Saturday, February 15, 2025

Our day began in Strahan, Tasmania. Today, we had several hours of driving to do to get to the island’s Central Highlands region. Twenty percent of Tasmania’s southwest is wilderness area, so there really wasn’t anything to see or do along the way. Andi and I figured it’d be best to get up early and drive while the kids were asleep.

We left the campground at 7:00am and followed the winding mountain road for 4 1/2 hours. We passed beautiful lake conservation areas and even saw snowflakes as climbed to higher elevation. It was downright cold today — 3 degrees C (37 degrees F) — to be traveling in a camper without a heater.

The first sign of life we saw after several hours of driving was the town of Derwent Bridge. Andi stopped at a gas station (called a Servo in Australia) and returned with an energy drink for me and a take-away container of french fries to share. There were a lot of cold, miserable looking motorcyclists finding reprieve in the gas station/restaurant.

We made it to Mount Field National Park around 1:00pm. The campground was full of sad people who looked wet and cold. We scored the last available campsite, and settled into our site. We all needed some chill time after that drive, especially Andi. The four of us lounged around in our camper. It continued to rain on & off throughout the afternoon.

At 4:00pm, Andi prodded us all outside for a walk. I really didn’t want to; it was cold and rainy outside. The kids definitely didn’t want to! But, Andi was right. We came to Mount Field National Park to spend time in the park.

The popular Russell Falls trail began near our campground, so we decided to start there. What a stunningly beautiful trail this was, meandering through the temperate rainforest. Aden said it felt like we were at a resort, and the gift shop would be around the corner. Truly, the forest seemed like an illusion with lush, green palm fronds canopying the trail.

Aden spotted a pademelon hiding in the forest behind a log. We watched the busy marsupial for a few minutes eating grasses, not caring at all that we were watching from the nearby trail.

The mountain ash trees were absolutely massive in this park — wow! We were in awe. The mountain ash is the tallest flowering plant in the world reaching over 200 feet tall. Nothing makes you feel tiny in this big world of ours quite like a big, tall tree growing in the forest.

Russell Falls were just a short distance down the track. This is the most photographed spot in Tasmania, and for good reason. These waterfalls inspired the creation of Tasmania’s first national park in 1916. The sounds and spray of water cascading down the rock face captivated everyone who walked by it.

The four of us continued further along the trail to Horseshoe Falls, and then to the Tall Trees Walk. Most people walk to see Russell Falls, but after we passed that lookout we didn’t see another person on the trail.

We came across a neat feature at one of the overlooks — a clinometer tool to measure the height of the massive mountain ash trees. This morphed into a bit of a math lesson as the kids measured angles of various trees and calculated their heights.

Eventually, the trail looped us back to the visitor’s center and to our campsite. I’m really glad Andi pushed us to get out there and explore Mount Field National Park. It was beautiful, and not too cold once we got moving.

Back at camp, Andi grilled burgers for dinner on the campground grill. In Australia, almost all grills are flat-top grills such as this. Andi hates them because they’re a pain to clean, he says. It doesn’t help that we’re traveling in a rented camper with limited supplies.

Tory helped dry dishes after dinner. It’s a team effort when everyone is in arm’s reach of one another. No big house to scamper off to after dinner.