Tasmania

Sunday, 20 October we are in an Uber on the way to Melbourne Airport before 5am when Jim sees a text from Jet Star saying that our 6:10am flight has been delayed until 8:10.  Instead of turning around and going home for the wait we proceed on to the airport.  We had deliberately planned this early morning flight so that we would have two full days in Tasmania.  Our flight kept getting delayed until they finally found a working plane for us.

IMG_0245
Melbourne Airport 4:45am.  That is all the luggage we took for our two night stay in Hobart.  Jet Star allowed us each about 7 kgs (15 lbs.) of luggage.
IMG_0248
7:52am, flight was supposed to depart at 6:10am.
IMG_0247
Also 7:52am.
IMG_0249
8:13am, getting closer to boarding. What was Jim doing on his device?
IMG_0980.jpg
9:13am, boarding.
IMG_0252
11:09am, arrival Hobart.  Only three hours late.
IMG_0255
Jim’s behind the steering wheel on the left side of the road again.  Rental from Europcar, our second favorite car hire company.
IMG_0258
First order of business is to have something to eat at Fish Frenzy.  Fish and chips of course.
IMG_0260
Parliament Square in Hobart.
IMG_0981
Battery Point shopping district in Hobart.
IMG_0982
Shopaholics.

IMG_0263We wandered Hobart’s waterfront, Parliament square and Battery Point before checking into our Airbnb to “unpack” our meager 7kgs of luggage.  The Airbnb is great, very bright three bedroom flat located over a closed chocolate shop in the Battery Point neighborhood.  Many great restaurants very nearby.

IMG_0270
Very nice bright Airbnb.
IMG_0271
Plenty of room to relax.

We decide to drive to Port Arthur instead of visiting the “must see” MONA museum hoping that we can squeeze it in on day two.  The road trip lasted about six hours total and we were rewarded with beautiful scenery along the way.

IMG_0273IMG_0277IMG_0280IMG_0283We stopped at Eaglehawk Neck for a short trek then decided to return to Hobart as we planned a longer road trip to Freycinet National Park tomorrow. We never made it to our intended destination of Port Arthur.

IMG_0286
Eaglehawk neck.

IMG_0291IMG_0293

IMG_0298
An underwhelming blow hole.

IMG_0299IMG_0305

IMG_0309
Sunset from our Airbnb.  We did Thai fusion takeout here.

We headed out early as we have a long day of driving and exploring.  Our first stop was at a small roadside cafe that was cute but not very satisfying.

IMG_0983
Cute signs at a roadside diner where we stopped for breakfast.
IMG_0313
Signs were cute, but the staff, chef and food were all quite poor.

IMG_0321

IMG_0325
Second stop is this beautiful beach on Mayfield Bay
IMG_0988
Had a nice romp on this beach.
IMG_0993
The mountains in the background are Freycinet National Park which is our destination.
IMG_0337
We are getting closer.
IMG_0995
This is called Devil’s corner where we round the corner and head south on a peninsula to Freycinet.
IMG_0339
Really good food and wine here.

IMG_0341

IMG_0357
This is Coles Bay which is at the entrance to Freycinet National Park.
IMG_0368
The water is so blue and translucent.

IMG_0371

IMG_0372
Reminiscent of The Caribbean.

Freycinet National Park, on the east coast of Tasmania, is comprised of a peninsula defined by Schouten Island to the south and a granite mountain range known as The Hazards on the north.  We decide on doing a 1.5 hour round trip hike to Wine Glass Bay lookout.  The track starts in the car park and almost immediately begins the 250 meter climb to the saddle between Mt. Amos and Mt. Mayson.  It is a well groomed trail with many stone steps but at the top you are presented with sweeping views of Wine Glass Bay and its white sandy beach.  We thought it was called Wine Glass Bay because of its shape but it actually owes its name to whaling.  When the whaling stations operated here the water in the bay would turn red with slaughtered whales blood.

IMG_1003
A fairly steep climb up but a very well maintained trail.
IMG_1007
Sandy wasn’t stopping to rest, only for the picture.
IMG_1009
Bill and Katiti arriving at the top.  Katiti injured her knee on the way up.
IMG_0379
Wine Glass Bay.
IMG_1011
Our photographer completely missed the view behind us.

IMG_1006

IMG_0382
Heading back down.
IMG_0383
Oh look, a baby kangaroo!

IMG_0384

IMG_0392
That’s not a baby kangaroo, it’s a Wallaby with a baby Joey of it’s own.
IMG_1013
Now that’s a kangaroo.  Sharp eyed Bill spotted a few kangaroos while driving home.
IMG_0399
This is how far away the kangaroos were, don’t know how Bill saw them.

On the 2.5 hour ride home we saw some kangaroos, lots and lots of sheep as well as cattle and horses, spectacular scenery and a beautiful sunset.  We were hoping to see the Tasmanian devil which is a nocturnal animal on our drive home that night but it is very rare to see these carnivorous marsupials in the wild.  They are named devils by the European settlers because of their loud and ferocious screeching while feeding.  In spite of all eyes peeled we never saw them.

IMG_0401IMG_0406

IMG_0407
We detoured into this city of Oatlands looking for gas as we were very low.  No gas stations for at least 100K.  Oatlands was a ghost town.  We saw one other car and no people.
IMG_0408
We were looking for Tasmanian devils but all we saw were bugs on the windscreen.

Fortunately, we finally found an open petrol station and made it home well after dark.  On Tuesday, our last day in Tasmania, we explored Hampden Road where our Airbnb was located.  The road has many cute homes and great restaurants.  IMG_0409

We had a great breakfast here, only a block away from our apartment.

IMG_1014
Did a walk around our neighborhood before leaving for the airport.
IMG_0412
We had a great take away meal from here on our first night.
IMG_0418
Our Airbnb is the whole 2nd floor above the Chocolate Shop.
IMG_0419
Rear view of the apartment.

After breakfast and the little walk around our neighborhood we returned to Hobart airport and boarded our plane back to Melbourne.

IMG_0420
Heading back to Melbourne. We went up the back stairs.
IMG_1017.jpeg
Bill and Katiti went up the front stairs as black is the new white.

We would have liked more time to explore Tasmania.  We missed the “can’t miss” MONA, Museum of Old and New Art. Dedicated to sex and death, pieces include Stephen Shanabrook’s “On the Road to Heaven the Highway to Hell,”which features the entrails of an 18-year-old suicide bomber cast in dark chocolate. The museum is also home to 151 porcelain vulvas sculpted from real women.  Hated by some, loved by others, MONA has put Tasmania on the map, single-handedly bumping up international tourism in this sleepy Australian state.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: