Emma loves to get amongst it. An explorer at heart, she loves the thrill of an adventure. The desire got so strong that she dropped everything and went on a bit of a hiatus from her media career, spending the last few years travelling the world to get in a bit of ‘me’ time while the opportunity was there. For someone plagued by such severe motion sickness and born into Murphy’s law, you’d think she wouldn’t have tried half the things she’s done; never letting it get in her way and to stop her from experiencing everything the world has to offer. She’ll still give it a go and take a sick bag… or 3!
Emma’s still a long way from home, born and raised in Western Australia, when the opportunity arose to combine her career and love of adventure in one, she packed her bags and headed with enthusiasm to what would be her latest new place she hadn’t explored before - Tasmania!
Active in the arts, she loves to be creative so you’ll probably see her around town getting into dancing, acting and music - whatever’s on offer!
She may be strong willed and knows what she wants but she does have a weakness; Emma absolutely loves animals and dotes on them! Unlike most girls, she isn’t afraid to get up close to creatures; big or small, creepy, crawly, slithery, slimy or otherwise, except spiders - she hasn’t quite shook that one yet but it can be quite amusing to watch her try!
A bit of fun for you on Wednesday hump day! The goat remixes continue, Daft Punk's latest single has been Goat-i-fied! Love the revamped Album cover! ;)
Last Sunday I went back out past Scottsdale to check out the rest of the sights along the A3 I had been recommended to see since arriving here in Tassie. Below you can see how I have picked up from where I left off last time!
It's quite a trek, nearly two hours of winding road heading towards my first destination for lunch; Pub in the Paddock. Along the way on the A3, look out for Weldborough Pass, its just on the side of the road you can't miss the sign. There is a little walk you can do through the Myrtle forest which takes about 20 minutes with little signs along the path to tell you about the ancient forest. It's a good spot to stretch your legs and learn a thing or two whilst your at it.
Back on the A3 I turned off at St Columbafalls Rd and took a few minutes to check out the Pyengana Dairy Company, they give free samples and explain all about their cheeses to you, which was great. Back in the car just a bit further along the road is The Pub In The Paddock. I heard that you can feed the pub's Pig a 'beer' for $1. This is something I wanted to see. Firstly after such a long drive it was already midday and I was feeling a bit queasy from the windy roads. I needed to get some lunch. It's a nice pub with a good menu and tables right near the fire which was just what I was after to warm me up.
After my meal I paid a dollar to shout their Pig a beer. Now I am told it's not actually beer, her grub is put in a clean beer bottle purely for novelty feeding purposes. I have never met such a animated pig before, Pinky had a lot to say and was really grateful for her free feed! She loved a pat as well!
After that fun, I was back in the car to see St Columba Falls. They are one of the tallest in Tasmania, 90 meters high, with a lovely walk through the forest down to see them.
Last on my list of places to see was the Blue Tier, I had heard there is a little walk there called the Goblin Forest Walk, where the forest is so pretty you almost expect mythical creatures to appear! There are a few ways to get there, both are on gravel roads with a whole load of pot holes. Both have loads of deviations off the road which are not sign posted, making it hard to know whether to go straight ahead or take the turn! That was frustrating so I just guessed and it worked out well enough. Once you get there you go on a little 20 minute loop walk which has been marked as one of the 60 Great Walks in Tasmania. The moss all over the ground is so delicate it looks like fairy floss, very pretty. Signs along the way explain about the Tin mining that was once done in the area.
I had just enough time before night fall to take a quick look at Halls Falls in the Blue Tier Forest Reserve as well. The small walk to the falls is 30 minutes return, through thick forest. It's a bit steep on the way down but an easy walk to see such a pretty spot.
Quickly running out of day light, it was my day done and I headed back to Launceston. It's a long drive to just see what I saw this time, I would incorporate a few of the other sights I saw first time round in my previous blog to break up the drive when I do it again. There is so much more in Tassie to see, so it might be a while yet before I back track! :)
Josh in breakie had told me about Little Blue Lake in between Pioneer and Gladstone and how vivid the turquoise blue water is. I wanted to see it for myself, so I decided to check it out and some of the others sights along the A3 on Sunday.
This was my 'mud map'. Winding along the A3 towards Scottsdale, if you get motion sickness beware its a MEGA windy road and the twists are so tight you will be going slow most of the time. Just before you get into Scottsdale it breaks from the thick forest into farming and fields, some just beautiful like this one below with the poppies.
A good first break stop is Scottsdale, I am a bit of a fan of clocks so I took a snap of this one they had on the 'main strip' of Scottsdale. A lovely little town.
Next up in my travels I had been told about a little town called Legerwood which has a war memorial honouring individual World War 1 soldiers who had come from the area. Initially there were a number of trees planted back in 1918, but as time went on they became dangerously high and by 2001 the community had to decide the best way to preserve the memorial. They decided on using a Tasmania chainsaw carver by the name of Eddie Freeman from Ross, who in 2004 used the trunks of the trees to sculpt individual scenes representing each Solider. Each one is a masterpiece and has a small plaque mounted below it telling the story of the solider each tree represents. Very impressive.
Past Legerwood I thought I'd check out Ralph Falls. The road in is a one way narrow gravel road which in a normal car had me travelling the 11km windy road no faster than 20kms an hour, so keep that in mind that it's an hour return if you are in a normal road car as I was. It's well worth the trip. The 15 minute forest walk to the falls is sweet, with the moss and mushrooms popping up everywhere on the forest floor. It reminded me off the old kids movie, Fern Tree Gully, I wouldn't have been surprised to see a fairy, it just had a magical feel to the place!
The falls were very pretty, and so was the view, I will definitely come back here in the winter as with more water it will be even better.
Norm's lookout also gives you a great view into the valley, with the free binoculars on hand you can inspect the view in detail!
After my half hour crawl back down the windy hill I was back on the A3. I stopped and had a quick something to eat in the nice little mining town of Derby. Berries Cafe had this on offer, which filled the spot.
After passing Pioneer, keep your eye out for the brown sign on the side of the road for Little Blue Lake, it's only a few kilometres out of town and if you blink you will miss it, and being something this pretty, you shouldn't!
Last stop for the day was Mt William National Park past Gladstone. Now again I am in a normal road car and the road heading out of Gladstone towards it in my opinion, at the time of writing, April 2013, was atrocious. It sports HUGE deep pot holes and serious corrugation so if your in a 4WD you will be fine, if not you will struggle! After a good 20kms I finally made it to the park which I am told is abundant with wildlife. I attempted to take a spin on the around 10km Forrester Kangaroo Scenic Drive but the one way road was so poor for a road car I gave up about 5kms in and turned around as soon as I found a spot in the bush where I could do a 60 point turn without damaging my car or the bush. I saw one Kangaroo, that is it. I saw more wildlife driving along the A3 during any time of the day than in this park. To be fair, it was there around the middle of the day which is not the best time for animal activity. The signs did name animals which you could see with patience, time and a bit of luck. Whilst a disappointing visit this time for me, the park seemed a great place to camp and go fishing but as for sight seeing I have seen far better and more accessible to road cars in Tassie.
Above was one of the better bits of road on the Forrester Kangaroo Drive.
Along my day trip I met many people who told me of other great sights to check out along the A3, particularly along the part heading down towards St Helens. I did all of the above comfortably in a day, so the rest of the A3 I will have to check out some other time! I've already started to plan my next A3 adventure!
Over the weekend Psy came out with his next big hit to rival Gangnam style, Gentleman. So far the reviews have been mixed but as far as the dance goes the new "Arrogant Dance" is much easier than the Gangnam style dance!
I'm not that excited about the new music video, but through watching this I spotted one of his videos far more captivating.
I love his dedication, even crawling down the stairs! Brilliant! If you haven't seen it already it worth a look and a laugh!
Over the weekend the V8 Supercars came to Tassie for the Microsoft Office 365. I was fortunate enough to take a look at the track by going on a fast lap in the 'safety' car! I had a false sense of security because of the word 'safety' in front of car, but as I found out safe doesn't mean slow!!!!
This Easter we had great weather in Tassie and a place I have been keen to visit since I arrived here is Wineglass Bay. Being voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world put it straight on my bucket list!
The drive is a good 2 and a half hours from Launceston, but there is plenty to see on the way. I always make myself a mud map to ensure I can manage to fit everything into the day I want to see as I am so easily distracted. ;P This was my plan; a long day but I pulled it off!
You can take your pick where you want to have your first rest break, either Campbell Town just before you turn off Highway 1 for the B34 or Lake Leake which is where I stopped to stretch the legs.
A nice fishing and camping spot with plenty of birdlife. There is an Inn for a drink and bite to eat just to the side of the lake as well.
I went to Swansea next, a great spot to check out the magnitude of how big Great Oyster Bay is. The main strip had nice little shops and plenty of places to grab something to eat. The boat ramp was very busy when I was there, this is one of the little coves along side it, the lone boat was about to get some serious company!
By time I arrived in Bicheno it was lunchtime so after a few bog laps of the main strip I spotted a great place to get myself something to eat and enjoy the awesome view - Sea Life Centre. I sampled some local produce Crumbed Scallops!
Before I left I checked out the blow hole, it was a pretty calm day so it wasn't spurting anything spectacular, but I can see the potential there!
Next up the Douglas Apsley National Park. I read about it having a nice waterholes and Gorges, what I didn't read is that it it's a 3 to 4 hour return trip to the gorge and your basically walking down the river bank rock hopping… which wont work for me with my busy day schedule, a shame! I did get to see the Aspley waterhole, that was only 10 minutes walk! ;)
Now for what I had been waiting for, Wineglass Bay! You drive past Coles Bay first then follow the signs to the car park. It and 45 minute up hill trek but its worth it for such a stunning view. In real life it's a beautiful vivid blue and the water is perfectly clear, so lovely.
It's about an hour and a half return from this spot down to the beach, I ran out of time because by this point is was after 5pm and I had a long drive back. I squeezed in one last spot with the limited amount of daylight left – the lighthouse. Make sure you don't miss it; the road is filled with pot holes at the time of writing but its worth the drive for such a great view.
I knew I wouldn't get home now till after 9pm having to drive slow through Dusk as the wildlife along the road is abundant so I stopped for dinner first where I could enjoy a lovely view of Coles Bay, I picked Freycinet Lodge and kept to the local produce theme having their seafood basket. :)
A nice way to finish the day. It was a long windy trip back, but beautiful watching the sunset and all the colours appear and disappear! Travelling is great, we live in a beautiful world and a wonderful state! :)
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