East Coast Adventure Day 1

Yes, I know - I left the last post with a promise of more on our MONA experience.  It's just that there were so many photos I decided it would be better to put it all into a photo "journal" to make it easier for all to see.  I hope you have all been able to access the MONA album sent to members of my Travel Circle (I know Mrs R. in the UK has viewed it - and thanks for the comments -  it was an absolutely brilliant experience both in the apartment and the museum).
Following on from our MONA adventure we spent a couple of days working in this beautiful garden - pruning roses, trimming edges, clearing stepping stones, and much more.  I also fitted in another quilting morning with the small group of local ladies that have made me feel very welcome.  I also, unfortunately, had a bit of a fall when walking our lovely Billy along the Middleton esplanade - wouldn't have been so bad if it had been on the beach with soft sand, but it was on the gravel road and I took a few layers of skin off my hands and knees and put my shoulder out again.  So after that little episode and all that hard work in the garden, our trip to the East Coast was a welcome break.
As we had to drop Billy off on the northern side of Hobart we elected to drive across country to Bicheno on the way to the coast and then drive back to Hobart along the coast road on the Saturday.

Dysart House, Kempton

Our adventure started with a short side track into a little town called Kempton.  Here we discovered the beautiful house, Dysart. In the mid-1800s it was one of the largest Inns in the district and in the early 1900s it was used as a scholastic establishment for young ladies. It is now in private ownership.

Campbell Church

Wetlands area Oatlands

Playground Oatlands

Callington Mill

Moving on from Kempton we once again took a 'side-track' and stopped into the beautiful village of Oatlands. 
 
Here we discovered the recently restored Callington Mill, which is once again grinding flour and baking artisan breads (whatever they might be!).  
There are beautiful sandstone cottages, churches and colonial mansions, all built with convict labour in the 1800s.  Here you will also see the nation's oldest court house, built in 1829. We also discovered a lovely wetlands area. It was a delight to visit this village but a little too cold to stay wandering for too long - 4 degrees with a wind-chill factor of about minus 4 degrees!   

Back in the warmth of the vehicle we continued our adventure and noticed some rather unique "silhouettes" along the highway.  These depict scenes from the past and have been created by two local sculptors.

Eliza and the Ram

A little further north, before heading east to the coast, we stopped for a warming coffee in the town of Campbell Town.  We had been here before, in 2008, when we discovered the "history" bricks in the footpaths in the main street.
Earlier this year they erected a sculpture of Eliza Forlonge, who along with her two sons, was responsible for the development of the sheep industry in this region.

Tree carvings 3

Tree carvings 1

There are also a number of wooden sculptures that have been added to the banks of the river that were not there in 2008.  These have been created by Eddie Freeman of Ross, carved from tree trunks with a chainsaw.  These carvings graphically highlight unique parts of the local history.  This man is also responsible for all the wood carvings we have seen in other areas of Tasmania.

Tree Carvings info

Tree carvings 2 - Tassie Devil

From Campbell Town we continued our trek across country to the East Coast and our lovely accommodation at Bicheno.

Artist's impression of Bicheno

What a lovely surprise it was to walk into the deluxe apartment at the Harvey Farm Lodge.  This four bedroom unit was delightful (although very cold when we first arrived, until we got the fire roaring).  With views over the ocean and so much room to move we knew we had booked the right place for our east coast adventure.

Flying High in the lounge

Romance renewed

Kitchen/dining delight

Early morning over Bicheno

Sunrise Day 2

We had some wonderful sunrises over the ocean and our two days trekking around the area gave us the opportunity to see some of the areas we missed on our visit in 2008.

Oyster Cove Lookout

Douglas Apsley Waterhole

The Douglas Apsley Gorge waterhole was delightful but due to the amount of water running through the gorge we were unable to walk any further than the waterhole.
After visiting the waterhole we headed further north along the coast to the Ironstone Micro-brewery for lunch and a locally produced pilsner, which was very tasty. The views from the dining room were beautiful.

Ironstone Brewery entrance

Views from Ironstone Brewery

Following lunch we continued north along the coast to St Helens.  The OGO had a hidden agenda for this part of the trip -he was on a mission to get himself some of those luscious oysters we had found in 2008.  Sure enough - into St Helens and turn off to Binalong Bay and there be the oyster farm.  At $8.00 per dozen (unopened of course) we bought three dozen to take back with us - trust me, all three dozen have been devoured and enjoyed by all!

Diana's Basin beach

Surfing at Denison Beach

Returning to Bicheno we stopped in at Diana's Basin beach and then Denison Beach where we watched some local boys enjoying the surf - they must be cracked getting into the ocean here in the middle of winter - check out the wet suits they have to wear to avoid hyperthermia!


It seems our time here is almost at an end, and I have not been able to keep you all up to date with everything we have been doing. There are more photos of our Tassie adventures in the photo albums that I will be sharing with you and I will try to post again tomorrow with more about our East Coast adventure.