South Sister

During our Blogging break we headed up the East coast, again, but this time decided to get to the top of South Sister. If I'm honest its less of a walk and more of a drive, as despite it looking very tall, there is vehicular access to all but the last section of South Sister. It can be accessed from the main road in St Mary's and is signposted from there.

The road is mostly unsealed and winds up through the gum forests. Eventually there is a narrow access off this road, which is signposted although the sign itself is a little off the road so the turn is easy to miss, like we did. With a quick u turn and this time taking the exit, you climb fairly quickly up a mostly dry rocky, track, in places it has been eroded and a 4x4 is advisable, although I think a normal car with enough clearance would do fine. Fallen rocks and trees litter the edges of the path and in places have been cut away to allow access up the track.

Continuing up the track eventually leads to a radio tower and parking spaces for a few vehicles. Get out here, you'll need decent shoes as from here it is a boulder scramble up to the top. 

The walking part of this trip takes 10-15 minutes each way. There are hand rails in all the right places although the ground itself can be a little unstable. Boulder to the top and there appears to be a route to the right and one to the left. The one too the left, on the level, goes around to a lower point than the one we took. We took the route to the right that climbs up maybe ten wooden steps towards a large radio mast. N.b. you can go right up to the mast/control building, there is a sturdy panoramic lookout wrapped around it and the sights in all directions are excellent. From here you can see the coast and the valleys below, across to Ben Lomond and beyond. It is a very high point and on a clear day the views are incredible. If its the right season, there will be many, many Skinks along the way, bathing on the hot rocks up the track and at the top.

Nice and easy, you can get the views without a 6 hour hike!

Red Bridge Cafe

The Red Bridge Cafe in Campbell Town, can be found on the main road (Midlands Highway). It is one of the first of the shops/cafes that you come to as you enter Campbell Town on your way from Hobart. There is parking right outside, but at busier times, you may need to turn in to the car park behind. FYI if you park behind, you have to do a quick lap around the block in order to re-join the main road as it is a one way access from the main road.

Whilst looking rather unassuming on the outside, the Red Bridge Cafe and Providore is much more than it seems. When you enter you have a huge coffee bar to your left, and an extensive providore to your right. Straight ahead, looking over the pies, cakes and the counter, you will see a large area where you can site to eat or drink.

This place has character, lots of it and signs and pictures that adorn the walls of the seating area make it clear that this place has been used in lots of guises. An information board details the history of the building and its uses, some of which include being a brewery (several times), a scout hut, a boxing club, a masonic hall and war office. There is lots of charm to take in from the old building and I for one take delight in having a wander around while I'm sipping on my coffee. The building's history is very interesting.

The coffee tastes excellent and by the size of the bar and the equipment behind it, it should (although I like mine a little hotter). There is quite a selection of Tasmanian red and white wine available from here and advice can be sought on this if you are inclined to ask.

The provedore essentially stocks mainly 'sweet treats', yogurt coated this and that, dried fruits and nuts, chips etc. There are a range of cheeses, crackers, small savories such as pickles, oils and marinades too. Overall the selection is good but a lot of it is the sort of thing that I'd feel guilty about buying as it might have too many calories for a casual purchase. Then again, being in Campbell Town, for most people means a trip to somewhere, therefore these might just be the 'holiday' type of treats you are looking for.


If you are heading through Campbell Town, its definitely worth a quick coffee/tea refuel as well as grabbing some delicious snacks to take with you. It's probably the best coffee in Campbell Town, although Zeps is good too.

Back into Blogging

After a brief break from Blogging, I'm back online! In the weeks that follow I will update the blog with some of the places we've been since I've been away.


Thanks again for reading!

Douglas Apsley - Waterhole and Gorge

This walk heads out from the main carpark area of the southern end of Douglas Apsley National Park, not too far from Bicheno on the East Coast. National Park fees apply as mentioned in other National Park blogs. Again, it is one of Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks. The time required said 2-3 hours but we did the return in 2 hours walking time.

