Advertisement
Published: January 7th 2023
Edit Blog Post
Packed our bags the night before, got up early and nailed the transit. Very proud of the whole family for squeezing all their gear into carry-on bags. No mean feat given the temperatures will range from 32 to 8 degrees in the week ahead. The flight goes well although Deaks strains his neck from sleeping sitting up. This comes with the territory - having a super long neck.
The Mitsubishi Lancer gets upgraded to a sporty red Hyundai Kona. We hit the road out of Hobart International Airport and the excitement in the Kona is palpable. "Cute" peppers every sentence. The airport is cute! The bridge across the Derwent is cute! The Tasmanian Devil roadside warning signs are cute! Why do the Tasmanian Devils on the signs have wings?
Once we have passed through Sorell, the food options are limited.We had “refreshments” on the plane and were hungry for lunch. Petrol station food seems to be the only option until we spot Dunalley Bakery. Jules dives straight into the local cuisine with a curried scallop pie. It's just turned 3 pm and it feels like the bakery (i.e. the town) is shutting up for the day. I may have
nudged the guardrail in the car park but thankfully there's no damage to the bumper and we avoid the $4,300 excess. Must be more careful.
The shallow water in the bay at Murdannais an emerald green. White sheep dot the green hills rolling down to the ocean. Gum trees line the winding A9 as we split the Forestier Peninsula.
We check in to the Lufra in Eaglehawk Neck and one of our rooms is in the original hotel and has a rockstar view overlooking Pirates Bay, spanning 180 degrees from Clydes Island to Tasman’s Blowhole. We drive to the blowhole and Tasman's arch - stunningly steep, dramatic cliffs eroded by the Tasman Sea. The cliff face of Devil's Kitchen feels 100 meters high. We walk 2 to 3 kms from Tasman’s Arch to Waterfall Bay. The kids are fencing with gum tree branches and hurling rocks off lookouts to the wave pool ocean below. The noise of the ocean surging through the arches and the blowholes is pierced by the chirps and tweets of the Tasman Island Finch. At least that’s what I named it.
We don't see another soul for the majority of our hike. Only
crossing paths with a wallaby/padymelon as we return to the start of our walk. We meet a friendly American couple near the car park. He (let’s call him Carl) cannot believe he just paid $44 to go to a zoo to see a wallaby and they’re right here near the car park – with a couple of joeys! Carl’s a talkative, excitable fella and is enjoying our interaction. He reckons he can spot an Australian from 20 paces (even back in America). Apparently, Australian men stand like they can’t be pushed over.
The girls have an impromptu sprint race back to the car. As we leave the National Park, a deer crosses the road ahead of us. So much wildlife and natural beauty. We pass by the Dogline Dog statue (Again!) and decide to check out the Eaglehawke Neck Historic site. The Officers Quarters is the oldest wooden military structure in Australia. It looks in surprisingly good nick for 190 years old. We ran into Carl and his partner again.Unfortunately, they aren’t staying in Eaglehawk Neck and are driving back to Hobart for the night. They would have been interesting dinner companions.
After dinner at The Lufra, we took another walk to check out the Tessellated Pavement at the northern end of Pirates Bay (visible from our hotel room). The naturally formed geometric geology is a sight to see as we stroll along the rocks towards Clydes Island. A couple of brave kids swim in the evening sunlight before the 9.15 sun set. We retire to the girls' self-service room to watch ABC New Years special. The Ball Park Music set seems a perfect finale for a memorable end to 2022.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.128s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 32; dbt: 0.0979s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb