Four Amazing Wilderness Walks!!

This was the first of four great short walks! Nelson Falls a temperate rainforest leading down to a beautiful waterfall...

Tom, Lee, & Joey on the way to the falls...

A section of the colourful scenery to be seen. A small steam makes its way through the moss covered rocks...

Tom & the princess on the bridge along Nelson Falls Walk...

Throughout the area visitors will see huge trees such as these photographed...

One of Lee's favourite shots of the water running around mossy rocks...very nice I think!

 At the end of the walk this sight awaits the visitors - Nelson Falls - beautiful!

Donaghys Hill was the second walk on the agenda for our busy day out. These walks were done on the way from Zeehan to Lake St Clair campsite.

Towards the top of the lookout...

Tom & Sam at the lookout. Welcome rest indeed!

 Part of the scenery from Donaghys Hill Lookout...

 A panoramic view from Donaghys Hill Lookout...

The third of our four walks was along the world famous Franklin River.

Lee 'hiding' amongst a couple of 'whopper' trees...

Another sample of the tall timbers from the ground...

This old tree had fallen across the walking trail so had to be cut away - a masssive log as you can see compared to Joey & Sam...

Here's Joey climbing a tree beside the Franklin River...

Tom & Lee relaxing at the river bank...

Lee & Sam at the Franklin River bank...

 Justine, Joey, & Sam at the Franklin River ...

The fourth short walk was Frenchman's Cap which leads to a suspension bridge over the Franklin River. Some keen walkers continue along this route for days... (some others!)

This shot shows the type of terrain covered in this walk - quite steep in places but worth the effort...

More beautiful temperate rainforest. It's easy to see why many want to preserve these areas for future generations to enjoy!

This is the suspension bridge that you use to cross the Franklin River - quite a lot of fun...

Dove Lake Circuit Walk - Cradle Mountain

I had to try out the panoramic view again.....looks cool (I think so anyway!!

Another popular shot taken by visitors is this view of the mountain with the fishing shack in the fore ground. We were blessed on the day with good weather. During the walk we even had some light snow fall...

Another view of Cradle Mountain. Apparently the mountain goy the name because of the 'baby in the cradle' appearance. If you look closely (and use a little imagination) you can see an outline of a baby using the second 'bump' from the left side as a baby's head....

Justine took this great shot of her buddy Sam. He really is a cutie!!

Here's the lovely miss Justine with the Cradle Mountain as a backdrop. Very nice...

Sam, 'the man', ready to pound the path around Dove Lake...

A few of the intrepid explorers!! Lee, Justine, Joey, & Sam at the start of the hike around Dove Lake...this walk was going to provide a lovely view of Cradle Mountain depending on the weather and visibility...

Here's the camp kitchen we used at Cradle Mountain Park. Nice wood fire place to warm us up before heading off on the 6km circuit of Dove Lake. Very welcome when it is only 5 degrees outside. Is this really summer??

Cradle Mountain Short Walks

The panoramic shot of the Enchanted Walk. Very pretty spot...

Here's the 'man' Joey on the way to Pencil Pine Falls. It's an amazing part of the country...

The walk will take visitors to the Enchanted Waterfall....lovely!

One of the short walks around the Cradle Mountain area is the Enchanted Walk. It is quite beautiful with an abundance of greenery...like something from 'The Hobbit'...

On the day we arrived atCradle Mountain the rain was around so we dressed for the occasion...yes, a true fashion statement!!

After leaving Somerset we headed inland to Cradle Mountain which is a world heritage area and one of Tasmania's more spectacular attractions! On the way we stopped for a look at Hellyer Gorge which is a fine example of the heavily timbered area...here's the princess at Hellyer River...

Somerset to Stanley & Marrawah

At the end of the road in the north west is the wee town of Marrawah. A nice beach and park area awaits the visitor...

A very relaxed local of Stanley. The surrounding country is pretty farmland with cattle and sheep...

One of the original residences in Stanley is this historic homestead...

A sample of the old buildings around Stanley...

This shot shows 'The Nut' a well known landmark with locals in the north west area of Tasmania. It is a steep hill the has a chairlift to the summit. The town beneath it is Stanley which is a popular fishing village...

We drove to Launceston to pick up our friend Justine (pictured here with Lee) who flew down from Brisbane to join us for 10 days looking around Tasmania. We returned to Devonport where we were staying and made preparations to head across to Somerset.

Tasmazia & Villiage of Lower Crackpot Day Trip

Here's Sam the Man beside one of many hedge shapes found in the town of Railton just south of Devonport. Quite tricky how it is done, but very effective...

Another form of correction from the old days...French style - the guillotine...could sort out a few of today's crackpots!!

Here's a happy face...NOT...we only left Joey there for an hour. Not really, we couldn't do that to our little man...it's not allowed!!

Just at the right time!! A discipline implement for our little Samuel. It looks like a 'made to fit'....Sam doesn't agree.

Sam & Joey on the fireman's Hut memorial. There are a number of small huts set up in the maze to various themes.

About 40 minutes away from Devonport is the 'Promised Land'. Here a main drawcard is the Tourist place Tasmazia, a huge maze setup with an additional area called the Village of Lower Crackpot!! It's a different place to be sure. Big hedges and signs with witty sayings all throughout as visitors make their way toward theThree Bears Cottage!!

Melbourne to Devonport By Ferry

Here's Sam at the nearby beach with a slice of Devonport in the background. We had a lovely 25 degrees for part of the day, and then the cool change blew across!! Very quick change indeed....

After the nine hour two movie trip to Tassie we set up camp at Devonport for a few nights. We decided to 'Spoke and Hub' it - driving out from a central area on short day trips to get the feel of the areas...

Here's the flagship - Spirit of Tasmania II. We sailed on this one and mid voyage passed the sister ship heading into Victoria...

The lovely Melbourne skyline from the ferry Spirit of Tasmania...

The big day arrived for the Bass Strait crossing to Tasmania. We were hoping for calm weather as the Bass Strait is renowned for wild seas and conditions as the sailors in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race can testify about...