DAY 49
1st February, 2021
We drove back into Launceston in the morning and found a 4x4 shop that might sell parts to fix the wheel bearing. We had to go to a couple of them, but finally found what we needed. Josh drove us to Bunnings to get some tools as well, then fixed the car in the Bunnings carpark.
We drove up the Tamar River and past some vineyards but it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it might be – it’s supposed to be some kind of foodie heaven but it didn’t seem like there was too much on offer.
We crossed the Tamar at the Batman Bridge then drove north up the river on the east side all the way up to Low Head. This was a nice little fishing village with a historic lighthouse. It has been in use since 1805 and is Australia’s oldest continuously operating pilot station!
We drove up to Beechford and set up camp early. There was a very friendly wombat at the site, which Josh patted (it was pretty stinky). Poor quality phone photo below
DAY 50
2nd February, 2021
More car troubles today. Josh had to pull over at the Batman Bridge and fix the bearing on the drivers side, and yet another bearing has gone somewhere else, making the car wobble at certain speeds. It was a bit scary.
We drove up to Beaconsfield where the gold mine collapsed. Then south to Frankford for lunch. Both of us were really over the car troubles.
We ended up at a campsite at Mole Creek Karst National Parks, which was really nice. There were some caves but we didn’t really go to explore them because they weren’t overly accessible. But there was a crystal clear creek so I filled up the water bottles. It was near farmland on one side and bush on the other. We were there pretty early so we had a peaceful afternoon, much needed after the stressful morning. Sometimes camping life is great, sometimes it's not, but having a nice place to camp definitely helps!