It was time to leave the coast and head inland to experience some of the best scenery Tasmania has to offer -the World Heritage Listed Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park. We also visit one of Tasmania’s tallest waterfalls this week and put the VW Amarok through a hard core 4×4 track to get us there.
The Good Bits.
Sheffield is famous for its incredible painted murals on most buildings in town. We had breakfast and a great cup of coffee at the Bakery Cafe before exploring the wondrous Emporium in the main street. The Emporium has amazing pieces of modern history and was a real treat for the whole family. Give yourself a few hours to experience Sheffield and to admire all the amazing art work in town.
Launceston took us completely by surprise! Not only is it a pretty town with historical architecture, it features one the best city parks in Australia. The people of Launceston are blessed with Cataract Gorge and its natural beauty, parklands, free public swimming pool and the Worlds Longest Single Span Chairlift. This chairlift ride was worth every dollar [$34 family ticket] and we highly recommend you at least take a one way ride. After meandering through the park it was time for a well needed shower. Cataract Gorge offer free HOT showers to all visitors of the Gorge. Go Launceston!
We free camped on Lake Rosebery, located just outside Tullah, a working mining town in the heart of Tassie. Our complete waterfront location was incredibly peaceful and a good base for our 4wd adventures nearby.
The Cream.
Cradle Mountain is in a league of its own when it comes to natural beauty, rare species, history and challenging hikes. Tasmania is known for its unpredictable weather and we endured our visit to the Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park in the cold rain.
There is no parking available at the famous Dove Lake, you’ll need to park your vehicle at the information centre (ample parking) and take a free shuttle bus (included in your parks pass). Due to the weather, we only managed the two hour Dove Lake Circuit walk. We skipped our planned hike to Marions Lookout as it would be too dangerous in the wet and Adam and I would need to have taken turns for the final steep leg while the other waited in the rain with the kids. Bummer.
At the end of the day, everyone was cold, wet and cranky. We came home to a cold caravan and left the next day as the overnight temperatures were plummeting in this area to less than 5 degrees Celsius! Too damn cold for us!
Montezuma Falls is an Epic LEGIT 4X4 ONLY track which takes 2-3 hours return depending on conditions. You’ll need a well maintained 4WD, recovery gear, high clearance and your sense of adventure. It is assessable from the highway and is a 14km trip featuring bum gripping moments, slippery mud, ruts, very steep, short hills and a quick stroll to a rewarding waterfall at your destination. There is a narrow suspension bridge you’ll need to cross to get a look at the falls. Montezuma Falls is one of Tasmania’s highest waterfalls and is truly spectacular. You can bushwalk in if you prefer or if you don’t have a 4×4 vehicle.
We have new hits on the side steps and a more pressing need to replace one of our CV shafts, which was already damaged with a split in the boot. Was it worth it? Hell yeah!
Want to find out more about how the Amarok handled the Montezuma Falls Track? Here is the link to our ‘4WDing in Tasmania’ YouTube clip.
So, that was our NINTH week in Tasmania, only ONE more week to go!
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Lapping Oz Stats [ 7 days ]
14 MAR 18 – 21 MAR 18
Off grid days #7
Food $293 [groceries + cafe meals + pub meals + coffees]
Fuel $159
Booze $48
Accomodation $0
Clothing $54
Car maintenance $55
Caravan maintenance $295 [replaced magnetic brakes + machined drum one side]
