North East Corner to begin with. So, about four days after landing in Tas we headed to Deep Creek, at Eddystone Point in the south of the Mt William National Park - stopping off at The Bridport Cafe for an award winning Curried Tasmanian Scallop Pie and hot chocolate for me and a seafood chowder and coffee for Pete. Danika introduced me to Curried Scallop Pies back in 2018 when I visited her in Tassie and I was so looking forward to getting my teeth into one or a million of them while in Tassie. This was a great start. We were at the tail end of the lunch hour and not much open - a couple of guys sitting on a garden chair in the main street bailed us up to ask us where we were from and what we were looking for. They were funny - so bored and not fans of the town they called home there at Bridport. They picked us as Far North Coast NSW folk funnily enough - maybe Pete's thongs and Debs flares 🌼☮🏄🌞🌈🌊 - stereotypical north coast hippies haha. We'll take that. They couldn't understand why we would want to go to Bridport. |
Constant gale blowing us away
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Beach entry walking along Deep Creek Road
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Our Deep Creek Camp, run by Tasmania's National Parks, has an honesty box for $13pn or $50 per week, pit toilet, bore water but no potable water, and no power. We chose a spot at the mouth of the creek beside a couple of shacks, with its own rock fire pit, wombats, sea birds, and a view through the mouth of the (Groves) Creek, orange rocks and white sand to the cleanest ocean beyond.
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Our Deep Creek Camp
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The wind, which we were told normally comes in September, was delayed till December and we bore the full brunt of it for the first few weeks we were in Tassie. It was pretty hard to get out of it. We didn't let it stop us getting out exploring on foot and by car. We loved this area - we always seem to place ourselves in remote areas - isolated and out of range. Swimming in brisk delicious waters - the only people on the beach. We found our favourite shack at Picnic Rocks.The North East Corner is home to Musselroe Windfarm and Musselroe Bay Windfarm - the reason being very apparent! There are three National Park Musselroe camps and four NP Stumpy campgrounds, and several others up around that NW corner.
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Top Camp in the Mt Williams NP
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We drove to all the beaches up around that North East Corner to check them out - looking towards Flinders Island and doing our sums trying to factor in a visit there - but way out of our budget...One day....All the beaches and camps were gorgeous but all very windblown and not worth moving to from our Deep Creek camp. The wind put us off every time.
We went to the Eddystone Point (larapuna) Lighthouse which is a very impressive granite building. There are three associated houses beside the lighthouse which are managed by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community. Each day we would see a group of walkers with a guide, strip off and walk across the creek with backpacks held high about their heads. They with their guide would have walked from one of the Stumpy Campgrounds to larapuna (Eddystone Point Lighthouse) - all weathers - all tides, intrepid souls they were.
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Picnic Rocks Beach
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Pete feeding the birds at Deep Creek
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Deep Creek camp (Groves Creek)
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Picnic Rocks in front of favourite shack
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Wombat at our Deep Creek Camp
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Bathing in the fresh briny at Picnic Rocks Beach
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On
18th December, on one of our exploration drives we went to Ansons Bay
(unremarable) and noted a road that pointed to St Helens. I suggested we
drive it (about 34kms) and see if it was a road our van and car would
find reasonable. It was steep and windy and mostly dirt but no worse
than many other roads we have traversed on this trip. Our main issue
would be our brakes which were still playing up. When we got to the Bay
of Fires we fell upon the most beautiful place, largely out of the wind
and what looked to us to be the prime spot was not yet taken. We had a
brisk conversation about "how nuts would it be for me to sit here and
hold the spot while you go back to our camp pack up and bring the
van back..." And that's what we did. I sat on a
rock holding the spot while he drove back to Deep Creek, packed up,
hooked up, had a dingle with the rock fire-pit on his way out, and drove
back to me with pretty much no brakes, using the handbrake, to claim
our camp spot for the next three weeks. Sloop Reef - I sat
and sat and fought off other would-be campers. Stress!! Maybe not as
stressful as Pete had it... Well worth it though - perfect timing just before the Christmas influx.  |
Me holding the spot at Sloop Reef for 4hrs
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Our first view of Sloop Reef Beach
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So much to tell you! - will send this and go again until I catch up with myself here at Airey's Inlet Victoria
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