Pumphouse Point

How did we sunshine and warmth lovers end up in Tasmania you ask? Well, despite what we had heard, WA is NOT an easy place for travellers to find work. We were in Bunbury six months and nothing. It was a little saddening. We moved to Esperance, and we had a little work, but not much. Cameron had just released his 2nd book, Silvaste's Spear, and he had decided at this point that he wanted to write more. I said I would work full time while he focussed on writing for the year. We ended up in Tasmania for simple reasons. I found work, and it is cheap to rent. Cameron spent the year in Queenstown where he focussed on writing and later picked up work at the Library, (by the end of 2017 he had 5 books published total, and in March this year released his 6th). I lived there too when I wasn't working, but I had a 10 on 4 off roster, working at Lake St Clair, Pumphouse Point. I lived at work as Queenstown was 90 minutes away, the closest proper town.

Lake St Clair is a beautiful and rugged part of Tasmania. It is at the southern end of the Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National park. The weather was a little bit unpredictable in Summer, and very wet in winter with the odd bit of snow. I arrived in December 2016. It snowed a week before Christmas, then, a week later on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day it was the hottest days we had all summer, hitting 30°C. Summer disappeared again after this, and went back to spring weather. It showed itself again on February 28. The last official day of Summer. 

The changing weather meant beautiful photos could be captured at any time of the day, and any day of the year. No two days were the same. A moving painting. 

Pumphouse Point is a Boutique Resort. It was once a pump station to pump water from Lake St Clair to the Tarraleah hydro power station. It was decommissioned in the 1990s. The land was handed back to the National Park, and consequently got caught up in being heritage listed. There were a few developers who had their eyes on it too. One of those was Simon Currant, who eventually obtained the lease in 2004. It was a long 11 years turning the pumphouse and substation, (now known as the shorehouse), into the beautiful hotel it is today. There are 12 hotel suites in the pumphouse 250m out on the lake. At this point the water is about 10m deep, dropping off not far past the pumphouse. There are a further 6 suites in the shorehouse looking out to the lake and the pumphouse. The dining room is on the ground floor of the shorehouse.

Things to do at Pumphouse Point:

• Walking around the property you can see all different angles of the pump and shore house, the beauty of the lake, the ruggedness of the mountains.
• You may see a variety of Australian animals. Wombats. Wallabies. Echidnas. Platypus.
• Go fishing, specifically trout fishing.
• Take a row boat out on the water.
• Take the pushies for a spin.
• If the weather is not so nice outside, snuggle up by one of the cosy fire places in the lounge areas with a blanket and book, or perhaps challenge your other half to a board game. Get back to the simple things ey! There is lounging areas in both the pump and shorehouses. Guests are not restricted to the building they are staying in.
• Order complimentary loaves of hot sour dough bread, delivered to your room, or wherever you are relaxing, and enjoy with some tasty tassie wine or food from the fully stocked larders in the rooms.
• Enjoy beer, cider, wine, or spirits from the self-help bars.
• Enjoy a continental breakfast and evening dinner. If you are a hobbit, you can arrive at 7:30 have your first breakfast including bacon, beans, and eggs, come back at 9 for your second breakfast, (quick, it finishes at 9:30), then order a loaf of hot sour dough bread for your third breakfast at 10:30, (or whatever time), then dinner as a three course meal in the evening!

If you really want to live it up with a bit of fancy VIP relaxing instead of the regular cosy variety, at the end of 2017 the newest addition to Pumphouse Point was a new, all inclusive, exclusive use, retreat. How does a private spa sound to you? Good? How about 2 private spas? One inside, one outside. Oh Man! During winter it would be the perfect place to hide away, watch the snow falling, from the cosiness of the retreat, eat some chocolate, drink some red wine, enjoying the beauty of winter without feeling the harsh and bitter wind from Antarctica...

 - Happy travels, Jeni