December 12th to 25th 2010

12th December 2010

Due to inclement weather we haven’t done any tourist activity but intend going to Port Arthur when the weather is more suitable. We visited there in 2000 but the new camera that we had at the time was one of the first video cameras that also took stills to a separate card at $3500. The still photos were only 0.8Mp resolution and the video tapes had to be processed via a computer program to be able to be put on to  disk. Good still cameras in 2000 had a resolution of 1.5Mp so the video combination didn’t seem too bad at the time. The current cameras that we are using have a resolution in excess of 10Mp, and we don’t have to process the videos. The memory card that came with the video camera was a 4Mb capacity so we looked big and bought another card that was the biggest capacity made at the time of 16Mb. Once both cards were filled the still photos had to be saved on the mini video tape.

15th December 2010

We left Foxy at home and drove the 120kms to Port Arthur as the weather forecast was for sunny weather for a change. It was overcast all day just to prove the Met office wrong again, but at least it didn’t rain. We arrived at about 9.30am and had a cuppa in the car park and then entered to spend most of the day inside. We didn’t do the organised tour as we did that in 2000 and didn’t want to listen to some dude yapping on as that means standing around.

We visited the old original Cafe first, which is now screened off by shrubs that were only 30cm high in 2000. The screening is because the locals do not like the memories attached to it but other people like to visit and ponder.

We then attacked the penitentiary, law courts, guard tower and the Commandants more fancy accommodation.

We walked through the Government gardens to the cafe and bought a take-away cuppa and retreated to a bench by the Government Cottage, where we had our pre-packed lunch.

After lunch we took photos of this cottage and the shell of the original church which in 2000 we could go up the stairs in the tower but not so on this occasion. A lot of the buildings that are in ruins is due to 2 bush fires through the site and then material being removed for renovating the houses of locals, etc.

We took our photos of the building and the church and moved on to the new smaller church that is still used, and the parsonage before taking a hike up to Scorpion Rock Lookout to get an overview of the site.

 We came back down via a different track which led us to some more cottages that had been occupied by magistrate, Roman Catholic Chaplain, Junior Medical Officer and on to The Separate Prison which was the original asylum (1849) and the Museum that was the newer asylum (1868). We then made our way across the site to the dockyards before heading to the carpark for another cuppa and the journey home.

It was well worth the return trip for the better photos and lots more of them.

18th December 2010

The weather has been wet again since our Port Arthur trip but it did allow Barry to do some maintenance on the Patrol which has been a slight worry since our stay ion Bruny Island. It developed a high pitched squeak when under load at around 2100rpm, or 2800rpm if it had changed down a gear. We asked for this to be checked out when we had the service done a few weeks ago but they reckoned we would need to book it in again as they needed it for four hours as they had to take all the turbo covers off to check for Manifold leaks. If this proved positive they would need to keep it until the manifold was removed, checked for warping and machined if necessary, and then all refitted with new gaskets at a cost of anywhere from a minimum of $400, to a possible $1600. We couldn’t relate the noise to their diagnostics as a gasket leak would be present all of the time, not specific rpm, so we cancelled the booking that we had made as our logic said it sounded more like vibration or air squeezing in, or out, of a hose. Barry tighten all of the hose clamps that were visible, especially on the air intake hoses, and also repositioned the plastic Intercooler cover that has a slight split at the rear. He thought the cover was touching the Gas injection control unit and might be a cause of vibration. We have had two short runs into town, which is uphill and therefore under load, and held 2100rpm without any noise then or any other time. It is looking good at this point in time but will wait for a longer trial.

19th December 2010

We used the excuse of needing to go to a market in Gormaston Road, Moonah to drive the car for a reasonable distance over a journey were we know the squeaky noise is always present to see if we had really been successful, and came out with flying colours, so the Hobart Nissan agent will not be seeing us again.

22nd December 2010

We drove down to Dover where had originally booked to be for the last three weeks but changed our minds and should have just been moving back to 7 Mile Beach, but we changed our minds about that also as we like it here in New Norfolk.

We stopped off at Geeveston on the way down as we had been here before when we went to the Tahune Air Walk but didn’t have time to visit the Timber Industry Museum. It was actually much smaller than we expected and probably could have done it last time; however, we have done it now and checked out the rest of the small country township.

We continued on to Dover and had a look at the caravan park which was close to the edge of the bay on the way out of town with nothing make us wish we had stayed there as originally planned.

The town was also very small but not as compact as Geeveston. We moved on with the intention of going to Southport (the most southern township in Tasmania, and therefore in Australia) and it felt a bit like the Antarctic. However before reaching Southport we saw a sign to Hastings Caves and turned inland to check them out. It involved a 45 minute stroll in the caves at a constant 9 degree temperature which isn’t too bad as there is no wind with it. It also involved 200 steps to go in and move between the various chambers.

It was good but we have seen better, especially with respect to the lighting arrangements which show up the colours better in other caves We didn’t come out feeling it was totally worth it.

We had a late lunch in the carpark and then headed back to the visitor centre and Merry walked down to the thermal pool whilst Barry stayed with Foxy rather than desert her again.

We then called into Southport which is a small township along the edge of the bay with Dover being the nearest shopping facilities and that didn’t amount to a great deal. On the way back as we headed uphill after passing through Huonville the mystery squeak re-appeared suggesting that the dirt road vibration have moved some of the pipework that Barry moved a few days ago, so another attempt is called for, but we are convince we are on the right track to cure it permanently. We stopped at a roadside stall and bought some cherries and raspberries on the way back home.

24th December 2010

Barry re-adjusted some of the pipework under the bonnet of the car and tightened the cable ties to hold the gas injector unit away from the wheel arch and then we drove into Glenorchy and proved the squeak was properly dealt with.

25th December 2010

This was treated as a genuine rest day with the only energetic action being a 40 minute stroll that took us alongside the river for about six minutes and then turned up the hill and into the top end of town, through the town centre and the park at the bottom of town and back to the caravan park. In the afternoon scrubbed up and drove to New Town to have Christmas dinner with Stu and Be with the addition of Stu’s parents, Dick and Val, and had a great meal with great company.