Well after 3 months and over 5,500 kls its time to bid farewell to Tassie. The trip took us from Devonport to Sheffield, Forth, Burnie, Smithton, Arthur River, Waratah, Rosebery, Zeehan, Queenstown, Derwent Bridge,
Hamilton, Bothwell, Arthurs Lake, Deloraine, Beaconsfield, George Town, Scottsdale, Pub in the paddock, St Helens, Bicheno St Marys, Evandale (v8 races), Lake leake, Triabunna, 7 Mile Beach,Hobart for Easter,
Kempton, Bracknell, Forth and now waiting to be loaded onto the sprit.
I still think we have not seen all of Tassie yet but only some of it, the weather was good to us and other travellers as there were only 2 days where we stayed in the van.
It's great to hear you enjoyed your time here in paradise Reg and Lyn. Hope some day soon Tony A and his crew can make it so that you are able to come back for a second look around. We unfortunately find it too expensive to travel accross Bass Strait on the boats that were supposedly bought for our convenience as well as that of the visitors to our state. Dont get me wrong visitors are welcome indeed but shouldn't the ferry be seen as part of highway 1. and federal funds be made available as a matter of course as with every other section of major highways on the mainland. Do we really need to beg for every penny. After all a lot of us here in Tassie made our contributions to federal funds whilst living on the mainland. Dont we have some rights to some of that brass.
Your trip sounds wonderful and like you we think Tassie is small but so much to see.
We are hoping to go back towards the end of this year for another look and spend at least 8 weeks. Saving the dollars for the boat trip, yes it's very expensive and it's about time the prices came down to a reasonable level.
Reg and Lyn do you have a blog? Would like to read about your trip.
You obviously had better weather than the couple who feature on the front page of the website. We also enjoyed Tasmania and would love to go back. I heartily agree with Friar that the ferry should be part of Highway 1.
I agree Friar. You are still Australia and should be given the same rights as the mainlanders to be able to travel wherever you like in this country. Just because Tasmania is an island shouldn't mean you all miss out and have to pay exorbitant prices to see another state.
Tasmania's tourism would boom if the ferry trip was more affordable. Yes we can all fly there but there are many people out there who would like to spend many weeks in Tasmania to enjoy its beauty and caravanning is the cheapest way to do it. We can travel from state to state here on the mainland and all it costs is fuel. I don't expect it to be free because of the costs involved with the ship but at least half of what we pay now.
As stated, the price for the ferry should be based on the equivalent of driving on the main number one highway.
It's not rocket science, when you book the crossing they should be able to look up the brand of vehicle you are using, if towing (approx what weight) then look up the expected fuel to be used.
Using the latest fuel prices multiply fuel used by the cost per litre then add the cost of a basic motel room (about $95) for the accommodation.
The cost of running the service would exceed the income, but that's why we pay taxes, so governments can run public benefiting services.
Money lost would be partly made up from increased revenue from the tourist dollar spent in the state and flow on from businesses back to the governments, both federal and state.
I wonder what the fare would be if they based it on toll road costs like the M7 and M2? I think the ferry is privately owned just like the toll roads. I wonder how the maintenance costs compare?
-- Edited by neilnruth on Friday 9th of May 2014 04:14:30 PM
TT line has 8 on it's board of politically selected directors, who get millions each year between them, none have a clue about anything, but their ego's and pay packets. That's the reason prices are so high. A proposal was put to both political parties providing a number of ways to reduce ferry fares by more than 50% and still make a good profit, they were all dismissed in favour of the status quo of vested interest ideological control. It's cheaper to put your rig on one of the drive on freighters that service Tas from Melbourne and just get a seat on the ferry. Sadly the government put a stop to that and now its impossible to book on them, unless it's in a container. Same with the Flinders island ferry, it was cheaper and a better trip to go on that to Welshpool, but they stopped that as well, by forcing prices rises well above TT line. Plus the Flinfers island ferry had a flat bottom and was a nightmare to be on in big seas if you didn't have your sea legs.
-- Edited by native pepper on Saturday 10th of May 2014 11:10:39 AM
