Tasmania Part 2

At last we found the secret to writing the blog posts: have the passenger write them up on a phone during the few hours each day of roadtripping (as long as there aren’t too many corners!).

Day 6: Port Arthur to Hobart

Today felt like we were back in humanity so what’s better than a quaint coffee shop and cake for morning tea. Thanks to Chloe’s dad we went to Picker pantry and had one of the best chocolate-raspberry cakes we had ever tried!

Our next stop was the Port Arthur Historic Site: an old mill turned into a prison. The place was huge with walks, buildings, and even a ferry ride to enjoy. We started with the boat trip which took us around the harbour and showed us the area where the young convicts, some as young as 9, were sent. We then explored the main buildings - 5 storeys of cells, churches, and officers’ houses. We could probably have spent the whole day exploring if we had had more time.

After walking around for a good 3 hours we had worked up an appetite, so our next stops were foodie heaven! The Tasman Chocolate factory for some Belgian style delights and a rocky road Before the main lunch break at the Blue Seal pub for the local delicacy of curried scallop pies. Aussies might not have done the pastry as well as NZ but the filling was delicious.

The final stop of the day was to see the Tasman Arch and Devils kitchen, an impressive work of nature due to the sea and soft rocks. Hopefully we can come back again in a few years to see the new cave which is forming too. We were then on our way to the capital of Tasmania Hobart for the weekend.

Day 7: Hobart

No trip to Hobart is complete without a trip to MONA. A quirky art museum with weird and wonderful pieces of art. It recognises the pretentiousness of some museums and pokes fun at both the art and itself. We embraced our inner children by playing in the park before opening time. Watch the video below to make yourself laugh!

The most unique piece we found was ‘The Confession Chamber’. You walked into a spiralling corridor of noise insulation until you reached the centre, where you then spoke to people 3 storeys up outside the MONA. Anonymous confessions for some, a loving serenade for us instead!

For lunch we went to Frogmore Creek which was a beautiful little vineyard near the Coal River recommended by one of mum’s friends. The food and wine were both phenomenal and we were very grateful to Dad for being the designated driver of big Bertha. Being guests in the back was very relaxing. Fortunately we bought a bottle of dessert wine to enjoy that evening with him.

Post- a 3 course feast we popped across the road to Coal River Farm to get some cheese for the fanciest camp dinner I think we will have in our 3 month trip. Our 3 cheeses of choice were - Double Cream Brie, Ash Rolled Curd Cheese, and a mild blue. A delicious treat and dad could finally enjoy the wine as well.

Day 8: Hobart to Lake Burbury

Another not-to-miss adventure in Hobart is Mount Wellington. We decided to get to the summit via the organ pipes track. The view from the top was incredible despite being a bit rainy and cloudy. We were glad we carried out jumpers though because it was flipping cold and windy too! After 2 delicious days of hospitality we were back to camping food so a picnic lunch at the Springs car park was in line. We did however get a delicious coffee and hot chocolate to warm us up.

A long drive ahead of us made Lake saint Clair a beautiful pit stop for a cuppa in the van and a wee stroll to try and spot that elusive platypus once more. No success despite the logbook of sightings at the information centre… the saga continues!! On our drive to the Lake Burbury Camp ground we spotted wombats and echidnas at the side of the road, but of course pictures were nigh on impossible.

Lake Burbury itself was beautiful and Chloe and I went for a sunset swim in the fresh water lake. Cold but so refreshing after a long day. We met some lovely couples who told us about the walks in cradle mountain and some things up in Queensland worth seeing as well. Camping people are so friendly!

Day 9: Lake Burbury to Ulverstone

Tuesday took us to another Tasmania National Park: Cradle Mountain. On the way to the NP we could smell a lot of smoke and after we read the news we realised there was a bush fire around Lake St Clair which had closed some of the main tracks. Crazy to think we were actually so close but didn’t see it!

Stroll number one at Cradle Mountain was the Enchanted walk: a riverside stroll with the ever-fleeting promise to spot a platypus. You’ve probably guessed it by now - no platypus sightings. Despite this we knew straight away why the walk was enchanted because in the first 300m we saw 2 black tiger snakes much to dad’s disgust. We were worried about what the rest of the hikes had in store but we thankfully didn’t see any more!

