Introduction

On our last road trip in Tasmania we kept ourselves to the Eastern part of the island. Heading north from Hobart via Sorell, Oatlands, Campbell Town all the way up to Launceston.

This time we would veer west of the central lakes and up to the base of Cradle Mountain National Park to explore more of the Tasmanian hinterland. The majority of our journey would take us up the Lyell Highway (A10) – the main road that connects Hobart in the South to Queenstown in the West. It is named after the large copper mining company based in Queenstown – the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company which for 100 years was the largest employer in the region.

Our journey began following the Derwent River north towards the town of New Norfolk where we crossed the river. On the way of that first leg we passed the Royal Botanical Gardens, Berridale peninsula and the MONA compound as well as the impressive Midland Highway Bridge. The vista was mainly farmland once we got out of Hobart.

Rebel Rebel

New Norfolk was established in 1807 and remains the third oldest European settlement on the island (after Hobart and Georgetown). it was named as such due to the large number of settlers that had been transported from the penal colony on Norfolk Island in the Pacific. The latter became too expensive and difficult to support so existing inmates and settled people were moved to Tasmania to live in this new settlement on the Derwent River and to farm the land.

The first house in area was built by Denis McCarthy, an Irish Fenian rebel who was shipped to Australia in 1800. It is said that he played such a good host to Governor Lachlan Macquarie that he was inspired to establish the township that would become New Norfolk. The Wexford native McCarthy would go on to champion the cause of this new town in his posting as Constable and eventually petitioned and built the first road to Hobart. The one we had just driven up. Although the quality of what was delivered varied considerably to what we drove up today.

We stopped for a walk and a cup of coffee at the Black Swan Bookshop – a funky bookshop/coffee house on the corner of Arthur Square.

After crossing the Derwent river we followed it’s north bank before tacking north towards the Central Highlands and the very picturesque town of Hamilton where we stopped for lunch and a wander around.

At one time in the 19th century this was a bustling frontier town with a number of breweries and Inns. Today it’s a stopover on the Lyell Highway but one with some nice looking convict era sandstone buildings and a handful of cafes and stores. We had lunch in Jackson’s Emporium – a very nice deli/cafe which also contained history of the town and region.

After Hamilton the farmland and rolling plains gave way to mountainous terrain as our Mitsubishi ASX struggled up the climb. We also learned our hire car’s deadman switch was very sensitive so Karen had to be careful with the breaking as the car cut out a number of times as we navigated the Tarraleah Power Station and dam section of the road. We stopped at the Power station reserve briefly and noticed a plaque with the following inscription:

This plaque has been erected in honour of the Polish immigrants who contributed 40 years of service to the H.E.C and the State of Tasmania. Erected in our bicentennial year 1988.

Tarraleah Power Station

A chance encounter with this small slice of history opened up the discovery of a strong link between Tasmania and Poland. Back in 1947 over 280 ex-service men from the Polish Carpathian Legion moved here to work with the Hydro Electric Commission. They were sponsored by the Australian government of the day thanks to the companionship they developed fighting alongside Australian forces in North Africa during WW2. These so-called “rats of Tobruk” quickly helped build up Tasmania’s infrastructure and founded a number of polish community groups that still exist in Hobart and Launceston today. Fascinating.

We jumped back into the ASX and before not too long we had navigated our way back up the mountain side and the lakes before arriving at Lake St. Clair and our destination – Pumphouse Point.

The Pumphouse

In 1940 the State Hydro Electric Scheme turned on the turbines of their new hydropower system that they had built on the lake. Housed in a 5 storey pump house building in the centre of the lake. This pumped water from the lake to a lagoon and then down to that power station that we passed when the need had arisen. At least that was the plan but by 1990 the system was never turned on and the pumphouse lay dormant.

Then after a lot of planning to-ing and fro-ing the site was transformed into an eco friendly hotel.

It is adults only with honesty bars, pantries in each room, comfortable lounges, communal dining for dinner and fridges packed full of local produce from beers and wines to cheeses and fruits. We spent a couple of evenings playing boardgames, swapping travel stories with fellow guests and just taking a break from the cut and thrust of modern life.

The Environs

We were staying in quite a unique spot. Surrounded by a glacial lake, the deepest in Australia at over 200 metres. It is fed by three rivers before becoming the start of the river Derwent that flows all the way back through the Central Highlands and onto Hobart and the sea beyond. Europeans did not explore here until 1832 – some twenty nine years after the British had landed in Hobart. Today that journey only takes 2 and a half hours.

The lake is at the foot of Cradle Mountain and the entire area has been deemed an UNESCO World Heritage site since 1982. The famous Overland Track (from Lake St Clair to the summit) starts here as well. 

Very much a contrast to Bruny Island where we had just been – the Alpine forest and river valleys echoing parts of southern New Zealand we had been to near Glenorchy. There is a real calmness here which is understandable as the aboriginal name given to the lake from the Big Rivers Tribe is lake Leeawuleena or ‘sleeping water’.

We enjoyed walking through parts of the National Park, attempting to row a boat on the lake and having a number of native animal encounters – snakes, echidnas and wallabies in particular.

The Wall

A couple of kilometres before turning off to Lake St. Clair is an interesting art exhibit – called the Wall.

It’s full name is The Wall in the Wilderness and is the product of Victorian artist Greg Duncan’s creative mind. 3 metres tall and 100m in length – this mega sculpture is carved into huon pine. It’s a work in progress as parts of it have not been cut into yet. He has been at it for 15 years.

You cannot take photos but I have included some here from the offical website. They do not do it justice however as the level of detail, storytelling and scale is mind blowing.

The Way Back

On the way back to Hobart we took a detour across the Derwent River towards Cambridge and the west bank of the Coal River. It was here back in the early 1800s that British settlers expanded out from Hobart to farm the land and is named after coal was discovered shortly afterwards. We had lunch at the Coal River Farm – that produces some amazing, chocolate, cheese and strawberries in a picturesque slope overlooking the river below. We had tasted some of their produce at Salamanca Market.

Not a bad end to our road trip and just the relaxation we needed before embarking on the Three Capes Track.