#and drove back home (its 45 min - 1 hr each way)

[marsixm]

i did so much today im so tired

[sowecanrememberourtrips]

Tasmania 2019

One Week in Tasmania. March 17-24.

Tasmania is 100x the area size of Singapore, yet its population is only 500,000. If you want nature, National Parks, lakes and farms, coastal drives and forest walks, this is the place.

It is also home to animals such as Tasmania devils, quolls, wallabies, pademelons and kangaroos.

We squeezed a 7-day itinerary into 6 days. Kinda round the island in 2,000km. Do-able but a little tight on Day 1.

Took the red-eyed flight, and arrived in Melbourne to transit to Hobart. Our Quantas arrived in Hobart at 2pm. Jetstar may get you 4 more hours - precious as most shops and eateries in the woods close at 5pm!

Either flight, I would recommend staying one afternoon and night at Hobart, to rest up before driving west.

We rented a car from Apex car rental. Small local Aussie company, friendly and flexible service which allowed us to return the GPS when we learned that iPhone Google Maps can be plugged into the car system. Their office and carpark is 1 min away from airport departure hall. We called for their van transport upon collecting bags, and by the time we reached pick up point, the van arrived. We picked a Hyundai sedan, $41 a day. Functional, but if you have budget, go for a heavier car as traveling speed can go up to 120km/h.

Download map.me app. And then download map of Tasmania. This wonder offline map will save you when data GPS fails you in the forest.

Day 1 (Hobart to Strahan, total 5 hrs drive)

Upon collecting car at 2pm, we made our way from East to West. No time for proper lunch!

Buy the Multi-Parks Pass for $60. Useful and good as it covers two adults, one car, and all National Parks! We bought ours from ticketing counter at Russel Falls.

1 hr 15 min to reach Russel Falls, within Mt Field National Park. Do the walk up to Russel Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Tall Trees (Eucalyptus) trek. Takes about 3 hours return.

(If you start off in the morning, you may want to drive on 1.5 hours more to a recommended next stop for lunch. The Wall in the Wilderness Cafe)

From Mt Field National Park, it’s 3hr 45 min to Strahan. Tiring drive as night was falling. Wild animals come out more at night, and there are no street lamps, so drive with extra care.

Make stops for coffee or dinner - which we did not! Or rather, we tried to. We stopped at Queenstown, a supposed big town an hour before Strahan, but all shops were closed by 6. We met a nice lady named Joy at the Paragon Theatre who cooked up some carbonara for us and allowed us to dine in this old-school theatre screening hall - deeply appreciated at 10pm!

Salt Box Hideaways is more Airbnb than hotel. Self-picked the keys from a locked box. Apartment was hipster lovely! Morning surprise view of a lake as we raised the curtains!

Day 2 (Strahan to Cradle Mt, total 2.5 hrs drive)

Strahan is a sleepy, scenic town by Gordon River. A great place for breakfast is The Coffee Shack & Morsels, opposite Gordon River Cruise. Great avocado toast. Cruise is damn expensive, don’t bother. 42 Degrees is a restaurant on a higher ground - but not opened for lunch. Check online.

A 20 min drive brings us to Henry Dunes. A peculiar area of fine white sand on top of a hill - gentle climb up sandy slopes.

1 hour more brought us to Montezuma Falls’ start-off point. To see the Falls - highest in Tasmania - is a 3 hours return trek thru rainforest. We just trekked a bit in and out of the rainforest. Looking back, this is not a recommended spot.

Another 1 hr 30 min to Discovery Parks Cabin and Camping site. Buy food (raw or cooked) along the way and top up petrol. Discovery Parks is an accommodation facility WITHIN Cradle Mountain, which is important and cool. We got the Family Cabin (good for 4 pax) as the hip cabins were sold out. Camp site has no food. Bring your own to cook in communal kitchen. Toilets are communal too but they provide towels. But super near Cradle Mt National Park Visitor Centre, which is useful for the next day.

5 min drive away is Devils@Cradle. They organize Tasmanian Devils feeding at 5:30pm and /or 8:30pm. Check online.

Day 3 (Cradle Mt - Launceston, total 2.5 hrs drive)

One of the highlights is the World Heritage listed Cradle Mountain National Park. Very organized shuttle buses that bring you in, very Jurassic Park feels. Park your car at Visitor Centre for free, grab a coffee (opens 8:30am) and then take the shuttle (every 20 min from 8am). Remember the Multi-Parks Pass? Gets you free shuttle bus tickets. Show at counter to redeem. Bus service is a loop service with 5 stops.

We took the 9:30am bus to Dove Lake. A lake formed by glaciation some 10,000 years ago. Absolutely stunning scenery and tranquillity. Walk around the lake takes about 3 hours, many photo points. Including a boat shed.

