Julian & Ali Travels


Trowutta Arch and Milkshake Hills		January 26 - 30

		Not far from Stanley is the larger town of Smithton. A post office, supermarket, and fuel. On the outskirts is Tall Timbers. A hotel with a very large grassy area for RVs. We stop for a night. With pizza from the kitchen. Following our recent bush fire experience we wonder what the helicopter is carrying. Nothing serious, building materials.

		A Tasmanian Native Hen near the truck. We didn't know such things existed.

		The Tarkine seems to be a somewhat nebulous concept to us. An area of forest and coast in the north west corner of Tasmania. Nebulous in not having defined boundaries. Known for its conservation value. Named after aboriginals. It has taken more than a few days to make some sort of sense. Perhaps too analytical. We embark on "the Tarkine Tourist Drive". A loop south from Smithton, to the coast. Tall Timbers is strategically placed. Of course the first place we visited, Trowutta Arch, only became known to us when Ali noticed it on a map I hadn't previously looked at, and when the very obvious brown road signs appeared. We are greeted by a fairly open forest with some big trees and lots of tree ferns. A pleasant easy stroll.

		The arch is between two sink holes in what may be dolomite or magnesite. The light on the tree on the far side of the water filled hole caught my eye.

		Not just a sink hole, its a cenote, a water filled sinkhole. A name from Yucatan Peninsula where they are common, and connected. About 20m deep.

		The adjoining sink hole, really just another part of the collapsed cave, is higher, and dry.

		Ever onward. We cross the Arthur River at Tayetea Bridge.

		And climb down to the river. Much evidence of bushfire some time ago.

		A short detour to Milkshake Hills. We have no idea why it is called that. The area had a reprieve from logging. A brief hint in a sign at the car park, the understory was different. A bit later research and perhaps the tall trees are eucalypts, while the understory is rain forest. Alas, a bushfire a few years ago was destructive. Some dead trees removed for safety. The understory regenerating.

		The hills are devoid of trees. The result of a few thousand years of aboriginal fire stick practices. Now called button grass plains. Button grass is tussock, a sedge. The white flowers, treasured by bee keepers who keep hives in the Tarkine, is manuka.

		We contemplate camping at Milkshake Hills. The sign doesn't expressly forbid camping, it discourages through "unsuitable for tents and RVs". We drive a few km south to find a short side track and camp. We have been here a few days. First Ali with sore throat. Then me with sore throat, runny noise, and cough. A common cold we hope. Probably caught from 12 hours immersion in the closed ventilation system of the ferry. Colds knock me about a bit, often taking a couple of weeks to regain some energy. So far so good, we will probably be on the move after a few days. The chances of picking a random spot on a random track in a forest and seeing Tasmanian Devils wonder past are remote. We've also only briefly seen a couple of birds in the three days here.

		A slightly wider, flat spot, for camp.

		Never far from civilisation. A few km away on hilltop. Whatever it is we don't have mobile phone reception. Just starlink. Perhaps part of fire management. Knowing the rough compass bearing, and with a bit of help from Laurie, identified as fire communications tower on Luncheon Hill. 20m high. About 4km away. Visible from here and also Dempster Plains (tomorrow).

		Manuka. We are aware of the conversations with New Zealand about the name. And of course the value of the honey.

		Just a pleasant place to be while we recover.

		Sunset, not fire.

		Recovering slowly from cold. I found enough energy to walk back to the main road and another 200m to the rivulet. In mainland Aus there are lots of creeks and rivers. In Tasmania we haven't yet seen a creek.

		At last a bird. I've struggled to see them. We have heard a few. A brown thornbill.

		And just a little bit further along our track a button grass plain.

Dempster Plains, Lake Chisholm and Julius River		January 31

Gateway

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