Oh Tasmania.
Tasmania is one of, if not THE highlight of the last year or so that I’ve travelling around Australia. It’s beauty is so wild and fresh and it’s just an incredible place to see out of a car window with some of your favourite people.
Last April I did a five day road trip around Tassie with my boyfriend and 2 friends with a little rented car which just about fitted us and our bags in. We flew into Hobart from Melbourne and did a round trip with 4 full days to play with. Here’s the places we visited that I would recommend to any other soul that fancies a bit of Tas.
1. Hobart
Hobart is the beautiful capital city of Tasmania. It has a lot of character, rolling views and quirky little streets. We stayed at this wacky hostel called The Pickled Frog which you can’t miss as it’s bright green! It used to be an old pub and it’s been decorated inside with different themes like Alice in Wonderland and all sorts. It’s homely and the people that run it are really friendly with their massive malamute/husky type dogs.
Mount Wellington is near by the city centre which you can drive all the way to the top to see the incredible views at sundown. You can see for miles over the land and sea and it’s a view I can still remember like it was yesterday. The Salamanca Markets that go on in Hobart down by the harbour are bursting with life selling everything from food, crafts and all sorts of souvenirs. If it falls on a day you’re there then it’s a must to go and check out!
2. Port Arthur
Port Arthur is the old prison base where they used to bring in the convicts into Tasmania. Being one of Tasmania’s leading tourist attractions, there’s so much to see and learn about. It’s quite a chilling, sad place but If you’re into old dark history I definitely recommend checking it out. You can also take the boat trip which is included in the price but you have to pay a little extra to visit the isle of the dead which is a tiny island where they used to bury the younger convicts I believe. It’s a really interesting day, but I’d change up the feel of the day afterwards with something a little more happy like the multiple view point stop offs around the same area.
3. View Point Stops
There’s so many places to stop and see when driving around Tassie. It’s been called the ‘small scale New Zealand’ before because of it’s outstanding natural scenery. On the way to Port Arthur from Hobart there’s a lot of stop offs like blow holes and huge arch ways where the sea has slowly eroded through the rock. It’s awesome to see and it’s free! Even better!
4. Coles Bay
Everyone always goes on about Wine Glass Bay which looks absolutely breath taking but unfortunately we ended up getting to the national park that it’s in too late so we found Coles Bay which was slightly before Wine Glass and it did not fail to disappoint the eyes in the slightest. We arrived at the start of sun down, walked down onto the sand to the most peaceful, still water under the orange and pink sky with a hazy atmosphere. The water was so still that the reflection was immaculate. It was like stepping into a post card.
5. Bay Of Fires
The bay of fires was like something I had never seen before. A region of white sands, crystal teal waters where huge rocks were covered in bright orange thick granite produced by a lichen. Something you really have to see. Images on google are exactly what it looks like in real life. And the surrounding beaches look like they should be in Bora Bora.
6. The Waterfalls
There’s plenty of waterfalls to
Check out in between destinations. One that we found was Columbian Waterfall which if one of Tasmania’s largest falls. A nice, fresh 20 minute walk through a rainforest scene to the base of the falls, which was really needed after being sat in the car for what felt like eternity.
7. Cradle Mountain
A trip to Tassie wouldn’t be quite complete without a visit of the iconic Cradle Mountain. You have to get your own way to the start of the national park and then you get shuttle busses to different stages of the hike. We started at Dove Lake which is a huge deep indigo coloured lake lying underneath the mountain face. The walk wasn’t the easiest, but slow a steady it wasn’t so bad. Me and a friend didn’t make it to the very top because we were on a short time frame but we sat under the last climb to the summit to enjoy the views while the boys pushed on and ran to the summit. Coming down back to where the shuttle bus would pick you up we came across loads of Wombats coming out to start their evening graze as the sun began to escape. You could walk right up to them and the wouldn’t budge so yes, I managed to get a Wombat selfie too.
8. Queenstown
Queenstown is a small old mining town which is pretty run down but it had something about it. We left real early the next day to drive from Queenstown back to Hobart and the town being in a valley was covered in a thick blanket of fog with big old creepy buildings that should be used as creepy movie sets. As soon as the sun broke through the fog the most gorgeous sights emerged while we were on the winding narrow roads through the hills. I can’t find the right words to describe just how awesome it looked. But if you’re into your old, creepy historic places then also try and at least drive through Queenstown.
Tasmania is beautiful. If you get the chance to check it out then renting a car and getting a cheap flight over from Melbourne is probably the easiest way as the ferry can be very expensive.
If you love the outdoors and want a fairly cheap and breath taking place to see, I can tell you it won’t disappoint.
Happy travels.
