!3th March to 22nd March 10

Saturday 13th March 10

We took it very easy this morning after yesterdays hike having slept well, especially Foxy.
Brian and Alice left this morning and shortly after that we met our new neighbours Roger and yet another Jenny. They have come in from Zeehan with a blown seal on their cars rear differential which is creating a few problems for them as there is no mechanic in Strahan, and definitely not a Mitsubishi agent. Fortunately it is just still under warrantee and his roadside assistance will take it back to Burnie for replacement of the seal and/or diff, and him with it and cover accommodation costs. We have offered to look after Jenny with respect to shopping, general chauffeur, etc, whilst he is away despite us moving next Wednesday to the local golf club where we can stay for as long as we like for $7 a night, so will still be around to help out. Jenny will stay here at $35 an night but has power and water plus amenities such as campers kitchen, toilet, shower and laundry. We will need to use our solar panels and/or generator which we can run between 8.00am and 9.30pm. We will take 180 litres of water with us and can top up from town with 70 litres at a time in the cars water tanks, plus we will be closer to the town sullage point than we are at present. We will still be as close to town as we are now, and Jenny has offered to look after Foxy on occasions when we can’t take her with us, such as when we drive through to Queenstown and Lake St Claire. Tomorrow we will be taking them into town to do the Gordon river cruise which we did in 2001, and will not be doing again as the only thing that has changed is the boat to much bigger and more enclosed.
After our easy morning we took Roger/Jenny into town to book their cruise and they took the 15 minute walk home whilst we drove along the Esplanade to Peoples’ Park and took the 20 minute walk each way to Hogarth Falls. This was not as spectacular as Montezuma Falls but a pleasant walk to loosen us up again and still has its own natural appeal. However, we may have to do this walk again as the afternoon natural lighting spoilt the photos to a large degree and a bit more water would be good, so a morning trip after the next period of rain could be on the cards.

Sunday 13th March 10

Barry drove Roger/Jenny into town to catch their cruise on the Gordon and then drove up Tank hill to the lookout for an overview of the harbour and then round to the Heritage train that goes to Queenstown, for a look at the train carriages and photos of the harbour across the water.

Apparently you can take the train to Queenstown with a bus ride back or a bus to Queenstown and the train back.

We repeated this trip in the afternoon on the way to the shops, and this time the engine was attached to the carriages. This was a diesel but we are led to believe the engines change part way to a steam engine that uses an additional central geared track.

The loco has 2 pinion gears rotated by 2 additional pistons that locate into the rack track to help it over the mountainous country, similar to the train on Mt Snowden in Wales. The 2 pinion gears are out of phase so that there is always 1one tooth located in the rack. It was designed by a Swiss guy, Roman Abt, who used to work for a company using a rack more like a ladder that was very expensive to make and maintain so started his own company with his own cheaper, more successful method.

Monday 14th March 10

Roger returned to Burnie with the truck carrying his car and later rang to say the 2 diff seals have to be ordered from Hobart so will be in Burnie at least a day longer. Household chores took care of the morning for us but decided to book tickets or the train trip in the afternoon as Jenny had offered to look after Foxy. When we arrived at the station we discovered that the 2 regular class carriages were full of coach tours, and movement within the carriage would be impossible. Yesterday we noticed there were only ten people between the three carriages.
We considered transferring to the next day that was less congested but that could change at the drop of a hat, so Merry upgraded us to fPrewium class which gave more comfortable seating for the eight occupants in that carriage, therefore more room to move around for photographs. It also had an open balcony at the back and provided chicken and camembert pies, salmon or ham rolls, a fruit platter, a cheese platter, tea, coffee, and as much beer or wine that you can manage. There was a running commentary as the train followed firstly the King river and then the Queen river into Queenstown with the history of the mine which was originally gold but as that run out they turned to copper, and the railway which was the only way to get the copper out to Strahan and the sea. It took 2.5 years to build the track and the locomotives that arrived from Scotland in kit form with no instructions.

76 years later, after the mine changed the transportation method to a fleet of trucks once the road was built, the train system fell into disuse for many years. Much later, to restore it for the tourism trade, using modern technology and equipment, it took 4 years to bring it up to the new safety requirements. It is a great train journey with three stops, the first of which was for honey tasting and to view the river and three different types of pine trees, including a Huon pine, which usually all grow at different altitudes, not side by side.

