The west is the best, they say, especially if it's wild you are after. The frantic and ceaseless winds that rush across the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean buffet the wind farms and sanddunes and support the huge waves that crash on hapless rocks. There's nothing much between the west coast of Tassie and the southernmost parts of South America, and the winds that blow up from the south blow from the Arctic, cold.
But in the north west, at the beginning of it all, is arguably Tassie's best surf break, Marrawah, and sometimes the wind is just enough to hold up the waves and let surfers have their way.
I've been here before, and I was so eager to head there again for a few days before starting our journey down the west coast and hopefully do some 4WD tracks for which Tassie is also famous. Keen is an understatement - sometimes returning to a place you love is like expecting an old lover.
The campground at Green Point is free. Everyone manages to squeeze everyone else in, moving RVs forward an inch or beckoning a late arrival to a spare patch of grass. The overflow ends up on the road or in the carpark. We gain a prime position overlooking the left hand break and enjoy ocean views and surf from bed. It's too windy for us. I swim instead - it's cold but exhilarating. I could spend all day checking the surf and the view.
Down the beach, at the very end, is windfarms and indigenous art buried somewhere under the sand. At a loss to what to do with the finding, they left it buried so it wouldn't be further disturbed. The mountain is a beautiful sleeping dragon. The wind buffets the Defender at night so it is like sleeping in a ship.
In the morning we drive down to Arthur Point and look at the large river and the huge tree logs that end up here from inland. We find a few tracks that lead down to the beach and an old lighthouse remains, admiring the views.
In the afternoon we head back to Marrawah. It's too late in the day to find camp anywhere else. We regret not heading off with some Landrover people we met as they were doing some tracks we were too nervous to do ourselves. These tracks have a reputation of damaging cars and swallowing them whole in quicksand.
We also skip the idea of the Tarkine drive - I did it last time and it seemed too choreographed for me and too full of day trippers.
We have a windy night on top of a hill at the free camp and then the wind and swell suddenly drop, but we have a great little surf and I practiced going left, which I nailed and was so happy with. My new board is so easy to spin in the direction I want to head and does exactly as I want it to.
After that we head off, down to a few coastal towns that are full of shacks that are common on this coast, for those that like this wildness, and for fisherman. Then it's the Northern Explorer, but that's for the next post.
With Love,
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Great trip! I had a big tassie adventure planned in September/October, including a good while up in the north west, but it flooded and they cancelled the ferry over from Melbourne. Victoria was flooded, and so was NSW. So I headed back home to northern NSW.
Oh no what a bummer!!! Hope you can make it back, it's epic
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South America there are beautiful especially with the wind blowing, I have never been there before, but one of my friends just graduated and I am not happy that he finally get a scholarship to USA, The tracks should seems like this and this is what I have expected. Your photography is very cool.
Thankyou. It's the kind of landscape that takes photos of itself, it's so good!
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Beautiful sights :) Glad to read you had a great time and that you were able to test your new board. It must be thrilling and fun to play with those waves 😊
It's awesome!!
What nice views! The beach is so relaxing the waters were clean and fresh.Thanks for sharing sr!
I miss Tassie. And would definitely return there in a few years. Last time I visited was in Winter and wild it was :)
Oh wow Winter woudl have been superwild!!!! It's heaven on earth still isn't it?
Climbing mountains in clear weather and ending up in a winterstorm where everything freezers. Putting clothes in the oven to dry. Empty (mostly closed) hostels...yes, I wasn't driving a van at that time. Wild oceans, roaring Tasmanian Devils, getting lost in the mountains while it's getting pitch black....just some regular days in Tassie. Well, heaven seems frozen and completely the opposite from hell...as it should. I will prepare my wardrobe for my future in heaven :)
Although the trip felt like vanlife. Travelling in a minibus with just 2 funny blokes.
I imagine it'd be so quiet in winter!! Sounds epic...
Surfing the remote beaches must be really cool. California beaches are usually jammed with people. What a cool combination of wilderness and surf.
Six people is a crowd in Tassie!!!
That view from your bed/back of rover is gorgeous! Such wonderful photos over all. Loving this series about your trip. :))
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