MOST SOUTHERN PART OF TASMANIA

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

We left on Saturday to explore the most southern part of Australia.  We had booked in for Saturday night at the Southport Tavern which was the most southerly pub in Australia/Tasmania.
Our trip took us through Hobart taking the southern outlet which headed for Kingston & Huonville.
Not long out of Hobart we turned right & Kingston was left if the beach was your choice.

In Huonville we parked up at the street overlooking the Huon River, this is where the statues made out of wood and all done with a chainsaw stood.  The first one up near the bridge was of a Boar war soldier.   The others were all about the apples which are grown throughout the valley.

We lunched at "The Top Deck" which was on Huon River the other side of the main street.  I must have to admit that the Council have really done a good job cleaning up the river side and have placed seats, tables and a lovely BBQ area, worth a visit with a childrens play area.
After goodbyes to Kathy & John we travelled towards Southport through Geeveston which was a pretty little town with wooden statues on each street corner.
                               
     All of the wooden statues all around Geeveston.   
Geeveston is a small town located in the south of Tasmania on the Huon River, 62 km south west of  Hobart making it Australia's most southerly administrative centre. The town takes its name from William Geeves, an English settler who was given a land grant by Lady Franklin in the area then known as Lightwood Bottom (after a type of timber prevalent in the area). The settlement Geeves set up was renamed Geeves Town in 1861, and the name eventually became Geeveston. Geeveston is for local government purposes included in the area of the Huon Valley Council.
Geeveston is located on the Huon Valley Council, and is the gateway to the Hartz Mountain National Park. It is the centre of Tasmania's apple and fruit-growing industry, and has also been highly reliant on the timber industry since the late 19th century. A pulp mill was opened in the town in 1962, and was Geeveston's largest employer until the plant closed in 1982, devastating the area economically. The Forest & Heritage Centre, a tourist centre which details the history of the timber industry in the area, is located in Geeveston.

After Geeveston we left the lovely small town heading towards Dover then onto Southport.  We travel through several small settlements.  Drive into Dover which is the southernmost town of its size in Australia, located on the western shores towards the southern end of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel,

Dover is a pretty, quiet fishing village that sits at the head of Esperance Bay overlooking the islands of Faith, Hope and Charity.   Ideal base for exploring the southwest World Heritage wilderness areas.
Explore the Hartz Mountain National Park where you will find rugged mountain peaks and thick rainforest as well as picturesque lakes. Tasmania’s southwest often faces Antarctic winds but Dover’s position on the D’Entrecasteaux Channel protects it. No matter what time of year you visit, however, bring a warm jacket and all weather gear. The town has a population of about 500 and the major industries are forestry and fishing – particularly Atlantic salmon, abalone and cray fishing, and nearby are apple orchards
We continued on where we turned off to drive to Southport and book into the hotel.  The caravan park was half full with nice green areas, trees looked good, the hotel room of which there are only four was dated.  The bed was reasonable.  After settling in we took a tour to the Ida Railway which was back onto the main road and another 7kms.
Southport: 

Located 104 kms. south west of Hobart, the sheltered settlement of Southport skirts a bay that opens south-east, to the Great Southern Ocean.

In 1792 Southport was named ‘Baie des Moules (Mussel Bay), by the French Rear-Admiral Bruni D’Entrecasteaux. Later, the English established a settlement here, first in 1837 as the seat of colonial government in the far south with a Police Magistrate and troopers, then as a convict Probation Station from 1841 to 1848. It was in the early 1850’s when settlers arrived in Southport (occasionally known as Hythe). The township was constructed with the help of convict labour and became an industrious mill town, from the 1860’s through to the 1920’s, with numerous wharves providing land access to international shipping that took timber from the region back to Europe.
Southport was settled with convicts before Port Arthur was established and was once the largest town south of Hobart and the administrative hub of the entire region south of Hobart. Along with Hastings, Catamaran and the Lune, Southport was an important emerging town for timber, with water access via barges to Hastings Bay and Lune River.
Southport is a much quieter place nowadays; a smaller community of permanent residents and shacks-owners, who appreciate the beauty of the place as well as the good recreational fishing and a sheltered port of call. Over the years, fire has destroyed much of the original settlement. 

