We just got back from a trip to Tassie which was the 3rd time that we have actually done a lap of that island. This time we added a few places that we have haven't been to before such as the Tarkine wilderness, Arthur River, Bruny Island and the convict coal mines on the Tasman Peninsular etc..as usual we had a fantastic trip. Although we only took our smaller SUV over on the ferry I was continually taking stock of how easy it would be for us to get around if we had taken our 22' van and the Jeep GC with us.
In my opinion and obviously I am in the minority here as there are lots of people on the island travelling with that size (and bigger) rigs but I really wouldn't like to do it. In a lot of places the roads are very narrow with sharp hair pin bends, there are very few roadside rest areas, overtaking lanes or places to where you can pull over to let other people pass. For me if I was intending to camp I would much prefer having a smaller 16' to 18' van, a pop top or a camper trailer even a campervan rather than a large mobile home. I could really feel the frustration of travellers being constantly caught behind slower vehicles for many kilometres while they tried to negotiate their larger rigs around steep, winding roads eg. on the West coast or around Scottsdale. The positive is that there seems to be an abundance of free and low cost camping areas set up in small towns or quiet areas on riverbanks etc. far more so than on the mainland. Anyhow as I said it's just the feeling we both got about vanning down there - if we do happen to go again the van will stay at home - unless we decide to to swap it for a smaller one (which we have been contemplating).
Cheers
BB
dabbler said
07:12 PM Mar 1, 2019
We travelled the Western Explorer Hwy and crossed the Pieman on the Corinna Ferry. The Hilux and teardrop had about 50mm wheelbase left and both ends overhang the water. That area was a highlight for us. A larger setup would have required a lot of backtracking to see the areas we managed with our teardrop. The distances are a bit misleading too as they often involve steep winding roads as you say BB. We stayed 10 days in Scottsdale and travelled logging roads where I wouldn't fancy taking a motorhome. Anyone considering Tassie shouldn't be put off by claims of free camps closing. They are still abundant and CP are generally cheaper.
dabbler said
07:15 PM Mar 1, 2019
As an aside, fuel supply was a potential issue on the west coast. We were okay but only because we planned ahead, something most wouldn't consider necessary on a small island.
blaze said
08:08 PM Mar 1, 2019
Fuel available in queenstown , zeehan and Strahan
cheers
blaze
dabbler said
08:29 PM Mar 1, 2019
Sure is Blaze and Zeehan has a 24hour outlet but outside that area it can be close to 180km between pumps on some tourist routes. If you pass a servo thinking every little stop will have fuel, you could easily come unstuck.
mezza56 said
09:21 PM Mar 1, 2019
We have been in tas for over 2 mths with another 5 weeks to go we have a 25' van 30 ft inc db towed by a 200 series , we have travelled most of the major parts of the island with the exception of queenstown . We have left the van in more accessible sites and travelled the back roads just in the car. I have to agree a smaller van say 16 ft max would be better in tas ,but we cant have a van for every purpose.
The Belmont Bear said
09:36 PM Mar 1, 2019
What I found to be even more hazardous than large rigs on the narrow winding roads was suddenly coming up on cyclists in the middle of nowhere. The organised events had support vehicles warning motorists of their presence but there seemed to be quite a few tourists travelling either alone or in small groups. We nearly came to grief near Nubeena on the Tasman Peninsular when I moved out a little to pass a cyclist on what I thought was a clear section of road, a police 4wd suddenly appeared coming towards us at high speed with blue lights flashing. I belive that it was only good luck rather than our skill that allowed us to get past each other without sideswiping our vehicles - the police car didnt even slow down regardless of how close we were to colliding.
Cheers
BB
Kebbin said
09:08 AM Mar 2, 2019
Geez that was a quick lap BB you must has broken the lap time, sure you weren't in the Targa?
The Belmont Bear said
03:11 PM Mar 2, 2019
Kebbin wrote:
Geez that was a quick lap BB you must has broken the lap time, sure you weren't in the Targa?
We actually went to Tassie for a reunion with a group of old friends and decided that having travelled so far we would go and visit a few places that we hadn't got to on previous trips. We had to find an alternative route when they closed the road at Hellyers Gorge due to the Targa rally but other than that we were able to keep well clear of each days events. We spent 3 nights in Burnie, 3 in Strahan, 4 in Richmond and 3 in Launceston which was plenty long enough for us to do what we wanted to do - it really didn't take that long to get from place to place especially as we didn't have a van behind us. The drive on the Hume Hwy to and from Melbourne was the worst part of the trip as it tends to get pretty boring, we much prefer taking the scenic coastal route when we are not in a hurry ..
