Tasmania

Northwest

After a 10 hour trip on the “Spirit of Tasmania” ferry we arrived in Devonport at six in the morning. After we first stocked up on documents at the Visitor Center, we headed west. We quickly discovered that it is much cooler in Tassie than in Australia – despite the summer. But with average temperatures of 20° it is ideal for hiking. The northern coast of Tasmania is quite populated. If one comes to the west coast, this changes quickly. In the Arthur River area we spent the first night; right on the coast with a beautiful view. Sandro reopened the fishing season and promptly hooked something. This gives hope for a lot of fish.

The “Western Explorer Trail” is a 100km long Scenic Drive, which leads to Corinna. For the first time we were allowed to marvel at the beautiful landscape of Tasmania. The detour is definitely worth it. A bit south of the trail we landed at the “Montezuma Falls”, with 104m one of the highest in Tasmania. Especially with the high amount of rain in the west, impressive how it rushes down the mountain. The hiking trail (10km return) is also worthwhile. The atmosphere in the rainforests is always impressive.

Central Highlands

Countless mountains, lakes, rainforest and the famous Cradle Valley is on every Tasmania tourist’s priority list. Scenically definitely one of our Australia highlights. The downside is the many rains; on average 7 out of 10 days. So we first stocked up on rain gear – we hadn’t needed it in the last 6 months. Equipped we went to the most famous and most photographed mountain in Tasmania; the Cradle Mountain.

Thanks to the huge rain cloud we did not see much of the beautiful nature. Nevertheless, we dared to climb to the top – definitely a mistake. The path is not without danger in wet weather. The higher up we were, the more we felt like we were about to land in a snowstorm (it did indeed still have some snowfields from the day before; in the middle of summer). At some point we turned around and were glad to have a great campsite with a huge fireplace in the camp kitchen to warm us up.

After two days, the sun finally shone. We started the next attempt for the 17km summit loop hike. This time with a magnificent view of the summit, the crater lake and the famous Dove Lake. Also on the summit we felt more comfortable this time and could enjoy the panorama. We nestled in a cozy lake spot and enjoyed another hike or two in the sunshine. As a nature lover you can only be enthusiastic about the campsites and the nature of Tasmania.

East of Cradle Mountain National Park is the somewhat less touristy Walls of Jerusalem National Park. The park can only be reached on foot; which is why it has few people. About 10km away from the Carpark there is a tent campsite. However, we decided to hike the whole 24 km in a day trip. Drying all the tent equipment over and over again is not easy. Besides, 24km are quite doable. The hike was for us the most beautiful so far in all of Australia. The landscape varied and idyllic for hiking.

In the evening, tired but happy, we settled in at the next free campsite right on the lake. In the west of Tasmania you will find countless beautiful and free campsites directly at the lake. What we were not prepared for is that the lake level rose about 1m overnight thanks to rain. Not much was missing and we would have woken up with wet feet. So we cleaned up and set up camp a little farther from shore. In fact, the water caught up with us once again. We had never experienced that before. 24 hours later, the whole campsite was under water. Despite the rain; we will have wonderful memories of the Highlands and Cradle Valley. For us, one of our most beautiful stops.

Southwest

The southwest is dominated by national parks. The largest is Southwest National Park, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site along with Franklin-Gordon-Willd Rivers NP, Cradle Mountain and Walls of Jerusalem NP. Southwest NP is very remote and difficult to access. Via the Gordon River Road, a beautiful drive through great scenery, we reached the area after all. We climbed the Mt. Elizafrom where you could get a wonderful view of the untouched nature.

Somewhat more accessible was Mount Field NP, located not far from Hobart. The highlight there is Russel Falls, one of the more spectacular waterfalls so far. It is also known that with a little luck a platypus can be spotted. And indeed, Sandro has found one. Thanks to his pedaled way, we even discovered his home and could thus lie in wait. After about half an hour he came back home and we could observe him well and even take pictures. Equipped with leaves for his nest, he crawled out to the water and returned a few minutes later. He was even kind enough to play in the water for a while before he swam away again. This was a unique experience, which only very few experience.

The next day we did another hike, which would have been very nice if it hadn’t rained all the time. After two and a half weeks of quite a lot of rain we were still in a good mood, so slowly but surely we had enough of it and headed towards sunnier and drier east coast.

Southwest

Arriving on the east side, we first visited Hobart, the Tasmanian capital. A pretty town with beautiful harbor, full of expensive boats and yachts, a cozy promenade and many historic buildings. Definitely more to our taste than the typical big city.

Our way led us further to the Tasman Peninsula and thus to the Tasman National Park. This is known for its great cliffs; some even say the most spectacular in all of Australia. We agree with this opinion.

However, you have to move around a bit to admire them. Those at Cape Raoul, for example, we reach after a five-hour hike. Arrived at the cliffs we were sometimes a little afraid that it would blow us away over the 300m high cliffs because of the extreme wind. We were even rewarded with a huge seal colony (about 150pcs), which had their home there. With our binoculars we could observe the seals nicely. A great experience.

Northeast

One of the most famous national parks in Tasmania is Freycinet NP with the famous Wineglass Bay. This bay is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Australia. Crystal clear water and snow-white beaches invite you to linger. This, however, only after 600 steps over the Hazards Saddle have been conquered. Which is good, otherwise the bay would be flooded with people. Most venture as far as the lookout and no further than the beach; we did a 24k round trip and enjoyed from the Mt. Graham a magnificent panorama to ourselves.

In this national park we spent the holidays, on a nice place with camping fire instead of a fir tree. We spent the days fishing, reading, lying on the beach and relaxing. In Bicheno, a little further north, we afforded ourselves two dives. Unfortunately, diving in Australia is very expensive, especially without your own equipment. But we really wanted to see the famous “Weedy Seadragon”, which only exists in Australia. With 7+7mm suit we entered from the shore in 14° cold water. Actually we wanted to dive without a guide, but by chance we met John, who dives there every day. John took us along and showed us the fascinating and rare animals. For us an absolute highlight. After we were halfway warmed up, we jumped in a second time, this time without John. Fortunately, we discovered the weedys on our own.

At the very top of the northeast, we have once again arrived in paradise. At the Bay of Fires there are 8 free campsites in the middle of red rocks on white beaches, one more beautiful than the other. So we spent some camping days and enjoyed the beach. We could have stayed forever and enjoyed the camping life, unfortunately we had to slowly head back towards Devonport as our Tassie trip was ending soon.

On the way back we made a detour to Low Head, where we could finally see a red and white striped lighthouse after countless white ones.

Since we were finally two days too early to catch our ferry, we drove again a little west to Burnie. There is a free penguin tour there every evening! The Fairy Penguins (Little Penguins) return from hunting every evening at dusk. Shortly after dark, mom and dad penguin waddle from the sea back across the beach to their young for feeding. It was nice to watch that once, we especially had a great spot; the whole spectacle was happening right in front of us.

On the last day we visited Leven Canyon, a river surrounded by high cliffs. After that, we went back to the mainland after six weeks. For us Tasmania was one of the highlights of Australia, next to Western Australia our favorite and only to recommend!