By this stage of our Tassie adventure we had already driven through Huonville three times, but now it was time to prop for a few days and see what this area had to offer.
So bright and early as usual, we farewelled Dover and headed out onto the narrow, heavily wooded section of Huon Highway between Dover and Geeveston
where the twists and turns of the road brought us ever changing views across the hills and valleys,
some of which were quite spectacular.
Just beyond Geeveston we made a stop at Port Huon, but this time it was not at the pub where we had had such a good birthday celebration two weeks previously, but the nearby Port Huon general store and bakery.
From here we could see upstream along the Huon River to the sheds and wharves of the busy marine dock area
and out across the small craft moorings where all was a picture of early morning serenity, but this was not the reason for our stop. The Port Huon store is renowned for its scallop pies and other pastry delights. It was time to make and addition or two to our freezers.
PS......they completely met all expectations!
Our favourite little river town came and went
and we were soon again enjoying the ever changing but constantly enchanting scenery of the Huon Valley and its impressive river
before reaching the bridge which
took us across its broad expance on the southern approach to Huonville.
And if the beauty of the Huon River scenery is a constant, so is the traffic in the main street of Huonville where those traversing the valley along the Huon Highway mix with the locals going about their business in the town.
From this approach, however, we were soon out of the mayhem as we turned left at the first main street roundabout and made the short journey of a kilometre or so through Huonville suburbia until we came to yet another bridge,
this time one which took us across the much smaller waterway which is Mountain River, the stream which ran around the park in which we were about to heave to (you can see some of the park infrastructure in the top right corner of this shot).
The park entrance lay just beyond the bridge
and from here the quite lengthy entrance roadway took us past new sites under development on the left and the open grassed area on the right which is made available for guests' dogs to run free.
From the time we pulled up at the park office we recognised that this park is quite different to most, not all of which was positive from our perspective, but I'll have a bit more to say about that shortly.
The brightly painted wall which faces out onto the office parking area certainly sets the local scene. This park is owned and run by ex-farmers, and the 'farm' theme was evident.
Here at the office the produce of a small herb garden is on offer to guests
and whilst I understood the probable need for the sentiments expressed on the sign at the far end of the plot (having watched demonstrations of the unmitigated greed of some who travel as we do) I was immediately struck by the tone.....this could have been done far better in my view.
Now at this point I should comment that the Huon Valley Caravan Park was one of the best laid out and equipped we had ever come across. It is relatively new and the care with which the sites had been established, their size, ease of access and the facilities available, all spoke to a design which had been well considered, as I am sure the upcoming photos will demonstrate.
But this came at a cost. Sites here start at $39 per night (non-peak) and for those who choose (or in one case of which we are aware....arbitrarily decided by the manager) a 'riverside' site, a surcharge of $6 per day applies.
Now initially, when talking with folk at Geeveston who were staying here on a river side site, I mistakenly imagined that the river referred to was the Huon.....wrong...it is Mountain River, the smallish stream we had crossed on our way in. Lovely as it is it hardly provides the views that we had enjoyed in Franklin, for example, as you will see. This was 'marketing' ploy which I found a little questionable and overpriced.
But let's get on with settling in. At the far end of the office car park this wall of plants greeted us. I soon discovered they were strawberries which we were invited to sample.
A closer look revealed another aspect of this park which is unique.....it includes an enclosure of Tasmanian Devils which, as you can see, are fed daily at 1600 hours. We did join the group of onlookers later in our stay.
Once our dues had been collected we were off down the roadway towards our allotted site, but not before Liz had deflected the offer of a plot by the river.....we were already savvy to this trick!
As I mentioned earlier, this is a beautifully laid out park. Our site lay on the roadway to the left of this junction, not along Central parade,
but off Mountain River Drive.
This took us past the row of most unusual high mounted ensuite facilities which had apparently initially served as the park ablution facilities until the construction of the much larger central block.
One of the several positive aspects of design of this park were the site markers and site delineation lines. These were clear and unambiguous.....no demarcation disputes here.
We soon found site 13 (not unlucky for us) and set up close to the edge of our patch.
Here again I happily sing the praises of this park. As you can see, our little piece of home for three days was large, even and very well grassed with a row of backing shrubs.
It was conveniently right along side the clearly established cement path (another park positive) which led directly to the not too distant large shed which housed the ablutions and the camp kitchen.
And what a facility this was and what an interesting construction.
As photos on the wall of the huge interior camp kitchen showed, two large shipping containers were first mounted on a framework above the ground.
Once doors were cut these formed the basis for the shower and toilet cubicles
which now line either side of the building, toilets one side
and the showers the other.
Between both, at the head of the stairs, were a row of well presented and equipped hand basins
and the banked machines of the camp laundry.
The space between the two containers was later enclosed
and the camp kitchen was born, and a very well equipped camp kitchen it is indeed,
which, apart from all the expected bits and pieces such as sinks, microwave oven, cook top and so on, included a pizza oven
and a hooded BBQ.
