On January 24, 2010 we woke up, joined Alistair for breakie and then headed off to Mount William National Park. The weather was great and although we like to be spoiled once in awhile, we were looking forward to camping again. As we drove in the park.......oh my gawd....it was stunning!!! Everything they said and more. Okay, let me set the stage......here we were, driving in the park, along a narrow, bumpy dirt road, with only large open fields all around us, that can best be described as an "outback" atmosphere, there, running across in front of us was Mom, Dad and baby Forrester Kangaroos. Forrester Kangaroos are the biggest and not easily seen in Tasmania, but popular in Mount William National Park. It was the stereotypical scene that people think of when they think of the outback in Australia - or at least me. We stopped the car and just watched. At one point we were both just staring at each other. Not sure what they were thinking, but I was so impressed - I really doubt that they were thinking the same - more like, get the heck out of here - oh well, we enjoyed the moment! There were a few spots that we could camp and we chose one that was a little more secluded. The campsites were small, cute and private. Mount William National Park has outstanding beaches & huge open fields. That day we hiked up Mount William (216m) - really easy 3 hour walk. Along the way we saw lots of wallabies. We have seen quite a few since we have been in Tasmania and we will realize later on that they really are not shy at all. We walked along the beach to a private cove (not very many people to start with, so to get a private part of the coast is not hard), soaked our feet and enjoyed some quiet alone time. After dinner we did another 2 hour walk called the Cobbler's Rock Trail. We walked through the fields and then ended up at the coast and was again, beautiful. As I write, it does not sound that interesting or spectacular, but it really was. The best part of our stay in the park was that it was secluded, very few people, the sights were beautiful, not really that hard to get to (some unsealed road, but nothing too difficult) and this was all for $13/night. Nothing in life is free, but if you take the time to look and you don't mind giving up some of the comforts of home - the great spots are really not that expensive and the rewards are 100 fold! We had a great night and then headed down to the south part of the park; Eddystone Point (lighthouse), Anson's Bay and Policeman Point for our second night in the park. After setting up camp, we headed to the sea to walk along the beach. We took a dip; gorgeous, but chilly so it definitely was a dip. It was so hot and for me to say it is hot, you must know that it is hot! We had lunch and went for another dip. You get so hot, you crave the cold water and you think that you will soak forever in the water, but it is so cold, you are more than satisfied with a dip - so we just did several little dips =) We walked to the lighthouse and walked around, then walked around a little further to the top end of the Bay of Fires. It is a long, white sandy beach with the bluest of water, it is so beautiful. As we walked down the sand drift to the water, we laughed to ourselves as the sand is so white and the foot prints were so big that it reminded us of a snow drift with snowshoe prints. We were tempted to take a picture and send it back home to see if you could tell the difference. We reached the water and there was no one there - this type of serenity just does not happen that often so you really have to stop and appreciate it. We enjoyed a few more quick dips in the water and sat on the rocks and soaked our feet in between dips - I just did not want to leave........but then again, I have been saying that alot this trip!
Just a little story about this camping trip. People that camp and know Delia, may be able to appreciate this story - maybe not, but here it goes. When you camp, often it is go, go, go all day, in the sun which inevitably will make you tired. And although, I speak of all the good things about camping; the beauty, the peace, the serenity of being alone, etc., Mother Nature has her way to make sure that we don't stay long and that the numbers stay low.....that would be the New Zealand's notorious Sandfly! I compare them to our black flies and they are pretty persistent in their quest to survive - sucking the blood from humans! So, with the fatigue caused by the daily activities and the constant fight with the sandflies into the night and having exhausted all the stories to tell each other, you really have to work hard to stay awake past 9pm. This is compounded with the fact that we will eat dinner early as we are starving and the dinner can be made and eaten in a matter of 20 minutes - the joy of freeze dried food! So on this camping trip, I was actually able to teach Delia some new card games. Not that she cannot learn, but the surprise here was that she actually let me teach her - Delia hates playing cards, but we played a card game that we played climbing Mt Kilimanjaro (Uno type game) and Gin Rummy - I was impressed. Ahhhh, but alas, even with playing cards and me reading the book to Delia that we brought (this is also another trick that we learned from the West Coast Trail), we did not see the stars - it was lights out by 9:30pm at best!!! I loved Mount William National Park. I probably liked the north a bit better than the south part, but the whole park was gorgeous. We saw Bennett's Wallabies, Forrester Kangaroos, Tasmanian Pademelons and wedge-tailed eagle - all in their own environment. We hiked, relaxed and we enjoyed the sea - all with very little interference with other humans and certainly without any "touristy" feel or crowds - we absolutely loved it!
Tomorrow, we are heading back to Launceston to meet with Dayna's parents; Anne and Chris as promised. And with our fortune, the visit coincided with Australia Day; January 26, 2010. It was on the menu to enjoy a traditional Aussie Day meal - "Lamb on the barbie"!
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