TASSIE DETOURS

DITCH THE FIVE-HOUR BITUMEN DRIVE FROM HOBART TO THE NORTH-EAST TIP OF TASSIE, AND FOLLOW THE DIRT TRACKS THROUGH FORESTS AND FARMLANDS FOR A FOUR-DAY JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY WITH A DIFFERENCE

- KEV SMITH

TASMANIA is full of stunning scenery, has an array of history and some bloody great four-wheel driving to boot. I wanted to try and get to the NE corner of the state on this trip from Hobart totally off-road, and with a few snippets of local info, I did just that.

My starting point was Sorell, just out of Hobart, where there’s plenty of decent supply shops for food and fuel. I was given a tip that if I headed 20km up the Tasman Highway and found Woodsdale Road, that’s where I could hit the dirt and stay there to the cape – and an easy and scenic run up to the bitumen to the turn point got me in the groove for the trip. Woodsdale Road is a well-used dirt road that feeds farms and a few wineries, and it leads in to the forest; nevertheless, I was on the dirt for the journey.

Passing alongside Prossers Ridgeline and turning across towards Mount Hobbs it was the typical bush I was used to on the mainland, with great views and growing anticipation of what was in store for the next few days.

SWANSTON

A LOCAL told me about the Swanston Track and where it followed the northern side of the Buckland Military Training Area, and it’s a pretty easy track to find at the end of Swanston Road. It was interesting that where I crossed Little Swanport Creek was the old convict transit town of Swanston. These days, it’s nothing more than a sign indicating that it was here back in 1830, that convicts where rested on their way from Little Swanport inland to Oatlands some 40km farther west. Oatlands has more than 150 sandstone buildings and is one of the oldest settlements in Tassie.