Tasmania has always been on our list of places to see in
Australia. We absolutely loved New Zealand and Tasmania (commonly known as
Tassie) is famous for its similar small town feel with tons of scenery and
great food. We headed over for 6 days over the March long weekend to see as
much of Tassie as we could.
Tasmania is an island state located off the southern coast
of Australia and separated by the Bass Strait. It has a little population of
just over 500, 000 with half of them living in and around Hobart. Needless to
say coming from Melbourne with a population of 4.35 million; as soon as we
landed in Hobart you couldn’t help but notice the calm, relaxing pace and the
small town vibe Tasmania has to offer. There is no hustle and bustle and it’s a
great place to go to relax and unwind.
Tasmania is famous for its beef, lamb, seafood and fresh
produce and we were spoiled with choice and got to enjoy our fair share of it.
It is also famous for its scenery and several hiking/ camping spots. It did not
disappoint and we recommend it to anyone coming to see Australia.
We landed in Hobart and got to spend a few days with our
friends Ali and Phil. I worked with Ali at the Royal Children’s Hospital as she
was a Radiology fellow and became good friends. Ali and Phil are very warm and
welcoming people and we really enjoyed our few days with them. They collected
us at the airport and then took us to see the Salmanca Markets and Hobart
Harbour.
We were then dropped off at MONA (Museum of Old and New Art).
MONA is an art museum
located within the Moorilla winery on the Berriedale peninsula. It is the largest privately
funded museum in Australia. The museum presents antiquities, modern and
contemporary art from the David Walsh collection. Walsh has
described the museum as a "subversive adult Disneyland."
The museum offers free entry for Tasmanians and only charges
an entry fee to overseas and interstate visitors. The museum offers an Ipod to
take around with you so you can learn about each piece. There were some really interesting
pieces and some that made you think WTF? One piece that is the most talked
about is the Poo Machine. Yep it’s a machine that reflects the various stages
of digestion and tracks food from the beginning to the very end and deposits
feces on a Petri dish with smells and all. After we took in the sights and
smells of MONA we headed through the market and up to the Moorilla winery for
some wine tasting.
After we wrapped up at MONA, Ali brought us back to their
house. It is a stunning house up on the hill near Mount Wellington that
overlooks Hobart down below. I have never seen such a stunning view from a
house before. It was breath taking! We had a delicious dinner with Ali, Phil
and their neighbors.
Our next day was spent at the “Taste of the Huon” festival.
It is located in the nearby Huon valley which is one of the wine regions. We
had some delicious food, wine and desserts. I even got to have my first delicious
Tassie apple (Tassie is known as the Apple Island). We had some great wine from
the Wombat Winery and enjoyed the beautiful, warm weather.
We took a tour up to Mount Wellington after the festival and
got to take in the spectacular views. We then went to the Cascade Brewery in
the hopes of doing a tasting, but they were unfortunately closed. Plan B was to
swing by the liquor store and buy our own Cascade beer to do tastings back at
the house. That evening we went to Ali and Phil’s favorite Italian restaurant and
indulged in some delicious pasta. Thank you again for the wonderful trip, we
really enjoyed getting to spend time with you both!
Monday we were off in our rental car to Cradle Mountain. We
only had one night there so there was not a lot of time to actually climb the
mountain. Instead we did the Dove Lake Hike that is an easy 5km hike around the
circumference of Dove Lake that sits at the base of Cradle Mountain.
Following our hike we sat on the balcony of our little cabin
at the Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village and while enjoying some of our Wombat wine; had a visit from a Pademelon
(mini wallaby) which was incredible!
The next day we drove up to Launceston and enjoyed a delicious
seafood lunch at Hallam’s Waterfront Restaurant and a walk through Cataract
Gorge.
We were then off to Coles Bay in Freycinet National Park. We
stayed in the Coles Bay YHA in a caravan park. Our hostel room was a private
one in our own little camper. It wasn’t anything fancy but since we were
spending all day kayaking or hiking it did the trick. We spent the evening
exploring the small town of Coles Bay.
Day two was spent doing an Oyster Kayak with Freycinet
Adventures. I haven’t quite developed a love for oysters but Neal loves them!
We lucked out and ended up being the only two people on the tour that day. We headed
off with our guide Leith who coincidentally had lived in Lake Louise for a year
and then in Vancouver. We spent our time paddling and chatting about hockey. We
saw several wetland birds such as Pelicans and black swans; we also say a giant
sting ray. We went through the oyster farms that sit in the middle of the
river, the mix of fresh and salt water allow the oysters to stay fresher for
longer for commercial sales. We stopped at a beach where Leith shucked our
fresh oysters picked from the farm and also got to enjoy cookies and a cup of
tea. As we were leaving a lady that rescues injured wildlife came by with Sophie
the baby wombat. Sophie was so incredibly cute!
Our last day in Freycinet was spent doing a 15km hike down
to the world heritage listed Wineglass Bay. This is one of the world’s top 10
beaches and it did not disappoint. We hiked over to the far side of the beach
where most tourists don’t bother to keep walking to and enjoyed our picnic lunch
and the amazing weather! We then hiked over to Hazards beach which is on the
protected bay side of the peninsula. We swam in the crystal clear but chilly
water and relaxed on the beach then hiked back. It was a long but amazing day.
We wrapped up the trip with a delicious dinner at The Edge Restaurant.
On our way to the airport we stopped by the well recommended,
family run, Puddleduck Winery. We met their family pet duck and did a quick
wine tasting before we were off to the airport.
We were so impressed with Tasmania and really lucked out
with the incredible weather. We had to fit a lot in 6 days and would go back in
a heartbeat. Cheers Tassie!
Love Laura & Neal
