Yesterday we left Hobart about and set out on the Brooker Highway. We first travelled north but soon turned onto the Lyell Highway for our journey to the West Coast. The scenery along the way was ever changing. Along the Derwent river were beautiful spots, dotted with houses along the edge of the water. Then the outlook became rolling hills, some with vegetation but others glowing yellow in the morning sun. It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies and a mild temperature. Further along we entered dense woodland, with tall trees closely knitted together.
We planned to stop at Derwent Bridge where Lake St Clair offers spectacular walks and interesting scenery/ We turned off the main road and after 5 Kms we came to the entrance to the National Park. We only planned to stay about an hour, to go for a walk and have lunch, but they had a daily pass fee of $40 per car, so we turned around and headed back to the highway. There was plenty of evidence of the hydro electricity scheme in these parts but with few cars on the road we sped along quite happily. After 3 hours or so
we arrived at Queenstown. I remembered this place from 56 years ago and though there has been some regrowth, the hills are still fairly barren and the tailings from the mines are still visible.
After stopping on the top of the hill to admire the view, we drove the last 5 kilometres down one of the windiest roads you could ever encounter. We drove through the town and found the Railway station from whence we are taking a railroad trip on Friday. After finding a convenient park we sought sustenance in the local pub only to be told they werent doing lunch that day. We were directed across the road to the cafe next to the station, Tracks. This proved to be a fortunate choice. Here we had a lovely lunch. I had potato and bacon soup which was thick, creamy and very filling. Fletcher had a Chicken BLT sandwich which he enjoyed. We then checked out the small, but interesting museum telling us of the building of the railway and its eventual closure. It has been resurrected for tourism. We actually watched the train steam into the station while we were eating and I am excited to ride
From Queenstown it was another 45 minutes drive to our destination, Strahan. We drove into the town and saw the wharf where the Gordon River Cruise leaves from. We then went looking for our motel. Whilst doing so we saw a sign that said Ocean Beach. Having read that this was a sight worth seeing we set off down a gravel road, rather rough and bumpy. When we got to the beach though it was beautiful. 33 kms of white sand and with small rollers rushing in. A great spot. However, when driving back along the track the ride seemed far worse than before. When we got to the bitumen we discovered why. A flat front tyre!! Neither of us have changed a tyre in years but Fletcher valiantly began the procedure getting out the spare and equipment. Luckily for us another car stopped and offered to help. Mark and Jenny were the couples names and Mark took over, easily dealing with what for us would have been difficult. As we chatted we discovered they were from near Geelong and Mark had once been a policeman, stationed in Merino, the town Fletchers father
We profusely thanked them and then headed for our motel, Motel Strahan. This is room with all the facilities we need including a basket of breakfast goodies every day. After unloading and settling in , we drove into the town and checked out where the Gordon River Cruise leaves from. I had rung Budget concerning the tyre and got a call back saying we needed to buy a new tyre and have it fitted as the spare is not meant to be for long use. The woman from Budget suggested we needed to drive to Devonport to do this. This was going to be very inconvenient. We went into the Visitor Information Centre and asked the ladies there if it was possible to get a tyre here. They suggested the BP station and said they could order one in. This sounded promising.
