Its been a long time since we slept in a double bed, and even longer since we have shared one! Gen didn't sleep particularly well, afraid that her rolling would wake me. I need to find some way to convince her that I sleep the sleep of the 'assisted' and that even though I might have asked her if she was ok, I really don't wake fully! I do remember waking at some point in the night to turn off the electric blanket that I had put on before I retired last night.
Gen tells me that the forecast is for 26 degrees - yep, you read that right! The morning is crisp, but not cold. Southern Tasmania has it's own version of the long-white-cloud (sorry, not sorry, NZ). Today, it sits above the valley below, about on a par with The House on The Hill B&B. Above us only sky (wow, I think I could make a killing with that lyric 😉) and certainly no hell below. The cloud tapers to a mist towards Mt Wellington, and to the south. There is already some heat on the air, so the morning breeze is more balmy than we have experienced since arriving in Tasmania.
We come into the shared dinind/sitting room to find the other couple staying here (from Melbourne) already eating breakfast. Paul has laid the large table for us, and a smaller table for them. They are not very chatty, so I resort to asking lots of open questions. Amazing how quickly they finished and left! Gen has ordered Bacon and Eggs and I am having a continental breakfast. A selection of three cereals awaits me, plus a jug of milk, a bowl of yoghurt and two bowls of fruit - strawberries and grapes, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. Followed by sourdough bread toasted and raspberry and apricot jams. Perfect, just perfect.
Hunger sated, checking the washing Gen did and hung out last night, to find it about 80% dry (so we left it), we headed back down the hill to Huonville town. We are hoping to visit Willie Smiths Apple Shed. Everything we have read of and been told about this establishment tells us that it is one of those iconic must-sees. Its a couple of minutes north of town - we had passed it coming in late yesterday, so we know just where to go. Its Sunday morning and apart from those hurrying to Church, there is little traffic. However, there is already a tour bus pulled in when we get there - must be one of the early departures from Hobart. The Cellar Door does not open until noon, about three hours from now. If they had been open, we certainly would have been up for a cider tasting, but with breakfast just passed us, we opted for a slice of Apple Pie - OMG these need to be seen to be believed. The apples are sliced not chopped and I reckon I count 14 or 15 layers of apple. Served warm with plain ice-cream and topped with two slices of dried apple, this is the stuff that memories are made of. Just like Nanny and Mum used to make. You know this aroma, it is a warm kitchen, love in the hands and fruit freshly peeled encased in a hearty pastry with just THE right amount of bite - not soggy, not dry. There are obviously a number of differing apples used - some are firm with a slight crunch still, whiles others are soft and moist. It definitely lives up to its reputation! And with the cellar door not open for hours, we had to settle with a shared glass of Organic Cider - there were four to choose from available at the cafe counter and this one was the recommendation of the lass serving us.
We sit overlooking the display distillation room, but have too much to see to laze the morning here. Now bloated, we head the car south. Back through town to the turnoff at Geeveston, 22 kms away. We are headed to the Tahune Adventures base where I want to do the Tahune Airwalk. This is a walk on a cabled, cantilevered corridor, complete with stopping platforms and a cantilevered lookout above the Huon River, overlooking formerly logged old growth forests that have been replanted.
The day is so nice, that we turn off the air-conditioner and wind the windows down. Straight away, your senses are heightened, odours are for the smelling and sights are brighter. Passing through small apple towns, there are two smells we encounter - the decay of road-kill, all too frequent, and the wood-smoke of kitchen or sitting room fires in country farms. Smells are so integral to our memories.
As you snake your way down what was probably original logging tracks that have now been sealed, you pas the occasional sign that says - Planted Area following clear-felling. The oldest section we pass is 1961, so that is 60 and a bit years, and still the forest has not recovered fully. We were told on the boat two days ago, that is takes about 120 years for a tree to reach mature height. During our 29 km drive into Tahune (from Geeveston), we pass lots of signs 'Are we There Yet' 'Halfway' 'Not much further' 'Nearly there' and 'Yaaay. You made it'! Obviously, plenty of people in the past have commented on the long drive in. It might only be 29 kms, but up and down hill, round and round the mountain range, it certainly feels longer and takes about an hour! Still, its not all bad. We cleanse our nostrils in the clean eucalypt laden air, we marvel at the sight of MASSIVE trees, both standing and felled, at the size of the ferns from delicate small varieties that hug the roadside, probably competing with traffic to large tree ferns with fronds that span tens of metres. There are a couple of babbling creeks chattering away as their waters tumble rock and fallen timber.
