Tasmania
Tasmania - the heart shaped island that took our heart away.
I've already written a fair bit in Insta, Fb, and in reviews on Google maps for pretty much every point we touched. This being my digital diary, I'll chronicle our Tasmania, aka, Tassie trip here for future reflections.
We were treading the paths to remarkable spots, climbing the steps to breathtaking views, and slipping into the turquoise water vicariously for quite sometime through YouTube vloggers while planning the much-awaited trip to Tasmania. Even after the trip, at quiter times, a person or a moment would pop up explaining snow wedge at Ben Lomond - wait did we pass by this guy? No, we couldn't have, he must be a vlogger - that'd jerk me back to my senses as actuality and virtuality impinged on each other.
Yet, not a single second of the trip was deja vu - no lense on earth or vlogger on YouTube can capture the time-frozen enigmas of Tasmania. Mind-blowing beauty, heart-numbing thrill, pristine landscapes, unabated wilderness - you'll run out of adjectives. Being encapsulated by flavours of Tassie is by far the best way to appreciate; caputures I'd post here would only be my media to get to that feeling.
While planning the trip, we gleaned information from a panoply of sources - talked to friends who've been there earlier, watched YouTube videos, navigated a labyrinth of web links to zero in on the precincts we'd include in our bucketlist - each one not only gloated of a distinctive glory, but also had a moderate edge of adventure - just right to satiate our propensity for little feats.
There was no bespoke itinerary available as different people explore a place with their corresponding intentions and to slake their respective inclinations - hiking, fishing, baking, wine tasting, exploring historic sites, photographing, living off the grid, and so on. Thus, we tailored our own 12-day tour to do what we love the most - check the popular places , those that pop up in Images when you Google "Tasmania", and have a dash of adventure to them. Here I have penned down the highlights of our trip with captures of some exciting times.
Day 1:
Our 6.30 am Jetstar touched the Tassie tarmac at 8 am. We picked our Toyota RAV4 Hybrid from Launceston airport and made our way to Bridestowe Lavender Farm - a dream spot that we knew would paint our backdrop with unique iconic quintessential Tassie summer colour. I put in quite a thought to my attire and my spouse brought out the best out of me.
Brady's Lookout, an hour long drive from lavender farm, had a sleepy charm to it. We quickly captured the sweeping view of Tamar River and Tamar Valley and keyed in the location of our accommodation for the day/ night into the GPS.
Official time to check out is 10 am. But when the sky is clear, weather is warm, air is crisp, calling of outdoor activities outstrip any inhibitions. We freshened up super fast in the contemporary ensuite and donned our colour coordinated black-white attires to gear up for the renowned Cradle Mountain. Ever since I saw the peak in picture, I imagined Tom Bombadil might pop out from one of its many rugged crevices and crevasses to save Frodo, and his fellow hobbits, Sam, Merry, Pippin. The description 'on some were standing stones, pointing upwards like jagged teeth out of green gums' seemed befitting, though far from 'disquieting' that the hobbits felt in the dusk.
Fortunately, by the time we parked at Visitor Centre, got our month-long park pass and tickets, got ferried to the Dove Late stop by one of the park buses that run every 15-minute (and the only way to reach your coveted spots in the national park after 8 am), we were beneath a dazzling overhead sun in a clear blue sky - what more, it endowed the serene Dove Lake with an enticing blue hue. Fuelled by the thought of photographs to be treasured for lifetime, we set out for two short walks to internet-star Boat Shed, and then to Glacier Rock Lookout - each a twenty-minute walk on either side of the trailhead of Dove Lake Circuit Trail. Slaked, we rested for a while at the trailhead till a bus carried us back to the Visitor Centre. It was time we bade good bye to the rugged peaks and set our directions to breathe the apparently sweetest air at Strahan by Gordon River. A lunch of footlong, packed from a Subway outlet at Launceston later, we drove to a quiet Queenstown nestled between the folds of hills blanketed by fog. Dinner was sandwiches of rye bread smeared with hummos, made and served by our son! Many thanks to him ftom his parents, completely tuckered out from the travels of the long day.