The Southport Hotel and Caravan Park provides the only grocery, fuel and eatery outlet for the area, and therefore is popular with locals. It also has a caravan park.

A side trip to Roaring Beach and Lady Bay rewards with stunning white beaches and bull kelp coastline.
Whilst in Southport we ventured to the Ida Bay Railway  a 2' gauge line was constructed in 1922 and is the last original operating bush tramway in Tasmania & is state heritage listed.   The return trip of 2 hours affords many historical points of interest.  The train meanders through bush land and along the water’s edge to a safe and secluded beach which is only accessible by walking, by water or by the train.  A picnic shelter with BBQ facilities and toilets are available at the beach at the end of the railway line.   Many passengers enjoy catching an earlier train and spending time at the end of the line on the beach or doing one of the walks and then returning to the station on a later train.
Public toilets are available at the station – disability toilet included.Ida Bay Railway Café

Graveyard seen on Ida Railway tour

                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                      

 This is a collection of photos of our wonderful trip on the Ida Bay Railway.
 We arrived back in time for a shower and a meal at the restaurant which we had booked when we booked the room.  Drew met a man named Damian who had not booked into the restaurant and was told that they were all booked up, but Drew being himself asked Damian to dine with us, at least we knew he had a good meal as the next morning he was doing one of the many walks around the area.

We woke in the morning when into the shop and ate breakfast which was a good price (full breaky $14 including mushrooms & sausages).  After eating we bid the Southport Tavern goodbye & set out furtherest south to drive in the car.  We travelled down through Catamaran & to Cockle Creek where the beaches were very pretty, quite windy.
French Admiral Bruny D'Entrecasteaux discovered Recherche Bay in 1792 by accident, his ships driven off course by a severe storm.
D'Entrecasteaux described his place n his log as "a lonely harbour at the worlds end"  He was right this location does mark the end of Australian world.  To the north its Cape York (Qld), to the east Cape Byron (NSW), and to the west Steep Point (WA).  Here in the south, South West Cape peninsula marks the end of the road.  Beyond this point there are only the scientists stationed on MaQuarie Island who are any further south than this point.
The next stop Antarctia, and it is not that far away.  Standing at the whale monument you are closer to Antarctia than you are to Cairns.  The immediate influence of the proximity to Antaractia is in the weather that is experienced at Cockle Creek.    You've heard of the Roaring Forties, the winds that sweep across Southern Ocean in the fortieth latitude right around the world.  This far south there are no continents to blunt their effects, so little slivers of land like Southern Tasmania cop the full brunt of their force.  If you were to stand on South Cape Buff looking west the next landfall would be South America & to the east only the slim shape of New Zealand, no wonder all three places are so windswept.  Low pressure systems generated by the Antartic weather barrell in from the west, bringing gale force  winds & wild seas.
The following photos are of the most southern point in Australia that can be driven to - the Whale Monument was on the point.

We called into the National Park office where we spoke with one of the Rangers and found our a lot of information.  We then drove back up the dusty gravel road & turned into the Hastings Caves/Hot Springs - this was all under the banner of the State Parks & Wildlife who have a cafe and souvenir shop where the Thermal Hot Springs which were a constant 28 degrees.
The Hastings Caves is a 5 minute drive from the Thermal Pools, the cost as at time of  writing was $24 adults & $12 children.
Hastings Caves State Reserve is the setting of a complex of caves and a natural springs pool located 125 km (78 mi) south of Hobart. Newdegate Cave, the largest dolomite cave in Australia open to tourists, is a part of the complex.  Each cave tour can accommodate about 30 people, and we just scraped in to the final tour of the day at 3:00pm.  The four tours prior to that had all been fully booked.  But waiting didn’t pose a problem at all, as we got to enjoy a walk through forest.  Part way around the boardwalk, we saw an echidna scurry off the track and bury his head in the sand, trusting his spines to protect his bottom.