It even boasted a vending machine, which was another thing about this park which jarred slightly.
And then, above the sink, there was this sign....I'll have much more to say about water later.
Apart from all the facilities on offer here at the camp kitchen, its elevated construction also provided excellent panoramic views over
this beautifully green and spacious park,
views which included Chez Marshies. As must also be obvious, things were far from busy during our sojourn here.....the school holidays were still a blessed month distant!
Another stand-out feature of this park were the outdoor BBQ and seating facilities throughout. Never before had we ever come across Weber hooded BBQ's being offered for guest use, and there were at least ten of them all around the park.
Apart from these, bench tables and seats and enclosed fire boxes all added to the 'outdoor ambience'. We could only wonder at the capital outlay.....the price of a site here was beginning to make a little more sense. Capital outlay has to be recovered.
Before I complete this tour of the Huon Valley Caravan Park I must return to the topic of water, firstly that flowing past the park in the form of Mountain River, the stream which had given rise
to the questionable impost of a surcharge to camp here on a riparian site, (none of which were actually anywhere near the bank as these last two shots demonstrate).
My ire about this fee was exacerbated by the fact that all and sundry in the park can congregate at will along the raised banks of the river where ever they choose.....site integrity does not exist despite the additional payment. And when the quest for a platypus sighting is in full swing, this is exactly what happens.
Mind you, this criticism is in no way directed at the waterway itself.......it is a charming
little river and adds immeasurably to the general beauty of this park.
And yes, there are platypus here, but I'll have more to say about that in my next. The second facet of 'water issues' here related to conservation. I've already noted the sign in the camp kitchen, one in my view which was clearly unnecessary....after all how much can one really waste in a kitchen sink...but it got better.
Despite the fact that this park charges top dollar for all sites (the most expensive in the State as far as we had been able to ascertain), there was an additional charge levied for the use of the showers, or for the privilege of hot water, to be more precise. A five minute hot tub will set one back a further $2 per pop, so in essence a site here for two actually costs $43 per day.
Now comes the real rub. This impost is explained in the rules sheet handed out to all new arrivals as being consistent with the need to save water. Whilst the exact wording now eludes me, it was made crystal clear that water conservation was a priority here, and that the cost of a shower was designed to further that aim.
I was somewhat sceptical of this from the outset, a reaction which was soon confirmed by some simple observations. From the time of our arrival I had noted water being poured onto new sites with gay abandon. I had no truck with this, and continued to applaud the greenery in which we found ourselves, but I object to being conned.
As I wandered about I discovered that all this water was being extracted directly from Mountain River
and distributed thence through a large, and constantly operating, pump house.
My second discovery, and this was the one which really irked me, was the fact that the payment for a shower was for hot water only. When the value of one's contribution to the infernal demands of the little coin control box came to an end, it was only the heated H2O which ceased to run. I could stand under a cold shower until I froze to death or was converted to a good likeness of a prune.
Water conservation my foot! I figured then that this was all about recovering the cost of heating the stuff, which we knew from our own experience in park management was not cheap....but don't lie about it!
Not one to leave things unsolved, I fronted the redoubtable Rowen, the park owner, and put my observations to him. I explained that I presented a detailed description of all the parks in which we stayed and added that I did not want to make unwarranted statements about my belief that the claim made that the cost of a shower was related directly to water conservation was completely at odds with what I had discovered.
I'll give him his due....after an initial 'deer in the headlights' moment or two, the good man rallied and presented a somewhat blustered defence of the water conservation claim, a defence which soon wilted in the face of my gentle but persistent presentation of the observable facts. The water shortage rationale was soon discarded!
He then changed tack and argued that the cost imposed discouraged those who would otherwise stand under the scrub for extended periods, an argument which founded on the fact that the machines installed in the showers were designed to accept multiple numbers of two dollar coins. One could bask under hot water all day if armed with an inexhaustible supply of coin of the realm. Scrub (accidental but I'll leave it!) explanation number two!
Things were becoming a little more tense in the office as it become clear that I was neither conned by either of these two argument nor giving in with mine. Eventually a somewhat halting admission of sorts was made that heating costs were a contributing factor, and with that I decided that the poor man had had enough. I strongly suspect he had never before had to deal with a 'Mr Dog With a Bone' like yours truly on the scent of deceit!
But this was not the end of the matter. Some hour or so later there was a knock on the door of our van, and there was himself together with his goodly spouse, the co-owner. Both were keen to ensure that I fully understood their position and the explanation provided. "Of course I understand", I soothed. "Bullshit", I thought, you have just now confirmed all I had suspected.
I'll say no more about the matter other than to comment that our unbridled enjoyment of this beautifully laid out and appointed park was soured somewhat the owner's approach to a running cost matter. Charge by all means if you must, but don't treat us punters as mugs....some of us have been around the block more than once!!
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