Just one hour by air south of Melbourne or 240km through the Bass Strait from the Australian mainland, there’s a fairy tale island paradise and one of the six states of Australia – Tasmania. Tassie isn’t just a single island – in fact, it consists of the main island and 334 surrounding smaller islands. Almost half of it is protected and the state is full of national parks and awe inspiring wilderness. Despite the understandable cold in the second half of May has Tassie been a love at the first sight. If you are an Aussie, or plan to go to the land down under, and you have some time on your hands, come here and see this enchanting piece of land.
Why did we include “locals” in the previous sentence? After talking to a few of our new found mates we’ve been told over and over that they haven’t had time to go and explore this part of their country! We get it, going surfing to the Gold Coast, taking an obligatory Euro-trip (did I hear Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Berlin and Venice in 3 days?) or ODing on mac’n’cheese sure does sound more exciting, but unless you’d spend some time in Tassie yourselves you won’t know what you’ve been missing!
We started our intense five days visit in a charming town called Launceston in the north, explored the Bay of Fires, hiked in the Cradle Mountain and Freycinet National Parks and ended the trip in the almost Antarctic capital – Hobart. It’s been short, definitely too short for what Tassie has to offer, but amazing nevertheless. Come with us and we’ll show you around.
- Bay of Fires and beyond
- Launceston and its treasures
- Trip to the Cradle Mountain National Park
- Almost Antarctic Hobart
- Day in Freycinet National Park
- How to arrive and get around
- Where did we stay
Bay of Fires and beyond
On our first day in Tassie, we visited a rainforest and a bit of the east coast and it was even nicer than expected. The beaches were clean, welcoming and peaceful here, sands so smooth and white and water so crystal clear that we just were too sorry for not being more ice beary to swim (body fat: check; cold resistance: nope) in them. And orange rocks were just a cherry at the top.
We booked this trip with Coach Tours Tasmania and were so lucky to get the most talkative and informative guide we could imagine. Now you may think this person just shared a lot of stories, but that’s not it. He literally talked through the whole 11h day trip. That day we went to sleep with heads full to the brim with information and enjoyed the silence of the capsules even more.
Visiting a local lavender farm
On the way to the east coast, we stopped at a local lavender farm. It’s a pity we didn’t come earlier; the lavender fields weren’t violet anymore. We reckon it must be beautiful in summer though. Anyways, at least we learned something about growing and processing lavender, smeared handfuls of sample beauty products on our faces and bodies and even had some lavender cakes and coffee in the local cafe.
Going for a short walk in a rainforest
During the next stop we could get a glimpse of a Tasmanian rainforest on a short walk through moss covered trees on the Weldborough Pass. Did we hear you say “Rainforest?!”? Well, yes. Actually, it reminded us of the rain forest we hiked through in the West Coast of New Zealand, green and lush and Jurassic-Park-looking. Did you know that this one palm species grows 1 cm a year and there are several meter high specimens just chilling around?
Enjoying the gorgeous Bay of Fires
And we arrived at the main star of the trip – the Bay of Fires. First we went to Binalong Bay – a small coastal town at the southern end of the Bay of Fires with one of the nicest beaches we’ve ever been to.
Then we headed to see the fires – granite rocks covered with orange lichen looking so otherworldly. But so beautiful. There are small hidden beaches between these rocks with water so attractive that even Mia with her lingering fear or jumping into water would hop in there!
After enjoying the orange rocks and shooting enough pics we went for a walk at the empty and calm Taylor’s Beach. All these places were so beautifully wild, pure and magical! We really want to come back sometime in summer again. That could mean some more people, as we didn’t meet almost anyone except from members of our group.
Tasting some oysters in St Helens
In addition to being a nature paradise, Tasmania is famous for its agriculture. Everything is local, bio, non-GMO (or at least that’s what we were told). You can see cows and sheep grazing on the green pastures similar to New Zealand, fruit trees everywhere and even vineyards, oyster and salmon farms. Some fun facts about the local production in Tasmania:
- It used to be one of the main suppliers of apples for the northern hemisphere during our winter.
- It produces wasabi for Japan when it’s too cold there.
- A big share of milk production from Tassie’s cattle is exported to China and made into child formula, since it has a reputation of superb quality.
- A half of the world’s production of medical opium is made here.
We haven’t tried any local apples right of the tree (but bought some that evening to compare with our favorite Ambrosia from New Zealand), wasabi or opium during the trip, but went to taste some local cheese and fresh oysters from the farm in Saint Helens, the game fishing capital of Tasmania, instead. Normally, we aren’t big fans of these tiny shelly creatures, but these were very nice. Slimy, but satisfying!
Launceston and its treasures
Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania, it’s the heart of the northern part of the main island and a gateway to some of Tassie’s national parks. And also one of oldest cities in whole Australia meaning a lot of historic buildings. This was our base for several days so it would be a shame not to look around.
Exploring the city by foot
The town itself is a nice and charming place with pretty houses and parks. There is also a nice promenade along the Tamar river which appeared very romantic in autumn colors.
And not to forget, in the City Park, we met our first Aussie four-legged animals – Japanese monkeys which Launceston got from their sister city Ikeda!