Day 3:
Some planned, and few unplanned spots made their way to our list while we drove from Queenstown to Hobart. As if the over 4-hour drive wasn't long enough, we stopped by Horsetail Falls, Iron Blow Lookout, tried our hands on our new DJI Mini-2 SE drone at the incredibly scenic Burbury Lake, walked through the lush rainforest to Nelson Falls, strolled by the gravelly shores of a vast St Clair shore, took a break at Bonte Lagoon, and hiked up to Russell Falls and its upstream Horseshoe Falls on our way. Is it a wonder then that we reached our accommodation by the sluggishly flowing Derwent River at 7 pm? Hobart being the capital, it proferred plenty of dining options; we opted for tandoori roti, and Indian curries at Pickled Evening - starved of staple food for 3 days, it felt like a drop of water on sun-baked sand.
Day 4:
Not all days are equal when you embark on a long 12-day tour. Moody Mt Wellington refused to remove her veil of fog and clouds. With unbelievably low visibility, it took quite an effort and time on our part to locate the wavy glass-stone Observation Shelter that floats up with every Google search of the spot. Bucket list ticked off, we quickly but cautiously descended back to the town, had our lunch at The Maharaja restaurant and retired home early afternoon for I was burning with fever. A couple of panadols and a mix of Subway/ Indian dishes for dinner sealed the day.
Day 5:
Should we go to Hastings Cave or do I have the strength to venture out yo Bruny Island? That question dominated our morning; eventually, an unrelenting appetite for adventure got the better of me. I vetoed Hastings Cave and bolstered the confidence of my family to opt for Bruny Island. A short drive after, we were in a long queue for a ferry ride with our car at Kettering. Oncecat Bruny Island, we orchestrated our route to systematically cover the popular Wine Bread & Cheese, buy Manuka honey from Bruny Island Honey, assault the trail and cliffs to feature the much-planned The Arch in our photos, have handmade chocolates at the Chocolate Factory, use up the last drop of strength and energy to clamber up 235 steps to catch the panoramic view of The Neck isthmus. The highlight was definitely The Arch that many people either fail to reach or give up due to the aggressive waters that washes the feet of the cliffs protruding into the sea and blocking the easy path to The Arch during and 3 to 4 hours after high-tide. But our urge to catch a glimpse of this extraordinary and isolated rock formation was formidable. We scrambled over the cliff edges and dabbled in the waters of the roaring sea to cut our path to the coveted destination. Whoever is interested, is hereby advised to visit rest of the Bruny Island before coming to The Arch. That'd allow high tide waters to recede; that ebbing between high tide and low tide would provide a safe passage to aspiring hikers to The Arch through the adjoining beach. There is an alternate route to this secluded spot from over the Mars Buff, but that's a longer and harder trek than the low-tide path.
Day 6:
This day was planned light to give ourselves some rest between the dash of adventure at Bruny Island and what we anticipated for at our next destination, the alluring Port Arthur. We spent the day traversing lazily through Huon Valley - the road twining with the Huon River at places and playing peek-a-boo with it at others. Just like the Tamar and Derwent Valley, the southern part of Tassie is wrapped with farmlands lending different shades of green to the landscape. Livestock, columnar aspense, an occasional copse or coppice of conifers broke the spell of rolling hills and valleys as abruptly as they blended into the pastures. Our destination was the largest dolomite caves in southern hemisphere, Hastings Cave. We were humbled to check the stalactites and stalagmites that water has been carving for over 650 million years; the cave is still alive and water is at work even now - but the progress is too slow to perceive in our lifetime. Temperature inside is constant at 9° throughout the year making it cooler than outside during summer and warmer than outside during winter. The guide dis take us through several facts while leading us deftly through the labyrinthine passages and flights of staircases. Enfolded in the monochrome underground world, we forgot for a while the greens of fern trees and foliage that awaited our return up a steep ascent to a narrow doorway of the cave. Back at our acco, we ordered home-style cooked Indian curries, and rotis for dinner that was delivered at our doorstep. With that and a good night-sleep, we signed off from Hobart, waved goodbye to the waddling ducks that flocked to our back door every dawn and dusk, and whispered to the still-shrouded Mt Wellington, 'try keeping your veil aside when/ if we come back to you at another time.'
