Exploring Tasmania

We have just returned from an absolutely wonderful 11 day camping trip through Australia's island state of Tasmania.

We flew into Launceston where we hired a tiny Hyundai Gets and then drove down to Hobart along the eastern coast, stopping off at the beautiful Freycinet Peninsula on the way. We then stopped at Hobart to enjoy its markets and festivals, then spent an idyllic 3 days exploring Bruny Island where we celebrated New Year's Eve. Then we drove back to Launceston through the naturally wild and stunning western part of the island, spending nights at Mount Field and Cradle Mountain Reserve.

Over 40% of Tasmania consists of nature reserves and it has a well earned reputation as Australia's most naturally beautiful state. With its long beaches, beautiful mountains, gorgeous islands and huge tracts of pristine forest, it is a stunning place indeed and we had a wonderful time exploring its nooks and crannies. The fact that we were camping added to the experience tremendously as we were able to overnight in remote and beautiful places, right in the wilderness.

Tasmania also has a reputation for wild and unpredicable weather, even in summer, but we were extremely lucky and blessed mostly with blue skies and lots of sunshine.

All in all, we had a fantastic time and we'll definitely return, particularly to do the 4 day overland hiking track from Lake Claire to Cradle Mountain, which was booked out this time.


Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

• Walking around the deep blue Dove Lake in the Cradle Mountain National Park with amazing views of Cradle Mountain. This is undoubtedly the most beaitiful walk we have enjoyed in Australia to date.

• Doing the "Enchanted Walk" (also in Cradle Mountain National Park) through ancient forests with gnarled, moss covered trunks, crystal clear rock pools and beautiful summer flowers.

• A concoctomy of different tastes and flavours at the "Taste Of Tasmania" food festival in Hobart including the plumpest and sweetest strawberries, blackberries, cherries and rasberries we have ever tasted. Delicious with crepes and icecream!

• Amazing views of Hobart on a crisp, clear day from the summit of Mount Wellington.

• Plump, fresh, ice chilled oysters from an Oyster Farm near Hobart at a third of the price of Sydney. We ate over a dozen each in one sitting!

• Exploring the wild and remote southern coast of Bruny Island on a high powered motor boat. Here we saw some of the highest sea cliffs we have ever seen and we boated between towering pinnacles of rock past vast sea caves. we also saw dolphins, seals and blackfaced cormorants (a new bird for me).

• A relaxing walk along Lake St Claire, the deepest fresh water lake in Australia.

• Spending New Year's eve in a remote camp site in the South Bruny National Park, on the southen tip of the island, nestled in forest that fringed a beautiful beach.

• Descending over the beautiful Cataract Gorge (just outside Launceston) on a chair lift.

• Watching little penguins by torch light at "The Neck" National Park doing their nightly waddling commute from the sea edge, up the beach and into the dunes where they met their hungry chicks waiting for food.

• Stunning views over the famous "Wine Glass Bay" in Freycinet National Park after climbing over 600 stairs to get to the vantage Point.

• Marvelling at the enormously high swamp Gum trees in Mount Field National Park. Growing to over 90 metres high, these are the tallest trees in the Southen Hemisphere. Some have been growing since before European settlers arrived in Australia, 300 years ago.

• Exploring the ruins of Port Arthur, a famous Australian penal colony from 1825 to the 1870's. Our excellent guide was full of interesting stories about convict life. Made me very glad I was not a convict in the 1800's - they had a very tough life indeed. Days of exhausting toils in the field, followed by nights in a 1.5 by 2 metre cell.

• Popping into town from the wilderness to watch "Atonement" and the "Golden Compass." Also reading Wilbur Smith's lastest Ancient Egyptian epic "The Quest" - a ripping good yarn.

• Our first glorious hot shower after three days of bush camping without showering facilities in Bruny Island.

• Seeing 9 of the 11 endemic bird species that are to be found only in Tasmania. I'll have to see the other two (Forty Spotted Pardalote) and scrubtit next time we visit.

• Our first sighting of a Tasmanian Devil - albeit in a wildlife park. They are much cuter than I expected. Tasmanian Devils are famous for their devillike cries as they fight over food but our ones had already been fed and were snuggling up to each other like cute pets. Not the kind of pets you'd want to stroke though, they have the strongest jaws of any mammal including hyenas. Like Hyenas, they are scavengers.

• Our first sighting of an Echidna in the wild. Apart from the duck billed platypus, this is the only mammal in the world to lay eggs. It has spikes like a hedgehog. We saw our little fellow in bright sunlight and it came right up to my shoes to have a little smell with its cute, twitching proboscis.

• Meeting interesting people in the camp sites - many of whom were so called "grey nomads", retired Austrlalians who have sold or rented out their homes and spend their lives exploring Australia in caravans and campervans. sounds like a great way to spend your retirement. A friendy couple gave us a tour of their enormous caravan that requires a specially adapted four wheel drive to pull it. All the trimmings it had including TV, broadband internet,a washing machine and a fluffy poodle (their well travelled pet). We met another lovely man who was doing it alone in a tiny van with a mattress in the back. All equally blisfully happy with their set up, enjoying the natural wonders of their country. A noble pursuit indeed.

