Tasmania 2023 Week 1 Day 10 Bothwell to Strathgordon
Having partaken of a light breakfast of cereal and toast in the Clyde Room at the Castle Hotel, Bothwell, we are on the road about 8.15am heading for Maydena Railtrack Riders. We stop in for a brief look at Ratho Farm – Australia’s oldest golf club. It is a “location” and I can appreciate that it would be a pretty cool, from a non-golfers perspective, place to play a round.
We travel the B110 and the A10 to Hamilton, a town we had passed through on our trip 12 months ago but not realised until we drove past the old pub which we recognised. It is a lovely town – very Georgian in influence.
We then go through Ellendale, Fentonbury and on to the Westerway Berry Farm – which has lots of lovely berries of all types. We acquire some raspberries and some hand cream, along with other bits and pieces. Back in the car, we continue on to Maydena and an absolutely fabulous experience – Railtrack Riders. We use a little “car” on the exiting railtrack and pedal, followed by an ag bike which has been adapted for the rails. Trevor is an absolutely amazing tour guide. He informs us, amongst other fascinating pieces of information, that Sir Keith Murdoch acquired access to 341,000 hectares of old growth forest which was turned into paper in around the time of World War II. The town of Maydena was basically built by Sir Keith and when he decided to close the depot, 300 jobs were lost overnight. In 1991, he offered the 3 bedroom houses to the now former staff for $2,000 each.
We lunch at the fabulous Fika Café – Scandinavian café. Fika means enjoying a break, having a coffee and taking time. It is a fabulous name and concept and the Fika Burger is a lovely lunch repast.
We learn that the Tasmania Tiger is a conundrum of a creature – a marsupial with a pouch but also much like a kangaroo in the hind quarters, and a single bone running through its tail. The pouch, like a wombat, faces backwards. We have some pretty cool creatures in this vast country. For the record, I cannot support the current DNA experiments to bring back the Tasmania Tiger – I struggle with the risk of Jurassic Pak concepts. Also, the Thylacine is a solo creature. There’s a possibility that they still exit in the unexplored south western region of Tasmania. Let’s hope, if they do exist, that they are left unaffected, or as unaffected as possible, by the expansion of man.
We check in at our accommodation for the evening, Pedder Wilderness Lodge – the former accommodation for the people who worked on the Gordon Dam. Our room is quite comfortable and the heating is much appreciated as the day is abut 10 degrees on average.
The words “majestic” and “magnificent” as well as the less articulate “wow” are part of our vocabulary today. The countryside is quite simply amazing. There is such a contrast of the 100’s of years of Caucasian settlement as against the multi-millennia of evolution. As we turn on the television this evening, there’s an SBS story playing on the accessible programming on the Thylacine – funny how things come together, having heard some of this information today.
We mosey down to the Gordon Dam. I had intended to attempt to walk the wall but looking down the stairs to the dam wall, it was just too much. My trusty fungi spotter and patient husband decided he would venture down and explore the wall. I find some fungi and think I find a slime mould but am really not quite sure. Whichever way you look at it, nature is amazing. The dam and the site of the dam is quite something – the water level is low, you can see that readily.
Dinner is at the restaurant at Pedder Wilderness Lodge. Beetroot risotto and Butter Paneer. Both meals are absolutely gorgeous, accompanied by a beautiful bottle of Tasmanian Syrah after some “local” (Tasmanian) gins. We remain in awe of mother nature and what she has achieved through this region. She certainly did something quite extraordinary.