The second stop was to change trains so that we now had the oil fired steam loco, and watched them turn the diesel loco round to take the Strahan carriages back.

The steam loco uses the geared third rail to assist it on the 1 in 20 metre incline as regular trains can only manage 1 in 40 inclines, plus they found that the steamer can haul twice the weight of copper that the diesel locos can haul over these inclines.

This stop also provided a ten minute bush walk through rain forest and under the bridge that the train is about to cross on departure from this stop.

The premium class carriage was now at the front so you could stand on the balcony and look into the engine, and take forward looking photos.

The next stop was at the apex of the journey where the loco was inspected to ensure a safe descent and also the engine driver has to swap batons (like in a relay race) by locking his baton into box and then unlock another box to get the baton for the next stage. If the baton isn’t there the train waits until it arrives on the train coming up the single track on the other side of the mountain. This is the only section of double track where they can pass, and they require the baton from our train to proceed beyond this point, just as we need their baton to continue. A safety procedure to avoid a head on collision with another train as no other train can come up the section track we are about use until they have the baton we are about to acquire. The baton we required was in the locked box so we continued on our journey after the loco was checked and all passengers accounted for (not a Queensland tour). There are toilets at all 3 stopping points. Once the train is off the steep incline it is able to release the pinion gears that also regulate speed on the downhill stretches, and then safety travel at 30kph on the less steep slope into Queenstown. This is the fastest the train went all day as the track is also not so twisty, but it is advisable to hold whatever drink you have to stop it falling over.

In Queenstown we transferred to a coach for the trip back by road to Strahan which is a slight anticlimax to the overall trip, but necessary as the trip back by train would have taken too long. The train journey was over 3.5 hours whereas the coach trip was about 45minutes.

Foxy was pleased to see us back home but had been in good company during our absence.

Tuesday 15th March 10

As we will be leaving the caravan park tomorrow to go to the Golf club camping area which doesn’t have power and water laid on, we used today to do our household chores whilst we had those facilities plus some shopping. One interesting point we noticed about this town, there is no pharmacy but it has two bottle shops. If you need a prescription filled you hand them in at the supermarket who pass it on for processing in Queenstown and you collect it the next day, with a bit of luck. In the late afternoon we did the pre-packing of as tables, chairs, etc in the annex.

Wednesday 16th March 10

We packed up the annex and left the caravan park by 9.45am and moved to the golf club which was relevantly clear of campers from the previous night which gave us the pick of choice spots. By midday we had finished setting up camp in time for lunch and the rain to arrive. We took 180 litres of water with us in the van’s tanks plus 56 litres in the tank in the car with an additional 20 litre jerry can which will see us through for a while, and can top up with the car tank and jerry can from the side of the golf club. The generator is full of fuel and ready to go if necessary but we are using our solar panels to keep the battery charged. In the evening we use an inverter to watch TV which copes easily through the main TV time slot and starts recharging at daybreak. Whilst in the queue in the Visitor centre, Merry heard the couple two places ahead of her book the only remaining accommodation in town at $300 a night. The next couple were turned away empty handed to sleep in their car or drive to Zeehan or Queenstown to try their luck. Everywhere is fully booked and in the late afternoon the Golf club accumulated nine motor homes along with the 4 tents and 3 caravans already here. Unlike caravan parks, there is no outside lighting so that when you turn your lights off at night it is pitch black and ideal for sleeping. The weather has turned decidedly cool with the rain and Foxy asked to come into bed with me at 3.00am despite having one of her jumpers that Dale gave us because her dog Scooter didn’t like it. Foxy isn’t too impressed with it either if she is in public, as it is coloured stripes like a rugby jumper, which is why they are deemed only to be her pyjamas.

Thursday 17th March 10

Roger called round to show off his repaired car and thank us for looking after Jenny (it was such hard work) and is now set to do the train trip to Queenstown tomorrow.
We are having a rest day despite the weather drying out temporarily as the weather forecast for tomorrow is not the best. Barry has set up the solar panels to take advantage of today’s sunlight but tomorrow may be a generator day.

Friday 18th March 10

It rained throughout the night and particularly hard at 7.15am this morning so nothing of interest happened as it hasn’t cleared up. The solar panels have been superseded by the generator.

Saturday 19th March 10

Still wet and miserable.