Finally we arrive at the Yaaay sign. Disabled Parking is just across from the entry booth. There is a sign that says that people with disabilities can be catered for and to ask the staff, and without any further prompting, that is exactly what Gen does. Turns out that there are 100 steps up a graded walkway to get to the start of the Airwalk. 14 I can do (at home), 20 I think I could manage once a while, but 100, I have no hope. So, the disability option is to drive the first part of the walk (you should see the smouldering looks we get from walkers as we drive over the bridge) to the start point of the Airwalk. Once there, Gen is up a gum tree - she had not realised that the Airwalk was so high above the ground, but I am determined, and the tickets bought.
We step off solid ground onto what many would feel was an engineering feat. It is an open mesh walkway that would be just wide enough for a wheelchair if needed. The Tahune AirWalk is an elevated walkway 30 metres above the forest floor, with the final cantilever section sitting at a height of 50 metres above the Huon River, with spectacular views to the confluence of the Huon and Picton Rivers and beyond to the peaks of the World Heritage Area. It is 619m in length (yay me - I walked the entire length) and at its highest point is 50m above the ground - 150 feet or about 30 of me on top of each other. When you put it like that, you can start to appreciate just how high it is. We walk passed a number of trees that tower above us on the walk - easily 100m high, perhaps even higher. They tower so far above us that we cannot get the entire tree from floor to tip in one shot on any of the devices we are carrying. Nature is indeed wonderous.
The Leatherwoods are in bloom and I yearn for honey, Huon Pines and lots of other native species fill in the sight line. I've abandoned my jacket and am now down to a light summer top. Except for the lack of humidity, I could have been in my home-state. Once we return to the office to check in (they recorded our rego number in case we did not return) it was time for some lunch and the obligatory Valhalla ice-cream - Tasmania's own. Chef freshly-cooked my hamburger was delicious and Gen enjoyed her Chicken Salad. Gen chose a Choc-Mint ice cream in a cone - it tasted of fresh mint and was nothing like those sickly sweet ones we get back home. My Salted Caramel crunch was decadently rich, and yet not overly sweet. Can someone check if we an get Valhalla Ice Cream in Queensland please.
By now it is pushing 3 o'clock. We have run into a Brisbane couple we have seen a few times over the last couple of days. Turns out they are returning to spend a few days with friends just outside Hobart tonight - so we won't encounter them again. We leave Tarhune and turn yet further south - pushing down the coastline for another 20 odd kilometres to Dover. Its Sunday, the roads are quiet. We pass sleepy little towns with every house built to make the best of their vantage-points over the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Who can blame them. While there is some new development, it appears more to cater to seasonal workers - fruit-pickers and those working in the Salmon industry. Just north of Dover at Port Huon is a wharf that is dwarfed by two HUGE trawlers. These belong to the Tassel enterprise. We can see some of the pens that they grow some of their salmon in, but I suspect that these trawlers head into the deeper, much colder waters further south beyond the Tasman Sea. I remember a tussel between Tassel and Huon Salmon a couple of years ago with one accusing the other (can't remember which one) of overstocking their salmon pens and crowding the bay.
On our way back to our accommodation we stop off in Geeveston to have a look at the Arve Big Tree, a fallen swamp gum, thought to be one of Australia's tallest trees that started growing about 500 years ago. It survived the devastating bushfires of 1967 but was sadly lost in the Riveraux Road bushfire of 2019.
We hop and jump our way back t Huonville, stopping at each roadside stall, wanting to buy some apples. We were hoping to buy a variety and no more than 1kg as we have limited capacity to keep things cold. Sadly, the smallest we can find are 3kg bags of single varieties. We'll try one of the fruit-shops as we leave tomorrow morning for a selection.
Tomorrow we head slightly east to travel the towns in the other side of the Channel - Cygnet (where one of Gen's workmates was born) and Verona Sands before we head into the midlands, perhaps to Cradle Mountain or to Strahan on the west coast - wherever we can get accommodation. We are now well into our second week, and already it feels like we are running out of time.
Time to hit the pillow - we are hoping for an earlier start in the morning - and look, its only 8:30pm!
