Tasmania: What A Beautiful Part Of The Country

Better the (Tassie) Devil you know

It is always exciting to travel to new destinations and take in new sights, sounds and experiences. Usually I like to have a good idea about the places I travel to; to such an extent that if we were to suddenly get a huge cash injection via a lottery win (chances minimal, we don't play the lottery) I could plan a holiday around the USA with enough activity and destinations to last us a full year. So it was unusual for me to have nothing to do with planning our last holiday, and it turned out to be the best possible thing. Jess did an awesome job planning it all out, an because I had no real expectation of what to expect from Tasmania it blew me away with its beauty, and made me angry with a small but infamous part of its history.

All action at Hobart Airport

Our week started by flying to the beautiful, quaint little city of Hobart; the island state's capital, we visited Port Arthur Historic Site, explored Bruny Island, went up the centre of the state and out to the stunningly picturesque East Coast and made our way West to Cradle Mountain before flying home from Launceston, all the while taking in stunning scenery, beautiful wildlife and roads that are a dream for motorcyclists and road enthusiasts alike. 

Mt Wellington Lookout, with Hobart's
Tasman Bridge in the background

Hobart is not a big city by any means, but for me that adds to the charm. To be busy enough to be considered a city but only a short drive from countryside and peace is a great combination and when you add in the amount of water to the equation it makes for a great destination. Part of my wife's family moved to Tasmania many years ago, we caught up with them all over the weekend and it really was great to be able to do so after hearing so much about Hobart and its attractions. For me it was even better to see them in what was now their home territory, to be the ones who were visiting. Wineries, barbecues and spectacular surroundings; does it get any better? I hope it isn't too long before we head back to the Apple Isle.

Salamanca Markets.
Take note, Dad!

Salamanca markets are something else; Sydney has The Rocks markets and Salamanca was similar, with plenty of opportunity to pick up something of interest. The highlight of Hobart for me was a place called Ball and Chain Grill. Scotch Fillet with chips and a Schobers Shiraz, the perfect combination for any steak lover out there. It was so good that when we were looking for somewhere to go the following night with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law we looked all along the street at different options and went to Ball and Chain anyway! I'm not going to pretend that next time we visit Hobart I won't insist on going back there either.

The former Broad Arrow Cafe and Port Arthur
Memorial, site of Australia's worst massacre.

The visit to Port Arthur Historic Site was a mixed experience. Interesting as the historic importance of the site was to Australia's history as a British convict colony, I couldn't escape the thought that I may never have even heard of this place had it not been for the the massacre which took place on 28th April 1996, when Martin Bryant shot and killed 35 people and wounded 23. This terrible event was the catalyst for then Prime Minister John Howard to make sweeping changes to Australian gun laws which thankfully have prevented another massacre on Australian soil. All this came shortly after the Dunblane massacre in the UK, where similar changes were made to UK gun laws. The USA is a vastly different culture, but I found myself getting angry while at Port Arthur for thinking how the USA's ignorance is costing innocent lives. The same week we visited Port Arthur there was another massacre in the USA, and you can't help but feel it won't be too long before there's another. (NB: Overheard someone in the car park say "shotgun!" on the way back to the car... Probably not the best location to play that game!)

Port Arthur's penitentiary, part of the Historic site

That is a completely different topic, so back to the Historic Site; a former penal colony for the worst of the worst British convicts. The architecture of the prison itself, the houses and churches all mixed in with the modern entrance building was an interesting juxtaposition but it worked. A ferry ride was pleasant yet just the other side of a piece of land was a stretch of water which led to the South Pole. Any prisoner wishing to attempt a swimming escape, or even in a small boat? Good luck over the Southern Ocean. It was difficult to imagine the conditions they would have lived in back then, and the stories of people sent to prison for crimes ranging from stealing a loaf of bread to bestiality was just as disturbing as you might think.

