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Published: January 25th 2008
Cradle Mountain, Launceston
So called because it looks like a baby's cradle on the right of the photoWell another update already, which is a sign that I have been doing lots of fun things.
I am writing this entry in two parts. I am currently in Hobart awaiting a bus later on in the day to take me to Launceston. I am really glad I came to Tasmania, I had a lot of people tell me there would be nothing to do except maybe hike through the wilderness (not really my cup of tea!) but I have been in HObart for a week and kept myself busy every day.
I arrived late Monday evening last week and was thrown back into hostel life at the deep end. My room was split into two smaller rooms with 6 beds (3 sets of bunk beds in each) and all the lights were off so I was shining my mobile phone screen over the beds trying to find one without someone in it. I knew from the start I'd end up with a top bunk and I did. I then had to make the bed up to the girl below me huffing and puffing as I was making noise. I had a really bad sleep as I wasn't used
Betsey Island Blast
Jetting off to Betsey Island on the 'Wild Thing' jet boat. the noise everyone else was making and my pillow was wafer thin.
The next day I got up and went to explore Hobart, I walked down into Elizabeth Mall for brunch then walked around the harbour, through Parliament Gardens (where a politician or someone similar was being interviewed by a tv crew) then into Salamanca shopping area. All in all I decided that Hobart was a pretty little city. I booked a jet boat trip 'The Wild Thing' for the next day around Bruny Island and got an early night. I should say now that after late nights, drinking and partying every night in Sydney that Tasmania has been very, very different. Everyone is in bed with lights off by 10.30 and the nightlife, well I'll get on to that in a bit. The next day was a little overcast but strolled down to the waterfront and boarded the boat. The sea was really choppy with a massive windchill so we all got wild thing bright red waterproofs to wear. Jetted around Iron Pot lighthouse which is the second oldest lighthouse in Australia and saw the sites of the old whaling stations and some salmon farms. It was a
fun 90 minutes with the captain pretended to tip either side of the boat out at a time. I came back a little windswept to say the least.
The next day I was up early for a trip to Mount Field. I had chatted to a couple of girls in the hostel kitchen the night before and they were on my trip along with a dutch girl from my room. A small group of 10 of us went up Mount Wellington which overlooks Hobart in a minibus, it was soooo windy. The early morning views of Hobart and the South West Wilderness were amazing. The wilderness has no roads, houses or tracks so you have to hike your pathway through and take radios and all sorts of equipment in case you bump into a wild snake or a tasmanian devil - funnily enough I have decided to give this route a miss. We stopped for coffee at Norfolk then drove to Mount Field National Park where we started with an alpine walk around Lake Dobson which was lovely. Then we walked through the Land of The Giants which are really old, tall trees. Ended up at Russell Falls and
Mount Wellington
Early morning view of Hobart from the top of Mount Wellington Lake Barron Falls - both a bit dry because of the heat ut pretty enough. The day was 32c so it was a bit hot on our walks. After lunch we went to Something Wild wildlife centre where we met the tasmanian devil, the adult one was quite content just trotting around and around in his paddock looking all sweet and cuddly. Kind of makes you forget that his jaws are 4 times stronger than a dogs and that they could eat a human bones and all without much of a problem! We also met koalas, kangaroos and a cute big, fat wombat then a baby devil. After a tiring day I decided to eat out for my dinner (partly because the only local supermarket costs more than eating out!) then afterwards I thought I'd go for a little walk around. It was only 8.30pm on a Thursday night and no one was about and everywhere was closed, a couple of pubs were open with one or two people sat at the bar. I decided on getting a smoothie at the ice cream place on the harbour as the only other option was bed. I sat at the waterfront harbour
and drank that then bumped into Mel and Clare who were on my tour on the way back to the hostel so went back down with them.
Another not so good nights sleep and a 6.45pm start. Got the tour minibus to Freycinet National Park which was closed due to severe fire warnings but you were allowed to enter at your own risk which we did as no one had lighters or BBQs on them. We went on a steep climb up to the lookout point for Wineglass Bay, so called because of its distinctive wineglass shape and because whalers used to slaughter whales there so the water used to be red like red wine in a glass. Thankfully they've stopped doing that there now! After a hot, steep walk up to the lookout I sat down and got befriended by a wild possum.Went to a windy but warm Honeymoon Bay afterwards which was nice. On the drive home we stopped at Kate's berry farm to sample jams etc then got back showered and decided to go out as it was Friday night. I went out with fellow Brits Mel and Clare and Dutch girls Agnatta and Yvette. We
went to a bar with an outside area first and played spot the hillbilly then decided it was too easy a game. We then moved onto an irish bar and watched the last few songs of a live band then called it a night at about midnight. Partly because it was a bit quiet and mainly due to the fact we were up early climbing mountains! Nice to have a few drinks with the girls though. We all noticed that we were surrounded by Australian accents at the pub, this may sound a strange comment to make but most places e.g. Sydney are full of tourists so an Ozzy accent can be quite rare. Tasmania is a really, true Australian kind of place in general.
The next morning I wandered down to the Saturday Salamanca Markets which were huge and had a real hippy vibe to them. The sun was shining and I enjoyed strolling around looking at all the traditional Tasmanian produce, clothes and fresh fruit and veg. I bought a gorgeous big punnet of fresh, homegrown cherries for $5 which I have been working my way through the last few days.
