Tasmania

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Day 1: We set the alarm to go off at 5.45am this morning so we have enough time to get up and organized and drive to the airport before our 7.30am flight. Things don’t go quite as planned though as neither of us hear the alarm and Greg finally wakes me up at 6.20am, doh! So we have 10 minutes to get ready and check out before having to leave for the airport. We just about manage and then it’s a mad dash to the airport. All I can say is I hope there are no speed cameras on the motorway… We get to the airport at just after 7am and I have a feeling we aren’t going to make it, as the check in usually shuts half an hour before the flight is due to leave. Greg drops me off at the front door so I can try and check us both in. I run in with arms, legs and luggage flapping like a madman to the desk and luckily the guy checks me on no problem at all. I then hand him Greg’s passport to check him on too but he tells me that he can’t check Greg in without him being there. It’s a nail-biting ten minute wait before Greg gets to the terminal and by this time they are already putting out final boarding calls for me so there is no chance he is getting checked on. So in the end we decide I will get the flight as planned and Greg will have to wait to get on to the next flight instead. Only problem is the next flight doesn’t leave until 12pm. I get to Launceston airport at 8.30am and, well, it makes Prestwick airport look like a 5 star resort, which says a lot.

After 6 hours and 20 minutes (not that I’m counting), Greg’s flight finally lands. We head straight to Launceston city centre and straight to the Boag’s Brewery for a behind the scenes beer tour (not that we’re alcoholics or anything) and the all important beer tasting at the end. The beer is so nice and cold, we manage to polish off 4 half pints in the space of ten minutes. Its tempting to just find a pub and continue drinking, but we know we must find our accommodation and get some food supplies for the evening instead. The city centre is easy enough to get around as it’s quite small and the streets are in grids, just like Glasgow. There isn’t really much to see in Launceston, it’s just like any other small town. We manage to find a supermarket and stock up on some food and ask a local how long it will take to walk to the caravan park. They tell us it will take about an hour and is all uphill so we decide to call a taxi instead. We stop off quickly to get some beer and I get I.D’d for the first time in ages- who would have thought I’ll be 28 in a matter of days. It’s another quiet night in for us as the caravan park is too far away to go to a local pub or anything. Greg makes a fantastic curry, which I’m very impressed with indeed. Can’t believe he is actually cooking, and I am actually brave enough to try it haha. We are knackered after such a long day so off to bed for an early start.

Day 2: It is really overcast when we wake and looks like it could rain so we decide not to do the basin chair lift at Cataract Gorge today. Instead we take a wander into town, which takes us about an hour and a half (not the ‘15 minutes’ which is quoted in their brochure). By the time we get there it is pouring with rain and we have to think about what our possible options are, as Launceston town centre doesn’t exactly look like the epicenter of activity and entertainment, and I don’t have a brolly. We decide our best option is to hire a car for one more extra day, then at least we can get out to see some of the countryside., We price a car at Budget and they give us a new black Nissan Micra with broken central heating, which is handy. We head out to Mole Creek Caves, which takes about half an hour to drive too. The tour guide for the caves looks at Greg and I in total amusement, dismay and sheer puzzlement at the choice of our clothing attire. It is about 10 degrees celsius and raining like there’s no tomorrow, yet I am wearing a short-sleeve knee length dress with no tights underneath and only a small cotton cardigan. Greg is wearing three quarter trousers and a t-shirt with a zip up top. Everyone else has trousers, boots, rainproof cagouls, hats, scarfs and gloves. Oops. I am really embarrassed when he turns to us and says “I see you prepared well for the weather” and everyone looks at us like “who are these idiots?” We just look at him proudly and say “Well we’re from Scotland, we’re used to worse than this.” I am freezing already- it’s going to be a fun hour. Inside the caves are pretty amazing, and we even get to see glow worms.

Afterwards we have some lunch in the car then head off to Cradle Mountain. It’s meant to have stunning views and the drive there doesn’t disappoint. Even though it is rainy, we get some good pictures, especially of the fog roaming over the tops of the trees and mountain. The roads are very windy and it takes us nearly 3 hours to get to Cradle Mountain national park. When we get there we find out you actually have to buy a permit just to enter the park, which is a bit of a rip-off. It is 4.30pm by this time and the sun sets at 5pm so we figure there isn’t much point buying a permit when we will only have about half an hour of daylight. So unfortunately we have to turn around and head back the way we came. Its not a total waste though as the drive was still good fun. Greg even spots a wild kangaroo at the side of the road on the way back down. It’s quite cold by the time we get back and we still haven’t fully thawed since the caves earlier. We remember seeing a sign for some roman baths based in the city centre so we phone up to see if they are still open. Luckily they are, so we head down for a well deserved dip in their heated pool and Jacuzzi. It’s bliss and exactly what we needed after such a cold and miserable day. Greg then cooks another lovely meal (seriously what has gotten into this boy?) and I manage to drink a bottle of wine before we collapse into bed for the evening.

Day 3: By a sheer miracle we wake up in the morning and the sun is shining. It was scheduled to rain all weekend so we are really lucky. It means we can go to Cataract Gorge and go on the chairlift without getting soaking wet. It’s only a 5 minute drive away and when we get out of the car it’s really warm and sunny, probably about 20 degrees. The chairlift takes you over the gorge and takes about ten minutes in total. Greg seems unsure a first as it goes quite high and there is only a small bar securing you into the chair, but he soon forgets about it as he is too busy filming on the video cam. We spot some wild kangaroos when we come off the chairlift and we get really close before they scurry off. Then it’s off to Hobart, which takes about 2 and a half hours to drive to. We head through Hobart and down to Port Arthur, which has lots of history and more beautiful scenery. We get to see a few of the natural attractions along the way, including the tasselated pavement, blowhole, Tasman arch and the devils kitchen. Unfortunately the weather isn’t quite as nice as Launceston and it’s pretty drizzly and dreary again. As it’s Anzac day, we find it really difficult to find anywhere that is open for something to eat and drink. Unlike Britain, most places close on public holidays and we aren’t used to that at all. We eventually manage to find a pub that is open and watch the last 10 minutes of an Aussie rules game, which Greg has really gotten into over here. We grab a quick bite to eat at a Chinese restaurant (the only place you can guarantee will still be open on any day of the year) and then head to the airport to catch our flight back to Sydney. It’s easy enough to find and this time we get to the airport with plenty of time to spare! It is absolutely freezing outside by this point, we can see our breath in the air and it’s only about 9 or 10 degrees Celsius. We certainly didn’t ever expect weather like that in Australia. There’s another Aussie rules game on while we wait for our flight, so we watch that then it’s time to go back home and get some sleep. Another awesome and memorable holiday.

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Photos

Tessellated Pavement
These tiles were all created naturally by the sea

Comments

[Beth]

Tasmania
Hello! I just got back from a Tamanian vacation, and I saw the east coast only. I loved to see your pictures and perspective of the other parts of the island that I will hopefully one day visit!