Tassie in a Ford..

[Tins]

I was hoping for a few hints. Jan, my wife, grew up in Tassie ( born a Sandgroper, but enough of that ). I have never been, to my shame and regret. She would love to go back for a visit. Time is limited, what with one thing and another. We need to take the Ford, as climbing in an out of a lifted Disco, never mind the ride on the stupid springs I fitted, is going to be beyond her.

Long story short. If I take the boat to Devonport, where should I head first? I doubt we'll have as much as a week, possibly only four days. Don't think we'd get down to Hobart, so where are nice places to go in an ordinary car with B&B or pub accomodation? NO camping, I'm told ( understand fully ). We aren't interested in touristy things, but old buildings, forests and rivers work. Bit of peace and quiet, time for reflection, that sort of thing.

[bblaze]

Hi
Up my way (100km from Devonport), we have historic Stanley Very old town), woolnorth, lot of history, lovely scenic drives and I would be happy enough to take you on the tarkine tourist drive (all sorts of coutry from plain to rain forest(standard p38)
cheers
blaze

[Tins]

Hi
Up my way (100km from Devonport), we have historic Stanley Very old town), woolnorth, lot of history, lovely scenic drives and I would be happy enough to take you on the tarkine tourist drive (all sorts of coutry from plain to rain forest(standard p38)
cheers
blaze

Thank you, blaze. If it goes ahead I'll definitely be in touch.

[bblaze]

be happy to help in some small way.
cheers
blaze

[350RRC]

Hi John,

Ford means ferry. Nice overnight trip if you and Jan are good on the water. Can give you a foolproof seasickness preventative that does not involve any drugs if you are susceptible.

Off the ferry follow the signs to Hobart, but veer right and do the Great Lakes area. Real eye opener. Get to Hobart same day.

Best joint I stayed at in Hobart was called something like 'The Old Mill' right near the Hogs breath near the water north of the city.

Salamanca bars are magic if the weather is right, on Fri or Sat evenings.

Loved coming back up the east coast. Bicheno pub / motel was a great place to stay, now a 'resort' maybe.

These are just suggestions, it's a time for you and Jan.

take care, DL

[Tote]

We've been to Tassie a few times and one place that we always said we'd go back and stay at is the pub at Waratah. There's enough interesting stuff for a day of gentle exploring and it is one of the few pubs that I've seen that still has a proper dining room. We didnt stay but lunch was excellent and it's on the accommodation list for the next trip to Tassie.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/12/489.jpg
Bischoff Hotel: 2017 Prices, Reviews & Photos (Waratah) - TripAdvisor (https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g1576760-d1758907-Reviews-Bischoff_Hotel-Waratah_Tasmania.html)

Mole creek and Deloraine are nice as well although our favourite B&B on a property 10Km out of Deloraine has changed hands and is no longer operating. Stanley is a nice easy drive with lots of good accommodation options as well.

Regards,
Tote

[whitey56]

Bicheno to see the penguins, Launcestion to see the Gorge and a drive to Stanley is worth it, We stayed a Boat Harbour one night it's a lovely spot.

[Rextheute]

Johnno ,
Just got back last week ( feels like a lifetime ago ) . here's my list - we had a week , due to work ,dogs and just timing .

Overnite on the Spirit - get a cabin .

Off the next morning in Devonport , drive out of town towards Launceston on the main Highway - head for Elizabethtown . The bakery is on the right , stop have a great breakfast and really good coffee .

Head off toward Launceston - decide whether to go over the Great Western Tiers or down into Launceston .

If Launceston , make sure to do the Stanley gorge chairlift , visit the Science museum and the Car museum - all within 10 mins of each other esp the two museums.

If you head over the Tiers via the Great Lakes - the scenery is WOW !
But not many food opportunities .

We then headed toward Derwent Bridge to see "The Wall " - one mans vision of change and the future Tas - carved out of Huon Pine its 100m long and mind blowing that someone can do that - its stunning .

Then we headed for Port Arthur via Richmond and Sorell - stayed in Caravan Park at Port Arthur - could certainly self cater - new cabins and showers .

Wandered around Port Arthur for the day - tip the closest IGA is approx 15mins away - after that its Sorell .

Headed around sightseeing the bottom corner .

Left Port Arthur and headed to Hobart - to buy coffee - i will head back to Hobart in the New Year and spend a few days . ( i didnt go to Tas to be in a city . )

Left and went towards Freycinct NP , there are B&Bs all along the coast - we camped in NP for a couple of nights . It is beautiful .

After headed up the coast towards Bicheno - lovely , could stay and stare at the ocean for days . then St Helens Big 4 , very nice park ,( Bay of Fires ) My wife stared at the beach for about an hour before declaring its stunning - water so blue , sand so white .

We then travelled home via Derby , Scottsdale and Launceston

As an aside , Tas is full of accomodation from simple to flash , it is car touring friendly , we did go a little off road but a normal car will certainly get about unless you are going into the wilderness .

Hope this helps . pm always welcome .
cheers

[Tins]

Johnno ,
Just got back last week ( feels like a lifetime ago ) . here's my list - we had a week , due to work ,dogs and just timing .

Overnite on the Spirit - get a cabin .

Off the next morning in Devonport , drive out of town towards Launceston on the main Highway - head for Elizabethtown . The bakery is on the right , stop have a great breakfast and really good coffee .

Head off toward Launceston - decide whether to go over the Great Western Tiers or down into Launceston .

If Launceston , make sure to do the Stanley gorge chairlift , visit the Science museum and the Car museum - all within 10 mins of each other esp the two museums.

If you head over the Tiers via the Great Lakes - the scenery is WOW !
But not many food opportunities .

