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Yes, we are heading back to Australia… again 🤷. Tasmania specifically–which shouldn’t be surprising since we’ve both said we could live here. While in Chiang Mai, we had seen a series from a popular YouTube channel, One Pack Wanderers, who had spent some time in Tasmania. As we were watching it, we realized two things: 1) we wanted to go back 2) it was becoming more and more popular. So knowing what happens when YouTube discovers a place, looking at you Khao Soi Maesai Chiang Mai, it didn’t take us long to make a return to Tasmania a priority. Plus, visiting at a different time of year promised a completely new adventure.
The planning phase: To make this work, we had to do some advanced planning, not something that we normally do. Heading to Lipe in February was already in place, but we hadn’t made any decisions past that. We started searching for flights from Kuala Lumpur since it’s the closest hub and we knew there was a good flight to KUL from Hat Yai. Paul, being the search wizard he is, ended up finding a flight from KUL to Melbourne on AirAsia. It got into MEL early in the morning and there was an MEL to Hobart flight about three hours later with Virgin Australia, great! Next up was the van. We decided to stick with a campervan and Let’s Go Motorhomes was our first choice. Other than the Darwin fiasco, they’d been great. 2-Berth Escapes were still available, but unfortunately, the prices had increased. That had us looking into other options but they were either much more expensive larger units or cheaper and smaller. Decision time… stay longer with a cheaper model or shorter with the same van? We knew the van was perfect for us, and a month-long rental seemed to hit the perfect balance to justify the trip. We booked flights and the van, then came up with a general plan of what we wanted to see this time and got back to enjoying Chiang Mai.
After spending the week in KL, we headed to KUL to catch our overnight flight to MEL and the connection to HBA. We checked in with time to spare, got some snacks and water and headed to wait by the gate. Our flight was with AirAsia, which as a budget airline was always interesting. The gate was packed, and there was a mass rush of people to get onboard but we ended up having a row of three to ourselves which was an unexpected bonus. While the flight itself was smooth, it was also brutal. The people in front of us talked nonstop for eight hours and the people behind us were constantly bumping our seats… inevitable since they are so close together. Needless to say, we were pretty shattered when we landed in Melbourne. At this point, Paul said his neck and ear were sore and he wasn’t feeling right. We thought maybe it was just not sleeping and the fact we hadn’t eaten. We had the time so went for a walk and stopped in the food court for a bite to eat. As soon as he took his first bite, he said he felt something pop, which was weird. We chalked it up to being exhausted and ears adjusting after the flight. We got some lozenges and went over to find somewhere quieter to sit near the gate.
The flight to HBA was smooth and short. We headed over to pick up the van and were pleasantly surprised to see the original owners of Tassie Motor Shacks, Rob and Jo were back. We originally rented from them in 2017 and they are now the dealers for Let’s Go Motorhomes in Tasmania. We had a nice chat and checked out Skippy Part Five. We are still listening to the Expeditionary Force audiobooks with the AI Skippy character. There are (currently) 17 in the series! In hindsight, we should have called it Skippy Ha (5 in Thai) as a homage to Thailand. This was another newer vehicle with only about 10,000 km on it. We decided to spend our first night at the Big 4 just outside Hobart, which turned out to be the smart choice. After a quick stop at the nearby Subway for lunch and water, we went over to check in. Paul was feeling worse but managed to get some rest while I practiced my ninja-level unpacking skills, trying to be quiet. We decided an early night was in order, as we were both completely shattered at this point. I wanted Paul to keep resting, so I went over to Subway to grab some subs for dinner. Funny how that’s almost turning into a tradition! The short walk and fresh air felt great. We ended the day with a new rule: future flights will be chosen for comfort over price, and anything over five hours is strictly off-limits for budget airlines.
With Paul not feeling great, we didn’t want to do a lot of driving, and we were also concerned about passing whatever it was to anyone else. We headed to Huonville, which was only a 40-minute drive and much quieter than some of the sites we’ve stayed at. Along the way, we stopped at a mall that had grocery stores, so we could have breakfast and Paul could rest while I grabbed the groceries. He was up for a quick stop at Dan Murphy’s to stock up on adult beverages. We got a nice spot at our usual Huon Valley Caravan Park. Paul was able to sit outside and rest, while I finished unpacking and organizing Skippy. After dinner, we did the short walk down to the river and had an early night. The next day, Paul wasn’t feeling any better so we decided to take it easy, thinking a day of rest would help. When he felt even worse the following morning, we extended our stay. I walked into town for supplies so he could keep resting until he felt up to driving—though unfortunately, my daily walk to the office to request “another two-day extension” soon became routine. By day five with zero improvement, it was time for Paul to see a local doctor. Luckily, he secured an appointment for the next day and was given a prescription. Because the clinic, chemist, and Woolies were all right next to each other, Paul rested in the van while I picked up his script and stocked up on heavy groceries like water that I couldn’t haul back on foot. Our favorite Italian restaurant in Franklin had closed and moved to a small storefront in Huonville instead. It was nearby, so I walked over and got Paul some lamb lasagna as a surprise to cheer him up while he was feeling under the weather.
