Macquarie Head Salmon fest.

We are camping overnight at Macquarie heads which is the outlet to the bay the Gordon runs into. $ 5 per site is good with toilets. We tried a fish but it was way to windy so set up camp.
Later we headed back to the beach for another go and on the first cast I thought what a bloody snag but it was Salmon as soon as the lure hit the water a strike. For 5 minutes there got 10 hits and landed 4 on shore it was full on. About bloody time this is fishing the way it should be, well at least every now and then. It quietened off for a little while but we fished for about 45 minutes with 10 salmon (3 of which I gave to a couple who walked past) and lost as many if not more. So many in ½ a foot of water they get off the hook and swim to safety. We both caught fish today and that is nice although I still think that Tina is up plenty since we started fishing together but I’m catching up.

Fly Fishing

Once again the weather is blessing us no wind sunny morning 22 degrees. We finally rigged up a toaster that works this has been giving us both the shits for some time now. It is a short drive to Tullah a very old mining town revitalised in the 70’s & 80’s by several hydro schemes. The local tavern come coffee shop has one of the best free displays of the history of the town including the mining the famous Georgie Wood tram line and the hydro building. We drove to Mackintosh dam and set up camp on the edge of the dam again. I went for a bit of a canoe it’s a bit windy and there is quite a chop on the dam. We sat around enjoying the great weather and then I
headed out with a fly on the rod in search of trout.

The fly rig doesn’t cast very far so the wind needs to be behind you. No luck so back in the canoe to troll this time. I headed for a nice shady spot on the banks where trees had fallen. I spotted a trout bobbing up and down ahead so I tried to quietly canoe past. Then bang he hit and with the drag set real low he was off. Canoeing and fishing don’t really combine well but I finally managed to get him in the canoe what a beauty 40cm my first trout!! I followed the bank around and soon spotted another one same thing, once I got past he hit and they like to fight. Got him into the canoe and then lost him trying to get him in the hole. Slippery little suckers.

Wilderness country

While packing up in the morning we found that one bracket on the canoe rack has broken and the other side was severely bent. We had a bit of a ask around town but no luck some 500m/hr tape and we were off.


We drove down the western explorer route a beautiful hilly drive through winding dirt road littered with the remains of a recent savage bushfire which had this road closed for nearly two years. We stopped to marvel at the huge stumps of trees that had fallen over the road. We passed some beautiful rivers including the Savage river which are completely littered with fallen trees. We arrived at Corina and old timer/gold town from the mid 1800’s which is on the Piemann river .


They have restored the old buildings into cabins and the only store is the hotel.
We picked a bush campsite by the river and ventured off on a canoe to the Whyte river. We passed it and carried on when we got to a large bend I cruised into the bank where I spotted tow huge trout which didn’t seem interested in my lure. We cooked on a campfire that night and we shared the spot with lots of native animals including two very cheeky Possums.
During the night Tina had to get up to rescue of Fishing tackle bag which was being dragged off into the forest by some creature unknown. Another spectacular morning has greeted us in Tassie. While packing up we noticed that some stuff was missing my canoe shoes & gloves. Well how silly am I they have a sign on the cabins we saw that says not to leave your shoes out overnight cause the Devils will take them. Bloody smelly shoes good luck to them shame about the gloves though. We did a bush walk to the Savage river which is a 3 hour return moderate to hard. Well it didn’t take long to find it was a mountain climb not a river walk. We arrived there after about and hour and bumped into a couple who had just canoed there and were walking back so they offered us their canoe to take back. We jumped at the offer and canoed back.


Across the tiny ,little punt which cist $20 and we off in search of Pieman HeadsThe GPS cannot even find the main road to Corina let alone the bush tracks we are looking for. We drove down a track which was about where the road should be and eventually were greeted by a logger who advised us we were on private property.These loggers fairly just cut down bloody everything. We had a look a t Reece dam one of the many Hydro schemes in Tassie, it is so strange that in the middle of summer there is water everywhere. This time we were looking for a costal road which should take us to Zeean. This time the GPS has come through but not more than a Km up the road it turned into well a difficult 4WD track with big hills, massive rocks, washouts and dangerous peat mud. We crossed a broken bridge and carried on passing a sign saying the bridge further up was closed and a section where the entire hill was washed away. This was well a bit to difficult for us and as we are travelling alone we must be more careful. It’s a shame they don’t ever tell you these roads are closed at the start of the road. Once again I’m impressed with the Tojo’s ability to take on these tracks.






