Tasmania 2023
By Helen
- 9 minutes read - 1810 words| Previous |  |
Next |
| Darwin to Melbourne 2023 | New Zealand North Island 2023 |
We had a good Melbourne airport experience, we flew with Virgin Australia who have their own terminal. Check in went smoothly and we were back by the gate quickly. The flight to Hobart was great, smooth and short. We picked up our duffle bag from the luggage carousel and headed off to pick up the van. The dealer for Let’s Go Motorhomes in Hobart is Tassie Motor Shacks who we had dealt with last time in 2017. Pick up was great, Sarah was awesome and the van was spotless… even better our van only had around 30,000 km so much newer and had good cushions to sleep on. We headed off to get lunch and some groceries before we settled down at the Big 4 Tourist Park by the airport to unpack and get organized. This van is Skippy PD… or Skippy Part Deux. It was an easy set up since it had the same layout as SOG(Skippy Original) but had a larger fridge and everything worked perfectly.
First stop was Huonville. We stayed at Huon Valley Caravan Park again and negotiated a site by the river. We drove out to Hartz Mountains National Park to hike Hartz Peak. It was really windy but sunny, no pouring rain so we got to go past the lake this time! The trail to the saddle had a steep scramble with large rocks to climb up, but we made it. I stopped once we got a bit higher up from the saddle, but Paul decided to keep going thinking the Peak was close by. It was deceiving because he had to go quite a bit further to get to the top as there was a false peak. He made it all the way up to the actual peak but didn’t spend too long because it was cold and very windy. Luckily we had the appropriate gear so we were fine. On the way back down we stopped and walked over to Arve Falls, which was a short 2KM walk along a nice path to a lookout.
In the kitchen that night we met 3 older couples who had been friends for decades. They had all come over from the mainland, they were off-roading with trucks and tent trailers. We had a great chat with them and enjoyed the visit. The next day we headed down to check out Hastings Caves, it was a bit rainy and overcast so a perfect cave day. We ended up seeing the 3 couples there… this was a trend for our time in Tasmania as we kept bumping into them. Hastings Cave was busy but the tour was good, especially when the guide sang acapella with the lights out. We decided to check out Tahune Airwalk that afternoon. It was a bit pricey considering how short it was, but the cantilever where you could walk out over the Huon River was cool according to Paul. I can’t confirm, I had a death grip and didn’t look down much. We did a little nature walk down by the river in the rain and had the area to ourselves due to the rain. That night we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out and went to Franklin for Osteria @ Petty Sessions. We had a wonderful Italian meal, everything was made from scratch and we really enjoyed the evening. The next day was chores and walking into town for coffee. Paul found an echidna by the river and we spoke to a random guy panning for gold.
We headed over Mt Field National Park… with a stop at Dan Murphy’s in Hobart first. Last time we stayed in the National Park campground, which was okay but not fantastic. This time, we booked in at Left of Field and are we ever glad we did. We originally booked 2 nights and ended up there for 5. The owners, Adrian and Mel, are awesome. It’s beautifully laid out with large spots and loads of flowers, with a river running past on the side. It was a bit rustic but had everything you needed. You can even walk from the campsite to the visitor center for the Russell Falls and Tall Trees walks. When checking in Mel told us they have a communal fire pit and area where they serve drinks starting around 4 ish. The fire pit is a large chain link pit that Adrian had made, so everywhere around it is warm. They have a wood fired pizza oven and some picnic tables. They took two large shipping containers, joined them together to create a bar that they have stocked with a large selection of different top end beverages… whiskey’s, port, mezcal, tequilas, gins… a library for alcoholics! Totally spoilt for choice.
We ended up there every night they had it opened. We got to know Adrian and Mel, their kids, their friend Rob who helps with some projects and another Paul who sings and has a caravan on site. We met other campers and had great conversations with some late nights around the fire. Adrian and Mel are very free with the tasting, so oftentimes I’d look for Paul and find him in the bar with Adrian having a sample! We had some great hikes in the area and of course, saw the 3 couples at the Mt. Field visitor center. We drove down to Strathgordon and walked the Gordon Dam. The stairs are a steel grid, but I was able to handle it if I didn’t look down. Paul was peering over edges and even going off in one area that seemed sketchier than it should be. On the way back we did the Creepy Crawly Trail and the Twisted Sister trail. We spent several mornings at Fika Time Cafe in Maydena at the recommendation of Adrian and Mel where we had amazing breakfast and coffee. It was a close second to our famous Hi-Way Inn breakies in Daly Waters. We hiked The Needles, which was a steep scramble up to a peak with a beautiful view. It’s not a long hike, but fairly steep and a rugged trail. Paul went all the way up to the top of the Needles, I stayed a bit further down. Adrian took us and another few campers to hike the Growling Swallet, through the forest to a crevice where a river runs through it into a cave. Paul braved the log jam to get into the cave, I stayed on the edge. On the way back we stopped at Junee Cave where they had plate spiders.
Eventually we had to leave and headed north. After many discussions around the campfire, we decided to skip Cradle Mountain and head to Stanley, maybe check out the Tarkine instead. We had an overnight at Mole Creek Caravan Park which was okay but mainly just a stop along the way. It was quite the drive to get there, fairly technical with hairpin turns. The next morning we stopped at Mole Creek Caves, which was a great tour. The only downside was having a very sick person in the group, we tried to avoid being close to her. We headed off to Apex Beach Holiday Park in Ulverstone for a couple of nights, again, another fairly technical bit of driving on secondary highways that Paul handled like a “boss”. We walked over to the town for some sushi rolls, had a great coffee and went out to see the penguins at night. Our second night there it poured but we did manage to see penguins. Happy to report we had no leaks in SPD! The campground here was really well set up and had a great kitchen, bathroom building. The couple who ran the campsite were really nice as well.
We took the shore drive to Stanley, through Penguin and stopped along the way in Wynyard for some groceries. In Stanley we stayed along the beach at the Big 4 Stanley and were able to see penguins in the rocks that night, they even came into the campsite. An old fella with a flashlight told me to follow him and went into the bushes. I waited for Paul before following because that was weird! Turns out he wanted to show us the penguins that were nesting under the cabins. It was really windy and rained heavily so not a surprise when Paul woke up a bit under the weather. In Stanley there is a large hill called The Nut, it’s the core of a volcano. You can hike up the Nut, which is a steep elevation gain or take the chairlift. We opted to walk from the campsite to the base of the Nut and up. It was really steep and there were several viewpoints on the top. They have done a great job of providing the history and geography of the area. The walk back down felt even steeper and we had to be careful with our knees. When we were coming back to the campground, we saw the 3 couples having lunch. We stopped and visited, had a nice chat, one couple even gave us their contact info to connect when back on the mainland. We had another evening full of penguin viewing and cold winds, with Paul waking up feeling a bit worse the next day.
We decided to head back to Ulverstone on the way down to Port Arthur. Unfortunately, Paul ended up getting quite the cold, so we extended our stay until he felt better. It was actually a good decision since I could walk for groceries, we had a nice spot and the amenities were good. Just as Paul got better, I ended up getting sick. In the end, we decided we weren’t up to the hiking in Port Arthur so headed back to Left of Field to spend our last few nights. It was the right decision and we were glad to be there.
Our last night was back in Hobart, at the campground by the drop off and airport. We spent the day cleaning and packing, getting everything ready. There is something about Tasmania that just is right for us and we both realized we could live there. We both agreed that we would 100% come back but now it was time for New Zealand!
| Previous | |
Next |
| Darwin to Melbourne 2023 | New Zealand North Island 2023 |