Sunday 20th March 10

It rained really hard during the night and was still raining in the morning and became the first day for more than half a lifetime that Barry stayed in bed beyond 7.30am. It does appear that the cloud may break up and let the solar panels do their job, but there is no guarantee. The ground has become almost water logged and when you walk on it water oozes out like squeezing a sponge. Fortunately we have picked a slightly raised are to park on. The lack of guarantee showed s why as it rained for almost all of the day. The next trip to Hogarth Falls should be quite a lot more interesting than the previous one.

Monday 21st March 10

Weather still not the best.

Tuesday 22nd March 10

The weather is marginally better but we have now had to swap gas bottles which involves the use of a dubious changeover valve, so having done that we drove to Queenstown in the hope of acquiring a replacement valve as Strahan has nothing like it. It turned out that the one and only hardware shop in Queenstown doesn’t either, nor the garage but they were able to put me onto a plumber/gasfitter who did have one, so the journey over the mountains wasn’t wasted. Before we returned to Strahan we elected to drive out towards Hobart to check out the road in case we choose to progress to Hobart rather than return to Burnie and Stanley whilst we are on the west side of the country. The road in or out of Queenstown in the Hobart direction is a long, steep zigzag on the side of a substantial mountain with nothing on the outside but a long way down into a virtual moonscape. We drove down it 10 years ago in a hired motor home on the outside lane which didn’t impress us as there where virtually no guard rails then. Now there are guard rail all the way down but how effective they would be if a high vehicle like a caravan hit them is debatable. However, we decided that it would be possible to take the caravan that way if we so desire but extreme care would be needed on some of the bends to avoid rubbing the van on the side of the cliff face.

Taking this opportunity to check this road proved to be a good idea as the last stretch of the climb offers a view of ‘Mad Meg’ an impressive waterfall that is only present for a short time after a lot of rain, and we got to see it . On the way back down in second gear and still touching the brakes, we pulled into a slightly widened spot on a bend next to nothing, other than gravitational pull, and stopped to take photos of ‘Mad Meg’. The name was given to us by a guy in the local garage but we suspect its real name is 'Horsetail Falls'.

We also stopped on another bend that had an information board and lookout over Queenstown, before continuing to the bottom and proceeding to Strahan. Even with the guardrails it is still a hair-raising experience. On arrival back in Strahan we drove into the town to see if there was a bakery which proved successful as it is part of the alfresco café. We bought some hot pies for lunch (2 pepper steak and 1 beef and Guinness) which we ate at a table on the small park across the road looking across the bay as the weather had clear slightly. The pies were absolutely delicious (the best we have experienced) and will ensure that we return for more. We then returned to camp for a cuppa, and to fit the new gas valve.

4th March to 12 March 2010

Thursday 4th March 10

Rest day after a very full day yesterday but we did take a walk into town to buy a few items.

Friday 5th March 10

We drove to Leven Canyon via another route towards Wilmot which we passed on Tuesday which incidentally also claims the original ‘Coles’ store but turned off before we got there this time and as always, up and over another mountain. On arrival at the Canyon car park we had our picnic lunch and took in the pleasant fern tree surroundings similar to a rain forest.

We proceeded with the 20 minute to the lookout (with Foxy) which was an energetic uphill pathway that emerged onto the edge of the canyon with spectacular views.

We took the alternate route back to the car park which involved 697 well-made steps, with a thick rope banister, down towards the bottom of the canyon. It wasn’t actually on the side of the canyon but a more practical route that ended at a bridge across a creek that flows into the canyon. Obviously, if you are idiot enough to go down them you have an extremely energetic uphill walk on a compacted sand stone path to get back out, supposedly a 15 minute walk if you are a marathon runner.

However, our more gentle approach allowed us to enjoy the fern tree lined walk, and ensured that we did get to the top. We met people later who were even more idiotic and did the loop the other way and had to climb the 607 steps. Fortunately there are at least 4 seats for resting on during trip.

After our recovery period in the car park we started out for home with a detour to Gunns Plains to check out Preston Falls. This was not one of the largest falls we have ever seen but probably changes dramatically in the late winter after some significant rain, or when the snow melts. It did however involve another 56 steps. The road to the falls is a very narrow twisty one with nowhere to safely turn round, so we let it take us to where ever it wanted to go until we picked up a signpost to Ulverstone, and headed there to join the Bass Highway back to Latrobe.

