MT WELLINGTON - WINTER WONDERLAND!

At this time of the year - I go nuts over two things; snow and Mt Wellington.
Today we went up to the summit, along with every other man and his dog (seriously, there were dogs on the mountain!!) to check out the huge dump of snow we received during the week. What an amazing sight.. just when I think I've seen the best of Mt Wellington she throws me a new view..

Have a look for yourself.. it was truly magic.

WELDBOROUGH HOTEL

Andrew and I had the pleasure of visiting the Weldborough Hotel in North-East Tasmania recently. The hotel offers accommodation both inside and also camping and powered caravan sites with an amenities block on-site.

The heritage listed Weldborough Hotel, originally built in 1886 and previously known as the All Nations Hotel, is situated in the picturesque rainforest of the northeast of Tasmania.

The hotel was mostly burnt down in 1928 and rebuilt by the then owner Maurice Russell. The area is perfect for bushwalking, fishing, mountain cycling, off road biking and driving.

This tiny settlement which is located 124 km north-east of Launceston is notable, more than anything else, for the exceptional pub - the Weldborough Hotel - and the Weldborough Pass where huge tree ferns grow on either side of the road.

Weldborough was first known as Thomas Plains. It was named after an early surveyor. The original plan was to open the area to rural development but the discovery of tin resulted in a sustained mining boom.

The mining boom saw a service town of pubs, general stores, butcher's shops and the like. Later a hotel (with good accommodation) and a racecourse were built.

'The Centenary of Portland' describes the town in the 1880s as 'The Chinamen came and set up a local Chinatown, carrying on as tin scratchers everywhere. All tin and goods went and came from Georges Bay by pack track and slab roads ... crops were put in, with good results, as Christmas time, while a few cows arrived upon the scene. This marks the earliest decade ... In the roaring days of the Weldborough Mine the lights were never dimmed, and with three shafts to every bed the trade 'roared on' continuously, and every prospect bore a pleasant smile. Having exhausted its importance as a going concern, the Weldborough petered out.'

It is widely recognised that this was the largest Chinese community on any tin field in Australia. They are said to have outnumbered the Europeans.

source: SMH Online

We can highly recommend taking the Mt Paris Dam Road and visiting Ma Mon Chin Dam, which is pictured below.

CRADLE MOUNTAIN - LAKE ST CLAIR NATIONAL PARK

We took a quick run out to Lake St Clair today - we had been past previously on a trip from Burnie via Queenstown to Hobart, but today got to spend some time bushwalking through the park.

The road was pretty icy on the way up (about 160km past New Norfolk) and below is an image of the frost on the side of the highway at one stage. This was about 11am in the morning, and it was still 1° outside! We also stopped off briefly at Tarraleah, where there is a Hydro Electric Station, as you can also see in the images below. A quick detour off the highway to visit Lake Binney resulted in our first platypus sighting of the day! We also stopped at Bradys Lake and saw another platypus!

We did the Platypus Bay (how apt) walk (which is divine and incorporates part of the Overland Track) and again, spotted another THREE platypus! Not bad when you consider they are supposed to be pretty elusive. To top off a great day for wildlife, we got to experience close-up a magnificent Tasmanian Wedge-Tailed Eagle eating carrion on the side of the road.

We hope you enjoy the images!