Visiting the Harvest Market
Apart from our traditional new-place-exploring-by-foot, we went to a cozy Saturday’s harvest market. We talked to locals there, had our brekkie and coffee and got some tastings of their homemade cheese and delicious fruit liqueurs. Of course, everybody offers us alcohol. Everywhere. Tasting of local gins – check!
Walking to Cataract Gorge
Probably the biggest and free attraction of Launceston is Cataract Gorge. The best thing is you don’t need a car or any other transportation to get there, just your feet. The gorge is really close to the city center and a walk starting along the banks of the Tamar River is soon followed by a cliff pathway with views of the South Esk River. You can ride a chairlift in the destination (they said it’s the world’s longest single span chairlift, but who knows?) or enjoy a cup of coffee, relax in Victorian era gardens, observe some peacocks or even go for a swim (if you aren’t here too close to the winter). Or go for a small hike through the forest to reach some nice lookouts as we did.
We enjoyed our afternoon here and finally saw some real Australian animals in the wild – our first wallabies and supercute smaller pademelons.
And the best part of the afternoon: After getting an approval from the local guide, we offered some of our carrots (our go-to snack for some weeks already) to the little one. Firstly he (she?) was very shy but slowly came closer and took the small piece of the veg. We were just sitting on the ground, observing this scene and instantly fell in love. Feeding the local animals where permitted just became one of our favorite hobbies. And we got to practice it a lot in Australia, you’ll see :)
Trip to the Cradle Mountain National Park
Mia once saw a picture of the majestic Cradle Mountain reflected perfectly in clear waters of a mountain lake in the foreground and hoped to see it with her own eyes. When we later realized that this mountain is actually somewhere in the middle of Tasmania, our next plan was set. Thus, the third day of our Tassie’s adventure was spent in the Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park. We happily used services of local guides again, this time Tours Tasmania.
Being cultured in Sheffield
The first stop after an early morning departure from Launceston was a tiny quirky town called Sheffield (very original name, right?). We bought some delicious Tasmanian pies, coffee and snacks for later. However, in addition to a brekkie-break, we ended up with a dose of culture on that chilly autumn Sunday morning. Sheffield is known as a town of murals – you get to see colorful paintings on many buildings and there is also a yearly competition – International Mural Fest. The art pieces of the finalists decorate the mural park. We took some photos of our favorite ones (hoping it’s legal).
Visiting Pencil Pine Falls and Rainforest
After an hour drive from Sheffield we entered the national park. In order to get some initial info about the local flora and fauna, we went for a short (< 500m) walk in the rainforest of pencil pines and myrtle and saw a nice waterfall. And we spotted wild pademelons and a lot of black birds feeding on purple berries (we forgot the names of both, sorry). They are supposedly very smart and can even open your backpack to help themselves to any leftover Sheffield pastries, but they behaved when we were around.
Shooting the reflection on the Dove Lake
After the Cradle Mountain intro, we jumped to the car and after several minutes we arrived at the Dove Lake. This was the lake from Mia’s memories! The super clear and calm lake and the reflections of the Cradle Mountain in it on that cold morning were gorgeous. There is an easy 6km track around that iconic glacially carved Dove Lake but on that day, there was some problem with the trails and we couldn’t hike here. However, we went for another epic hike instead.
Hiking to Marion’s Lookout
From the Dove Lake, we decided to do the Marion’s Lookout loop to get some breathtaking 360-degree views of the surrounding World Heritage wilderness area. Hiking up, we saw several lakes on the way and even a waterfall. The views, lakes, vegetation, weather – everything was just perfect. And these autumn colors!
The Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park offers a system of walking tracks to explore these mountains, ranging from easy and short ones to the famous 5-6 days Overland Track. If you’re a keen hiker and have a week to get lost (please, just metaphorically) in the hills, we reckon this must be an unforgettable experience of Tasmania’s wilderness.
Meeting the locals
We already mentioned wilderness, right? Well, how to describe it better, Tasmania is full of wildlife! And so is the Cradle Mountain. We heard it’s possible to encounter a bunch of unique critters such as Tasmanian devils, platypus or echidna. We didn’t have luck with them, but saw wombats instead! Just passing by nonchalantly and sporadically looking at us. These fluffy bears with poaches, very distant relatives of koalas, are just wandering through Australia, digging holes, eating grass, sleeping and leaving cube-shaped poop on rocks and pathways. Have a look :)
Visiting Waldheim Chalet
At the end of our Cradle Mountain day trip, we went to see a chalet where Kate and Gustav Weindorfer, the Aussie-Austrian couple, botanists and probably the biggest promoters of the Cradle Mountain National Park ever used to live. They spent their 6-weeks-long honeymoon hiking and camping in these mountains. So romantic! Anyways, Pepe did not forget to practice his Haka.
Almost Antarctic Hobart
As it was too warm in the north (not really) we decided to move a bit more towards Antarctica. Haha, well, it was so cold in this biggest and oldest Tassie city! And also rainy, so we weren’t too keen on spending a lot of time outside. But we still managed to do something.
