Having just returned from our adventures in Tasmania we are growing once more accustomed to the life of the traveller as we move up through the eastern seaboard. We are at the present preparing to cross the Oondiri Plain once more and spend the winter months in WA but more about that later.
Travelling around Tas’ has been a wonderful adventure and you can read all about our discoveries in the most recent of posts and in RVdaily.com.au. You will find the links to the articles in RVdaily here on this site along with some entertaining video imbedded in the pages of this great free e-mag. Just follow the links HERE as the last of the stories unfold over the coming weeks.
One thing that you cant ignore in Tas’ is just how close everything is. The entire island is around the size of Ireland, and just about anywhere is within reach in a day. But travelling that fast means you will miss so much of what the Apple Isle has to offer.
One of our favourite places… and there are so many… was Strahan on the western coast. The tales from Strahan will be coming up in the e-mag, RV daily, soon and it is well worth subscribing to this free mag for its informative content and some really great advice. Then there is our visit to Cradle Mountain… the beautiful wilderness that touches so many people that it draws some incredible crowds.
Tasmania also caters well to the traveller. There are many travellers camps, some free, some with a small charge and others that cater to the holiday makers with power, water and a other ammenities that attract those who prefer a caravan park type arrangement. My all-time favourite has to be Old Mac’s Farm which is a travellers rest with a small $10 nightly charge, just a titch out of Launceston. Old Mac’s is a favourite travellers stop for the tourer, offering nearby access to Launceston, where you will find the free Tiger bus to help you get around and the magnificent Cataract Gorge in the heart of the city amongst so much more.
When travelling and camping-up around Tas’ what is essential is a grey and black water collection facility. Tassy is a valuable and valued wilderness and protecting the abundant wildlife is a MUST. The taint of grey-water deeply affects penguin colonies, platypus waterways and damages this beautiful environment. The stench and stain of people using our wilderness as a toilet, particularly in the numbers of travellers who visit and value these wilderness regions, is sufficient to adversely affect that which we value the most. Burying your effluent also doesn’t work well in Tas’ so there exists legislation about dealing with grey and black water or simply put… don’t crap in the bush! If you are unable to deal with your own waste effectively then go to a caravan park or other holiday accomodation, where they will accommodate you. You are not welcome to ‘rough it’ if it means the you will destroy an desecrate our wilderness places.
Having said the above… there are some idyllic travellers camps scattered all around Tas, the least of which are the National Parks and Reserves of which there are many. You need a National Parks Pass… this is the most economic of things and not only for camping. Right throughout Tas’ we found the Park Rangers booking and fining the cheap skates… those who visit these park regions hoping not to pay the access and maintenance fees. Places such as Cradle Mountain, The Wild Rivers NP, Freycinet and Bay of Fires etc and there are those who neglect to purchase the necessary Pass. The fines are not cheap and you wont find many others in sympathy with your neglect.
Tasmania also offers a number of reserves and the like, where the National Parks Pass is not required. However even if you plan on just visiting the National Parks… you will require that all important pass to get through the gate and access the facilities provided for the visitor along the way.
Best of all are that Tas’ has to offer in there communities are those places and villages which welcome the traveller, commonly accomodating them in their travellers reserves, or show grounds and rec’ parks. It is the way of the future, and often the real prosperity of rural Australia for any community. These villagers and towns are commonly gems to explore more often than not, and provide a valuable stop-up to visit the treasures to be found in the area. I would highly recommend wikicamps ap for your phone or tablet if you plan on travelling around the countryside and need advice on just where to stop up in accordance with your style. Here you will find a wealth of info and advice for the traveller and along with that… undoubtably you will discover Tasmania and the rest of Aus’ at its best.
Travel Well.
Jan is a Traveller and an Author. You can find out more about her books on travel on the page dedicated to Oldies at Large, where you will also find a list of her blog postings in topic.
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There is an ancient story… A bold adventure into a new world, a world you are most familiar with. These are the stories of the Shaman from the oldest culture in the world, drawn from the ancient Lore of the Australian Aboriginal tribes. Discover how the world of ancient creatures, different beliefs and secret things influence your own even today. The Dreaming Series and The Spirit Children are tales from very different worlds that touch your own.
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Jan, thanks for a most comprehensive and informative look at caravanning in Tasmania. I have enjoyed the read and will recommend it to friends.
Thanks Itching 😊 we really loved Tas