Our first stop was Cataract Gorge, just outside Launceston. We crossed high over the gorge on a long chair lift and enyoyed some great views over the river below.
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Driving past farmland on the way down South...

Freycinet Peninsula is well known for its great coastal walks and the stunning beauty of Wine Glass Bay. We climbed 600 steps to get a view of this bay, and it was well and truly worth it.
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While Ally explored the craft markets of Hobart, I explored Mount Wellington, a mountain overlooking the city. I did a couple of nice walks along the fringe of the mountain, then (very lazy I know!) drove to the summit for some breathtaking views..




Port Arthur, Australia's most famous penal colony, gave us great insights into the life of convicts in the 1800's. And what a tough life it was! Port Arthur became a self sufficient colony and the prisoners here farmed, fell timber and built ships in between floggings and sleeping in their tiny cells.
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What Port Arthur used to look like before it closed down in the 1870's.
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We spent New Year's eve on remote Bruny Island enjoying the gorgeous beaches and pristine forests of South Bruny National Park. Bruny Island is rich in birds and this is where I saw many of the endemic species. We did a stunning boat trip from Adventure bay to view the towering cliffs and wildlife along the coast. A famiy of dolphins did an amazing display for us when they came and played along side our boat.
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The mighty trees of Mount Field National Park were very impressive indeed. With heights of up to 90 metres, these trees made us feel very small indeed. The walks through the forest were beautiful with thousands of ferns. The Russell waterfall was also beautiful. .

And here is our hardy tent. It saw much action this trip. The camp sites in Tasmania were great and many of the more remote ones were free. We certainly saved a fortune on B&B bills and it was great getting close to nature.

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Our walk around Dove Lake in the Cradle Mountain National Park with its beautiful views of the Cradle Mountain now rates as my favourite short hike in Australia. It doesn't get better than this. To celebrate, I did a Myburgian Leap and Ally caught it perfectly.
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The "Enchanted Walk" in Cradle Mountain National Park lived up to its name. We walked through ancient forests along a river with crystal clear rock pools and took lots of photos of the beautiful summer flowers.
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Tasmanian Wildlife
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Our first sigthing of an echidna in the wild - and what a cute and inquisitive fellow he was.
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We got to see these Tasmanian Devils in a wildife park and they totally won me over. These gorgeous animals are nocturnal and shy so we were not able to see them in the wild this time. Its become a life goal of mine to do so. I reckon, along with the Echidna and Platypus, they have become of my favourite Australian critter.



A lazy seal basking in the sun in South Bruny Island National Park.
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A colourful (and no doubt, very poisonous) spider in Freycinet National Park.  
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The last Tasmanian Tiger died in a zoo in Hobart in 1930. Very sad. It was a strange dog like predator with tiger like stripes and a marsupial body that hunted other animals on Tasmania. Some believe it still to be alive in remote parts of Tasmania with some sightings reported every few years. Its possible - but unfortuntely very unlikely. Here is a photo taken of the last surviving animal.  
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We went for a walk in one of the local forests. The ground was wet and a bit squelchy. I looked down and there were at least 50 leaches on my shoes, trying to climb up my socks to get at my legs. Yeaugh!!!! Our first ever encounter with this common Australian creature and it was a bit freaky. We soon got over it and I even let this little fellow taste some of my blood (I did not feel it at all). Am I generous or what!
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Birds 0f Tasmania

I was happy to see 9 of the 11 endemic birds in Tasmania. I managed to get passable photos of 8 of them. I was also delighted to get my first photo of a sitting White-bellied Sea Eagle - he was absolutely beautiful.

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Green Rosella (new species, Tasmanian endemic)  
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White-breasted Sea Eagle
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Yellow Wattlebird (new species, Tasmanian endemic)    
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Bassian thrush (new species)




Dusky Robin (new species, Tasmanian endemic)
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Thickbilled honeyeater (new species, Tasmanian endemic)
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Superb fairywren
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New Holland honeyeater
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Pacific gull




Blackfaced cormorants (new species)
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Pied oystercatcher



Blackheaded honeyeater (new species, Tasmanian endemic)
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Grey fantail
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Black Currawong (new species, Tasmanian endemic).

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Tasmanian thornbill (new species, Tasmanian endemic)..

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Tasmanian Native Hen (new species, Tasmanian endemic)
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New birds seen

• Tasmanian Native Hen
• Black Currawong
• Tasmanian Thornbill
• Thickbilled Honeyeater
• Blackheaded Honeyeater
• Blackfaced Cormorant
• Yellow Wattlebird
• Forest Raven
• Bassian Thrush
• Dusky Robin
• Green Rosella
• Yellow Throated Honeyeater
• Short-tailed Shearwater