Jul 2009

Photos from this part of the trip are here.

From Adelaide, I flew to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. Tasmania is an island off the southeast coast of "mainland" Australia and it's considered by many to have some of the best untouched wilderness in the world, not to mention the cleanest air in the world (something I can't say I noticed myself, but it was wonderful and fresh there). I went on a 6-day group tour around Tasmania (or Tassie, as Australians fondly call it), taking in a lot of the nature and history of the island, though I sadly did not see one Tasmanian Devil, in the wild or otherwise.

Day 1 was spent driving from Hobart out to the former penal colony of Port Arthur, where there were convicts imprisoned during the 1800s. It was in a good location far from any of the burgeoning cities in Tasmania at the time and on a peninsula that was nearly an island because it was connected by only a very narrow bit of land called Eaglehawk Neck, so it was naturally cut off from the rest of the island. A line of guard dogs were chained along Eaglehawk Neck in case any prisoners tried to escape in that direction and then rumors were spread that the waters around the prison were shark infested.

When we arrived at Port Arthur, we were given a card from a deck which was used when we went through the visitor center. Each card corresponded to a different convict's (true) story, so based on your card you were guided though their experience: what lead to them being sent to Tasmania in the first place, what they did for a job, whether they tried to escape or not, things like that. It was a very unique way of presenting the prisoners' lives there. After that we were mostly allowed to roam around the site and explore the buildings, which also included many houses for the officers and their families.

After a night spent back in Hobart, we headed north to the Freycinet Peninsula, which is known for its beautiful Wineglass Bay. You need to work though to see it; the bay is on the other side of a line of hills, so it was a stiff walk up and over to get to it, but it was very much worth it: a white sand beach and green-blue water. It was very windy though and sand got everywhere. I think I was finding sand in my ears for days afterward. The beach was in some sort of vortex though so that despite the wind and clouds whipping past, it was always sunny, the clouds went around it. Very strange. We came across a couple of very tame, spoiled wallabies who knew the tourists couldn't resist them.

We spent the night in the tiny town of Bicheno and then continued north to the Bay of Fires. We had some time to explore a beach on our own, but a thunderstorm moved in and we eventually all gathered early at the bus before finding a picnic shelter which we had lunch under. The day also included a short walk through lush fern forest to a waterfall and a later visit to a lavender farm. That evening we arrived in the 2nd largest town in Tasmania, Launceston.

We drove the following day to Cradle Mountain National Park and went on short hikes near the mountain. The weather was amazing, even more so since it rains a lot in that part of Tasmania. I unfortunately missed a major wombat spotting after the hike, but a girl in the group who was obsessed with them got to see them up close which made her entire holiday, I think.

Our luck ran out with the weather the next day and it was raining on and off all day. We did a 3 hour walk to see another waterfall. The trail followed a former mining track, there was an old mine entrance to the side at one point. The waterfall was really disappointing, not very spectacular at all, but at least there was a suspension bridge that the trail crossed so we all got to play Indiana Jones, except this bridge didn't collapse and we weren't being fired at. It definitely wasn't for people afraid of heights, the base you walked on was narrow and a bit slick from the rain, and the bridge bounced and wobbled a lot. Only two people were allowed on it at once. We spent that evening in the small coastal town of Strahan and after dinner some of us went to see a play that told the story of a group of convicts who escaped and stole a ship to sail to South America. It was fun, it was in pantomime style with the audience getting involved. It was also outdoors though, so, despite it being summer, it was really chilly and I was wearing the most layers I'd worn in months, probably. Fortunately the theater also provided blankets for the audience to bundle up in.

The next day was the final day of the tour and we fit in stops to about 4 different nature areas. We did a short walk to another waterfall, Nelson Falls, and then stopped and had lunch at Lake St. Clair. We crossed the Franklin River on another suspension bridge and then we went on to waterfall number 4. Russell Falls was in a national park and the walk to the falls first went through forest made up of very old, very tall gum trees. It was a stunning place full of interesting wildlife, like little forest wallabies. From there it was just a long drive back to Hobart. After a bit of down time in the afternoon, we all gathered for drinks later in the evening. We then went to get dinner, but it was getting rather late, so we ended up getting fish and chips from a floating stand on the harbor. They were mighty tasty. Our group stood around talking about our next destinations and sharing memories of the trip together before later wishing each other well and going our separate ways. I spent the night in Hobart and flew back to Adelaide the next day where I spent one night before embarking on another 6-day trip, this time into the red, searing outback.