Visiting the Antarctic research center
Supposedly, Hobart is the place where you have the highest probability to meet Antarctic scientists. We don’t know if it’s really true but it sounds cool, so we tell it everywhere. However, what definitely is true is that Hobart is one of five places on Earth where the Antarctic expeditions do begin. Just out of curiosity, we entered the building of IMAS and could see and read something about Antarctic research, expeditions, and climatic change. Very interesting. More about Hobart’s Antarctic attractions can be found here.
Taking selfies with Aurora Australis
This may sound a bit weird, but it was such a great surprise! We didn’t expect this beautiful red lady to be parked almost in the city center. Let us introduce you Mrs Aurora Australis, the icebreaker used for research cruises in Antarctic waters. Mia’s been so excited to see this boat here as she is fascinated by Antarctica; Pepe just hoped the photos are enough and she will not plan the next vacation down there (in the icy land… more down under?).
Walking around in the rain
The rest of our time here we walked through the city and along the promenade, trying local seafood, beer and wine. However, if you find yourself in Hobart on a mild-weathered Saturday, go to Salamanca Market. And if the weather is really nice, go to Mount Wellington to enjoy nature and views – this was also our original plan… And one more place to consider (but didn’t go in the end) is MONA. If you are into art, it can be your thing :)
Day in Freycinet National Park
On our last day in Tasmania we wandered in the east coast again – this time we enjoyed the day full of beautiful bay views and short walks in the Freycinet National Park. We joined the Wineglass Bay Tours, did some of the great short walks and at the end were dropped-off at the airport in Hobart. It was a really awesome end of our Tasmanian trip.
Starting the trip in Friendly Beaches
We started our exploration of beautiful bays and beaches of Tasmania’s east coast with a stop at Friendly Beaches. Crystal clear water, smooth sand, photogenic rocks and nobody else. What to say more :)
Chasing seagulls in Coles Bay
We stopped for an early lunch at the beach in Coles Bay. Apparently the gulls liked our snacks and tried pretty hard to get a bite. These Pacific gulls with red tipped beaks are the largest gulls in Tasmania. Look how dangerous they appear – we were almost scared into sharing our food!
Hiking up to the Wineglass Bay Lookout
One of the highlights of the national park is Wineglass Bay, with a beach ranking among the best in the world. As we learned, the name of the bay wasn’t picked based on the glass-shaped look; it’s connected with a dark history of whaling. After whaler ships returned to the shore, they dragged the whale carcasses to the sandy beach and began to process them – that’s when the bay was filled with their blood and from the lookout it reminded onlookers of a full red wine glass.
The walk itself was refreshing and it took less than an hour to get up to the lookout through a rocky path with weirdly shaped stones. We met some wild locals on the way again – Pepe even had a chat with one specimen!
Walking to the Cape Tourville Lookout
Cape Tourville Lighthouse was the next stop of our day trip to Freycinet National Park. The weather suddenly changed and the whole country looked like a tropical island.
Enjoying the golden hour in the Honeymoon Bay
Even though it was very hard to decide, this was the winner of the day – the nicest bay we saw throughout the whole day. We nicknamed this vacation “Honeymoon #3”, so what better way to end our Tassie trip than an afternoon in the Honeymoon Bay?
How to arrive and get around
We traveled to and from Tasmania by air aboard Jetstar planes: firstly from Melbourne to Launceston and afterwards from Hobart to Adelaide. However, you can fly to Hobart or Launceston directly also from Sydney and Brisbane. Some other direct flights are also available from Melbourne to smaller airports in Burnie, Devonport or King and Flinders Island. Going to/from the airport in Hobart there’s an express bus from the city; to/from the Launceston airport, you can use shuttle buses or taxis.
The alternative and maybe more adventurous arrival option, one we’ve only read about, is to sail with Spirit of Tasmania, operating overnight (and daytime during peak periods) journeys across Bass Strait between Melbourne and Devonport on Tasmania’s north coast.
Once in Tasmania, the best option for getting around the main island is to rent a car. If that’s a no-go for you as it was for us, you can use public buses at least for connections between cities and afterwards support the local tourism agencies by joining small tours to explore some less accessible places. We did it thrice and were really satisfied. Since we came in May, there were only a few other tourists and the tours felt almost private. For a journey from Launceston to Hobart (ca 200km and 2.5h by bus) we used Tassielink. The company offers several routes through the main island, the info can be found on their page. Regarding the tickets, we bought them directly at the station at Cornwall Square in Launceston before the departure.
Where did we stay
Launceston: We stayed four nights in Pod Inn Launceston. We always wanted to try sleeping in these weird and futuristic looking pods and since we’ve never tried it before and they had an availability we went for it. And it really is strange. We got separate pods but since Mia had an irrational fear that the doors would stop working and she’ll be jailed inside and die alone, so she decided to stay with Pepe in his pod instead. And we used hers as a storage for our backpacks. Apart from that, the hotel was very new, clean and modern and reasonably priced.
Hobart: Our fifth and last night was spent in a cozy hostel called The Nook Backpackers. It had all the backpacker needs – a clean bed, well equipped kitchen and common area, reasonable location, friendly staff and funny inhabitants for a good price.
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