Avoca

 29 - 30 December 2025

When we arrived in Geelong it was still very early, and cold, but we decided to return to a birdwatching spot at Barwon Heads that we had visited once before. We made our way through the city and down to the beach but initially had a bit of difficulty finding the right spot. We eventually found it and went for a walk along the beach. We didn't go too far because of the weather, but Mick did get a few bird shots.

We left the beach and headed towards Bendigo to collect the camper trailer. This time the GPS took us via Bacchus Marsh, where we stopped for brunch and to refuel. From there it was on the way to the storage yard. Leaving Bendigo we had decided that Avoca would be far enough - we'd had a very early wake-up call on the boat, and had already been on the road for more than 4 hours, thanks to the birding expedition.

We chose Avoca because the reviews of the caravan park were quite good, and we had read there was the possibility of seeing a Powerful owl. Because we had returned from Tassie without any fresh or frozen food, we headed to the pub for lunch before making our way to the caravan park.

By the time we arrived it was mid-afternoon and quite warm so we were directed to a spot with a some tree shade. We had only just started setting up when Mick spotted the owl in the tree just across the road from our site. We had to stop what we were doing so he could get the camera out. It turned out that there were at least three Powerful owls in the park.

We spent the rest of the day, and the next morning, shopping, sorting and repacking the car and trailer ready for a couple of months on the road. Mick made contact with birding friends in Warrnambool and we arranged to meet them in Heywood to try to find the Gang Gang cockatoos, before travelling on to their place. This meant we had most of the day to fill in so we took our time leaving Avoca.

From Avoca we drove through Ararat and then on to Dunkeld where we stopped to have a look around the town and to have a picnic lunch. We called in to the Visitor Information Centre and were told about the Dunkeld Arboretum so we went down there for a walk around. We didn't stay long, but it is a lovely spot for a walk.

There are some nice views from the Dunkeld Arboretum

From Dunkeld we drove on to Hamilton where we stopped again to pick up a few things at the shops, and to kill some more time. We wandered along the main street and into a small gallery selling local art, including photography. On one of the photos, we saw a name we recognised as a "Flickr" friend from way back. Turns out, Rob was minding the store that day and introduced himself when he heard us talking. He and Mick had never met so it was lovely to finally be able to have a chat with someone who he had previously only known in the virtual world.

Before leaving Hamilton we called in to the Botanic Gardens for another walk, then drove on to Heywood where we met up with Tony and Julia. The Gang Gangs were about so there was lots of camera action. From there we headed to Warrnambool where we would stay for a couple of nights.

Spirit of Tasmania

 28 - 29 January 2025

Our time in Tasmania had finally come to an end and it was time to return to the mainland. We spent the last couple of days sorting, tidying and packing, and finished with a quiet night at home with the girls. We planned to leave fairly early so that we could do some sight-seeing along the way from Hobart to Devonport.

We finished packing the car, said our final goodbyes and were ready to leave just after 9:00am. We had about 8 hours to get to Devonport so made our first stop not far away at Gould's Lagoon. This is a great birdwatching spot that we have been to a number of times, but it wasn't as productive as we had hoped.

From there we travelled north along the Midland Highway and turned off into Oatlands. Pectoral sandpipers had been reported at Lake Dulverton so we drove around the lake to the spot where they should have been. It was cold and windy, but Mick found them and took a few photos before retreating to the warmth of the car. It was getting close to lunch time so we drove to a picnic spot and ate in the car. It was just too miserable to be outside.

Our next stop was Liffey Falls. Again Mick was hoping to do some birding so we drove up through Campbell Town, and then turned off to travel through Cressy and Liffey then on to the falls. We were surprised at the number of people who were there on such a cold, windy day and a little disappointed - it's never easy getting photos of birds when there's heaps of people about. We walked to the Tall Tree and a bit beyond, but didn't walk down to the falls.

We left Liffey Falls and drove through Quamby Brook to Deloraine. We had planned to visit the Tasmanian Arboretum at Eugenana near Devonport but realised we wouldn't have time. We stopped at Elizabeth Town for afternoon tea then made our way to East Devonport. We didn't want to be at the boat too early so we killed a bit more time down on the beach.

We timed our arrival at the Spirit of Tasmania perfectly - we checked in, went through the security check and were directed straight to the ship. We only had to wait a few minutes before we were able to drive on, once again to one of the bottom two vehicle decks. Expertly directed in the small space, we were soon on our way up to our cabin, before retiring the bar for a drink or two.

A farewell drink

We ate the dinner we had brought with us and settled in for the night. We'd had a big day so were both quite tired. We always expect it to be rougher than it turns out to be and this crossing of Bass Strait was no exception.

