G’day all,
We awoke early on Wednesday morning with a plan to travel to Waratah over the next couple of days taking in Granville Harbour. The winter weather in Tassie had definately broke and we were wondering how much longer we could last. Our only problem was a 6 week waiting list for the ferry.
We had to be in Waratah for the June LWE to meet up with the Tamar Valley 4WD Club so we chose to skip through Zeehan (and driving through Spray Tunnel) and head for Granville Harbour. We had also hoped to do the run from Macquarie Heads through to Ocean Beach and further through to the Henty River, however with the rain set in and with reports that the beach was soft in places had us ticking the next time box. Beaches in this region really need care with the chance of quick sand and therefore possible loss of vehicle. I must say that missing out on some of the beach runs on this trip to Tassie was one of the bigger disappointments so far. From all reports the beach runs up and down the West Coast are awesome. We will certainly return in warmer weather and hit the West Coast hard.
On the way to Zeehan we crossed over the Henty River and noted a beaut little camping spot just off the main highway on the coast side of the highway just before the bridge.
We passed through Zeehan and followed the signs to Granville Harbour. Granville Harbour is 8 klm off the highway down a rough gravel track. The track is windy and has short steep inclines out of gullies which are a nuisance if towing a large 3.5 tonne van…???
Granville Harbour was sensational, rugged but amazingly beautiful. If you follow the track out of the north end of this little shack community you will find many camping areas on grassy flats and the start of the 4WD track out to the Pieman Heads. This was another frustrating moment for me. This track had been one I really wanted to do, but again I would have to settle for “next time.” Having made the effort to visit Granville Harbour it was a tough descision to keep moving on. Had it been a bright sunny day we could have stayed there for a week easily. Unfortunately, it was windy, rainy and occasional hail, not the weathe rto stop in when you need to be somewhere else.
Continuing on we turned left on the highway heading towards Corrina. At the turnoff to Corrina we found that the barge was not capable of transporting our caravan and car across the Pieman River so we had to settle for continuing on to Waratah via Lake Pieman and Burns Peak.
This road back to the Murchison Highway is steep and windy in sections and when towing you are really restricted to moving slow and at times very slow.
Passing Reece Dam wall we witnessed the first signs of snow…sleet in actual fact. Now we had experienced it all – sun, rain, wind, hail and snow all in one day…wow.
We kept going and finally hit the Muchison Highway, turned right and headed for Waratah. At Waratah they have a parking area for caravans where you can hook up to power and water for a nominal charge. There are also warm showers for those wanting to get refreshed.
Arriving late we headed to the pub for a meal. During the meal we noticed it was snowing outside. That was it for the kids, they ran outside for a play(in the dark).
We eventually got the kids back inside and when we finally left the pub later in the evening there was a few cm of snow cover on the ground. This lead to a snowman being made right outside the pub. People driving by would have thought we were crazy…but hey we are on holidays after all!
Back to the very cold caravan and rug up for the night…thank goodness for a diesel heater hey.
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia