- Counting down the days
- Packing up
- J18.1 Perth to Esperance
- J18.2 Esperance to Cocklebiddy
- J18.3 Cocklebiddy to Ceduna
- J18.4 Ceduna to Port Augusta
- J18.5 Port Augusta to Mount Gambier
- J18.6 Mount Gambier to Melbourne
- J18.7-16 Melbourne
- J18.17-18 Melbourne to Devonport
- J18.19 Devonport to Launceston
- J18.20 Ben Lomond & the Bay of Fires
- J18.21-22 Alum Cliffs, Cradle Mountain & Swansea
- J18.23-24 Douglas Apsley NP, Bicheno, Elephant Pass & Freycinet NP
- J18.25 Wineglass Bay & Hobart
- J18.26 Mt Wellington, Richmond & Carlton
- J18.27-29 MONA, Lake St Clair, Ferry, Yarra Valley & Victorian Alps
- J18.30 Falls Creek, Fainter Falls & Omeo.
- J18.31 The Grampians
- J18.32 Adelaide to Ceduna
- J18.33 Ceduna to Balladonia
- J18.34 Balladonia to Hopetoun
- J18.35 Hopetoun, Fitzgerald River NP & Perth
- J18: Post PolArt Depression Highlight Reel
Day 23
It’s starting to sink in that this holiday is moving fast, 12 more days and I’m back home, noooo!
With that in the back of my mind for now, I set out to just a handful of places today, with eggs-benny at the Saltshaker in Swansea.
Fuelled up, I headed to the Douglas-Apsley National Park where the lookout was unfortunately closed, presumably for repair work, but the watering hole looked lovely and was warm too, shame I didn’t bring my boardshorts along, won’t make the same mistake again!
As it was pushing towards 3pm already I made a beeline for the Mount Elephant Pancake Barn, which Google failed to navigate accurately to, but follow the brown sign on the A3 highway that takes you to Elephant Pass Rd, which was yet another exhilarating drive. Just the twisty roads were worth the distance, to top it off with delicious pancakes and a return journey along the same route, made me very happy indeed!
Having made a restaurant booking it was time to head back to the motel in Swansea, but not without a quick stop at the Bicheno Blowhole, which was worth seeing as the wind and waves picked up a bit making it lots of fun for visitors and I had a good time jumping and climbing the vast stretch of granite rocks that also glow orange as they famously do in the Bay of Fires further north.
A quick freshen up and off to the Piermont for dinner which is set overlooking Great Oyster Bay just outside of Swansea, well maintained and stylish property with accommodation available also.
I had Tasmanian Salmon for entree (excellent!) and scotch filet for mains (missed the mark).
Day 24
Today I returned to the Saltshaker for breakfast and their poached eggs and bacon were simple but hit the spot, another great meal.
Another fillup at the Caltex just opposite the motel (which conveniently has 98 RON fuel and wasn’t listed as such on their website), I headed north to the Freycinet National Park which features many natural highlights including the Lighthouse and lookout on Cape Tourville Rd, Sleepy Bay with its pink coloured rocks that would look magical at dawn and dusk, take in the coastal breeze zt the Friendly Beaches and Wineglass Bay, the most iconic highlight of the region. But there’s a kink in today’s plan, as the tracks to Wineglass Bay were closed due to an apparent fire risk, which seemed odd with a cool climate and forecast rainfall. To make things more disappointing after the long drive out to Wineglass Bay car park, is the absence of any public media announcement for the rare closure and just a tweet/facebook post late in the evening of the previous day.
With my cold worsening today and this great disappointment, I headed back home with a brief stop at the Nine Mile Beach, accessible from Dolphin Sands Rd providing wide views of the Great Oyster Bay, Freycinet from the other side of the bay and further south along the east coast. Take-away pizza in bed was a great idea and off to sleep early before checking out and heading to Hobart.
If there’s no more nasty surprises from Parks & Wildlife Tasmania, I’ll reattempt a visit to Wineglass Bay and burn the other half of the fuel tank. Yup, it’s that worthwhile visiting!
Tomorrow’s another day, so I better make some new scribbles in the notepad for the day ahead.
I admire your daily summaries of your journeys. Enjoying reading it, learning about new fascinating places that Australia has to offer. Love the easy style that you create for us readers, not to mention those spectacular photos! Keep it up buddy!
Your no. 1 friend