The caves were formed million years ago, these great dolomite caves were discovered in 1917 by timber workers. You can join a Parks and Wildlife guide on a 45-minute daily tour through the large cavern. You will discover spectacular subterranean formations including flowstone, stalactites, columns, shawls, straws, stalagmites and the unusual helictites. The Cave is spacious and well-lit and there are no narrow passages.

After this we made our way back up the Huon highway to Dover where we decided to take the coast road  known as Esperance Coast Road travelling to Surveyors Bay where the road hugged the coast & the hills gave a us a very good look at the round salmon fishing hatcheries & growing pens (do not know what to call them) which are circular steel cages where the fish are fed & grow into those
delightful fish we cook.

Dover Beach

Dover is the southernmost town of its size in Australia, located on the western shores towards the southern end of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, just south of the Huon Valley, southwest of Hobart, located on the head of Port Esperance in Tasmania. With a population of 958, 91% of the population was born in Australia and 5% was born in United Kingdom as well as other less common nationalities such as New Zealand, Germany and Greece all clustering around the 1% mark.

Salmon Farming in Huon River

Salmon cage being towed out in Huon River

Tasmanian Atlantic Salmon makes up around 1.5% per cent of the world’s overall salmon production, but it enjoys an international reputation for its superior quality.
The Tasmanian Atlantic Salmon industry is very small compared to world salmon production. In 2000, Tasmanian production was approximately 11,000 tonnes. In comparison Norway produced 440,000 tonnes and other countries such as Chile and Scotland 250,000 tonnes.
International markets are quite a challenge for the small Tasmanian industry. However, Tasmania has a distinct quality advantage due to its pristine unpolluted farming waters, lack of major diseases, and excellent all year round farming conditions












While on the coastal road we took a detour down to a beautiful long beach which was known as  Surveyor Bay beach where it lies on one of the beautiful bays of the Huon River.  A wedding was taking place up the other end of the beach.
This was one of the many small fishing villages which we drove through.  Police Point was the next where a smuttering of houses on this picturesque drive through the Huon Valley.

We also passed through Brooks Bay where the Salmon farming head office was and then joining the Huon Highway at Surges Bay.

Heading to Huonville where we decided to stay the night at Walton's bed and breakfast on the main highway before the bridge.  Further information can be obtained from their website www.waltonhouse.com.au  Tracey & John were there to greet us with a large smile, showing us to our room which was well stocked with home made biscuits, chocolates, even complimentary port.

The accommodation and breakfast were first class.  We paid $120 for the night, plus a beautiful breakfast which they called "continental" which not only did we have cereals, but choice of juices, bread which was made that morning by our host Tracey, along with the beautiful small tarts which were apple & raspberry once again made that morning by Tracey, very delicious, which were still warm from the oven.  We shared a communal table with two other couples and shared stories which were wonderful as they were fellow travellers.
I would recommend to stay at Walton House in Huonville.

We travelled into Hobart and as it was a spectacular sunny day we decided to visit the top of Mt Wellington, WOW - this is a MUST SEE the views go on forever, I felt we could actually see Swansea.  We couldn't really, but what a wonderful view.

 

                                                      

Mount Wellington is  a mountain on whose foothills is built much of the city of Hobart, Tasmania.
It is often referred to simply as 'the Mountain' by the residents of Hobart, and it rises to 1,271 metres (4,170 ft)  over the city.
It is frequently snow covered, sometimes even in summer and the lower slopes are thickly forested, but criss-crossed by many walking tracks and a few fire trails^.  There is also a sealed but narrow road to the summit, about 22 kilometres (14 mi) travel from the city. An enclosed lookout near the summit provides spectacular views of the city below and to the east, the Derwent River estuary, and also glimpses of the World Heritage Area nearly 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the west.
From Hobart, the most distinctive feature of Mount Wellington is the cliff of dolerite columns known as the Organ Pipes. It has spectacular views and is one of Hobart's biggest tourist destinations.

This was the end of our wonderful trip.  All we had to do was travel back home to Swansea.