Last weekend I treated myself to a well earned vacation and went to Tasmania with a friend. Our initial plan was to spend the first night in Maria Island, the next at Freycinet National Park, then the Bay of Fires. I have a ton of pictures and think this is the perfect opportunity to do some proper posts so I'll be breaking this up into the different days.
Thursday Night - Friday
Weather forecast: Sunny on Friday with rain developing on Saturday and Sunday
I arrived in Hobart at about 7:45 PM and was off to dinner with my friend Marieke who arrived earlier in the week. We headed to Salamanca Market which is an area right down by the water with a whole bunch of nice restaurants and pubs for dinner. The weather was a brisk type evening which was perfect for walking around and checking things out.
After a nice dinner and quick stroll we set the NavMan for Swansea and away we went. The road wasn't very impressive given the dark night, however we managed to find the city after about an hour or so of driving. When we finally got to Swansea we began to realise just how small town Tasmania is... the main road had one phone booth, a bakery, a church, a Yield sign, and a fire station - and no hotel to be found. So we were at a bit of a loss as to where our hotel was. Luckily there was the phone booth as all cell phone coverage ended about 10 minutes outside Hobart. :)
When we finally were checked into the hotel (around 10PM) - after calling the night clerk to open the lobby to give us our key - we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the room. For $100 AUD we had a queen bed, two twins, microwave, fridge, dining room set, and a renovated bathroom. Compared to the local surrounds this place was a gem. As Friday's plan was to hike on Maria island we had an early night.
Friday morning we were off to the ferry after a quick stop at the bakery. Our hopes were that the town simply seemed smaller at night... however we were wrong. The bakery was the only place open for breakfast and the ferry that left at 9:00 AM didn't come back until 5:00 PM, and the island has no food and no roads... Given this new knowledge we decided to skip Maria Island for another (more well equipped and prepared) trip and head up to Freycinet National Park a day early (especially given the weather forecast).
Now I went to Tasmania without any preconceived notions or ideas - my friend had done the research and most of the planning and for all intensive purposes I was tagging along. However I was very surprised at the sheer beauty of this little island. In the blink of an eye it goes from farms with grazing sheep, to gorgeous beaches with the bluest water I've seen in a very long time or possibly ever, to rugged mountains which reminded me the rock formations in Arizona.
Freycinet is known for Wine Glass bay which is a gorgeous beach which is only accessible by foot or boat. So given we forgot to pack our boat we hiked in. :) Here are some of the pictures from our hike.
The view from the sand
Of all the places we stayed, Swansea was probably the smallest town, however it offered the best nigh life... so to add a bit of a cliff hanger I'll save that bit for the next post.
1 comment:
When Matt and I honeymooned in Australia, we stopped in Tasmania for ~ 5 days. (Then we took the gang last year for our 2nd visit) We stayed at the Freycinet Lodge in Freycinet. Where were you? It's beautiful there! Scary to drive at night though...there is SO MUCH wildlife! We've been to Hobart twice, Launceston twice, Freycinet once, Cradle Mountain twice, and just about every place in between! It is our happy place...the best part of our honeymoon!
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