Saturday 5th March 10

Resting in the morning then shopped in the early afternoon. The rest of the day was used taking the annex down and packing everything away ready to move on tomorrow.

Sunday 5th March 10

We headed for Somerset which is just west of Burnie along the Bass Highway and then turned left onto the A10 for Rosebery. We chose this route as we expected it to have the wider, better roads, which was true for the Bass Highway and the first fifteen kilometre of the A10 and then it gradually decrease to the just acceptable when towing a caravan. This was fine until you have get over a mountain range, which you have to do if you move around in Tassie. Simply moving from one of the main towns to another involves negotiating a mountain range. This particular road at least had guardrails around the sharper corners in the areas where there are no trees to catch you if you get it wrong. Not so bad on the way up as you slow down real quick if necessary when you are pulling close to 2.5 tonnes, but not so funny holding it back on the way down. However, we arrived in Rosebery at about 2.30pm and after setting up the camp we walked across the bridge spanning the river along side the river for about 50 metres to Stitt Falls which is just down river from the caravan park.

Unfortunately the lookout is situated more to the side of the falls rather than in front of the falls so you don’t get to see the main drop, only the water going over the edge, but looking down river it appears to be quite a substantial drop but in fact is not as deep as first thought, although you still wouldn't want to fall.

The general scenery is rather spoilt by a steel railway bridge high above the falls going to the local mine site. We haven’t discovered what they are mining yet but have been warned that when the train crosses the bridge it gets somewhat noisy. We then walked around the park and sportsground and across a footbridge into a residential area, or at least Barry and Foxy did, whereas Merry turned off along a small track beside the river without any communication, but we did meet up about ten minutes later, and returned to the caravan.

We then socialised with the other happy campers before dinner.

Interestingly, but logical, our barometer showed worse than stormy when we stopped for our lunch break and then it dawned on us that we were considerably higher than sea level in the mountains, thus reducing the atmospheric pressure to well below 950 hectopascals which would normally denote something worse than cyclonic. Now that we are in Rosebery and at a lower altitude it is now showing 1000 hectopascals and ‘rain’ which is much closer to the truth.

Monday 6th March 10

The weather has turned fairly wet but eased enough for us to check out the town which was mostly shut down for the Labour Day public holiday, but we did learn that they are mining lead, zinc, silver and gold. The town has a corner square with old style mining equipment on display plus a plaque explaining the discovery of the ore body. One shop wall on the side of the square also has a mural depicting the various stages of the mine and the modernisation of the equipment. The local high school grounds also has some old mining equipment on display Merry took the opportunity to do the 20 minute walk, from Rosebery Park on the other side of town, alongside the river to the sportsground, whilst Barry and Foxy drove back round to pick her up and return to the caravan.

Tuesday 7th March 10

It is still very wet so other than a trip into town to the Post Office, stayed in the dry and watched recorded TV programs to free up some of the hard drive space. During the non-rain spells we gradually packed up the camp ready to move on in the morning.

Wednesday 8th March 10

We had noticed a significant rise in noise from the nearby waterfall and notice the river level had risen by up to 3 times the level due the rain since Sunday, so we checked out the waterfall that had been a bit disappointed to see how it compared now, and the difference was quite extreme.

The first video clip is when we arrived on Sunday and second clip is defore we left on Wednesday.

We left the caravan park as late as possible to allow us to call in to the Post Office again for a last attempt to collect mail that we knew was on its way from WA, with success this time. We then headed off to Strahan which, of cause, means continuing through the mountain range that we were still on. With the roads now being wet we were more cautious, especially on the twisty down hill bits. We were held up for about twenty minutes at one point whilst a recovery vehicle pulled a mangled work ute out of the bush, presumably from a previous days escapades. We didn’t stop in the mining town of Zeehan as we will be making a proper visit there, but pushed on to Strahan and set up our camp. This was not without a struggle as the design of the Park could not have made it more difficult to get the van onto the allocated bay. It took best part of an hour to juggle it into the bay in a satisfactory position that would allow us to put the annex up, which we did after our late lunch.

Thursday 10th March 10

We used the morning taking it easy whilst doing a heap of washing but after lunch drove into the very small township which consists mainly of boat cruise boarding areas, seaplane boarding, el fresco cafes, pub and a visitor centre. We drove on up a hill which also rounded a bend to the garage and supermarket and grabbed a few groceries.

