With Richmond now well and truly under our travelling belts, it was time to move on, but not far. A mere 40 kms brought us back to New Norfolk for a three night stay.
We were more than happy to return to what remains one of our favourite caravan parks on the island and a town in which we felt very comfortable. A re-supply at the large local Woollies was on the agenda, but there was a more compelling reason to bring us back.
Lake Pedder and the Gordon River dam are two 'must see' destinations in Tasmania, if time permits. For us, it did.
Originally we had contemplated hauling the van out to this part of the western wilderness, but our trip to the Mount Field National Park during our December stay in New Norfolk had taught us that this was not a flawless plan.
We were relatively undaunted by the road conditions, but this was one spot on the island where there is genuinely 'one road in and one road out'.....and it's the same one! Given that the distance between New Norfolk and Strathgordon was 125 kms and the fact that the only caravan camping area we could use would have to be at Ted's Beach, a relatively unknown quantity for a van our our size, we decided that a day trip out of New Norfolk was the far better option. We were right.
But what a day trip it was and it was one which I've decided to bring to you in a couple of bites rather than one of Marshie's massive missives.
To our delight the chosen day dawned bright and sunny (I carefully did not say 'warm and sunny') and we headed out early past the familiar hop trellises of Bushy Park
and onto the B61 which would take us the remaining 100 kms or so to Strathgordon and beyond.
As this annoyingly fuzzy map (a product of enlargement) shows, we were heading out into a section of the great tract of Tassie which has been set aside as a wilderness area.
Lakes Pedder and Gordon lie to the south of centre of this huge untamed area and as is evident from this chart, combined, they form a vast expanse of water. I am sure many of you will remember the fuss and furor over the building of the Gordon Dam and the flooding of Lake Pedder, but more of that later.
Once past the hop fields the road (I would hardly call this one a highway) took us through a short section of grazing land
before we hit the first of the forest country.
We were to see much more of this over the remaining 100 kms or so of the run to Lake Pedder, particularly as we made our way through the hilly sections of the run.
Mountain ranges and peaks in our windscreen became commonplace, and in typical Tassie style many, including Mount Meuller seen here, were capped with cloud.
Some 60 kms into the trip saw us pass through the small timber town of Maydena which is a tad larger than 'blink and you'll miss it', but only just.
From this point on the trees of the roadside forests thickened, the air became cooler and damper,
the tree ferns flourished,
and all the while the country was becoming more and more rugged.
Then, as so often happens on even quite short trips along Tasmanian highways and by-ways, the countryside changed quite dramatically, with the heavy timber clad hills giving way to more scrubby type bush. Rocky ridges in the distance were a constant,
none more stark and bleak than this outcrop.
The local authorities have obviously recognised the tourist potential of this view, and have very wisely provided a small pull-off parking area to allow folk like us to make the most of it. We took no convincing that we were now well and truly into 'wilderness' country.
This massive grey granite rampart lay just north of the southern reaches of Lake Pedder,
and we found that we had little further to go through what was now quite stunted bush struggling along in white limestone country
before we got our first glimpse of the water,
a glimpse which was short-lived as we pushed further on towards today's first destination, Ted's Beach.
As happens constantly through this area, another bend brought another view. The waters of these lakes wind their way through many long, narrow valleys between the enclosing ridges. Here there is no such thing as an 'esplanade' or a lakeside drive. The engineers building this road took the least line of resistance, as would be expected, and that does not offer constant water views.
Ah, this is what we had been on the lookout for for the past 10 kms or so. Would we be happy with our decision to make this day trip out of New Norfolk rather than a few days here in the van?
As we made our way in along the short, startlingly white entrance road,
and on past the main camp ground area, we were beginning to feel more justified in our decision. Irrespective of the amenity here, which we soon discovered was good, this had the potential to be a real dust bowl. Every vehicle movement stirred swirls of fine white particles from the surface.
Apart from the first camping site, visitors less encumbered can take advantage of sites closer to the edge of the lake,
and once we had parked at the far end of the large amenities block and done a wander, we soon found that those who make this their home for a while are pretty well catered for.
The spacious camp kitchen area came with plenty of bench tables and seats, and there were a couple of quite adequate looking BBQ's for those who had no independent means of cooking. Fresh water was also on hand, or should I say 'on tap'!
The ablution side of things seemed equally adequate and we had no doubt that for those well set up, and immune to the travails of dust, there would be far worse places to spend some holiday time, particularly if keen on kayaking, swimming (and not bothered by the chill) or fishing.
A large information board near the camp kitchen showed us just where we were in the local scheme of things, at the northern most end of Lake Pedder.
This same board also provided some useful background information about the lake and a clear invitation to those with floating craft of any kind to get out amongst the trout.
