Three days camping and book shopping in Mole Creek
Trip Start
Mar 09, 2010
1
6
Trip End
Mar 11, 2010
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Mole Creek, Tasmania, Australia
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I was sure the weather would be bad and we may not be able to go but really wanted to go riding and this part of the state is exceptionally beautiful.
Tuesday morning was a bit damp but not bad so I rode up to New Norfolk to meet my friend Chris. We left her place about 9:30 in the morning and headed up the Lyell Hwy with a turn towards Bothwell for our first morning tea break. Weather was mild and comfortable and as there are no book stores or op shops in Bothwell we headed straight for the cafe. Two new young women have taken over the management of it and they were very careful to get our orders correct and do the right thing. We had really nice cappuccinos and were anxious to get going up towards the lakes.
We had good roads to the lakes except for one long stop for some tree felling that was happening. The wind had picked up a bit and the temperature dropped a bit as we were at a higher elevation.
WE refilled at Poatina, a hydro village and then headed down the long winding twisties. The corners are very sharp with speed limits set as low as 15 kms per hour. We passed a few trucks but other that it was smooth sailing. I just wanted to stay to the far left along those sharp turns. We reached Longford without much fuss though we were hoping to have cut across west earlier and go through some of the back roads. WE missed our turns and by then the wind was getting very high. We stopped for lunch in Longford at a new takeaway shop that had just opened. We had hot sandwiches and they tasted good.
Leaving Longford we rode out towards the highway and headed towards Deloraine. The wind by this stage was very difficult and it was all we could do to hold our bikes in our lanes. Even the trucks coming up behind us stayed back giving us room as they could see we were struggling especially around some of the curves where we'd get hit with high wind from both directions.
We had about 40 kms to go to Deloraine and then another 25 kms to Mole Creek. Coming into Mole Creek is incredibly beautiful and I was very happy to see the road open up across wide paddocks with mountains in the distance. I knew the campground was near. When we arrived at the campground we still had the wind and it was sprinkling. We quickly got the bikes unloaded and the tents up before the wind became any worse. We had a good site right on the river and the sounds of the river are always nice.
There are several op shops and book shops in Deloraine but we weren’t going to ride back that evening. We set up camp and relaxed the rest of the day. We were very tired and as soon as darkness came we were in our bags trying for sleep. However the wind really whipped up strongly and the tents rattled. We felt like we were in martini shakers, not that I’ve ever been in a martini shaker but I pictured it to be like that.
The rain was falling too. It was very hard to sleep wondering if trees would come crashing down or if the tents would fly up and take us to the next town. It got very cold and our sleeping bags that promised to be comfortable at temperatures of 0 to – 10 degrees didn’t pan out. We were cold. The next morning as we crawled out of our respective tents we both talked about having gotten up during the night and putting on more clothes, including covering up with our motorbike coats and putting beanies on our head down to our chin.
Once the wind stopped sometime during the night things quieted down and we finally had good sleeps.
That morning we rode to the cave down the road and were told there’s a good coffee van in a paddock nearby. We had hot coffees and the owner, an English woman who bought the property off the internet a couple years ago had just pulled hot apple muffins out of the oven. The apples were from her back yard. They were delicious. We had an 11:00 am tour of the Marakoopa Cave.
We rode up the roads and packed our coats and helmets in the bikes and walked the 15 minute trail up through the rainforest to the cave after purchasing our tickets.
A large school group arrived after us and we were worried they may come through with us and ruin a really nice experience but thankfully the noisy kids had their own tour and we continued with ours. The cave was beautiful inside and we walked up many stairs to different levels and the guide turned lights on and off to mark our travels through it. At one point he turned off the lights and the blackness is like nothing you could find anywhere else. He then asked if anyone could sing and told us of all the visitors including the Vienna Boys Choir who had sung in the cathedral section of the cave. Noone made a sound and suddenly he broke into a very resonating Irish ballad that reverberated beautifully around us. In the darkness the only sense we had was our hearing which added another dimension to it. We really enjoyed it. The tour lasted an hour and by then it was well after 12:00 noon. WE decided to go to the local pub at Mole Creek and have lunch. There were a lot of elderly people already there from a bus tour and all the tables were pretty full. A waitress told us to go out back in the gardens which we happily did and sat at a picnic table under a large tree sheltered from the sun which by this time was very hot. We had a wonderful lunch and sat and chatted for close to two hours. WE then went into Deloraine to pick up a few things.
We needed some fuel for a camp cook stove. I went into the second hand book shop there run by an elderly gentleman. I was really happy when I saw he had a shelf of very old Penguin books but disappointed at his pricing system. He had Penguin reprints listed for $45.00 and most were $35.00. Considering I buy them in Hobart from 50 cents to $8.00 I wasn’t prepared to pay these prices especially for reprints.
We left the op shops for the following morning. We rode back out to the campground, sat at the picnic table next to our tents, watched fellow campers play with King a gorgeous German Shepherd and drank a couple of beers. By then we were ready for sleep. Sun goes down we go to bed. Not much else to do. Skies were clear and therefore very cold. Again we dressed in everything we had brought with us. At one point I had five or six layers of clothing on. Still wearing everything I’d put on the Tuesday morning when I left home. Too cold to change anything. Had a pretty good sleep and the next day was time to come home. We had quick coffee and breakfast in Deloraine and I went into three op shops next to the cafe. I found three Penguin books at very cheap prices (back to 50 cents), all first published ones.
One of the Op shops is an animal rescue site and all proceeds go to supporting the animals they rescue in the area. We met a beautiful black kitten and would have brought him home but no way to carry a kitten home on a motorbike. Thank goodness for that. Could only leave a donation for his food for awhile and no doubt others would come in and fall in love with his playfulness as we did.
Back on the bikes which by now were loaded down again with all our camping gear and headed back up to the mountainous area and the Central highlands. Same twisty roads but a lot easier going up the hills than coming down though had to keep an eye for gravel on the roads. We passed the tree fellers again and they waved and we stopped at Bothwell at the bakery this time for another bite to eat and a rest. By now we were quite tired. Two nights of cold sleep and lots of riding are tiring.
We parted ways at this time, Chris heading down the Lyell Hwy and I went towards to east through Melton Mowbray and down the Midlands Hwy to the turn off to Lindisfarne to miss the afternoon rush hour traffic on the main road into Hobart. I arrived home just before 6:00 pm ready to have a hot soak in the bath, put on some clean clothes and have a good night’s sleep.
The best part about sleeping in a tent, outside of it being fun and having a chance to meet others in a campground and enjoy the elements a bit is being in a bed with clean sheets after a hot shower or bath. Already we are looking forward to the next trek we decide to take.
Penguin Books acquired were three first published Penguins 1. Voss by Patrick White, 2. Trial by Sasswood by Esther Warner (gotta love that cover!!) and 3. Captain Cook, The Seamen's Seaman by Alan Villiers