We then went across the road to ‘Whittle Wonders’ were an aging guy has a display of whittled driftwood collected from the beach that is turned into an array of imaginative ornaments, such as birds, dogs, lizards, people, etc, plus a mountain of elaborate walking sticks.

We met a couple that had also been in Latrobe whilst we were there as a result of them recognising the fence we use around the front of the annex to give Foxy a bit of freedom without being tied up, and arranged with them to go on a 4WD trip the next day.

Friday 11th March 10

We set out on our trip with Brian and Alice which meant backtracking to about 16 kilometres from Rosebery to take the 4WD track to Montezuma Falls. According to the information given to us it is a medium rated track which takes you to about 100 metres from the base of the Falls. At the beginning of the track it claimed to be a 1 hour trip for the 14k journey meaning an average speed of 14 kph which doesn’t imply medium to me, but we pushed on in for a kilometre and it became too dangerous to proceed especially as the other couple were not experienced and we can do without stupidity. We retreated and drove the 14k almost into Rosebery and took the road out to Richardville (didn’t actually see anything that required a place name) and had our picnic lunch in the car park. We then set off on a 4.7 kilometre walk each way to the Falls, which incidentally is claimed by one piece of literature to be the highest in Tasmania at 104 metres.

This is one of the few places that allows dogs, so Foxy was in for a hike with us which she always enjoys. The track follows what used to be a tramway many moons ago when mining was happening with pick and shovels, so was not too hilly and passed through rainforest for much of the way keeping us cool on an otherwise warm day.

Eventual arrival at the Falls proved to have taken just over 1.5 hours which is what the information literature claims with the last twenty metres being on a boardwalk from the point where a swing bridge crosses the river, presumably where successful 4WD trips are able to cross and enjoy the sight.

Having had a few days of reasonable rain before this trip probably made a big difference to what we where greeted with, like the difference at Stitt Falls, although the tourist literature pictures where obviously taken when even more water was available, probably during the winter, but we will not be going again with or without more water.

Remarkably, the journey back seemed longer and involved the use of the seats at the third and two third stages.

Having the company of Brian and Alice helped lightened the journey with totally different conversation from what we would have produced had we been on our own. The final 100 metres to the car park was a short, sharp uphill stint that looked like it was going to finally beat Foxy and became the only part where she was carried, other than on the boardwalk. Considering her legs are only 15 centimetres long (approx 6 inches), 9.4 kilometres is a long walk. We left her in the car whilst we sat at a table in the park adjacent to car park and she never murmured, whereas she would normally have cried and carry on if we left her but stayed in sight.
We arrived back in Strahan at about 6.40pm and knowing that the chef was just as pooped as Foxy, we went into town and picked up some fish and chips to take back to the camp to end a strenuous but very enjoyable day out.

19th February to 3rd March 2010

Friday 19th February 10 and Saturday 20th February 10

Nothing to report

Sunday 21st February 10

We visited the local market to buy some veggies and spent the rest of the day in leisurely fashion including watching the one day cricket.

Monday 22nd February 10

Merry did some more of her bookkeeping for S.A.F.E

Tuesday 23rd February 10

We visited Port Sorrell as we had been told it was an interesting place. We took a left turn just before Port Sorrell to look at the relatively new Shearwater shopping centre and residential estate which was fresh and quite presentable. It is built alongside a very tidal inlet which was virtually empty whilst we were there which offer a sandy beach along its length. We drove along the complete length until the road ended which offered an ‘off leash dog exercise beach’ so long as it was after 7.00pm and before 6.00am, so if you enjoy exercising your dog in the dark it is all yours.

The rest off the beach was ‘no dogs at any time’ which is a shame as the beach has many rocky outcrops which would make for interesting walks.

We then proceeded to Port Sorrell but there isn’t a Port of any description and is situated on a Rivulet which was also empty at the time with numerous small boats sitting on the sand within wooden frames to hold them upright, which them move up or down with the arrival or retreat of the water.

There is a footbridge across the rivulet to a track along the bank on the other side which allowed us to give Foxy a walk but it wasn’t a real interesting walk as it didn’t offer any views.

Finally we drove around the inlet to the National Park on the other side despite knowing that there would be a dog exclusion sign at the entrance, but the journey was interesting with a few good views and then returned home via a totally different route.

Wednesday 24th February 10

A day of household chores, how interesting is that.