Sunday was another day trip,
this time to Port Arthur historical site of a convict colony. On the way there we had a brief stop at Tasman Arch, the Devil's Kitchen and the blow hole there although there was no water blowing out of anywhere that I could see probably due to low water levels. We drove to Port Arthur through Eaglehawk Neck which is the one narrow entrance to the site purposely designed to keep the convicts in, this entrance was lined with guards and dogs to keep an eye on the prisoners. When we arrived we were given a random playing card with a criminal who's path we were to follow - coincidentally mine was from Liverpool. I befriended a swiss girl and hung around with her, having a go of the leg irons and tracking our criminals. Then we went on a guided walking tour of the site and saw the penitentiary, prisons, commandents house and church. After this we went on a cruise of Canarvon Bay, around the "Isle of the Dead" which is the resting place of lots of prisoners and guards. The whole place is reputably haunted especially the reverends house where me and Karin popped our heads into
My best pixie impression!
It sure was windy up there! as well as the punishment cell and chapel. The whole place was very, very olde English and I felt slightly bad being one of the only English people there when you hear of the suffering the convicts were put through (all of whom were English too). It was an interesting day to learn about the history of Tasmania. Got back to the hostel and went with Yvette (Dutch) for fish and chips at the docks. My guidebook says Hobart fish and chips are some of the nicest in Australia and I have to agree. We worked our way through a fishermans basket each on the waterfront and saw a rainbow that ended in a 6* luxury cruise liner.
My last full day in Hobart started off domestic, doing laundry etc then Yvette and I went for a long walk halfway to the botanical gardens before we saw that a lizard had shed its skin in the road and asked workmen if we went on the right path and basically we weren't. Walked back and went to Battery Point which is a quaint Olde English style street with bright, colourful gardens in bloom and an olde fashioned sweet shop which
Lake Dobson
Part of our alpine walk of the lake sold dutch and english sweets which was convinient for both me and Yvette.
Today I am waiting for my coach to Launceston. I will continue this entry in a weeks time!
Well it is now a week later and I must say I loved Launceston as much as I did Hobart. I had a short uneventful bus journey on the Tassie Link to Launceston and arrived in my new hostel (only opened November 2007), it was all new beds and showers which was luxury to me! The next day I got chatting to a german guy whilst eating my breakfast in the gloriously sunny hostel courtyard. He told me about Cataract Gorge which was a 30 minute walk away. We walked along the river front, over Kings bridge and up into the gorge reserve alongside the Tamar River. We took the Catract walk to the first basin which is a natually formed lake area. The walk was well worth it as we saw magnificent cliffs that reminded me of Western Australia. There was the natural swimming basin alongside a manmade swimming pool with a chairlifr crossing over the gorge and an indiana jones style suspension bridge. We spent
the entire day there sunbathing and going for a dip in both the pools. I enjoyed it so much that I returned the next day with an English guy from my hostel, we got an extra treat when we saw a wild seal swimming along the gorge, such a rare sight that he made the local newspaper! That night Dave and I went to beginner's salsa classes at a local hostel! We may as well as the nightlife was as dead as Hobart and it was the first class, it was fun even though I have no co-ordination!
The following day I went on another day trip, this time to Cradle Mountain. Dave was on my bus so I had an instant buddy. We drove through Sheffield, town of murals and then on to Cradle Mountain National Park. The tour guide gave us the option of a 6km 3 hour walk around Dove Lake or a steep 4 hour hike partly up the mountain. Needless to say I opted for the first choice and Dave joined me. Everyone else went for a hike into the unknown! The walk was a lovely boardwalk around the lake with lots of stop
Land of the Giants
Big, old tree in the Land of the Giants offs to see gorgeous little beaches and climbs up rocks for a better view. As we were allowed 4 hours we stretched out the walk and had a picnic and Dave went for a swim in the ridiculously cold waters, his howls from the cold were hilarious! We went to Weindorfer's replica chalet which was the guy who petitioned for the moutain to be accessible to the public as a national park. That night we went out with Rene, my german first day gorge buddy, his mate from Manchester Mark and a Canadian girl called Leanne. We found one club busier than the rest but everyone dropped out one by one so most of us were back at the hostel around 1am.
My final couple of days approached and all my new friends left on the same day. I hung around the hostel and then went to recharge my phone credit and texted a pal from Sydney and she was just around the corner in a hostel in Launceston....the same place I was in the process of heading to to use the internet. Small, small country. I had a few drinks with her and her pals that evening and
the next day we all went to the Roman Baths for a chill out session in the spa, steam room, hot rooms, hot pools and finally a warm swim. Lovely! The next day I flew back to Sydney which is were I am right now, finishing this massive blog!
Tomorrow I head to Fiji for 10 days so thought it best get one adventure written up and out of the way before I start the next one! I will be without phone signal and limited net access so catch up with everyone when I get back. Keep commenting and I can check them on my return!
p.s I can't believe something this big is an afterthought but New Years in Sydney was AMAZING! The girls and I showed up to grab a spot at 11am and had to queue for an hour just to get into Sydney Botanical Gardens. We were there with another 70,000 people for the entire day waiting for the 9pm and midnight fireworks but it was well worth the wait. My camera wasn't good at picking up the fireworks but my friends are going to give me their fantastic shots, I decided to stop
Lady Barron Falls
A little dried out! playing with the camera and just enjoy the view. WOW! They were some unbelievable fireworks. I have added a couple of pics in after the Tassie shots.
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ole fella
non-member comment
wow
Hi Cathers , Well another brilliant report hope its just as good when Linda and I go for our retirement and your stuck here at home.Hobart and the surroundings look brilliant and now your off to Fiji then back for the grand prix at Melbourne ,i,m so jealous anyway look after yourself and see you in June, Dad and Linda