Our luck with the ferry continued and we drove straight on with only a handful of other cars leaving the island. Our route north west took us back through Hobart and eventually to historic New Norfolk. Tasmania’s third oldest settlement was founded by evacuees from Norfolk Island which ceased to house convicts around 1814. (It would later re open in 1825 as a brutal prison housing reoffenders and hardened criminals.)
New Norfolk however, flourished and is now home to many families who have found more affordable living when compared to Hobart. It is home to Tasmania’s oldest Anglican church as well as The Bush Inn, one of Australia’s oldest continuously operating hotels, making it a perfect stop for history buffs, foodies, and those with an obsession for antiques.
We did though, have a specific reason for choosing New Norfolk for our lunch stop.
New Norfolk was also home to the infamous Willow Court – initially established as a depot for chronically ill, or ‘invalid’ convicts in 1827 – and which then operated continuously as a mental health facility until 2000 making it the country’s longest-operating asylum and hospital for those with disabilities and mental illness. It has a fascinating and chequered history, you can read more here.
After the Second World War and on his return from New Guinea, Russell’s dad was admitted to Millbrook Rise which was administratively part of Willow Court and physically situated nearby but had been purposely built for returned soldiers and their families. He was suffering from PTSD and spent a month in the facility – as you know Russell is researching his family history and he wanted to understand more about this time in his Dad’s life.
We didn’t find Millbrook Rise itself but had a wander through parts of Willow Court, read some interesting interpretative boards and had an excellent lunch at The Agrarian’s kiosk. Since closing in 2000 there is now ongoing redevelopment of Willow Court’s extensive grounds and a range of antiques stores, cafes and restaurants are all starting to transform this once sad place into a new era.
Our journey west took us through more beautiful scenery, albeit slowly as the roads are consistently winding and in some places narrow but eventually we arrived at our overnight accommodation, Mt. Field Retreat. These are fairly new units, reasonably spartan but with all we needed and most importantly almost adjacent to Mt. Field National Park, Tasmania’s first National Park and home to the famous Russell Falls. One of Tasmania’s most beautiful waterfalls (they even featured on one of Australia’s first postage stamps,) we of course had our own reason for visiting 😉
We had arrived on a Sunday and despite being winter the park was probably busier than anywhere else that we had visited so far.
Not hoardes of people, but those that were there were all congregated at the Russell Falls viewing platform, with good reason of course! It was quite overcast and late in the afternoon so not the best conditions and my photography skills were not quite up to taking the photo I wanted.
We decided to continue further up the path to Horseshoe Falls, much quieter, possibly due to the 200 odd steps to climb…
WARNING: If you don’t like waterfalls, look away now 😉
Being the adventurous seniors that we are, we (mostly I) decided to push on, eventually reaching Lady Barron Falls and then ultimately climbing another 239 steps to complete the 6.5 km Loop Walk.
The next morning the weather was considerably clearer and we nipped back in to Russell Falls for more sunshine and less competition on the viewing platform (featured image at head of page.)
Russell eventually dragged me away from the falls and we got back on the road toward Strahan, gateway to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Our route, initially the Gordon River Road and then the Lyell Highway required extreme concentration – steep, winding and as we got to the higher elevations, misty rain for good measure.
We broke the journey in tiny Derwent Bridge with lunch at the Wombat Cafe before deciding to do the quick detour to nearby Lake St.Clair.
Lake St.Clair is Australia’s deepest freshwater lake, carved by glacial activity millions of years ago and it forms the southern border of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. We thought we might do a short walk but soon changed our mind when we were hit by fierce winds and threatening rain.
I’ve since read that the climate is classified a “cold Oceanic climate bordering on Subpolar Oceanic climate” and it has 19.4 clear days annually!
Today wasn’t one of them.
The 250 km journey took us nearly five hours and I (as the driver) was happy to see the “Welcome to Strahan” sign at nearly 4pm.
I perked up considerably though when presented with the 180 degree water views from our Wheelhouse Apartment and the kettle was put on to boil.
Tomorrow, we have the famous Gordon River Cruise – come rain or shine….