Places to visit in Tasmania
ABT Railway
Don River Rail
Highfield House
Freycinet National Park
Mount Field National Park
Tesselated Pavement
Steam World
Port Arthur
Spray Tunnel
Port Arthur takes at least a full day if you want to have a
good look around, the entry fee is $45 per family and this includes a ferry
ride around the harbour.
Get there early and catch one of the walking tours before setting out by yourself,
the walking tour gives a good overview of all the sights. Make sure you wear
comfortable shoes, there is a lot of ground to cover.
Additional tours are available for the Isle of the Dead and a ghost tour after
dark.
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Steam World (Westbury)
If you like old machines? Steamworld is a good place to spend the morning.This
must be one of the best collections of steam tractors around.
Weather permiting there is a scale steam train that does laps of the shed.
Steam World is on the Old highway from Deloraine to Westbury.
GPS 41°31.563´S 146°50.503´E
WGS84
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Don River Rail is a large collection of Diesel Engines, Steam Engines and
rollingstock run by enthusiasts.
The entry fee was $20 per family and this include a train ride and guided
tour of the workshop.
If you want a ride on a Steamtrain check with Don River Rail before your visit
because they don't run steam every day, when we were there the Steam engines
only ran on a Sunday.
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Mount Field National Park is a great place to stay
for a few days, there are some great walks in the area, the environment changes
from Rain forrest at the base to Alpine forrest up at Lake Dobson. During
the summer the rangers conduct a lot of guided walks and talks that are well
worth attending, make sure you book for the nite walk and the Glow worm walk
as they are very popular. Lake Pedder and the Gordon Dam are only another
hours drive further on.
Glow Worms: If you want to see the glow worms;
Wait till after dark and take the track toRussel Falls. When you get to Russel
Falls turn off your torch and wander back towards the campsite slowly. Give
your eyes time to adjust to the darkness and look into the bush.
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The ABT Railway (Rack and Pinion)
The ABT Railway is advertised everywhere in Tasmania. It leaves from Queenstown (and when we were there in January 2002) to Rinadeena and Back. Apperently it will travel to Straughn when the track is finished.
For my money I thought it was a pretty poor job. My problem was that for all the hype and $95 (2A,2C) we expected some authenticity.
| Journey through Pristine Rainforest | Blackberry infested Bush |
| Authentic Victorian Carriages | Built 6 months ago with a square steel tube Frame.(Maybe they were made in Victoria?) |
| Guided tour |
No information at all, even at stops. |
| Gold Mine | A 1m hole in the side of a hill lined with old sleepers |
| Period Station | Plastic water tanks |
Stop at the Queenstown Station and have a look around at the train if it
is in, the timber work in the ticket office is worth a look.
Go over the road to the Empire Hotel and have a look at the Blackwood staircase.
The only thing you can't see at the Queenstown Station is the Rack that runs
down the middle of the track on the steep sections.
Down the road at Zeehan there is an excelent museum in the old School of Mines
building, This is where one of the Engines was until recently and they have
a piece of the original Rack.
If you are a Steam Train fan it is probably very interesting.
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Highfield house was the original homestead for the Van Diemans Land, pastoral company. The house and many of the outbuildings have been restored. Highfield house is situated on a hill overlooking the town of Stanley and the Nut.
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Tesselated Pavement(Eaglehawk Neck)
The Tesselated Pavement is a very interesting rock formation.Well worth a visit. If the tide is out make sure you walk allong the rocks so you can have a good look at the different shapes,don't worry about being caught at the wrong end when the tide comes in as there are plenty of tracks leading off the beach back to the road.
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The Freycinet National Park is a very picturesque part of Tasmania. There
are many different small beaches only a short walk from car parks. Most of
the southern region of the park is only accesible by foot. For those with
a 4WD take the turn off to Bluestone Bay on the way to Cape Tourville, it's
a fairly easy track . When you leave Bluestone bay continue along the track
and it brings you out ont the bitumen again.
| Signposted Turnoff to Bluestone Bay | 42°07.192´S | 148°20.246´E |
| Alternative Turnoff | 42°07.649´S | 148°19.187´E |
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The Spray Tunnel is just out of Zeehan on the golf course road, the track through the tunnel is one way only, once you get to the entrance there is no turning back. Before you get to the tunnel entrance there is a track on the left at the smelter ruins, if you are towing drop it off here as this is where you will come out after you have been through the tunnel. The minimum tunnel width is 2.2M, a GQ Patrol fits easily.(at least 100mm each side)
The Spray Tunnel at Zeehan
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DURING 1901 the British Zeehan Silver Mining Company extended the Argent
tramway through a tunnel through a hill south of the Zeehan Golf Course to
access the Spray mine which was located in near inaccessable country owing
to the small but steep hilly country in its vicinity. The company bought a
small locomotive called “Spray” which was used on the tramway until
the spray mine closed in 1913. The tunnel is an unusual ‘keyhole’
shape which is said to be the result of the top part of the tunnel having
been enlarged to allow the passage of steam boilers that were brought through
the tunnel to the mine. The first mining leases were taken up in the area
in 1887 and by 1890 an adit about 80 metres long had been driven with little
financial reward along an ore body about one metre wide. An adit is a horizontal
tunnel driven into the side of a hill. The miners were looking for silver
bearing lead ore. Little else was done until 1990 when antimony bearing silver
lead ore was found there, some of which were assayed over 2000 ounces of silver
per ton ( over 60,000 grams per tonne). This was exceptional and created a
great deal of excitement at the time. During the next few years the Spray
mine became one of the most important in Zeehan. Between 1905 and 1908 the
No. 1 shaft was sank to a depth of about 120 metres. The site of this shaft
lies directly in front of the tunnel opening amongst the regrowth at the foot
of the hill, it was closed in 1909 due to flooding. Photographs showing the
construction of the shaft headframe and associated buildings can be seen in
the West Coast Pioneers’ Memorial Museum at Zeehan. These photographs
show the area completely devoid of vegetation with little left but tree stumps.
Much different to what you see today, a testimony of the West Coast’s
environmental ability to reclaim as its own again soon after man decides he
has had enough and deserts his former places of toil to move on elsewhere
to further seek his fortune.
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