From the carpark, you head past a drop-loo, its the last one for two plus hours so use wisely! Walk pretty much straight and you head past a campsite and on down to the Apsley river. We were a bit unsure where to head when we got to the river, then worked out that we actually needed to cross it. The rock hop here can be tricky if you want to stay dry, there are a couple of places where it looks like it might be possible but there are no completely dry routes. We nearly turned back at this point as we weren't sure what to do. In the end, we grabbed a few rocks to add to what were there to make stepping stones to cross. It looks like plenty of people do this, except that the water has washed previous routes away.


After crossing (carefully) you rise up a long, steep and slippery route. This is not an easy part of the track, take lots of breaks and watch your footing. There are many areas where the track is covered with slippery roots and smooth/sloping sheets of rock that can be easy to slip on. Take a wider track and go slow.

When at the top there are lots of gums and from here the route is much easier, mostly flat before a rock-step descent to the Apsley Gorge. This part is much easier than it looks although, again going down the man-placed steps can be a long drop, so watch where you put your feet.


Down at the gorge there is the potential for a rock hop over the river and along the gorge but we didnt do that in winter, the waters were reasonably high. There is advice near the carpark on how to go about taking this option to basically return a different route down the gorge. Either way, its a scenic place to hang out and have lunch. Very picturesque and peaceful.


Returning is MUCH easier. The steps up make this a breeze, actually a nice ascent as you can look back to the gorge as you rise up. The flat along the top, again is easy and a nice place to just look around you. The descent back to the river is a lot easier but in places the route is less obvious that on the ascent. Again, those flat sheets of rock can be slippy, take your time. It isn't strenuous, like the original ascent might be considered. Cross back over the stepping stones that you made or used earlier in order to return to the car park.

The Iron House

On our relatively frequent travels up the east coast we often head to the Iron House at the White Sands Estate. Its after Bicheno, on the way to Scamander, and not too far from Four Mile Creek. The hillsides here are becoming evermore dominated by the vines of the Iron House winery and will someday be a huge player in Tasmanian wines as their fields of vines literally grow each time we go by and there seems to be no sign of stopping! The Iron House itself is on the old Cray Drop Inn site and is now White Sands Estates where there are accommodation and restaurant facilities available. We haven't stayed there but from all accounts its somewhat modernised from the days of the Cray Drop Inn, there is a nice looking pool, games room, movie room and sporting opportunities as well as the main restaurant too.

If you are lucky, when you head towards the main Iron House building, you might smell the brew that they are making as is has its own beer microbrewery, with beers that can be drank, taken away or often bought in bottle shops in Hobart. As mentioned with their winery, it wont be too long until their vines are mature enough to yield a good size harvest. As it is, there is a small amount of sparkling wine available from their early or first harvest. One that we might well sample at Christmas.

The building is modern and wide open glass fronted in order to take in the view of the beach. One thing to note, on a sunny day, sunglasses inside are a must, the walls are white, glass expansive and shade, very little. This said, i have no issues with doing this as the view is stunning. On a sunny day, in any season, this is a great place to look out from and enjoy the view whilst eating or drinking.

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The menu is aimed at full meals although many options can be scaled up or down to suit being an appetizer or main. The beef burgers are huge and juicy, with a good amount of fries. They are very tasty if you're feeling hungry, and the price is excellent for the meal. The 'fish and chips' are light yet crunchy and again are sold with a good amount of fries, plus a pot of tartare sauce. The last time we went to The Iron House, we had chili muscles as a starter, and salmon and baby BBQ ribs. The salmon came as a huge, just on the edge of cooked (just the way I like it) on a bed of grilled vegetables. The ribs came as a sticky stack of 12 or 13 with standard fries and coleslaw. Whilst the fries were normal fayre, the ribs were delicious and were clearly in a homemade BBQ sauce. Very tasty indeed. We don't normally go the whole hog, but we actually had a desert to share as well. This was a chocolate cheesecake, with macaroons and a porter toffee ice-cream. This was a big desert, one that we had to share. I'm not normally a huge desert person, but this one was excellent. I did, however, have a beer tasting paddle to finish, this used to be free but is now $5, unless you buy a 2L growler re-fill (which we did).

As the Iron House is part of White Sands Estate accommodation, you can head down onto the beach right here so its a nice place to walk off your big meal. If you do this, do note that there is a bit of a rock scramble, if you want to walk the whole length of the beach, unless the tide is out.