We arrived at Geelong terminal and we were soon on our way to Bendigo to collect the camper trailer - but first we had another spot of birding to do.

Lonnavale - Snowy Range Wilderness Retreat

 20 - 22 January 2025

Our time is Tassie was coming to an end, and having missed out on a weekend on the Tasman Peninsula due to another pelagic cancellation (it was 4/0 for this trip) we decided on a couple of nights in the Huon Valley. We found a cabin on one of the booking sites which looked really nice. It was a fairly new listing and only had one review but we decided to take a chance anyway.

We left Hobart after morning tea and travelled up to Cascade Gardens for a look around. There was the possibility of some birding and there are a few walking tracks around. We spent some time there and stayed to have our  picnic lunch before setting off on the Huon Road.

The cabin is located on a former trout farm in Lonnavale so we travelled towards Huonville then turned off into the hills. We found the property and were met by one of the owners who showed us to the cabin. It was exactly as shown in the photos. The deck overlooked one of the old salmon ponds where we saw platypus.

It doesn't get much better than that!

The cabin is well set up with everything we needed and even had some fishing rods for those who may want to try their hand. We didn't - choosing instead to go for a walk around the lake, and sit on the deck contemplating the beautiful scenery. We were lucky with the weather too - not too cold, and with only a little rain overnight on the second night.

After two lovely nights in a true wilderness retreat we decided to take a drive further south to Hasting's Caves and Thermal Springs. We'd never been there before, but didnt want to visit the caves (Mick is very claustrophobic, nor did we want to swim in the thermal springs (too cold) but we did want to go on the short walk to look for birds.

There is a small charge to visit ($4 p/p concession) so we paid and spent our time on the Hot Springs Forest Walk where we saw where the water from the hot springs joins the cold creek water. It was a lovely walk but not terribly productive in terms of birding. We had lunch in the onsite cafe, before heading on to Southport.

It's only a short drive off the highway to Tasmania's southernmost town - Southport. We drove down to the beach, but didn't stay. From Southport we set off to return to Hobart without any more side-trips.

Tasman Peninsula - Eaglehawk Neck

11 – 12 January 2025

One of  the things that Mick likes to do when we are in Tasmania is to get out to sea on a Pelagic birding trip. Organised by a dedicated group of locals, he was fortunate to get  a spot on one in December but it was cancelled due to rough weather. The trip was then rescheduled to January – and then cancelled again due to the weather. This time we decided to go and have the night at Eaglehawk Neck anyway. The accommodation was booked and we probably wouldn’t get a refund with the very late notice anyway.

We left Hobart after lunch and, because it was a hot day (by Hobart standards) we felt it was important to go and sample the ice cream at the Tasmanian Chocolate Foundry at Taranna. As always, the ice cream was delicious. We checked into the hotel and had a quiet afternoon, which included a short walk on the beach, before having dinner in the Bistro.

On Sunday morning we went for a walk down to the Tessellated Pavement which is accessed from just across the road from the hotel, but we had neglected to check the tides – this popular tourist attraction is best observed at low tide, and was almost completely covered with water when we were there. We didn’t mind as we’d been there a number of times before and we were really just looking to have a nice walk.

We checked out of the hotel and headed off to the local Pirate’s Bay market. We parked near the Officers’ Quarters Museum and walked to the community hall via the beach. We were a bit surprised to see some penguin tracks on the beach and up into the dunes. We found Tom at the markets – on the job as Discovery Ranger – and wandered around looking at the stalls. The only thing we bought was a coffee.

Our next stop was out to the Coal Mines Historic Site where we ate our picnic lunch in the car while it drizzled with rain outside. After lunch we went birding near the Main Shaft as we watched an approaching storm. On the way to the site we had seen where the famous “Neil the Seal” must have been recently – as evidenced by the “Slow Down – Animal on the Road”, but he wasn’t basking on the road, as is his habit.

Even though there was rain about we decided to head down to Roaring Beach – another spot we thought we might have been to before, but realised we hadn’t. It turns out this is one of a number of Roaring Beaches in Tasmania and we had been to the one at Southport. Perhaps we should start a collection!

Mick did a spot of birding on the way
through the dunes at Roaring Beach

This Roaring Beach is popular with surfers and the carpark was almost full when we arrived. We walked through and over the dunes to the beach and walked along for a short distance. Light rain made it less pleasant than it might have been but it didn’t deter the board riders. 

We made that our last stop for the day and set off to return to Hobart. Even though Mick was disappointed he had missed out on the Pelagic, we still had a great weekend.