Cheers
BB
Sarge9 said
09:20 PM Mar 3, 2019
Just finished a lap with the Colorado and 16.5 pop top, the van went where we went, had a few AHHHFFFFFFFFrightening moments, not because of a near miss but because if there had been other traffic there would have been some serious backing and filling to make room to pass. We also did the west coast from Arthur River in the dirt to Corinna, is was an experience in our very urban low slung van and a dusty clean up required. The Ferry is a TRAP, you need to measure and re-measure to make sure you will fit or be prepared to go the long way around. We had about 200 mm to spare, so young blokes in a fast ute and tinny combo got turned away even after offering the man a free lunch and Pineapple. We didnt experience any traffic issues (& I hope didnt cause any), we did observe that bigger vans were/would have been limited for choice in a few free camp areas. Didnt see fuel availability as an issue, (these Colis dont seem to need any)
Tassie is an awesome place, the boat trip was well worth it. We will be back.
Sarge.
Extraordinary Rendition said
11:46 PM Mar 3, 2019
There is no such place as "The Tarkine". Tasmanian timber workers got chucked out of work and promised jobs in the burgeoning eco tourism industry, didn't happen, virtually got told to "learn to code". Met a bloke over a campfire who was just out of jail. Ex timber worker "Who had made some mistakes and was making up for lost time with his son in Trial Harbour". Compare and contrast. In Vietnam they wanted to develop Ha Long Bay for tourism. Only snag was there were local fisherman who had lived there for centuries.( Not sure why they had to go but whatever. Lots of local fishers in phuQuoc they were way cool. Can hire them for was some fishing trips with no rules and lots of moonshine. Bring your own life jackets to use for pillows snoozing on deck ) They were promised housing and support for leaving Ha Long Bay and the government of Vietnam was good to thier word.
Not so in Tasmania. Those timber workers, miners, hydro workers, engineers etc. All got the arsehole. Those with bankable trades left. The mid tier Wukkas got it up the fundament.
PeterD said
08:07 AM Mar 4, 2019
"The Tarkine" is an area, not a place or town. If the wood chippers were not reeled in most of the good forests would have just about been cleared by now and those blokes would still have lost their jobs, they lost them shortly. Way back then some of the displaced workers were put to work planting timber plantations. Those plantations are now they still have a bit of a timber industry. You just hear a lot from the few whingers, you never hear from those still in work.
There is no such place as "The Tarkine". Tasmanian timber workers got chucked out of work and promised jobs in the burgeoning eco tourism industry, didn't happen, virtually got told to "learn to code". Met a bloke over a campfire who was just out of jail. Ex timber worker "Who had made some mistakes and was making up for lost time with his son in Trial Harbour". Compare and contrast. In Vietnam they wanted to develop Ha Long Bay for tourism. Only snag was there were local fisherman who had lived there for centuries.( Not sure why they had to go but whatever. Lots of local fishers in phuQuoc they were way cool. Can hire them for was some fishing trips with no rules and lots of moonshine. Bring your own life jackets to use for pillows snoozing on deck ) They were promised housing and support for leaving Ha Long Bay and the government of Vietnam was good to thier word. Not so in Tasmania. Those timber workers, miners, hydro workers, engineers etc. All got the arsehole. Those with bankable trades left. The mid tier Wukkas got it up the fundament.
I worked for the hydro and in forestry in the years you are talking about, Things have changed for sure BUT its for yhe better for tassie. The forestry are still causing distuction to our native forest. The tarkine is a joyfull place to spend some time.
cheers
blaze
The Belmont Bear said
03:12 PM Mar 4, 2019
I,m not really up on the politics of the Tasmanian woodchip industry or the history of what they now refer to as the Tarkine. To me It seemed to be a good balance between natural wilderness, rural properties, coastal reserves and even areas of forestry. We did a day trip from Burnie, Smithton, Dismal Swamp, Marrawah, Arthur River, Edith Creek and back to Burnie. It would have been a whole lot better if we could have spent more time to see the area properly but as we were had pre booked accomodation it just wasnt possible. Unfortunately industries that consume natural resources are not sustainable forever which in the past both the whaling industry and the west coast piners have found out. Here in Newcastle we know all about the impact the closure of major industries has on employment and the local economy. Since the closure of the steel and shipbuilding industries we had to find other ways to keep people employed and in my opinion I believe that this city is now a whole lot better for it (and cleaner).