Jackman & McRoss

Jackman & McRoss is a bakery and café in Newtown. It primarily serves baked pastries, cakes and drinks as well as selling more substantial meals. In on word, it is fair to say that this place is ‘popular’! It always seems busy and as it is visible from (though not quite on) the main road, when you drive by and see the window full of customers it is clear that there must be a reason that people come back.

The range of produce sold is wide including, in my opinion, some of the best pies in Hobart. I’m pretty discerning when it comes to eating, so a simple pie has to be pretty good in order to impress. The pies are sold with an option to add relish, that I’d take every time. My favourite of the range of pies is the lamb and potato pie which has huge chunks of ‘fall apart’ lamb. This pie is stuffed to the brim, so you definitely get your value. The chicken pie is a close second! Sold out every time by lunchtime is the beef pie which we are, sadly, yet to try. One of the pies even has a lamb shank sticking up out of  the crust! The breads on sale look good but seem a little expensive for my  tastes, then again boutique style breads will always command a solid price.

The cakes and pastries range is good, we have sampled several of them and we have always been pleased with our choice. One of the standout cakes is the sweet muffin. You’ll have to ask which one is available on the day. Ours was triple chocolate and despite it being warm, gooey and massive (easily enough for two) it is served with a pot of butter on the side. Its clear that this is pretty decadent, yet delicious. This said, if I ate one on my own (which I could totally do) I’d feel guilty for a week. I wonder how many calories/joules are in this muffin, it’s likely to be a lot.

The range of beverages is fairly standard, you can get the usual, yet excellent, range of coffee and teas that you would expect from a quality establishment. One thing to note is that there are a variety of Cascade and other fruit soft drinks available which are nice, luxurious feeling alternative to ‘Coke’ and other super brands.

There is also a Jackman & McRoss in Battery Point and on Victoria St, Hobart.

Springs Track

The Springs loop starts from Fern Tree on the Pipeline Track, as previously blogged. Walk the route to Silver Falls and when reaching the waterfall, take the tight right hand turn up some steps, onto Silver Falls Track. The route from here, whilst flagged as easy-moderate in a few books we have, might be considered tricky for those with short legs, or those who tire easily. It gets narrow, slippery when wet and steep in considerable sections.

(Please note this isn't my map, click for further, more detailed Mount Wellington maps)

Shortly after taking the turn up the steps the ground is relatively stable and the walking is pretty easy going. You have to take a left turn off this route onto Reid's Track which is a much steeper section, that looks like it regularly gets flushed with water and it essentially looks like a waterlogged rainwater gully. It is steep here and in places needs a bit of a heave to get up to the next part. In my experience, it is worth taking a few breathers as you go, maybe stop for a drink because its tiring work. This may have all seemed much harder on the day we walked as it was very wet out and we were getting pummeled by the rain, so much so that even my water-proof became less water proof. When you have reached the top of this section, you then take a left turn onto a much bigger looking track, Radford's Track that leads ever upwards towards the springs.

When we arrived at the springs, cold and wet, we saw the carpark, and information stand and smoke in the air. We looked across and saw a hut, and sought refuge from the rain. We went in to get dry and lo and behold, there was a raging fire! We stopped to warm up and have something to eat. We don’t know who had lit the fire as there was no one around when we got there but to say that it was a relief to have a fire, is an understatement. It instantly lifed our spirits and made having an Easter Egg even more enjoyable. So to whoever lit the fire for our arrival that day, thanks again. Of course we stoked the fire a little before heading off, so that the next half drowned adventurer might benefit too.

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When we’d had a break, we went off from the Springs, back onto Radford's Track that we’d come up, except rather than fully retracing our steps back down Reid's Track, we remained this time on the wider Radford's track that headed down the hill. At this point there is a small sign that prompted the way to Fern Glade. When we headed down further, there was a small monument on the left that signaled that Radford, a young man, had died there during a hill run many years ago. It was at this point that we took a right turn off this track down into Fern Glade.

From this point to the bottom of Fern Glade is a short but excellent walk, even with little kids. Don’t miss this one! See the Fern Glade Blog for further detail. (Point to note, this track comes out on the main road just along from Fern Tree where you might have parked). Walk along the road to the right for approximately 5 minutes as you come down the steps in order to get to Fern Tree.