Thursday 25th January 10, Friday 26th February 10 and Saturday 27th February 10

Nothing of significance to report as the weather didn’t really allow for much activity.

Sunday 28th February 10

We spent the day at the Devonport Regatta on the harbour foreshore, which involved a fair and sideshow ally for the kids, log chopping competitions, food stalls of course, street entertainment including the same skinny idiot threading himself through a tennis racket and swallowing swords that performed in Launceston a couple of weeks ago.

The Regatta started with a Dragon boat race but we didn’t understand the race concept in the same way as the officials as one boat start well ahead of the second boat and the third boat didn’t start until the other two had finished. This didn’t fit our idea of handicapping either.

This was followed by some junior powerboat races and water skiing both as individual and as groups with acrobatics and then came the big boys with their toys. Foxy was allowed in with us so she also enjoyed the day out except late in the afternoon when the wind got up (she doesn’t like wind) and the larger more powerful boats, which also means noisier, didn’t impress her, but everybody else seemed to like it. They go for the noise and speed, which was pretty fast on the choppy water, with some badly designed units looking close to take off, or flipping over.

Interestingly, in the middle of he day, the show was held up whilst a freight train cautiously left Devonport through the middle of the foreshore, and therefore the fairground, on its way to Burnie.

Monday 1st March 10

Home day but met another couple with a small dog ‘Kasey’ and discussed the ‘No Dogs’ problem with National Parks and suggested we look after their dog whilst they have a day of freedom and they look after Foxy whilst we go out for the day. This was agreed to and arranged for them to go out the next day.

Tuesday 2nd March 10

Jenny and Des have their dog free day and head out to Cradle Mountain. Foxy and Kasey get on very well together and have a walk with us to the heritage house near the visitor centre so that we can have look inside. Merry had a look first whilst Barry minded the dogs and then as it wasn’t that brilliant Barry didn’t bother and we retreated home. We took another walk with the dogs about 2.15am and let Kasey have a swim in the shallow part of the river. Foxy doesn’t want to know about water. On the way back across the park Kasey pulled frantically to get away as a vehicle stopped on the other side of the park, which turned out to be her owner’s vehicle that she recognised despite hundreds like it. We let her go and she broke all records over that distance. They were home much earlier than we expected but they don’t do a lot of walking due to Des having hip and knee problems.

Wednesday 3rd March 10

We delivered Foxy to Jenny and Des and headed for Cradle Mountain via a more scenic route past Mt Roland and taking in the small town of Wilmot which we had read boasted ‘Forth Falls’. However you can only see them from a boat on Lake Barrington and you need to have your own boat. We then pressed on to Cradle Mountain where the entry arrangements were somewhat different to when we visited there in 2001.

On our previous visit we drove to what is now a Park Ranger Visitor Centre to get our park pass and then drove on to the edge of Dove Lake. Now there is a Transit station/Visitor centre as you enter the Park with a huge car park were you abandon your vehicle and the entry pass you buy entitles you to a bus shuttle service to various points on the way to Dove Lake, bearing in mind they have added boardwalks to many of these additional points.

From the drop off point at Dove Lake you can walk around either side of the lake, but not the complete circuit around the lake as we did in 2001 as they are doing upgrades to the track and boardwalk were these are required. It is also at this point that one track, taken by the bold, is the overland track to Lake St Claire on the other side of the mountain. This is a five day trek with huts for overnight stops but you carry all you need on your back, or for $5000 you have the luxury walk with someone else carrying your backpack and also doing all the cooking.

Back in the land of reality, we took the short walk to the right of the lake as far as the old boat shed then backtracked slightly and took a left turn to Lake Lilla and then followed the track to Ronny Creek. All up about 1.5 hours.

We caught the bus back to the original visitor centre were we did the 20 minute Pencil Pine walk that takes you past Pencil Pine Falls and through the rainforest were the ancient Pencil Pines are.

From there we took the Enchanted Walk, another 20 minutes in theory, but as this was a guided tour with all the information on the plant life etc, so it took closer to 45 minutes.

As we walkd back to Ranger station we stopped on the bridg by 'The Cascades, and then took the bus back to the transit station and car and had a long awaited coffee/tea break before starting the trip home via Sheffield and Railton, arriving home just before 6.00pm. A great day out but we felt that the previous trip had the edge over this one as the mountain tops had snow on them, which presents a more postcard type view, which it didn’t quite have this time.