We were close enough to the kitchen that I could head over, cook and bring it back to the van without it getting cold. I met a really nice couple, Karen and Dave. She was originally from Saskatoon and they had both lived in Calgary so we had some nice chats. On the days Paul felt up to it, he’d walk over to the camp kitchen for dinner and the occasional 2 minute stroll down to the river. The weather was a mixed bag but on the sunny days, we put out the awning and were able to sit out by the van. There was a major treaty violation by a Huntsman Spider we found in our toilet one night. It resulted in me hiding on the bed while Paul, even though not feeling well, tried to corral it and put it outside. In the end, a spatula and spoon were used which resulted in said invader’s demise and he was tossed out the window. Paul here, at first I whacked it with a spatula and it just laughed at me. 😲 Couldn’t crush it with the plastic utensil, but was able to hold it still. Then I took a big metal spoon and pressed down hard. There was a Pop! and I had spider guts all down my arm but the panic was over.
Paul went back to the clinic as he wasn’t really better but luckily not worse either. He still had quite a bit of pain in his neck… no, it wasn’t me! He saw a younger doctor who sent him for an ultrasound in Hobart. We made the appointment for the following day and drove up for the afternoon. There was a free museum by where we parked so we spent about 20 minutes reading up on some history. Paul had the ultrasound, and they said there was nothing showing which was good news! We headed back, but he was pretty tired, so we extended our stay for another couple of nights. The doctor had Paul come in to review the results, but even she was stymied and said if the pain didn’t go away after another week, to come back and she’d order more tests. Whatever he had, it didn’t seem contagious, so after 12 nights in Huonville, we decided to head over to Left of Field. Paul felt up for the drive, so we got in touch with Adrian and Mel, then headed off.
We needed some groceries and remembered Google taking us up some crazy hills when we stopped in Hobart previously, so we did some Googling and managed to avoid them this time by planning a stop in New Norfolk instead. It was a nice drive, and we made it to Left of Field with no issues. Mel was away for the night, so we tracked down Adrian. He was playing golf on their new course, but took a break to get us set up at our site. Once we settled in, we headed straight over to the firepit. We ran into Tassie Paul, the singer, and were able to say hello. At the firepit, we met Craig from Perth, who has a long-stay trailer on the property and helps out with maintenance. Later, we met Anthony from Queensland, who also keeps a trailer on the property with his partner Karen—she’s a travel nurse, but was on the mainland for the week. Mark was there, too, and we learned that his partner, Robin, had sadly passed away the year before. We also met Matt from Cairns, who had been there a couple of days traveling with his dog, Leo, who is just lovely. We ended up having a great first night and stayed by the fire later than we probably should have, considering Paul still wasn’t feeling 100%, but it was fantastic to be back.
The next night Mel was back with Quinn, Jensen, Archer and the newest addition Boots, a golden retriever. Adrian cooked up some lamb sausages and snacks then came back with some amazing crispy pork belly. The next night, we got to meet Karen who was back from the mainland. That night we had the choice of massive lamb or pork chops. Paul was finally starting to feel better so was able to enjoy himself. One night Adrian and Mel shared out a delicious pork roast with mashed potatoes and veggies. We made a plan to make Thai Curry with crispy pork belly the following week. Tassie Paul put on a show with a bassist who was staying down the road with Barb, whom we met last time. We got to meet Paul’s daughter who drove down from the mainland for a couple of nights. We also met Nev and Meg who worked at the park and Cassie, who was crazy, but fun and called me her Canadian cousin. Adrian kept up with sneaking in servings of mezcal or scotch and free pouring wine. Boots helped me cook when we had the Thai curry crispy pork belly night. It was a success and ended up with 13 of us eating it. There is a challenge to make something with more spice next time though… accepted!
We walked over to the National Park and around the grounds every day. Did a drive down to walk Gordon and Serpentine dams, stopping at Creepy Crawly trail on the way back. Several breakfasts at Fika Time confirmed it was just as good as before. With it being a little slower we were able to spend more time with Adrian and Mel along with getting to know Anthony, Karen and Craig. We had many conversations around the fire and spent a lot of time together. Matt kept extending his stay so we got to know him as well. Tassie Paul played a couple more nights and was still very good but didn’t spend too much time at the firepit. Paul and Adrian managed a game of golf while Mel and I headed to the Salmon Ponds for some salmon pate before she picked up Quinn. Karen, Mel and I hiked up Seagers Pass one morning which was awesome. We did a couple of grocery runs to New Norfolk, probably drank too much and just had a great time.
Skippy was great, everything worked and we didn’t have any more spider incidents. We did get a broken pin on the awning which Paul “MacGyvered” with a twig so we could still put it out. We had some pretty chilly nights and rainy days, even saw the “s word” on the forecast a couple of times! We ended up spending all our remaining time at LoF, it was just what we needed and it’s very hard to leave when you feel so at home. On our last morning, we headed out to Fika Time for a goodbye breakfast with Adrian and Mel, Anthony and Karen, Craig and Mark… it was great to be able to say goodbye to everyone without others around.
Van drop off was great; no issues and we were whisked away to the airport. It wasn’t until we were waiting to check in that we realized Paul left his water bottle on the office desk. Our flight to Perth was fine, other than the person sitting in the aisle telling me to “keep my arm inside the armrest” without even a hello. Because I am me, I spent the next few hours playing a game of armrest dominance where I’d randomly move my elbow or arm… he seemed to get the hint. We had a quiet night in Perth, stayed at the Ingot again, which was good. Unfortunately, the Indian place we had eaten at last time had closed and it was late, so we just ate at the hotel. We had a good sleep before our flight back to KUL.
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