Finally, we had arrived in Tasmania. We no longer had thick heads & it was time to explore this intriguing island. For our next campsite, we were determined to find an absolute oasis. We were desperate to drive around and see what Tassie had instore for us. The weather forecast was looking to work very much in our favour so, we decided to check out a variety of campsites and then make our choice on our number one spot to setup camp for a few days.
We thought we'd check out Georgetown, we hadn't done any homework on the town but it was the next town on the map from where we were and thought we'd drop in for a little peak. We had a lovely breakfast in the sunshine at Georgetown Scenic Lookout and learnt that the town is actually Australia's oldest town having been settled by the European's in 1804.
More interestingly than the fact it was the oldest town in Australia was that we were there for the biggest action in Georgetown for years to come. Turns out, a couple of youths took a home made bomb to the local ATM that backed onto the bank during the early hours of the morning. I assume they didn't know the brunt of their own bomb as they blew the back windows out of the bank and one of the guys was rushed to hospital with cuts & burns and is now in custody. I'm pretty sure half the township was there to witness the aftermath. One of the bank's employees was in her element, standing on the street corner out the front waving down all of the passing by cars repeating "We've been blown up love, yep BLOWN UP!!!" She'll be talking about this little incident for weeks to come, that'll keep her amused at least!
More interestingly than the fact it was the oldest town in Australia was that we were there for the biggest action in Georgetown for years to come. Turns out, a couple of youths took a home made bomb to the local ATM that backed onto the bank during the early hours of the morning. I assume they didn't know the brunt of their own bomb as they blew the back windows out of the bank and one of the guys was rushed to hospital with cuts & burns and is now in custody. I'm pretty sure half the township was there to witness the aftermath. One of the bank's employees was in her element, standing on the street corner out the front waving down all of the passing by cars repeating "We've been blown up love, yep BLOWN UP!!!" She'll be talking about this little incident for weeks to come, that'll keep her amused at least!
Of course, being the travellers that we are, we are known to get easily distracted along the way particularly when strawberries are involved. At Hillwood Berry Farm you can pick your own Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackcurrants and Redcurrants. Being the strawberry lover that I am I, of course, made a beeline for the strawberries. They give you a little bucket and you can pick as many of whatever berries take your fancy for $9 a kilo. Of course, if it just so happens that a kilo or two end up in your mouth and not in the bucket and you only end up buying half a kilo... well then what a shame you've just had an hours worth of entertainment in the sunshine and a very full belly for just $4.50.
After driving around aimlessly for a good few hours in search for a campsite, Tom and I were pretty over it and ready to just set up camp. We singled out Stumpy's Bay Campsite in the Mt Williams National Park. with four campsites to chose from we were quite confident that we'd find something to our liking. Unfortunately though, it wasn't quite that simple...
Campsite # 1 - you could light fires but was the only campsite where caravans would fit so it was flooded with folk.
Campsite # 2 - no campfires allowed... not so cool when you've got a packet of marshmallows waiting to be toasted.
Campsite # 3 - campfires were allowed but it had a really horrible lingering smell to it that we just couldn't figure out where it was from.
Campsite # 4 - no campfires allowed AND we found the source of the horrible smell....
They weren't kidding... ew, ew & ew...
So we decided to make our way back to Campsite # 1 and make friends with all of the folk... we quickly understood why there were so many people at this site, considering the lack of alternatives.
The beach at Stumpy's Bay is absolutely beautiful... crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches are always a favourite...
We spent a lot of the time on the beach, as you would when the weather is perfect. Tom got out his fishing equipment (I think he was beginning to have withdrawals as it had been so long since his last fish) and I lay on the beach working on my tan. We made a couple of friends when one of them, walked over with a couple of drinks in hand to share them with us. Very quickly, the 'fishing on the beach' morphed into 'drinking on the beach' and we spent our time laughing and drinking with our new friends, Tasmanian locals - Aaron & Phil.
The beach at Stumpy's Bay is absolutely beautiful... crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches are always a favourite...
We spent a lot of the time on the beach, as you would when the weather is perfect. Tom got out his fishing equipment (I think he was beginning to have withdrawals as it had been so long since his last fish) and I lay on the beach working on my tan. We made a couple of friends when one of them, walked over with a couple of drinks in hand to share them with us. Very quickly, the 'fishing on the beach' morphed into 'drinking on the beach' and we spent our time laughing and drinking with our new friends, Tasmanian locals - Aaron & Phil.
This fish was obviously caught before the drinks where brought out...
A whiting wrapped up in aluminium foil along with garlic, dill & salt made for a scrumptious feed.
A whiting wrapped up in aluminium foil along with garlic, dill & salt made for a scrumptious feed.
I love how graphic this sign is...
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