We then headed toward Derwent Bridge to see "The Wall " - one mans vision of change and the future Tas - carved out of Huon Pine its 100m long and mind blowing that someone can do that - its stunning .

Then we headed for Port Arthur via Richmond and Sorell - stayed in Caravan Park at Port Arthur - could certainly self cater - new cabins and showers .

Wandered around Port Arthur for the day - tip the closest IGA is approx 15mins away - after that its Sorell .

Headed around sightseeing the bottom corner .

Left Port Arthur and headed to Hobart - to buy coffee - i will head back to Hobart in the New Year and spend a few days . ( i didnt go to Tas to be in a city . )

Left and went towards Freycinct NP , there are B&Bs all along the coast - we camped in NP for a couple of nights . It is beautiful .

After headed up the coast towards Bicheno - lovely , could stay and stare at the ocean for days . then St Helens Big 4 , very nice park ,( Bay of Fires ) My wife stared at the beach for about an hour before declaring its stunning - water so blue , sand so white .

We then travelled home via Derby , Scottsdale and Launceston

As an aside , Tas is full of accomodation from simple to flash , it is car touring friendly , we did go a little off road but a normal car will certainly get about unless you are going into the wilderness .

Hope this helps . pm always welcome .
cheers.

Thanks. All good ideas, save for Port Arthur. Jan is superstitious, and wouldn't have gone there before 1996. No way she'll go there now.

I guess I need to remember just how small Tassie is. Can fit in a lot in a short time.

[Svengali0]

Hire a car fown there fly in fly out..

[gordo 350]

Hi John,

Ford means ferry. Nice overnight trip if you and Jan are good on the water. Can give you a foolproof seasickness preventative that does not involve any drugs if you are susceptible.

Off the ferry follow the signs to Hobart, but veer right and do the Great Lakes area. Real eye opener. Get to Hobart same day.

Best joint I stayed at in Hobart was called something like 'The Old Mill' right near the Hogs breath near the water north of the city.

Salamanca bars are magic if the weather is right, on Fri or Sat evenings.

Loved coming back up the east coast. Bicheno pub / motel was a great place to stay, now a 'resort' maybe.

These are just suggestions, it's a time for you and Jan.

take care, DL
Would love to hear how to avoid sea sickness. I get ill in the bath !

[loanrangie]

Hi John,

Ford means ferry. Nice overnight trip if you and Jan are good on the water. Can give you a foolproof seasickness preventative that does not involve any drugs if you are susceptible.

Off the ferry follow the signs to Hobart, but veer right and do the Great Lakes area. Real eye opener. Get to Hobart same day.

Best joint I stayed at in Hobart was called something like 'The Old Mill' right near the Hogs breath near the water north of the city.

Salamanca bars are magic if the weather is right, on Fri or Sat evenings.

Loved coming back up the east coast. Bicheno pub / motel was a great place to stay, now a 'resort' maybe.

These are just suggestions, it's a time for you and Jan.

take care, DL

We went from Sheffield to Cradle mountain then to Hobart via Great Lakes, great drive and awesome scenery. Just look out for them banjo playing folk in the tin sheds on the way thru.

[350RRC]

Would love to hear how to avoid sea sickness. I get ill in the bath !

I spend a lot of time at sea and have never suffered fortunately. Know plenty who do though.

All you need to do is listen to music from your phone or ipod or whatever through headphones. Must be in stereo.

A Swedish guy came up with it back in the walkman days, never known it to fail.

cheers, DL

[Tote]

One more thought re the trip over. Consider going during the day and getting a cabin. We've done both day and night trips and found that night trips make us too tired to enjoy the first day over there so we went over during the day last time but found that we really would have liked to have had somewhere to sleep halfway during the day once we had watched a movie and the sea going past.

A cabin upgrade can be had on board during the day for a reasonable cost but I imagine it would be cheaper booked in advance.
JC or one of the other Taswegians will now chip in and call me soft for being tired after the night trip.......:firedevil:

Regards,
Tote

[Redback]

Must sees from our trip is the The House of Anvers chocolate factory Latrobe just down the road from the ferry terminal, on the way to Strahan, catch the train to Queenstown and back, take the Gordon river cruise.

So many places on the way like Dip Falls, the Stanley nut, the big tree and tassie tiger sightings in the area, Arthur river, Cradle Mountain are just some of the West Coast we visited.

The East Coast is just as good, especially around the Hobart area and the Nth East Coast Mount Elephant Pancakes near St Marys then on to the St Helens area, places like Bay of Fires, Eddystone Lighthouse, Pub in the Paddock, you can do a loop from Devonport and back to Devonport, take the route down to Coles Bay and along the coast back.

So many options it's hard to choose:blink:

[Tins]

I spend a lot of time at sea and have never suffered fortunately. Know plenty who do though.

All you need to do is listen to music from your phone or ipod or whatever through headphones. Must be in stereo.

A Swedish guy came up with it back in the walkman days, never known it to fail.

cheers, DL

I have hearing aids Bluetoothed to my phone. Wonder if that will work.

[Rolly]

Our middle son suffers extremely bad motion sickness. We’ve used a medication called ONDANCETRON which whilst dearer than most is absolutely brilliant.
We gave it to William before each days driving whilst on the Old Telegraph track on our Cape trip and didn’t have to stop due motion sickness!

[350RRC]

I have hearing aids Bluetoothed to my phone. Wonder if that will work.

Leave one out, then you'll have stereo!

i.e. different signal to each ear.

DL

[Nick6273]

Another good place about 20 min from Launceston is the Holybank reserve area. About 20 min drive and a nice place to check out