After an amazing six weeks travelling across mainland Australia in a campervan, it was time to pop across the water and explore Tasmania for six days, a short flight from Melbourne. We swapped the campervan for a small car which was actually a good thing as the remote parts of Tasmania have a lot of winding and gravel based roads.
Day 1 - We headed east to the Port Arthur peninsula which is about 60km from Hobart International airport. The Port Arthur site complex is a large historical former convicts settlement built in the 18th & 19th century. It costs $37 for a single adult entry and you can add certain stops off on the boat tour to actually get off and visit the islands. The standard entry costs include the boat trip but without any stops. You can easily spend a whole day here walking around and exploring. This complex is also the site for the infamous massacre of April 1996 where 35 people were killed and many seriously wounded. On the boat trip we passed Point Puer Boys detention facility which is on one of the small islands in the bay and was a facility by the British where they would ship young offenders too. One of the others is the Isle of the Dead where 1000 people are said to be buried, quite a lot considering how tiny it is! You can see some of the tombstones on the hill still. Back on the mainland is the prison which is partly in ruins, the fort, church and old mental asylum. Despite its grim past, the whole place is a great setting and very picturesque.
After leaving Port Arthur, we headed north to some of the lookouts and tourist stops such as the Tasman Arch, Devils Kitchen and the Blowhole. These are different rock formations over the centuries that have created different natural spectacles like an arch and huge chasm. One of the best is the "Remarkable Cave" as it's known. A short walk down to the shore from the car park brings you to it, a long cave that has two exit points to the sea. We jumped down and walked inside where you can really see it up close. The two inlets had waves crashing in which was quite cool to watch.
We parked up in a local caravan site in a small coastal town called Triabunna to get forty winks.
Day 2 - We drove further north to the Freycinet National Park, home to the famous Wineglass Bay. You can do lots of treks here but we chose the 1 hour return one to the Wineglass Bay lookout point. Lots of lizards and Kangaroos on the way, even at the top who were pretty tame! It's a fairly easy walk to the top and the view is amazing! It was a shame it was slightly overcast this day as the sun shining off the crystal clear bays would have been great to see. The bay is literally like glass, so calm so you can see why it got its name.
Further north we travelled to Bicheno to see the famous Blowhole. On route we had to swerve across the road to avoid a huge black snake! We weren't sure if it was a twig or snake from a distance but the fact it reared up as we past it was a sign it was definitely up for a fight! Back to the Blowhole, this was pretty fun! The waves come crashing in and pushes them up through a gap in the rocks creating a blowhole like a whale. Great to get close, watch, and for a good video!
Further north we popped to see the Cape Tourville lighthouse, Sleepy Bay and the Bay of Fires. The latter was great, but would have been even more spectacular if the sun had been out. The sea here is crystal clear and a real light blue. The rocks have a rusty red colour on them which are supposed to give a great sandstone glow when the sun directly hits them.
We travelled about 90 mins to stay in the town of Launceston which was a good base for the next day.
Day 3 - We didn't find a huge amount to do in Launceston but did pop to the Cataract Gorge which has the worlds longest single span chairlift. We hopped on and went over the river and walked back across the suspension bridge. A lovely gorge and river either side. You can do walks here but we wanted to get to the famous Cradle Mountain National Park which has been recommended to me.
Cradle Mountain did not disappoint! This place is huge and well worth the entry fee. You can drive through the park or leave the car at the top which we did and catch the shuttle bus every 15 mins. There are several stops but we went to Dove Lake and did the treks from there. Others include Ronny Creek and Snake Hill. When you first approach Dove Lake, the view is amazing!! A great view of Cradle Mountain itself, the mountain range with the old boathouse on the right and Glacier Rock on the left. We walked around to Glacier Rock which was about ten minutes where you can climb on top of it for some great views and photo opportunities. It's basically a huge boulder on the side of the lake. We then walked back to the start to go to the old boathouse on the opposite side and the continued the walk to Wombat Pool (another lake) and the Cradle Mountain Crater. I would say a medium type walk over boulders, granite and some steep steps. The whole return trek is about 7-8km and takes about 2.5 hours return trip. You can walk all the way up to the lookout at Marion's Point which is another 25 minute walk but the views throughout the walk are incredible as you are still high up at this point.
We left the park around 6pm and headed south to the town of Queenstown as our next stop, which was pretty remote in SW Tasmania. Quite a buzzard place actually, very quiet and nothing open, no restaurants at all we could find except a greasy spoon cafe, lovely! The whole place felt very isolated and a bit "backward". The locals were all a bit odd!
Day 4: This was the long days driving! A lovely 4 hours all so we could visit a Dam in the middle of no where. But, so worth it! The drive felt very remote, through stunning national parks, lakes etc and the end of the road takes you to a dam called the Gordon Dam in a place called Strathgordon. The mountains and scenery is beautiful and the Dam itself is quite impressive when you walk up to it from above. We walked down the steep steps to the top of it where you can walk along for free. Pretty impressive at how much water this is holding back and how they built it.
Then it was time for the long journey back to the capital, Hobart.
Day 5: We decided on a trip to Bruny Island which is about 40km south of Hobart on the SE coast. The car ferry goes from a town called Kettering and costs $33 for a return trip. The short journey is only 20 minutes and we spent the day exploring some of the main sites such as "the neck", adventure bay and the Cape Bruny National Park. All very similar to the main Tasmanian scenery but worth the trip. The Neck lookout overlooks a long thin stretch of sand that has the sea on both sides. Right down in the south of the island is Cape Bruny lighthouse which is a cool spot for pictures and very windy! You can do the lighthouse tours for $10.
Day 6: The last day we decided to spend in Hobart and go to the famous MONA museum (Museum of Old and New Art), which was recommended by a friend. A few words to describe this place; quirky, fun, explicit, innovative, original, amazing! I've never been to a museum or gallery before where I left wanting more and couldn't wait to see what was around each corner. The museum is a few KM north of a Hobart built into a mountain that is mostly underground. Even in the car park there is an art installation piece of a car crushed between two posts, a rusty but intricate lorry design and signs on some of the car park spaces reserved for "god" and "gods mistress". So clearly sets the tone and not for those easily offended.
The whole place is cutting edge. There are no written explanations underneath each piece. You carry a headset and iPod that is done via GPS so it knows where you are and pops up with the explanation etc. Very cool! There are a mixture of interactive, shocking and intriguing exhibits. I can't really describe it. For example, one room is full of brightly yellow polka dots where I felt in some weird dream. Another you walk in to a room full of TVs where people are singing Madonna tunes! You have to see it to believe it.
And that was the end of my trip to Tasmania and the Australian adventure as a whole! A great island with so much to see and do. Onwards next to New Zealand!