We then took the shuttle bus back to our car and drove to Peppers Lodge/ Cradle Mountain Lodge Tavern for lunch. Good portions!

To come back for:

Some other 20 min to 1 hour walks, there is one apparently beautiful walk just next to Peppers Lodge. Or, the famous Overland Walk, that takes 6 days. Can fly into Launceston and drive 2.5 hrs here.

We went to Devils@Cradle, a sanctuary for breeding the endangered Devils, in time for a 1pm Keepers Tour. Very informative and you get to see Devils and Quolls.

From here, it’s a 2.5 hours drive to Launceston. Can stop by Sheffield (town of murals) or Christmas Hills Raspberry Farms for tea break.

Launceston is the second largest city of Tasmania. We stayed at Mercure, which is along Brisbane Street, their city centre where you could walk to cafes, eateries and shops. Ate at Pachinko, an Asian fusion place.

Day 4 (Launceston to the East, total 4 hrs drive)

A very short drive (5 min) from city centre of Launceston will bring you to Cataract Gorge. A pretty and easy park to walk around after breakfast (pancakes and French toast!) at Basin Cafe located right at the park. Spend about 2 hours here, including breakfast.

On the way to the East (2.5 hours to Bay of Fires), we stopped by Ledgerwood. To see the 9 unique war memorial carvings on cedar trees.

We also stopped here for lunch and ice cream at a simple Ledgerwood Kitchen.

If you like cheese, the next pee or coffee stop could be Pyengana Dairy Company. We stopped instead at a roadside kiosk for coffee with a mountain view, and a little stretch-leg shopping at The Shop in The Bush.

Bay of Fires is a secluded pristine white beach with rocks with orange marks, formed by lichens. After some photos, we drove down and visited a few other fine beaches, towards St Helens. Took us 1.5 hours to arrive at Bicheno. Bicheno town centre has a few eateries, we had fish and chips dinner at Beachfront Bistro.

We stayed in Diamond Island Resort and Penguin Parade in Bicheno. Owned by Koreans, the resort is on a good piece of property. It is linked to an island via a thin stretch of sandy beach, fairly unique as you can see waves crashing in from both sides. When tide is low, you can walk to the island. And on summer nights, you get to see peri-penguins coming onto resort property. We were lucky to spot one as soon as we stepped onto the viewing deck! Room is villa style with two floors - kitchen and sofa on the ground floor, and beds for 4 on the second floor. Maintenance could be better lah.

Day 5 (Great Eastern Drive, total 4 hrs drive)

East Coast Natureworld at Bicheno, a wildlife sanctuary 5 min from our resort is a must! Greatest animal experience feeding kangeroos, and meeting wombats, white peacocks, black swans and more Devils. There is a cafe that opens at 9am with waffles and coffee.

1 hour drive brings us to Freycinet National Park (Multi-Park Pass, again), and we had lunch at Robertson’s at Freycinet Lodge. High-end accommodation for my 70th birthday? Haha.

5 min drive upwards from Freycinet Lodge is the car park to start walking trek up Wineglass Bay Lookout. 1.5 hours return hike. Moderate to tough. Read and heard many said lookout point is enough. Don’t need to go to the beach, which is another 1.5 hours return. Super popular attraction, ie crowded with tourists wanting that postcard shot.

Freycinet to Hobart is a 3 hours drive. You may break it up with coffee breaks at Swansea (1 hour), Orford (45 min) and Hobart (1+ hour). We stopped by Kate’s Berry Farm for good pancakes, and awesome boysenberry (cross between rasp and black) ice cream!

Arrive at Hobart before 6pm to see the HarbourFront. We ate an assortment of seafood at Fish Frenzy, right by the water.

Day 6 (Hobart)

Our Airbnb was on the right street - Elizabeth St - that brings you down to the HarbourFront. But it was a 30 min walk one day!

We went to Battery Point to have breakfast at Jackman and McRoss, many friends recommended. And then a short walk to Salamanca Weekend Market (ONLY on Saturdays 8am to 3pm, so plan your itinerary well). Hop on the hippest ferry MR1 or MR2, the Mona Roma, to MONA - Museum of Old and New Art. $22 for two ways ferry, each ride 20’min. Book your return timing as soon as you reach museum. We took the 1:15pm ferry to, and 5pm ferry back.

Museum entry was $28. Worth it as it’s one of a kind. Eccentric!

We skipped Port Arthur, Richmond Village and Mt Wellington cos not very interested. If you have one more day in Hobart, you could try those. Or Huon Valley for a walk above treetops on the Tahune Airwalk.

Accounts:

Air Tickets - about $900 during March holidays.

Car - about $250

Accommodation

Salt Box Hideaway S$210

Discovery parks S$120

Mercure S$144

Beach Villa S$210

Hobart AirBnb S$156 x 2 = S$312

Daily expenses - about $800 for a week.