A picnic lunch at Dove Lake followed by a couple of walks either side of the lake’s visitor centre allowed us to see the view of Cradle Mountain and the old boat sheds. Our final stop at Cradle Mountain was Ronny’s Creek, a walk recommended to us btw couple alat Lake Burbury yesterday. It definitely did not disappoint, we were told to go around 3pm to see the wombats, and that is exactly what we saw! 2 mothers and their Joey’s and a couple of other lone wombats too. They are fast becoming Chloe’s favourite animal!

Next stop Ulverstone for some much needed beach R&R. We arrived around 6pm and walked to the town centre for dinner at the River Arms Hotel. Blooming delicious food and the biggest serving of sticky date pudding we have ever seen! 100% would go back again! A nice 30 minute walk back let us see a bandicoot roaming on the grass berms and at the camp site we saw 2 little penguins waddling around too.

Day 10: Ulverstone

After a long few days of driving and hiking mum and dad decided to stay and explore around Ulverstone for the day, while Chloe and I drove west for the day.

We made our way to Table cape for a lovely coastal view and bimble to the lighthouse. The cape is famous for tulip growing, but while we didn’t see any flowers post- season we did see a few more pademelons relaxing in the shady undergrowth on the walk.

Our next stop of the day was the Trowutta arch. This natural archway is a 15 minute walk into a moody forest and caused by the collapsed roofs of two large sinkholes connected by a cave system. A pretty cool place, and the photos don’t convey the scale of the arch, but certainly not a place for a skinny dip.

With the archway off our to-do list it was time to address the real reason we drove out west: to visit the butcher shop of MasterChef Australia’s 2024 runner up. We’d been rooting for the “meat and two veg” Josh ‘Pezza’ Perry ever since he survived his first dessert pressure test, and when we found out he was a butcher on Tassie we vowed to visit! While we didn’t hatch a glimpse of Pezza we did stock up on sausages and steak for dinner, and a slab of bacon for breakfast.

On our drive back to the campsite we decided to call into the town of Penguin. That’s right, it’s a town called Penguin. And as you’d expect they fully embraced their name with homages to penguins everywhere you looked. We even visited the Penguin Brewery and while their core range wasn’t to my hoppy tastes their raspberry sour was pretty good.

That evening we reunited with mum and dad at the campsite and had a BBQ with the sausages and steak from the butchers which was delicious! We rounded off the evening by taking our camping chairs down to the beach, waiting for dusk, and watching half a dozen little penguins make their way back to their nests. A cracking end to the day!

Day 11: Ulverstone to Launceston

Our final full day in Tasmania but we were determined to make the most of it . We left the campsite and made our way to Devonport for a bit of sightseeing. It wasn’t our cup of tea when we arrived, so we simply went for a stroll along the waterfront and carried on our journey.

We called in at the House of Anvers chocolate place for a pitstop and a delicious dose of unhealthy goodness. The hot chocolate met my high Belgian choc standards and the cakes left us all very full!

In need of a walk to burn off our cocoa overdose we decided to visit the Warrawee reserve for a riverside walk to an epic swing bridge. This decision had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it was a known platypus location…

Chances for wildlife spotting looked high when Chloe saw a Tasmanian devil run across the road on the drive in. En-route to the bridge we saw pademelons and wallabies in the bushes, and even an echidna waddling by the river side (a blurry photo is my only proof!). The swing bridge itself was an impressive beast that even dad couldn’t sway (despite his best attempts!) and from it we could see the occasional patch of bubbles reaching the river surface.

We stayed on the bridge for around 20 minutes: long enough to still not see a platypus! After a walk back to the vans we set off on our journey and Chloe took us on a slight detour to finally see the elusive creature! This was the last main stop in our Tassie adventure but we popped off the main road to get Dad some honey we had promised him for most of the 2 weeks only to find it was a small but cute shack at someone’s house! We did however both buy some delicious raw honey.

Once we arrived and set up for our final night in Hadson we decided to get a pizza takeaway. Turns out they were the friendliest pizza guys ever and the family pizzas were flipping delicious. They gave us some tips to spot platypus so we went to the local campground to try but once again the platypus eluded us!

Day 12: Back to Melbourne

The day had arrived for us to finish our Tasmania road trip and head back to the mainland. We packed up into our bags, swept up the van, and departed for the airport. A painless campervan dropoff and we were dropping our bags and boarding the flight to Melbourne with a background aroma of smoke from the St. Clair’s wildfires.

So long Tassie it’s been a blast! Stay tuned for our next post as we say goodbye to my parents and finally hit the road in our 3-month campervan.