Crayfish Creek

Tasmania 2015

Grey Gypsies of Australia

Coutta Rocks near Arthur River

A cluster of small holiday houses are across the road facing the ocean, neat well tended gardens with “Bullshit Corner” worth looking up. This eccentric retirement garden is filled with quirky garden sculpture made from all sorts of found objects nested amongst dahlias, fuchsias, geraniums and small shrubs. Several kilometres down the road is Port Latta, a huge black hermatite and magnetite processing plant with loading piers that stretch out into the sea. It’s always lit up at night and seems so strange to see something so ugly set in amongst the lovely little coves and rocky headlands of the North Coast. We also looked at the free camping sites at Peggs Beach and Black River on the way to Stanley. Peggs is very exposed to the Roaring Forties winds, but Black River has a lot of sheltered sites set in amongst trees and was great lunch spot the next day. Stanley is a picture perfect little Georgian village filled with well restored weatherboard cottages, all painted in heritage colors. Most people go there to do the chairlift up the Nut and catch the great views. We liked the coffee, the architecture and the fabulous fish and chipper: xxxxxxx.

Arthur River Red Boat trip:

Two very helpful guys – Greg and Robert took us up the Arthur River showing us sea eagles and giving us a history of the unlogged and natural river rainforest and environs. A walk through the rainforest at Turks Landing gave us the chance to see the rainforest species of laurel, leatherwood, ironbark and beech, have lunch and return to the small village of Arthur River, where we drove out to the spectacular sea vista “the Edge of the World”. Driving down the west coast road we explored Sara Ann Rocks, Stinking Beach and Couta Rocks. Lots of camp sites along the coast road with us carefully driving to avoid the the Tassie Devils, apparently the only remaining population that are free from the facial tumour disease that had killed so many. We didn’t see any at all but were told they lived in the coastal scrub. Instead we enjoyed the wild small coves and beaches in the blustery winds that are common there.

Dip Falls

The best forest drive in the area was to Dip Falls, a long drop of water nestled in a remnant patch of wet rainforest. Stands of tall 3 meter tree ferns, mossy logs and very tall brown stringybarks with short walks gave visitors some idea of the forest before so many dairy and cattle farms were carved out of it, so much timber was selectively logged and so many hectares of stringybark plantations replaced the original vegetation. Did some driving on logging tracks but the sights of selectively harvested forests with a lot of trash left on the ground is very depressing.

Milkshake Forest Reserve

We also drove the South Arthur Loop road, again with logging coups, farms and plantations replacing a lot of the rainforest. The best spot to see some original vegetation on this road is the Milkshakes Forest Reserve a green oasis of tree ferns and massive trees. No camping there, but a great spot for photos, BBQ lunch or short walks. My conclusion is that most of the wet north west rainforest in already gone and more is disappearing still as farmers are clearing any rainforest they have on their blocks to increase their grazing capacity. Tourists are catered for by leaving ribbons of the original forests along the sides of tourist roads while behind these strips selective logging continues. This is what is locally known as “multi use forests”: logging, plantations, tourism and farming.

Corinna

We also drove the Meredith highway from Yolla to Corinna. Along the way Hellyer Gorge had a nice short walk along the river while Phillosphers Falls is a longer walk we didn’t take due to rain. The Savage River estuary is dominated by the Grange mine which sends its raw ore to Cape Latta for processing. ..We came back along the Western Explorer road noting a number of pleasant small campsites not far out of Corinna, driving through the Pieman Conservation area. Again lots of cleared acres left vacant, lots of dead trees in places but some good views.