Day 7:
Who'd have known we'd be late for the highlight of our trip - a Tasman Island Boat Cruise to Cape Hauy. We were saved by the skin of our teeth from missing the cruise. Engrossed in the beauty of Royal Botanical Gardens at Hobart, and multiple lookouts on our way to Port Arthur, we reached The Masons Cottage studio acco sometime after noon. The room was allocated before check-in time as requested while booking four months before. There was just enough time to tuck our baggage away in the cupboards and drive to the cruise starting point.
It's not often that the one-way cruise completes its entire course through Cape Pillar, Tasman Island, the enigmatic Cape Hauy to Pirates Bay. We couldn't thank our stars more for a perfect day, wind, weather that we got on that day to reach the elusive Cape Hauy - yes, elusive, for the capricious Tassie weather enfolds the eminent Totem Pole, Candlestick and The Lanterns in cloud, fog, and rains every now and then. This was our holy grail of Tassie trip as these dolerite columns jutted out in every Web page that advertised Tassie exploration or articulated places one must visit. Every moment for four months since we booked the cruise, acco, and car, we contemplated in trepidation if we'd be blessed with weather conducive to the cruise one day and hike the next to capture the famous landforms from their base and top. Our delight knew no bounds to witness the staggering rugged craggy coastline, hosting the trio, rise from a sparkling pristine pounding turquoise waves crested in white. Further we looked up, the more dramatic it appeared. We squinted to figure out the little viewing area at the top in anticipation of the hike that was planned the next day. We suddenly weren't quite sure we'd hike for the humps of hill that rose from Fortescue Bay appeared unassailable. Nevertheless, we completed our cruise - encountered some unusually well interactions of dolphins, wowed at the sleeping, swimming, sun-bathing seals in two seal colonies, and got close to sea caves after the dolerite landforms segued to younger softer sedimentary coast. From Pirates Bay, a bus transported us back to starting point though the Doo Town that's known for the imaginatively and humorously named houses - Doo Little, Gunnadoo, Doodle Doo, and so on; the most famous is where we snacked the following day - Doo-lishus.
Day 8:
Should we see the rest of Port Arthur instead? Hike to Hauy is too strenuous. Do you think we could manage with hardly any practice? The days we walk at all, our watches clocks hardly 5k steps, hiking isn't our cup of tea, is it? We saw the silhouette of the land rising from Fortescue Bay, dropping, and picking up height again at the end - you think our sinews ate capable of bearing that brunt? All such deliberations were tilting the scale to a 'no' until, 'we've been considering this so long, let's give it a try. Let's return from the point we face the slightest of difficulty, no questions asked, even if it means backing from Fortescue Bay or the mid-point of the trail.' My teenager son rolled his eyes, but consented to accommodate "ageing" parents; anyways - it wasn't an option for him to do it alone with caveats of unguarded edges flashing everywhere, in every videos, and reviews.
