Midget's Map of Tassie
Elizabeth and I arrived in St Kilda early to load the Midget onto the Spirit of Tasmania II. After finding our cabin, we began to relax in the lounge area, when an over head announcement boomed "Last chance to get anything from your vehicle prior to departing as the decks are about to be locked". Ordinarily an announcement like this wouldn't bother me. We had our bags, time to kick back, relax and start our much anticipated holiday. It was in this moment of reflection I had the shocking realisation "did I leave the Midget in gear?" I couldn't remember. Oh No! I hurriedly ran down the 6 flights of stairs to get to the lowest deck on the boat, raced over to the Midget, only to find I hadn't brought the keys with me. Bugger! I managed to unclip the hood, reach inside and knock the gearstick into neutral. Crises averted. I'd imagined arriving at the Midget the next morning to a pool of gearbox oil and the shattered remains of an already fragile Midget gearbox.
I'd visited Tassie before by boat, first the Abel Tasman, then the Spirit of Tasmania 1 and also the Sea Cat, however it was Elizabeth's first maritime visit to Tassie. So in true boating spirit we experienced quite a rough crossing, resulting in a much interrupted sleep. No sooner had we finally fallen asleep when yet another announcement boomed "Good morning passengers" we couldn't believe our ears. Time to get up. We were both excited about our driving holiday tour of Tassie in the Midget. From Devonport we headed to Latrobe, where we found a boutique Chocolate Factory with chocolate tastings and a chocolate museum, Elizabeth was in heaven. Now full of a deliciously chocolate breakfast, we headed through Railton to Sheffield to view the famous town murals.
It was a glorious sunny day (roof down) as we headed to Elizabeth Town (of course) for their famous Bakery curried scallop pie. Much to Elizabeth's disappointment, the Bakery was about all there was to experience in Elizabeth Town. So we headed to Launceston via Deloraine.
As we arrived to check into our Hotel, the Manager leapt out to greet us. Full of tales of past Targa Tasmania's, he pretty much planned our next day of touring on the bonnet of the MG, taking into consideration local Targa stages. Elizabeth wasn't quite as excited about this as I was. I have always wanted to drive these great Tassie roads in my Midget and have aspirations of competing in a Targa Tasmania some day.
The Hotel's bar was filled with motoring paraphernalia. From smashed rally car guards, to bits of motorbikes, a NASCAR, you mention it; it was on display, a tribute to Tasmanian motoring. I enjoyed a couple of cold tap beers whilst waiting for Liz to get ready for tea. During this time I got talking to the Manager. It wasn't long before we had Ari Vatanen's Pikes Peak (Peugeot 406 T16) record smashing drive playing on the big screen (Like I needed any more encouragement).
The next morning we headed up the A3 to Scottsdale (Targa stage), then a quick tour of some wineries, Pipers Brook winery for lunch and off via Derby to St Helens, where we overnighted. The bushfire devastation to this area was quite noticeable as we headed to St Marys, then down Elephant Pass to the seaside village of Bicheno.
An early start as we headed for Coles Bay to the Freycinet National Park and its sensational Wine Glass Bay bushwalk. As we parked the Midget we were greeted by some local wallabies, quite friendly. After our steep decent to the milky white sands of Wine Glass Bay (which got its name from the whaling station that once operated there, filling the bay with claret). From the lookout it also looks a bit like a wine glass in shape. Time got away from us, as we soaked in the stunning beauty of this National Park. We finally mustered up the energy to hike back to the top. We gingerly hopped back into the Midget and headed to Hobart in gorgeous sunshine to meet a friend for dinner.
The next morning we enjoyed a relaxing walk around the Salamanca Place Market, the wood working, hand crafts and of course the abundance of interesting, local foods was great. After lunch we left Hobart and headed to Richmond, with a quick mini golf detour. Due to a public holiday in Tassie, we stayed a couple of nights in the Old Army Barracks B&B. We enjoyed a tour of the Old Jail (complete with 1870's Man Trap - like a giant fox trap) and of course the historic Richmond Bridge (picture of Midget crossing the Richmond Bridge below).
From Richmond we headed to Ranelagh for the 'Taste of Huon' local produce festival. Delicious freshly shucked oysters and Tassie wines greeted us. From here, we then headed to the Tahune Forest Reserve for the much anticipated 'Tahune Airwalk'. Which is literally a walking track suspended at tree top level (I'm not much of a heights kind of guy - hence the MG Midget), Elizabeth was excited though. Boy those trees are tall! (Picture of the stunning view from the Tahune Airwalk below)
We overnighted in the delightful country manor 'Walton House' in Huonville. This was Elizabeth's favourite B&B, with full cooked, silver service breakfast the next morning. We then toured around the coast via Cygnet, Woodbridge and Snug (more Targa roads) as we headed back to Hobart and the Cadbury Factory, where we had booked for a chocolate tour (in spite of me living within walking distance of their Melbourne operation). There's a theme forming here!
After yet another belly full of chocolate, and a Yellow Midget overwhelmed with additional chocolates, we headed through New Norfolk to Russell Falls, breathtaking waterfalls and Tall Trees walk. Light was fading, so we stopped in Westerway at a quaint B&B overlooking a creek rumoured to contain Platypus's. None were sighted, I think the rasp of the Midget exhaust might have frightened them.
Bright and early we headed back to New Norfolk for an exciting 'Jet Boat' ride up the Derwent River. Much like our tour thus far in the Midget, we whipped past obstacles at a blurring rate, got pelted with water and experienced increased heart rates. After our Jet Boat ride we need of some time to reflect over a coffee (as both our lives had flashed before us). We then meandered to Ross for a calming Devonshire Tea, which took us through Bridgewater, Brighton, Kempton and Oatlands. As we approached the end of our holiday, we headed back to Launceston and spent the night back at the Hotel with the tribute to motor sport bar.
The next morning we drove to Beaconsfield, to check out the mine (see picture above), then meandered our way back to Devonport via a less popular route, which quickly turned into an off the beaten track approach to Devonport as the road became dirt. The Midget loved getting a little dirty along this road as we whizzed passed logging forests. We arrived in Devonport a little earlier than expected and decided to fit in a movie prior to boarding the ship for our return to Melbourne.
The ship was readied for us to board. As we formed a queue it began to spit; the two of us huddled in the open Midget. Our time in Tassie was predominantly enjoyed topless. Eventually the slight spitting got heavier and the now long queue had not moved an inch, so it was finally time to put the roof up. This of course meant unpacking the entire contents of the Midget's boot in the rain, in front of the now great queue of spectators. Much to the onlooker's amusement, the roof was up, boot repacked and I was back in the Midget in a new Tasmanian hood erecting record!
This proved fortunate, as when we arrived back in Melbourne the next morning it was pouring with rain. We made a brief diversion to Malvern for a favourite coffee spot of ours Café Latte. Elizabeth loves their traditional Italian style hot chocolates. A great end to our Midget adventures in Tasmania.
We'd like to thank Tony and Ian of Bugeye Barn for their help in preparing the Midget for the trip. The Midget ran faultlessly, a top up of oil was all that was required for the entire holiday.
Nathan Medhurst & Elizabeth Dalton.