Salmon Pond is about a 10 minute drive out of Norfolk, situated in the Derwent Valley in a little place called Plenty. It is on route to Mt Field National Park, but I don't think we will be going as far as that.
Gardens at Salmon Ponds
We have a good look around the lovely English style gardens and stop for pancakes for breakfast in the restaurant on site after we've done a tour through the Museum of Trout Fishing and Tasmanian Angling Hall of Fame. It's quite an interesting look actually. There is a lot of information about the historic trout hatchery and the hatchery production.
We keep driving west. I really want to see a waterfall and Russell Falls is on the way. There are so many here in Tasmania but so far we are not having any luck. Looks like this one is a wash out, also. We take the turn off and drive for a few km's but when we get there.. well, the weather is a pain in the butt again. After waiting for the rain to slow down for about 10 minutes I get grumpy and tell Chris to just leave it. It's quite a walk to actually see the falls and the last thing both of us want is to get soaking wet. Maybe we will have better luck with the next one.
We then drive for about an hour and a half to a place called 'The Wall.' This place is ideally situated at the halfway point on the journey between Hobart and Strahan. What can I say about 'The Wall?' Well first up, there's no cameras allowed inside. Fair enough.
Artist Greg Duncan is creating life-size sculptures out of wood. 'The Wall in The Wilderness' is his commemoration of those who helped shape the past and present of the Central Highlands of Tasmania. It's a work in progress. 'The Wall' is carved from three metre high panels of timber, most of which are of the rare Huon Pine. The carvings themselves are just fantastic. They look so real and the men he carves have veins standing out on their arms and folds in their clothes and you feel like maybe they could be made out of butter - not wood. If you were to touch one (which is actually NOT allowed) you might think they would be like satin under your fingertips.
Outside the entrance to 'The Wall' - no cameras allowed inside.
Next stop is Strahan. The drive is hairy at times. Very steep mountains and thick foliage everywhere. Rainforest with manferns turn into scrub-like bushes which then turns into a wall of massive trees. Driving through Queenstown is an almost surreal feeling after the scenery we've just passed through. The hills here are bare. And grey. And just plain strange. And it's bloody freezing. I mean that nasty, biting cold that seems to get in your bones.
This group of pics are all of Queenstown
Look at those scary drops off the edge
We carry on towards Strahan. In an earlier phone call with Nola, she had mentioned we would have to do the 99 bends on the way to get to her. Turns out she was right. The roads are narrow at times and Fagio (Chris) is slowed down frequently as yet another turn then another, then another looms ahead. Here's the thing we find out very quickly. If you think you have say an hours drive ahead of you, working on the kilometres you have to drive and the speed you are going, add another half hour or more on. The roads here in Tassie never seem to run straight...ever! They bend, they twirl, they drive (haha) you half mad with the way they slows you down. Which I guess is both a good and bad thing. At least you can't speed.
We finally pull into Strahan, where I make a quick phone call to Nola. She gives us directions and says she will be waiting out the front of her house. We can't miss her. She's doing star jumps by the side of the road, her face beaming. I race out of the car to greet her - this is very exciting. And then... it starts raining. We all race inside her house to the warmth where Rick, her husband, is inside waiting to greet us. A lovelier couple you will not find and we feel at home instantly. Nola has cooked a lovely roast chicken dinner with vegetables and gravy and ..... well, after eating on the road for the past days, it is a great meal. She had jokingly sent me an sms earlier. Hession bags are on the bed waiting for you and roadkill is cooking. Hope you're hungry. Ahhh, that Tassie sense of humour. I did have a good look though as she got the chicken out of the slow cooker. You never really know. You see a lot of roadkill in Tasmania!
No comments:
Post a Comment