Tasmania is far enough South to encounter penguins, and Bruny Island is a hotspot (or coldspot) for it. You need to catch a ferry to get across there, but it's worth the effort. As well as beaches, lookouts and more great roads there are a variety of foods and drinks to sample; oysters, wines, beers, ciders, chocolates and honey to name a few. The day we went to Bruny it started out grey, windy, wet and miserable but grew into a sunny day with temperatures in the late 20's. On the journey back to Hobart we decided to give Mount Wellington a go, and we got up there to be greeted by very strong winds and temperatures of just 5°C! If you can brave it, the views are astounding; down across the whole of Bruny Island, the whole of Hobart and most of the southern Tasmanian countryside.

Wineglass Bay in
Freycinet National Park

From Hobart we picked up a camper van and headed North up the Midland Highway to Ross and across to the East coast at Coles Bay in Freycinet National Park, home to more extraordinary scenery. We are not hikers by any stretch, but the 50 minute trek from the carpark to the Wineglass Bay lookout is worth it, not just for the views at the end of Wineglass Bay, but the views on the ascent over Coles Bay. If you have time to explore further, there are many other walks you can take but we simply didn't have the time to explore too far as we had to head further up the East coast to St Helens via Bicheno and East Coast Natureworld. I don't need to review another zoo, I work at a pretty cool one, but it was interesting to see their view of a threatened species that we also look after at the Australian Reptile Park; the Tasmanian Devil. Being in their native part of the world, the love of this animal is just as heartfelt by the locals and makes the story of the thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) even more tragic.

Our camper van and the stars
at St Helens

As much as I love Sydney and living in Australia's largest city, I am a country boy at heart. I love getting out to the countryside and being away from the hectic nature that comes with living in a city. Part of the reason for that is the ability to look up on a clear night and see infinitely more stars shining brightly in the night sky than you ever could from Sydney. The Milky Way was clearly visible with the naked eye, so I decided to have a go at some Astro-photography. Results attached to this blog from our campsite at St Helen's.

Our next day was a long day of driving with yet more astounding scenery. Through Scottsdale, onto Launceston, Exeter and Devonport (partially due to my roots in the Westcountry) we then descended onto a small place called Sheffield, renowned for murals across a multitude of buildings in the town. The history of the state is illustrated well across the town, as well as several nods to the Tasmanian Devil and thylacine, all under the backdrop of the beautiful Mount Roland, under which we stayed in Gowrie Park and had wallabies around the campsite just doing their own thing. The showpiece was to be Cradle Mountain, however the weather conspired against us and we never actually saw the mountain and had to admire the inside of a cloud at Dove Lake before relaxing at the campsite alongside more wallabies. From the images at the visitor centre it looks like a must for next time though!

One of the many murals in Sheffield, this one depicting
the thylacine, Tasmanian Devil and Mount Roland.

As we headed back to Launceston for the flight home we encountered one final piece of majestic road, and headed for yet another destination with a Westcountry link; Chudleigh. A small village, it had the feel of a Westcountry community and the grey weather gave us that extra authenticity as we stopped at the local store for breakfast. Upon arrival at Launceston Airport we had plenty to reflect on in such a short space of time and the camera showed I had taken 1,464 photos over the course of the week. A truly memorable holiday, made even better by being able to share part of the trip with family.

Leaving Launceston Airport at the end
of a wonderful trip to Tasmania

So much of the attention in Australia goes to the beaches and the sunshine of Queensland or Northern NSW, or to the big cities of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Tourist destinations like Port Douglas, Cairns, Gold Coast, or symbolic Australian destinations like Uluru are used to promote this wonderful nation, but you really are missing a trick if you never go to Tasmania, especially if you are British. It is still a very Australian state but intertwined with so much British history. It's not the hottest place, but our autumnal trip gave us plenty of t-shirt time. Part of me wants our next visit to be in winter, to see the glory of the state under a blanket of snow under a clear sky. There's a reason they call this the lucky country; being so isolated from the rest of the world, how lucky are we to have so many different locations with equal levels of beauty in such a diverse way.

The Milky Way

Not as big a place as the one in Devon

Tasmanian Devil. If you love these animals,
visit www.devilark.org.au

Devonport, at the end of the River Tamar. No, not Plymouth

Our home for the week, at the Round Mount Lookout