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| Sign at Dunalley Pub |
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| View from the Dunalley Bridge, towards Fish Market |
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| Bridge opened to let boats through Denison Canal |
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| Waiting for his friend |
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| Good to see at least one place left untouched by last year's fires |
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| Where's my fish??? |
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| Sorry, my old bones don't fancy cold water today |
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| Who needs zoos? |
Ask a busy person
to do a job, and hey presto, it will be done.
Give 2 travellers all the time in the world and they will achieve
nothing!
It’s 9 days since
our last blog, and here we are in New Norfolk, 5 nights of doing nothing very
much other than walking up town for coffee (an excellent find), frequenting the
local Woolworths for essentials, and swimming every afternoon in the nearby
Olympic pool. New Norfolk is a very
pretty little town 38 kilometres northwest of Hobart. Established in 1811 and originally called
Elizabeth Town, the name was changed in 1825 in recognition of the influx of
soldiers, convicts and free settlers from Norfolk Island. Apart from the Oast houses, a couple of old
Inns (The Colony and Bush Inn), many antique shops, and the oldest
church in Tasmania, (St Matthews Anglican Church with its beautiful stained
glass windows), the main claim to fame of New Norfolk is Willow Court. It was originally built in 1832 to house sick
and invalid convicts but four years later facilities were added for the
insane. In 1848 it was reclassified as a
lunatic asylum and remained as such for the next 150 years, closing in 2000.
Backtracking a
little, we left Oatlands for Dunalley, a quick trip down the highway towards
Port Arthur. There’s a free camp behind
the pub at Dunalley, high on the hill, overlooking the town which was so
devastated during last year’s fires. It
was good to see the Fish Market still operating, plus the general store which
sells excellent crayfish rolls. Our
greatest find, though, was on an early morning walk down the hill to the
jetty. We saw what we though was an old
tyre, swirling around in the tide, but as we got closer saw that it was a large
seal meandering round and round outside the fish market. Evidently it’s a local identity and hangs
around waiting for the market’s fish bones which appear magically around
10am. The Market's old dog evidently gets
on very well with the seal and occasionally swims with it, both licking each
other’s faces when they get the chance.
We watched the dog intently watching the seal, and wondered from the
intensity of its gaze, whether there was any silent communication between the
two.
After a couple of
nights at Dunalley we headed to Port Arthur, not, this time for a visit, but to
check out the camping area for Ingrid’s arrival next week. Like New Norfolk, it was a great find, with
plenty of room, and trees, between each campsite and immaculate showers and
toilets. There was wildlife aplenty at
night; wallabies, bandicoots, and very tame Green Rosellas which we discovered
were particularly partial to our almonds.
While at the
campground we were joined by a large Honda Goldwing motorcycle complete with
trailer which opened out into a large-ish and very comfortable tent. On talking with the owners we were amazed to
find that the female of the duo was the sister in law of my cousin Nancy, from
Warialda. What are the chances of that
so far from home?
On the way to the
campground we stopped at the Blowhole, the Tassellated Pavement, (an
interesting rock formation which gives the impression of paving stones) and
Eaglehawk Neck, which joins the Forestier to the Tasman Peninsula. This is where the “Dog Line” was set up to
capture escapees from Port Arthur.
Ferocious guard dogs were chained to a row of posts at the narrowest
point, to alert guards to any likely escapes.
Also at Eaglehawk Neck is an old wooden building which was the original
Officers Quarters (possibly the oldest timber military building in the
country). In many ways it is more
interesting than Port Arthur itself, with each room being stripped back to bare
bones, and many historical stories to lead you through the various ages. In the beginning of last century it became a
family home, and the young girl who moved in with her family lived there for 77
years.
So from Port
Arthur to New Norfolk where Ray is happily playing with his new small Weber BBQ,
which he feels will be more useful than the previous BBQ, which didn’t cope
well with windy conditions. We had
delicious steak last night, and I agree that it was better cooked on the new
one, than stewed on the old! It has
taken quite a bit of rearrangement to make room for it, but in the meantime we
have downsized quite a bit and will head to Vinnies tomorrow to offload
everything.
Tomorrow? Who knows.
We’re just about to head uptown for lunch, then a swim before school
gets out, and tomorrow perhaps a visit to sleepy Hamilton or Mt Field National
Park, which has excellent walks to magnificent waterfalls. No matter where you choose to go in Tasmania,
there are hidden treasures and beautiful scenery everywhere.
