Derwent and the Franklin-Gordon NP

20/1. The drive to the Derwent River was lovely and we stopped for the night in the Franklin - Gordon Wild Rivers Nat Park. We got up at 7 and needn't have bothered. It was thick fog, like 'pea soup'! We lit the fire to get warm and waited till 10 for the tent to dry out and then we were off to Lake St Clair. We had a 5 km walk and then lunch in the most lovely spot, on the 'beach' by the lake. We wanted to find somewhere to camp in the Central Highlands but it was so grim, as In grey and cold, bleak, we drove back out again. There were lakes and dams everywhere though (we likened it to the number of roundabouts in Milton Keynes - that's one for the Brits) with loads of boats and fishermen (or women, not wanting to be sexiest). We ended up camping by Brady's Lake.

20&21/1. Cold mornings, (and yes Judy, you will need some warm clothes) but the sun came out at 10 again and turned out to be a lovely day with clear blue skies, and to Steve's delight, the solar panel was kicking out over 5 amps! Steve went fishing, (well he threw a line in the lake but we had chicken for dinner). A good stop but we won't miss the GIANT ANTS, leeches and spiky prickles!!!

22/1. Our 4WD book showed us a track out to King William Lake and that's where we had lunch. Steve lost another lure and went wading out in his pants to try and find it and nearly fell in. I have photos to prove it!! Following on from there was a track going out to a place called Jumping Jack Lake and that was a fabulous overnight stop. Steve is now hooked, excuse the pun, to fishing and at every opportunity throws a line in. He has even bought some special 'Tassie Devil' lures!! We had bean hotpot for dinner, and I won't mention that again-:) The water was clear and surprisingly warm and we both went for a dip. I know I have said it before but life doesn't get much better.

23/1. Did a bit of 4WDing. Drove through Mt Field Mat Park, followed the Florintine River.

24/1. The drive to Strathgordon was spectacular. As Brits we likened it to the mountains of Scotland. Lake Pedder was surrounded by mountains. We lunched at Teds Beach and there is a massive dam at the end of this road, MASSIVE. There are some things you just can't capture on camera, and the sheer size of the dam is one of them. Decided to find a bush camp site down the bottom end of Lake Pedder. It's about as far South as you can go before entering the Wilderness of the Southwest National Park.

25/1. Off to civilization to do some chores and we have no idea where we will end up tonight, We're clean, the washing is,we're outta here!! So we got it wrong today. We weren't thinking Australia Day weekend and everyone and their dog is out camping! We are holed up in a campsite with a load of other people and I'm scared at just how full it's going to get. The girl next to us with a van has just dusted it, inside and out, including the wheels. iI's so funny, Steve asked if she would come and do ours. our truck is absolutely covered and we don't think she was too amused. We think it's funny and we've got the giggles