Tarkine Drive

Our plan for today was to drive around the Tarkine Loop. Exactly what we would do along the way would depend on weather and time. When talking with Helen last night about breakfast we had initially asked for 8:00 am but on second thoughts Majella backed it up to 7:30 am, planning to get away by 8:00 am.

We were up by 7:00 am and eating breakfast at 7:30 am. Both Majella’s egg on Turkish and my French toast with bacon, banana, and maple syrup were substantial meals that set us up for the day. Conversation with Helen and the other guest couple was interesting and went on for some time. Helen went out to collect the cards from her cameras and came back to share local overnight activity that had been captured. By the time all that was done and we were on our way it was approaching 9:00 am.

Helen had told us last night that there was no food along the way and suggested we might buy salad rolls for lunch at the nearby roadhouse. This morning she had loaned us her thermos flask filled with coffee and gave us a container with homemade biscuits to go with that. Since we already had cheese and crackers left from yesterday we passed the roadhouse, reasoning that breakfast and what we had already would see us through the day.

First stop on the Tarkine drive was Trowutta Arch so we headed for Trowutta, bypassing Stanley and Smithton along with some smaller places on the way. A bit less than an hour later we were parking to walk to the arch after driving through an area of young plantation eucalypts, some of which looked decidedly unhealthy although others seemed to be doing well. 

Signs indicated a 15 minute walk to the arch. That was through damp forest with eucalypts above and tree ferns below. There were numerous fungi along the way in a variety of shapes and colours. The arch is part of a sinkhole formed by centuries of water dissolving away an under layer of carbonate rock to make a cave which then collapsed. In this case part of the upper layer remained to form an arch through which a pool of water covered in green growth could be seen.

We paused briefly at Tayatea Bridge to look at the Arthur River but it was drizzling rain at that point so we did not stop for long. Helen had told us that despite the printed maps saying Milkshake Hills was closed due to the 2016 fires the area was now open. We drove in and took the short forest walk rather than the longer walk to the lookout since there was light rain at that point and we did not expect there would be much to see in the rain.

Our next stop required minimal effort. The sinkhole was visible from the roadside so we needed only to park and walk a few paces to see the dark water and the reflections in its smooth surface.

Getting to Dempster Plains lookout was more challenging. It was about 6 km up a potholed road with a short walk up hill from the car park. That gave us a view over an expanse of button grass with signs describing how the area had been expanded in the past by First Nations people burning back the edges of the forest.

Lake Chisholm required a 30 minute return walk through more luxuriant forest. That took us to a very large sinkhole that had accumulated enough material in the bottom to hold a substantial volume of water. Because it is in a depression and surrounded by tall forest the air tends to be still and the water surface is glassy and reflective.

By then it was after midday and we were ready for lunch. At Julius River we found a picnic area where we stopped to eat some cheese and crackers and  some of Helen’s biscuits washed down with coffee. After lunch we took the short walk along a boardwalk that wound along and across the river. Again the forest was luxuriant and there were many interesting fungi to be seen beside the boardwalk.

From there, after a short pause to view the Arthur River from Sumac lookout, we headed west to the coast. We managed a drive by view of the Arthur River at the junction where the Kanunnah Bridge takes the road back toward Smithton. It was not difficult to decide the 3 hour walk on the Balfour packhorse track was not for us and, when we saw the gravel road going south toward Corinna, we were glad I had not planned to come or go that way. 

When we reached the coast we passed by Couta Rocks but stopped for Sarah Anne Rocks. They are named for a Tasmanian watercolour artist and we could see the attraction of the strange shapes and bright colours on the rocks against the waves and sky. We parked and walked along the beach to the rocks at the point. There was a lot of kelp washed up on the beach and it was beginning to smell but we managed to avoid most of that to get out to the rock formations at the point.

We missed Sundown Point and the petroglyphs. Helen had suggested it was best to attempt it along the beach rather than overland but we missed the relevant signs and did not think we had time, or possibly energy, for the necessary walk, especially over sand.

At the Edge of the World viewing platform just south of the Arthur River settlement we paused to spend some time watching the waves roll in over the rugged rocks. There were some very large logs of driftwood washed up on the rocky shelves below the lookout. They are remnants of what the river washes down in season that is then picked up by waves and dumped on rocks and beaches nearby.

From there we drove without stopping back to Eagle’s Roost, arriving around 4:45 pm, just as the sun was about to set. We watched the sunset behind Stanley and The Nut from the front deck and through the lounge window.

Last night we had accepted Helen’s offer of dinner of artichoke soup followed by ice cream dessert. Both were delicious and more than enough to satisfy our appetites before settling down to relax for the evening.