We drove for most of the afternoon and decide to head inland to a place called Tullah where there are many lakes. We pulled up along side Rosebery dam a picturesque place nestled in trees and large mountains.

The Rugged North West

We packed up and drove across to Green Point beach which is the furthest North West we can go without a permit, boy did we notice the change in temperature as we drove, the scenery went from cow farming through beautiful rainforests, then again back to cow farming, but most of the paddocks have a nice piece of bush in them and the paddocks are even green. What a nice site in the middle of summer and a heat wave! It is a Surfing beach with views of Crayfish boats and huge Wind farm off to the north.
Quite a few Surfies here and they look like they are having a bit of party tonight. It is quite a popular spot and another beautiful night in Tassie it is still 22 went we went to bed. The windiest place has been very kind to us.



Awake early so I went down to the beach for a fish. I was the first one on the beach but no luck.

After breakfast we drove the short drive down to Arthur River. We picked up an off Road permit which is free and headed down the Arthur beach track. Tina drove and after not making up a sand hill we tried out the new deflating valves which work great. We did some 4WD on the sand tracks and again marvelled at the amount of trees on the beach. The camping spots tell you to get your firewood from the beach now I know why. I just keep saying it but these places are so beautiful it is unbelievable. The surf, the clear water the beaches wow and the bush.

Down to the boat ramp and now for some canoeing. As soon as we get in the water the winds pushes against us but luckily the current isn’t to strong. We keep close to the banks for some cover. After a while we stopped for a rest up a little cove where the water seemed to flow both ways?? There are steep slopes each side with rugged bush. We turned around in the hope the river flow would give us a free ride back, but the tide had turned and water was flowing into the river.

Back at the ramp we met a local cleaning his catch of salmon and some advice on where to catch them so we were off. The rocks at the “Edge of the World” well that’s what the plaque says anyway. We tried luring for a while and then moved closer to the where the river meets the ocean. The big shiny silver lure worked and soon we got our first salmon, well nearly he made it to the first rock above the water before swimming off. Shit!! Not to worry back in again and another hit this time I got him onto a rock safely. We were both exited by this and keen for more action. Back in the water again and another fish caught another lost and then. Bang goes the lure cast far into the sea. Then Tina joins the action, well losing lures at least. We learned a valuable lesson correct rods too light line. So we caught a feed of Salmon and lost 5 lures so what we came out in front.
So instead of the planned chicken we feasted on fresh Salmon. The weather is great again sunny a bit cloudy in the afternoon but little wind. Maybe we are being blessed, fish and good weather, boy we love Tassie so far.

We arrive in Tassie

Overnight the coldest it got in the car was 34.2, so there was no much sleep. We packed up got a Macca’s breakfast and drove down to the wharf. A quick inspection by the security and we were in the line to get our vehicle on. This took quite while but once we finally moved it was quick to get on board.

We had a look around the ship, and after sometime watching the goings on the wharf , finally the ship sailed. We both tried to sleep a little but it was not very comfortable, it was bloody hot on the top deck even on the water, down stairs in the aircon was nice but uncomfortable enough to sleep and all the corner lounges were taken, later on in the day it cooled a little upstairs and we finally got a few winks in.
The ferry finally reached the heads at Port Philip Bay which is quite narrow considering what a large bay it is. Once in the open ocean the temperature really cooled down to 35 which was just great. We slept a bit ate a bit and had a couple of beers and next thing it was there Davenport harbour. We got off and another quarantine inspection this time with Police sniffer dogs. Once clear we were finally in Tassie on a barmy still night with no Wind at all.
We had Pizza for tea and a couple of Boag draughts and then settled in at the caravan park. It will be a good sleep tonight and the temp is already down to 24.

