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Our Jurgens in Tasmania By Mal Leyland
Although Laraine and I have travelled to Tasmania several times we have usually flown to the island state and hired a car or motor home. Most of this time was spent in the mountain country or the west coast. For our most recent visit we decided to take our 18-foot Jurgens Skygazer caravan across Bass Strait on the Spirit of Tasmania. Because it was tourist off-season, the caravan parks were almost empty and the rates were very reasonable.
The cost of travelling on the Spirit of Tasmania is directly proportional to the combined length of your vehicle and caravan and what kind of accommodation you want on the voyage over. We made our initial enquiries on the internet and then booked our passage with a reputable travel agent saving about 30 per cent.
The adventure began as soon as we set sail from the port of Melbourne, secure in the knowledge that the Jurgens and car were tied down tightly in the hold of the ship. Our voyage was a night crossing so we enjoyed our meal in the cafeteria-style restaurant before retiring for a comfortable night's sleep. We awoke to find ourselves arriving at Devonport around 6.00 AM.
Our first early morning stop was at Anver’s chocolate factory where we enjoyed breakfast. They are open early to cater for the arrivals from the Spirit of Tasmania. Here visitors can also see how chocolate is made and read of the history of chocolate throughout the world in their small but very informative museum.
The nearby Cheese Factory makes cheese everyday and it is possible to watch the process through a viewing window. It is impossible to go there without walking out with an arm full of freshly made goodies.
On board the ship Laraine and I had purchased a national park visitor's pass. It cost sixty dollars, was valid for our entire stay and allowed us entry to any national park in Tasmania without any further costs.
Having spent a lot of our previous Tasmanian time in the high country and the West Coast we decided to tour the East Coast and travel right down to the southernmost point we could reach with our vehicle. Along the way we would visit Saint Helens, Freycinet National Park, Hobart, Richmond, Dover and Recherche Bay in the south as well as many points in between.
Perhaps the most important recommendation I could make to anybody contemplating a caravan odyssey through Tasmania is to consider that distances between towns are much smaller than you might imagine and it makes a lot more sense to base your caravan in several central locations for say, a week, whilst exploring the surrounding region. We did this at George Town on of the Tamar River. From here we were able to explore the northern part of Tasmania including Scottsdale, Derby and Beaconsfield.
At George Town we visited the Low Head lighthouse, which affords a spectacular view of Bass Strait. The rhythmic pulse of the light has been a reassuring beacon to mariners navigating the notorious waters of Bass Strait since it was built in 1833. The complex of buildings also houses a foghorn, which can be heard apparently about 20 kilometres out to sea. Although no longer needed with modern electronic navigational equipment, the foghorn is still used once a week at noon as a demonstration for tourists. The sound is quite deafening if you happen to be fairly close to it and your whole body vibrates, as the steam-generated horn sends out a rhythmic pattern identical to that of the light.
We crossed the Tamar River and went to Beauty Point where Seahorse Australia has a specialist aquaculture farm, breeding seahorses for the aquarium market. A tour through the breeding tanks area takes about an hour providing visitors with a close up look at these shy and curious creatures.
Tourists overlook much of this northern part of Tasmania but we found many of the smaller back-roads fascinating. We visited numerous waterfalls as well as coastal Bays like those around Bridport. The main highway that crosses over to the east coast is quite winding in places but does pass through some interesting small towns.
The winding mountain road that crosses from Derby to Saint Helens passes through some spectacular forest country. Saint Helens itself is set in a picturesque bay, which has become very popular with people looking for a sea change. We based ourselves here for a few days while we explored Binalong Bay and the Bay of Fires. Saint Helens has a well-deserved reputation for its beauty and fishing. We didn't have a lot of time for the fishing; still we managed to enjoy the local product by buying freshly cooked fish and chips from a floating restaurant on the waterfront.
Heading down the East Coast up to Saint Marys and down through Elephant Pass we rejoined the highway near the chain of lagoons. This section of road hugs the coast affording very nice driving conditions and one of the most enjoyable parts of the Tasmanian experience. We headed down through Bicheno to the Freycinet National Park. Here we stayed at Coles Bay Caravan Park for several days.
Laraine and I had never seen the Freycinet National Park before and although the weather was not very kind we did enjoy the walking tracks that took us to the spectacular Wineglass Bay. The entire Freycinet peninsula embraces a sensational outcrop known as The Hazards. It takes on some amazing colours in the light of sunset.
Richmond, not far from Hobart, has the oldest bridge in Australia. Built of stone this is usually on everybody's must-see list for the island state. There is much more to see in the town than the bridge however. A visit to the old gaol is a real eye-opener and the main street houses many craft and art shops. It's not difficult to fall in love with Richmond.
Hobart itself has many points of interest and we spent several days investigating them at our leisure. Our trip would not be complete without a visit to the Salamanca markets. Laraine loves all markets and even though it poured rain all day we had a great time and picked up many presents for our friends at home.
Heading south to Dover we took our time investigating the Huon Valley and Geeveston. From Dover we visited the Hastings caves. These limestone caves have been open to the general public for a long time and a guided tour through them is well worth it. Our objective in this part of the country was to go as far south as we could. We ended up at Ida Bay where we took a ride on the recently restored train. Oddly the temperature was not all that cold considering that it was the middle of winter but we may have been lucky for the southern part of the country has a reputation for wild and windy conditions.
To us the great advantage of touring around by caravan in Tasmania is that, like caravanning everywhere, there is a feeling of familiarity with having all your own bits and pieces handy and having the time to enjoy each day. This is what caravanning is about. The roads in Tasmania often have very narrow, and in some cases, no shoulders, so drive with caution and keep in mind that logging trucks use many of the mountain roads.
The Jurgens van towed effortlessly over all the road conditions we encountered and we reckon that the independent suspension is largely responsible for this.
We spent the last part of our stay in the northern part of Tasmania. We couldn’t reach the high mountain country due to heavy snowfalls but we have been there several times before, walking on one occasion from Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair. It took twelve days carrying heavy backpacks. Penguin on the north coast and Stanley proved to be two of our favourite spots. At Stanley it is possible to take tours to the nearby colony of fur seals and watch the fairy penguins coming ashore at night to their burrows after a full day feeding at sea.
Having spent almost two months travelling through Tasmania with our Jurgens caravan it is difficult to include all of the interesting things we saw and did in this item. If you're planning a trip to Tasmania with your caravan we would both say, "Go for it!"
The cost of crossing Bass Strait is certainly worth it provided you allow yourself plenty of time for a good look around. In addition to the many well-equipped caravan parks there are a large number of RV friendly towns where free camping is available. Make the most of them, keep your costs low and enjoying the experience.