Cheers
BB
Mariner30 said
07:16 PM Mar 6, 2019
G'day,
first post,
Been reading for a bit,
East coast Tas resident,
Was interesting to read about the different perspective from someone who usually tours with a van but not this time around " feel the impatience from the other road users " or similiar
Having regular hospital appointments in Hobart it is annoying to be delayed by several MH's travelling in convoy down the Tasman hwy, some of whom are too scared...or too stubborn lol..to look in the mirror,
That's not really a whinge mind, the road is poor in places,
Yeh, the lycra wearing wobbly old geezers on the deadly treadlies...enuff said
Cheers
We just got back from a trip to Tassie which was the 3rd time that we have actually done a lap of that island. This time we added a few places that we have haven't been to before such as the Tarkine wilderness, Arthur River, Bruny Island and the convict coal mines on the Tasman Peninsular etc..as usual we had a fantastic trip. Although we only took our smaller SUV over on the ferry I was continually taking stock of how easy it would be for us to get around if we had taken our 22' van and the Jeep GC with us.
In my opinion and obviously I am in the minority here as there are lots of people on the island travelling with that size (and bigger) rigs but I really wouldn't like to do it. In a lot of places the roads are very narrow with sharp hair pin bends, there are very few roadside rest areas, overtaking lanes or places to where you can pull over to let other people pass. For me if I was intending to camp I would much prefer having a smaller 16' to 18' van, a pop top or a camper trailer even a campervan rather than a large mobile home. I could really feel the frustration of travellers being constantly caught behind slower vehicles for many kilometres while they tried to negotiate their larger rigs around steep, winding roads eg. on the West coast or around Scottsdale. The positive is that there seems to be an abundance of free and low cost camping areas set up in small towns or quiet areas on riverbanks etc. far more so than on the mainland. Anyhow as I said it's just the feeling we both got about vanning down there - if we do happen to go again the van will stay at home - unless we decide to to swap it for a smaller one (which we have been contemplating).
Cheers
BB
cheers
blaze
We have been in tas for over 2 mths with another 5 weeks to go we have a 25' van 30 ft inc db towed by a 200 series , we have travelled most of the major parts of the island with the exception of queenstown . We have left the van in more accessible sites and travelled the back roads just in the car. I have to agree a smaller van say 16 ft max would be better in tas ,but we cant have a van for every purpose.
What I found to be even more hazardous than large rigs on the narrow winding roads was suddenly coming up on cyclists in the middle of nowhere. The organised events had support vehicles warning motorists of their presence but there seemed to be quite a few tourists travelling either alone or in small groups. We nearly came to grief near Nubeena on the Tasman Peninsular when I moved out a little to pass a cyclist on what I thought was a clear section of road, a police 4wd suddenly appeared coming towards us at high speed with blue lights flashing. I belive that it was only good luck rather than our skill that allowed us to get past each other without sideswiping our vehicles - the police car didnt even slow down regardless of how close we were to colliding.
Cheers
BB
We actually went to Tassie for a reunion with a group of old friends and decided that having travelled so far we would go and visit a few places that we hadn't got to on previous trips. We had to find an alternative route when they closed the road at Hellyers Gorge due to the Targa rally but other than that we were able to keep well clear of each days events. We spent 3 nights in Burnie, 3 in Strahan, 4 in Richmond and 3 in Launceston which was plenty long enough for us to do what we wanted to do - it really didn't take that long to get from place to place especially as we didn't have a van behind us. The drive on the Hume Hwy to and from Melbourne was the worst part of the trip as it tends to get pretty boring, we much prefer taking the scenic coastal route when we are not in a hurry ..
Cheers
BB
Tassie is an awesome place, the boat trip was well worth it. We will be back.
Sarge.
The only web site you need to study before going over is 'A Cheapskate's Guide to Exploring Tasmania By Car"
I worked for the hydro and in forestry in the years you are talking about, Things have changed for sure BUT its for yhe better for tassie. The forestry are still causing distuction to our native forest. The tarkine is a joyfull place to spend some time.
cheers
blaze
I,m not really up on the politics of the Tasmanian woodchip industry or the history of what they now refer to as the Tarkine. To me It seemed to be a good balance between natural wilderness, rural properties, coastal reserves and even areas of forestry. We did a day trip from Burnie, Smithton, Dismal Swamp, Marrawah, Arthur River, Edith Creek and back to Burnie. It would have been a whole lot better if we could have spent more time to see the area properly but as we were had pre booked accomodation it just wasnt possible. Unfortunately industries that consume natural resources are not sustainable forever which in the past both the whaling industry and the west coast piners have found out. Here in Newcastle we know all about the impact the closure of major industries has on employment and the local economy. Since the closure of the steel and shipbuilding industries we had to find other ways to keep people employed and in my opinion I believe that this city is now a whole lot better for it (and cleaner).
Cheers
BB