Tasmania, little New Zealand as I have heard it called, is beautiful!! Very green and lush and full of natural beauties. I did a week here and I must admit that for small parts of it I was a little bored, which is something I haven't experienced on any other tour. But that aside let me tell you what my last week in Australia consisted of.
Hobart - I spent a few days here before my tour started with my Melbourne flat mates. We went to Salamanca market on the Saturday, which is a must, a really lively market full of food, drink, and a variety of stalls from gifts, to music to clothes and jewellery and art. There are also a lot of buskers around which add to the atmosphere. In the afternoon we headed off on the ferry to Mona. Mona is definitely a must see, it is a really interesting and bizarre art museum, with interactive art pieces to more traditional works, you would need to allow about 2 hours there to make the most of everything, although we spent 4 hours there including grabbing a drink afterwards. The ferry takes half an hour to get to Mona and is a fun way to travel.
The next day, James and Shireen headed off to do a day trip as they were flying back to Melbourne on Monday. So I spent the day exploring Hobart, I came across a farmers market with some of the girls from my room in the Hostel - The Pickled Frog (cute, friendly hostel) and had my first oyster! Then I walked around town a bit, which doesn't take very long as its a small town and then back to the Hostel to chill out before heading to Mures for fish and chips and another sad farewell!
The next day I started my 5 day tour with Under Down Under on the Famous 5 tour. Before I detail what we did on the tour, I would personally say that unless you are really interested in nature and walks that spending 5 days on a tour of Tasmania isn't needed. I would recommend that you do the East Coast only, because for me this was the more interesting side of Tasmania. Although the West was stunningly beautiful, I was a little bored the first few days, but thankfully I had the Hunger Games to keep me entertained.
The first day we departed Hobart and headed for Strahan, on the way stopping off at Lake St Clair, Russell Falls and Mt Field National Park, we spent the next two nights staying in a hostel near to Strahan harbour. Unfortunately, although I had advised them in advance, this particular tour company wasn't very on the ball at passing on information regarding dietary requirements, they also only supplied breakfast and the first nights BBQ so it wasn't a massive issue thankfully. On another side note, food stops were often a bit unorganised, so if you do this tour I would recommend taking a few supplies with you in advance. It may be different depending on the tour guide but this was my experience.
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On the second day a few members of the group did a boat trip, whilst the rest of us went on a rainforest walk to a(nother) waterfall, I don't think I have ever seen so many waterfalls in one place than I did on this trip around Tas!
On the third day we headed off to Cradle Mountain. The adventurous sorts did some intense climb up the mountain, I didn't, and instead walked around Dove lake, which took a good few hours in itself and was stunning, if cold, wet and windy!
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| Dove Lake |
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| Bay of Fires |
Day 4 four we were in Launceston and walked Cataract Gorge, a really easy and pleasant walk. Before heading off to the East Coast and visiting the Bay of Fires, a beautiful peaceful afternoon spent on a beach in the glorious sun. We spent the evening in Bicheno, a peaceful and small town, where some of the group headed off to see the fairy penguins.
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| View of Bicheno |
The next day we headed off to visit the Freycinet National Park and the famous Wineglass bay! The walk to the actual beach - is hard! Its not too problematic getting there but it is a struggle heading back, most of it is uphill and with my fitness levels not quite being what they should be, I got very out of breath, very quickly but worth it.
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| Wineglass Bay |
After we returned to Hobart, I flew back Sydney the next day where I spent the last 4 days of my Australian adventure before catching my flight home. A truly amazing year of memories, laughter, friendship and freedom, one I will treasure for forever and crave frequently.
Australia I heart you, thank you for the best year of my life.x x x
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