Thus we set off on 12 km unsealed road that leads to Fortescue Bay, entered our names in the register, and commenced the tedious trek. First 15 minutes was easy walk. Then the stone steps, infamous for their sheer numbers but appreciated for being comfortably carved, paved our way - a flight of 215 such steps took us up to the spot that marked Three Cape Walk (a popular 48 Km trek that hikers undertake to conquer Cape Raoul, Cape Pillar, and Cape Hauy in 4 days). By then my heart was thumping like never before - I stopped a couple of times to check if that constant thud was mine. My son offered to carry the bagpack seeing his dad struggling to keep up pace through the heat and sweat. Another flight of 115 steps, 80 steps, and 310 steps, interspersed by stretches of flat track, defied our steadfastness to conquer Cape Hauy, but we persevered - nobody willing to return. A mere 66 steps down and 35 steps up - we were at the juncture that bore the familiar signage (from vloggers) of mid-way to the Cape. Yay! One huge score to us! We rested, had juice, recovered a bit from the fatigue of an hour long walk, and stepped out with a new verve to scale the Cape. After a descend of an atrocious stretch of 600 steps, my trembling knees were clamouring for rest. The only reward was the ever-changing views of hills, bays, ocean, coastline; with the trees giving way to shrubs, the shade was gone; the sun was boring down upon us. But by that point we had vowed to see the end, we were unstoppable. Teeth clenched we walked up 225 more steps up and rested on an iron bench covertly covered by bushes - distant Cape Pillar, Tasman Island, Lighthouse were small yet significant landmarks we recognised from our cruise the day before. At that points, hikers returning from the Cape tried boosting our confidence, 'It's just a little bit more from here.' I don't blame them, but how little is bit little? Well, 45 steps up, 95 steps down, 175 steps up, 120 steps down, and final 40 steps up past a few unguarded cliff edge - by that time I was taking only 25 steps at a time. But the treasure in the end acted like a healing balm. We stood at the lookout, awed for a while - exhilaration of achievement, fatigue, sheer joy of seeing the trio dolerite columns were rushing through our senses. Out of the reverie, I quickly tried to fit the Totem Pole from its top through base along with the Candlestick and Lanterns in my photos. My plan was to match the surrounding blues with a blue jacket that I carried all along - I donned it and posed for some remarkable captures. My spouse and son got their share too. Unlike others, we spent quite a while there, knowing fully well we're never coming back. Returning is never fun, it's always harder and with the motivation to experience something new, drudgery catches up. For us, it was more than that - the monstrous stretch of 600 steps down that made our knees jelly was now gruelling and agonising way up. Each step seemed more treacherous than the one before. Our son went ahead and waited at the mid-point, at the Three Capes junction, and at the trail end - we took our sweet time to complete the trek in 5 hours (including return). We'd never forget the pain, but we'd equally treasure these vibrant captures.
Day 9:
To keep the day light, we skipped our original plan at Maria Island. Instead, we visited the Tasman Arch, Devil's Kitchen, Remarkable Cave (122 steps down), and Tessallated Pavement before emarking on an another driving adventure - 29 km of unsealed isolated road through Wielangta Forest Reserve from Copping to Orford on our way to next acco at Swansea. We were quite at the edge of our seats and kept fingers crossed to not get into issues with fuel or tyres. After checking in at Swansea Motor Inn (there weren't many choices, but I must admit this wouldn't qualify to even being decent), we explored the Dolphin Sands, and 9 Miles Beach. Narrow but sealed Dolphin Sands Road led us close to the well known Coles Bay - but with no means to cross the Swanwick Bay, we were far away at the same time!
Day 10:
Even in summer, can all 12 days be sunny? As expected, there were troughs in out travel and this rainy day did ruin our plan for Freycinet National Park. We didn't want to climb to the lookout to see a grey Wineglass Bay - it had to be sunny to view the picture perfect ocean blue curve. So, we altered our plan and decided to move to our next amazing acco of Bayside Hotel, sister of Olde Tudor of Launceston, at Saint Helens. On the way, we stopped by at Bicheno Blow Hole and were excited to catch the first glimple of much-heard-of unique boulders of the Bay of Fires. They were orange due to the lichens. At Bayside Hotel, the room brightend our mood and the rains relented by evening. We lunched on gummy (shark), chips, and crispy cauliflower bites at The Wharf Bar & Kitchen. Surrounded by the transparency of glass with open view to waters on all sides while seated beneath the warm glow of lights was refreshing. The welcoming ambience and staff, soft clinking from bar, and occasional laughter from the other tables exuded warmth that thrust this place to the top of our list of best restaurants at Tassie. Sated, we set out for the fiery coastline from Saint Helens to The Gardens. It felt surreal. What divine intervention could paint the boulders this way? They say lichens, but that explanation seemed dwarfed by the variations each spot gloated of. A short walk to Skeleton Point, and a decent drive to The Gardens brought out every flavour Bay of Fires (an apt nomenclature) had to offer. We stayed there as long as our eyes cadged to feast on the fiery orange by the mix of blues - translucent water of rock pools juxtaposed by ultramarine of deep sea.