We packed up and it was hot early over 30 by 10.00am and there were records being broken all over Tassie. In to the town centre and filling up with supplies and tourist information.
We have decided to start on the North West while the weather is good. We headed off to Burnie along the coast passing some beautiful little towns as well as the stop at the Cherry farm for a nice cold cherry ice cream. At Burnie we stopped at the Paper mill where they make paper out of anything even Roo Poo.

We stopped at another couple of places for beer and then off to Stanley which has the oldest Wharf in Tassie, it was a very beautiful town, this has been my favourite town by far, well so far anyway! We drove around and finally spotted a place to camp after seeing a track. Not really the best campsite but we were hot and buggered so this was it. An inlet with a narrow opening, the current was strong each way of the tide. We had a canoe around; it is beautiful with some deep holes and the appearance that someone had tried to build a wall across it in the past.


We cooked some tea and sat around soaking in the cooler sea breeze, and listening to the Aussies loose another game to South Africa. Fingers crossed for them we they end up on South Africa’s home turf.
The sound of 100 cows greeted us in the morning, and what a sound some of the old girls need some mooing lesson, gee I can moo better them. After a while of getting motivated having brekkie & talking to the locals we headed off in the canoes for a fish. One of the locals had told us that there are Flathead and Salmon here. We canoed across to the other side and fished off some rocks for a while with no luck. We move around to the inlet opening as the tide had started to come in .I hooked a Salmon while canoeing over but lost him before I could get him in the canoe. We were not getting any bites so we decided to canoe across the other side of the inlet opening where more locals had come to fish. On the way across I hooked another Salmon and this time managed to get him in the canoe. We didn’t catch anything else so headed back. None off the locals caught anything so at least we out fished the locals.

Heathcotte, Melbourne & Beyond

Monday we were up and after many tears and long goodbyes we went to say a final goodbye to the kids and picked up the van. We drove off waving goodbye to Adelaide. It was hot and slow going up the freeway with the fully loaded van in tow.
Tina and I were both a little worse for ware after 3 nights of drinking not to mention Tina was also emotionally tired as well. It got so hot and we were so tired we slept on the side of the road in the afternoon and headed off again after 5.00pm when it had cooled down a little. After all these years driving long distances this was our first powernap. We drove until nearly dark and stayed at a community park at Jack Emmett Billabong in Rupanyup.
We drove the last 200 odd k’s to Joe’s house and arrived just after lunch when it was already 40+. The afternoon was spent talking about our Tojo stories as well now. (The Tojo was Joe’s car for 15 years and it had seen a lot of Australia before us) As usual a beautiful spread of food and fabulous hospitality. It finally got under 40 at about 8.00pm so we started to pack but lost interested very quickly.
Up early and only our clothes left to pack. So off we went leaving the van behind for our trip to Tassie. We drove down to Melbourne to check out where the boat leaves from and it was hot, really hot over 40 by 10.00am. We followed the Esplanade in search of a caravan park for the night. Finally we found one near Frankston and got a nice shady spot. We needed a beer so off to the Pub where the beer was well nearly cold and the air conditioner nearly worked. After not enough beers we headed back and had a swim in the pool which was bloody great. We cooked the least remaining bits of food we had on the BBQ so that the fridge was empty.

Farewell to Adelaide

Up early to clean the mess and start packing this was going to be a busy week. We found out that the van springs had to go to Willaston to be reset, so we jacked up the van took them off and dropped them off.
We had some dramas during the week with getting warranty claims on the MP3 and fridge but all was resolved and didn’t cost anything but some diesel driving around.
We got the springs back and fitted them to the van. Most of the week was spent packing and making sure we had everything because there is no coming back this time.
Friday night we spent saying our goodbyes to Michael and then Saturday morning our final pack up and we are off, well at least to the city. We left the van at Cheryl’s and went to the cricket games to catch up with some of the boys. Saturday night at the Highway was great and many friends turned up to wish us well. Tina held back the tears well. Sunday Heath & Stephen cooked us a huge breakfast which helped mask the hangover and we headed to Mel & Glen’s for their Australia Day party. This was a chance to catch up with the family.