Even with the slightly chilly morning breeze rippling the waters, this was a very inviting spot, but the use of the word 'beach' seemed to us to be a bit of a stretch.
Here at Lake Pedder, there was not a fine yellow grain of sand to be seen. Stark, white quartzite rubble, with stones of of varying sizes, was what lined the water's edge here at Ted's Beach.
But as we were shortly to discover, here in this wilderness, folk were quick to make the most of what was available to them, and be grateful for it. Ted Hofto was at the forefront, and he was clearly a man of vision and no little organizational ability. This plaque told the story.
So now at least we knew why this area was so named, and we could but silently applaud this long time local and salute his enterprise, even if this was not a place for us for other than a quick visit.
But we did make the most of it whilst here. We popped back after our visit to nearby Strathgordon and the breathtaking Gordon dam for a picnic lunch with a view.
And this was undoubtedly an area for views. What a stunning spectacle the Gordon dam presented. Stay tuned.
We were to see much more of this over the remaining 100 kms or so of the run to Lake Pedder, particularly as we made our way through the hilly sections of the run.
Mountain ranges and peaks in our windscreen became commonplace, and in typical Tassie style many, including Mount Meuller seen here, were capped with cloud.
Some 60 kms into the trip saw us pass through the small timber town of Maydena which is a tad larger than 'blink and you'll miss it', but only just.
From this point on the trees of the roadside forests thickened, the air became cooler and damper,
the tree ferns flourished,
and all the while the country was becoming more and more rugged.
Then, as so often happens on even quite short trips along Tasmanian highways and by-ways, the countryside changed quite dramatically, with the heavy timber clad hills giving way to more scrubby type bush. Rocky ridges in the distance were a constant,
none more stark and bleak than this outcrop.
The local authorities have obviously recognised the tourist potential of this view, and have very wisely provided a small pull-off parking area to allow folk like us to make the most of it. We took no convincing that we were now well and truly into 'wilderness' country.
This massive grey granite rampart lay just north of the southern reaches of Lake Pedder,
and we found that we had little further to go through what was now quite stunted bush struggling along in white limestone country
before we got our first glimpse of the water,
a glimpse which was short-lived as we pushed further on towards today's first destination, Ted's Beach.
As happens constantly through this area, another bend brought another view. The waters of these lakes wind their way through many long, narrow valleys between the enclosing ridges. Here there is no such thing as an 'esplanade' or a lakeside drive. The engineers building this road took the least line of resistance, as would be expected, and that does not offer constant water views.
Ah, this is what we had been on the lookout for for the past 10 kms or so. Would we be happy with our decision to make this day trip out of New Norfolk rather than a few days here in the van?
As we made our way in along the short, startlingly white entrance road,
and on past the main camp ground area, we were beginning to feel more justified in our decision. Irrespective of the amenity here, which we soon discovered was good, this had the potential to be a real dust bowl. Every vehicle movement stirred swirls of fine white particles from the surface.
Apart from the first camping site, visitors less encumbered can take advantage of sites closer to the edge of the lake,
and once we had parked at the far end of the large amenities block and done a wander, we soon found that those who make this their home for a while are pretty well catered for.
The spacious camp kitchen area came with plenty of bench tables and seats, and there were a couple of quite adequate looking BBQ's for those who had no independent means of cooking. Fresh water was also on hand, or should I say 'on tap'!
The ablution side of things seemed equally adequate and we had no doubt that for those well set up, and immune to the travails of dust, there would be far worse places to spend some holiday time, particularly if keen on kayaking, swimming (and not bothered by the chill) or fishing.
A large information board near the camp kitchen showed us just where we were in the local scheme of things, at the northern most end of Lake Pedder.
This same board also provided some useful background information about the lake and a clear invitation to those with floating craft of any kind to get out amongst the trout.
Even with the slightly chilly morning breeze rippling the waters, this was a very inviting spot, but the use of the word 'beach' seemed to us to be a bit of a stretch.
Here at Lake Pedder, there was not a fine yellow grain of sand to be seen. Stark, white quartzite rubble, with stones of of varying sizes, was what lined the water's edge here at Ted's Beach.
But as we were shortly to discover, here in this wilderness, folk were quick to make the most of what was available to them, and be grateful for it. Ted Hofto was at the forefront, and he was clearly a man of vision and no little organizational ability. This plaque told the story.
So now at least we knew why this area was so named, and we could but silently applaud this long time local and salute his enterprise, even if this was not a place for us for other than a quick visit.
But we did make the most of it whilst here. We popped back after our visit to nearby Strathgordon and the breathtaking Gordon dam for a picnic lunch with a view.
And this was undoubtedly an area for views. What a stunning spectacle the Gordon dam presented. Stay tuned.
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