This area of Tasmania, the mid north west, is stunning. From the wild coast on the west side to the tranquil rainforest in the mid and the intense dairy industry on the east it is a feast before your eyes at every turn. We have loved this area very much and are very pleased we made Smithton our base. It is a quiet coastal town but with all the facilities that you need. The caravan park has been an absolute pleasure for our stay, with very few other vans in the park.
The highlight of our trip has been to drive the Tarkine. It has taken us two days to complete the Tarkine Drive and you definitely need two days. Day 1 we did the coastal section with a drive to Marrawah that is a very small town, but a town that residents take pride in. We watched an elderly woman on her ride-on mower mowing the vast lawns around the community centre. That shows heart. Our first stop in Marrawah, was Green Point Beach where dairy cows were grazing right up to the oceans edge and in the distance we could see a very large wind farm that is near Cape Grim.
West Point is next stop, that is a popular surfing spot renowned for its massive waves. The landscape is rugged and we spot a cabin sitting in the middle of nowhere. We couldn't get close enough to see if anyone actually lived there.
From here it was a short drive to Bluff Hill Point Lighthouse. We stayed in the car as there was a large sign saying "Native Bees present. Stay clear of lighthouse." I know I am not allergic to bees but Philip is an unknown so best stay clear!
A bit further down the road (all bitumen I might add) we come to the township of Arthur River. It is much larger than I anticipated, but we can't find a coffee shop that is open so we were a little disappointed. Water is probably better for us.....
Driving over the Arthur River Bridge we make a right turn and head towards the ocean and the "Edge of the World" lookout. It is a magnificent 180 degree view from here and we are very surprised to see so many logs along the beach that have been washed down the Arthur River. The water has been stained a dark brown by the tannin in the logs.
I have seen so many photographs of the rock formations at Couta Beach and I was not disappointed when we arrived here on our next stop along the Tarkine Drive. They are amazing and photographs just cannot do them justice. The beach is lined with these rock formations as far as the eye can see. It is truly Mother Nature at her very best.
Our last coastal stop before we head east is Nelson Bay. There is a "shack" community here so we don't go too far, just far enough to get a photograph. There is an active lobster boat in the small harbour and we see quite a few old jetties so we presume it was a busy area at some stage. Not so much now.
We decide to stop at Kanunnah Bridge for our picnic lunch. We have sweeping views of Arthur River from our lunch area and I spot a timber logging truck ready to cross the single lane bridge. There is logging in this area but it is far more sustainable these days with lots of areas that have been regenerated.
We concluded our Day 1 drive here at Arthur River because Day 2 would bring us back to this same spot. Today we drove almost 200kms.
Day 2 (today) we woke to a very cool 6 degrees but by lunch it had warmed to 24 degrees and sunshine all day! We expected today's drive along the Tarkine Drive to be much shorter but, in fact, it took us the same amount of time as yesterday. It's a shorter drive but with many walks that take at least 30 minutes each.
Our first stop today is at Trowutta Arch. This is an easy 30 minute walk that takes us through lovely rainforest to an extraordinary and rare geological feature. It was originally a large cave that gave way leaving a sinkhole on one side that is filled with 20 metres of algae laden water and a dry sinkhole on the other (where we are standing). It is really quite beautiful.
The Tarkine Drive is a sealed road and along the edge of the road grows a most beautiful flower. I have tried to find out the name but without success. It is a tall single stem plant with masses of purple flowers growing along the length of the stem. The throat of the flower is quite stunning.
The next point of interest on our journey is Milkshake Hills where we have a choice of walks. We decide on the forest walk as the other walk crosses morelands that would take us too long. It was a good choice although a relatively short walk. The ferns are so tall along the path that at times Philip is almost hidden from my vision. There is some lovely blue fungi growing on old growth timber that always fascinates me. We also see signs of dead trees from the large bushfires that raged through these parts in 1980. We later read that fire is needed to kill the eucalyptus so that the rainforest can regenerate. And vice versa when the rainforest becomes too thick fire will kill off a lot of it and the eucalyptus will grow. Here we go again. Mother Nature doing her thing.
Our next stop is one we probably could have done without as we had to travel along a road that had potholes in it that would sink a little car. Once upon a time it was a bitumen road but that was a very long time ago and the road has not been maintained. It would be better if it was a dirt road! Anyway, the road leads us Dempster Plains lookout. When we reach the lookout we have expansive views over button grass plains to the interior mountains and hills of the Tarkine.
Back on the Tarkine Drive and we stop at Lake Chisolm. This is a longer walk that leads to another sinkhole but this one is one of the finest examples of a flooded sinkhole in Australia. It is serenely quiet here and the reflections on the water are truly beautiful.
It is lunch time so our next stop at Julius River is our lunch break. There are numerous undercover tables and bar-b-que's here as it is a popular stop along the Tarkine Drive. There are two rainforest walks and we decide to do the shorter one after lunch. So pleased we did because it is here that my eagle eyed husband spotted a platypus! They are very rarely seen so this is a wonderful surprise for us.
It is time for us to head home but not without one last stop at Sumac Lookout that has breathtaking views over the majestic Arthur River far below us, surrounded but the cool temperate rainforest.
Our time in Smithton has been amazing and we don't think we can better it on this journey. We have seen so much diversity in just four short days. The number of dairy farms continually amazes us and I think I mentioned in a previous post that there were 70,000 dairy cows in this area. It does not surprise me after driving this area. We passed by a smaller dairy this afternoon on our way home, where the cows were dutifully making their way into a conventional dairy and I couldn't help but remember the cows at the robotic dairy that made there way into the dairy to be milked when they wanted to be milked and not when the farmer wanted them to be milked.
Tomorrow we head to Strahan where we will stay for four nights. The weather doesn't look great for our stay here so we will have to find some "inside" tourist destinations. We will, however, do a Gordon River cruise that is different to the one we did back in 2011. We would also like to have ridden the Wilderness Rail again but unfortunately it is closed for repairs. Stay tuned....
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