Hobart to Cradle Mountain

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Hobart

Mission: To explore Tasmania's capital and venture out nearby for some quality experiences with my husband for a week.

First stop: DriveNow For sheer quality, you can't go past a Maui Spirit 6-berth deluxe for around the $200 a day mark. For seven days we were looking around the $1500 mark but it kept us mobile and accommodation was covered all week long.
The adventure The Spirit, as we came to know her, was collected in Hobart after a quick, budget flight on Jetstar and we decided to hang around the city for the sensational Saturday Salamanca Markets. Great food, diverse stalls (though several with typical junky tourism odds and sods) and buskers. We took off in the afternoon to explore the Derwent river and took in a cruise. Next day we took our time driving up to Cradle Mountain where we stayed at the Lodge for the last half of the week. This is a highlight of a World Heritage listed area and is a mighty backdrop to gorgeous Lake Dove.
Before reaching Cradle Mountain Lodge, along the way there were many places to explore including temperate rainforest, great walks, waterfalls and fast free-flowing rivers. We explored mining town Queenstown and spent a night in magnificent Strahan, a great place from which to dart off from for cruises on the Gordon River. Cradle Mountain was simply stunning and boasts more than 20 guided walking tracks near and around the lodge and Dove Lake. These range from half an hour up to 10 hours. We did the shorter ones with the kids.

In summary ... Tasmania really is like another country in its own right with so many different worlds within. Overall, the highlights for us included spending some time in Hobart (much more time next time), Strahan, with its picture perfect views and colour, and of course mighty Cradle Mountain and all her walks and breath-taking views. The Spirit campervan was very comfortable and drove well as mentioned by the gang at DriveNow. We'll be back, or I certainly will be.

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Photos

tassie
forest sensation - cradle mountain