March 29, 2016. Wild West Railway

CAMPGROUND:  Derwent  Bridge Pub parking lot.  Motel/pub allows self-contained RVs to camp in their parking lot.  No facilities, but free!

LOCATION;  Between Queenstown and Hobart in southwestern Tasmania, Australia.  

WEATHER:  Partly sunny.  Cool. Highs in 50s

Another early morning, catching the train at 9:00.  We took the Wild West Railway up the mountain.  It is a steam engine from the 1800s.

We learned about the history of the railway which was built in the 1800s when copper was discovered here.  It is one of the steepest railroads in the world.  

We got off at several stops to tour a museum, walk in the rain forest, and to do gold panning.  At the top, we watched them manually turn the engine around to go back down the mountain.

We passed by the Queen River, beautiful in the gorge below. 

The train looks like it would have in the 1800s.

We drove west toward Hobart through a national park.  We drove only about 80 miles, but it took 2 hours, as the road was very winding.  Our destination was Lake St. Claire.  We stopped at the campground there, but it was full.  The information center told us about a nearby pub that allows RVs in their car park.  So, that's where we stayed.  

We had drinks in the pub in front of their fireplace.  Very cozy.  

DINNER:  We used our camper cooktop for the first time.  We warmed up kangaroo burgers.  We bought some French fries from the pub as a side.