Holiday Tasmania 2007 (Part 1)
Thursday 22 Feb. Work was done and a bit over four weeks of holiday time lay in front of us. We had already packed most of our stuff and on Friday morning, with the use of a mallet, we rammed the rest in the car and were off to unexplored places ( unexplored by us anyway). Our intention was to travel the inland route from Brisbane to Melbourne so we would come across places we had not visited before.
About thirty kilometres before we reached Warwick we saw a very welcome sign. Normally having coffee around ten in the morning but, because we still had to pack this and that, we were a bit late but to prevent us from having withdrawal symptoms we pulled into an almost hidden P place where we gave in to our needs (coffee and a pee) and yes, in that order. The rest of the day went without any problems and we reached the Warrumbungle National Park later in the afternoon.
The Warrumbungles
36 Kilometre West of Coonabarabran in New South Wales, this Park has a nice visitors centre with all the information about flora, fauna and walking tracks. Some of the tracks are even sealed and suitable for prams and wheelchairs.
Going deeper into the park there is a camping site which facilitates motor homes and caravans ( powered sites) and has a big separate section for tents. It’s very well maintained, has a central building with toilets, kitchen sinks and hot and cold water. There was even a telescope for those who are interested in astronomy. The Siding Spring Observatory is close to the park and can be seen from the campsite. Well worth visiting.
Observatory
In the middle of the camping area is an under covered area with 4 gas heated cooking plates and after we had our dinner, a drink and a nice chat with other visitors ( such a cooking spot is a great place to meet people) we called it the night.
We intentionally went to this place to test our new tent and matrasses before we really needed them on the Overland track. Without back pain, muscle ache or other unpleasant body pains we got up in the morning and could say that our tent and matrasses had passed the test.
The Warrumbungles
The Warrumbungle offers great walking tracks and we picked one that would lead us to a mountain top with nice views. After having climbed about twelve hundred steps (counted) and totally exhausted, we reached the top with indeed beautiful views over the green valleys and the rough mountain peaks. In the afternoon we visited the observatory and licked on a well deserved ice-cream bought at the observatory shop.
The next day we drove to the ferry in Melbourne.
A couple of weeks before our holiday I bought a GPS navigation system and it helped us magnificently through the traffic in that big place. Never been there before and I absolutely cannot recall how we got there, but we did. This thing has a strange way of giving directions.
More pictures of Tasmania click here. works
