Today was planned as a day trip south from
Ross to see the country and the towns of Oatlands,
Bothwell and the lakes near
Interlaken. First stop was Oatlands where the first thing you see on the horizon is the huge windmill, amazing to think something like this was built in what was at the time (1837) a small isolated country town.
Windmill in the distance at Oatlands
Sign at the Carlington Mill
Close up of the Windmill
The windmill was built to power a flour mill called Carlington and became a prime export earner for Tasmania and the area.
In the town around the Flour mill are a large number of
well maintained buildings made from local
Sandstone, in fact driving down the main street you would think you were back in the 1800's except for the cars and power poles.
One of the buldings in the main street that now houses offices of the local council
In the area past the Mill buildings is 2 large areas set aside for camping and a number of self contained vehicles taking advantage of the facility.
The next town we stopped at was
Bothwell, another town with a history dating back to the 1800's. The town has a number of older buildings including 2 large churches.
We then travelled up the road directly to
Interlaken. This road was good gravel, although corrugated in
places. It was narrow and care had to be taken on blind corners and crests. At
Interlaken we passed a number of camping areas and one sign indicated that you are not allowed to "feel" the trees. (See the Photo)
Sign at the road into a camp area at Interlaken