Day 11:
Rested, and refreshed, we travelled south to revisit Bicheno Blow Hole, sunnier this time, and then moved on to what we skipped the day before - Freycinet National Park. Parking could well qualify as Popularity Index of a place. None was available till as far as a km away from trailhead to Wineglass Bay Lookout. Undaunted, we walked and dragged ourselves up the through the trail. A wallaby greeted us just at the start. Upon gaining some height, the Coles Bay, Dolphin Sands, and adjoining beaches popped up in our horizon. That was apparently midway, signage was loud and clear. 300 comfortable steps up led us to the jaw-dropping view of Wineglass Bay. The other side of the isthmus was meekly peeping as well. But the blue curve, impeccably lined with white sand, lay there before our eyes like a sapphire necklace, forgotten between the folds of Mt Freycinet and Mt Graham. We did as much justice we could to capture the beauty in our lenses - but the real beauty would belittle any captures, no matter how powerful the resolution is. Return track bifurcated at one points and the descend was negotiated with comfortable steps to the trailhead. Another item ticked off, we treaded the path back to Olde Tudor at Launceston via Campbell Town. We'd remember this place for wood carvings near The Red Bridge, an excellent lunch of fellafel kebabs at TAS SUPER Kebabs, and the recharging coffee at Bakery & Cafe - Banjo's.
Day 12:
Even 12 days seemed insufficient! We skipped Stanley, traded Hastings Cave for MONA at Hobart and Port Arthur Penitentiary Tour for Cape Hauy hike, dropped our plan to Maria Island - most of these were conscious decisions. But Ben Lomond simply exceeded our expectations. We were overwhelmed by its unbridled rugged allure and repented to not have allocated more time to this raw beauty. It always looked like Mordor - the dolerite crags with a grey jagged look appeared ominously beautiful. But what we didn't realise was that the trails to trek these crags were quite comfortable compared to the others we had for The Arch, Cape Hauy, and Wineglass Bay. Time was short, so we hiked for about a km through in the Legges Tor Summit Track that could've taken us to the top of Jacob's Ladder. We did drive to the base of the u sealed serpentine roadway but didn't dare to drive ip the 6 hairpin turns with a dramatically gaping and dropping gorge by our side. Overall, the substantial time we spent there was remarkable and was much needed to inculcate and internalise the feel of this sequestered National Park. The road that branched from Upper Blessing to the park, Car Villa, and other precincts inside were unsealed, safe, but unsealed road set us at some unease - we took that as a grain of adventure! Our return flight was late in the evening at 8.30 pm. So we got some time to munch and lunch at Sherpa - mouthwatering authentic egg thuppa, chicken thali, and noodles. Post lunch, we were at Launceston Cataract Gorge for sometime before bidding bye to Tassie.
To conclude, we felt Tassie is a land of diverse colours. The only thing that pains visitors is the shocking number of roadkill - wallabies, tasmanian devils, wombats face gruesome deaths under cars at dusk. A particular signboard on our way to The Gardens said - Drive slow, everyone deserves a life - a picturw of tasmanian devil was painted right above. If people could avoid driving at dusk, Tassie fauna would flourish in their pristine habitat.
Discover Australia - Tasmania Touring Packages page introduced and acquainted us with the places and views that tourists explore.
10 Best Things to do in Tasmania in summer
Cape Hauy - The video that captivated us and familiarised us with the crucial junctures on the track; we knew exactly what to expect. The excruciating and debilitating fatigue for us, of course, was something we couldn't have prepared for - it obviously is easier for others with better fitness level.
Cape Hauy - Best Short Walk in Tasman Peninsula
Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre
Park Pass was $89 covering national park entry fees in Tassie for a month for a car.
In addition, our family ticket was a little over $100.
14 days in Tasmania - a lap around the island
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