Sailing way across the sea

It's that time of year once again when my husband and I sail across Bass Strait to Melbourne to the State of Victoria then drive to Northern Queensland.

This year we are going for 4 months.  Will see you when we return at the end of October.
Do take care, stay safe...
Best wishes to you all and hope to see you upon my return.

On board the Spirit of Tasmania at Devonport the view from the ferry last year.

East Coast of Tasmania

Below photo taken Boat Harbour on the North West Coast of Tasmania.

Building in Queenstown, Tasmania

The Post Office opened in 1896, it's a nice building always maintained.  The Police Station is behind it up the lane.

The street above - well to the left was where I lived, house not there now they pulled it down and built another.  To the left the two story building is the old public school, there used to be a long hedge there now gone, and it's there I had my very first kiss - unfortunately the young man was killed about a year later, came to grief in an accident.
The hill was called the sandhill, and within that sand hill is a great place to slide down the sand into a pit, got into heaps of trouble for doing that as wore holes in my underwear.

Below is a photo of part of the school I went to for 4 years whilst living in Queenstown.  It wasn't far from home at that time, and we girls would all meet at my house to walk to school.

Strahan, Tasmania

At Strahan you can catch the steam train to travel to Queenstown but the steam train only goes so far then you hop into a normal train.  This was always the case - when I lived at Queenstown every year just before school finished all the children hopped into an open air carriage with a canopy on top and off we went to Strahan for a school breakup picnic.  At times the steam train went so slow that the boys would get out and run up the hill to wait for the train to arrive then hop back in.
In so many places one could put your finger out the either side because of the rocks that were ever so close.  What great fun it was.
Several years ago I returned with my husband and we took the ride on the steam train but this past visit in March we didn't.

The railway was the only way to get copper from the mine at Queenstown to markets.  Until 1932, when a Hobart road link was completed, it was the only access through to Queenstown.

Obviously a jetty and Strahan Village across the bay.

Abandoned business below, excellent view of the bay. 

Not far from the jetty we tool a walk along the path.

Couldn't get a good photo of the street in Strahan due to vehicles being in the way, the houses are sweet and it's also where you catch the boat for the Macquarie Harbour cruise.

Macquarie Harbour, Strahan

From Ocean Beach we went along to Macquarie Harbour via a dirt road which is well kept, just a bit of dust behind you.

I had written a little about Macquarie Harbour last Easter so just repeating.
Macquarie Harbour is a large shallow inlet and is 6 times the size of Sydney Harbour, in Sydney NSW.
There is a man made wall which prevents erosion and keeps the channel deep and narrow, rather than allowing the channel to become wide and shallow.

The day we were there is was just beautiful, scenery and weather.

The Pathway towards the heads of Macquarie Harbour.  (see map below)

The sand squeaks when you walk on it, it's so soft.

To Ocean Beach, Tasmania

From Queenstown where we stayed a few days one of those days we drove to Strahan and Ocean Beach.
It's a long stretch of beach running north of Macquarie Heads and Hells Gates on the West Coast of Tasmania.  It is close to Strahan and parallel to the Strahan Airport runway.  It extends as far north as Trial Harbour and the coast immediately west of Zeehan.

Exposed to the ocean with no landmass at this longitude between it and South America, this beach can be exposed to extreme weather conditions.  In Serious weather it can have large extended lines of breakers, and a swell at the Cape Sorell Waverider Bouy at up to 20+metres.

Whale stranding frequently occurs along this stretch of the West Coast and can be difficult to remedy due to the isolated location and low population numbers to assist in whale rescue.

When I lived in Queenstown for 4 years I often when in school holidays to stay with the local Strahan Policeman and his wife for a holiday.  The Policeman and myself would drive all along Ocean Beach once a week to see if all was well and if anything odd had been washed up by the sea to sand.
When laying in bed at night back in Strahan one could hear the roar of Ocean Beach.

The day my husband visited Ocean Beach it was very pleasant with only a little breeze.

These two photos were taken on the way to Strahan and Ocean Beach.