This is a long overdue post of my trip to Tasmania which happened in April this year. This itinerary leaves so much more to do on a second trip, but as a first timer with limited time, we tried to see as much of this island’s natural beauty as possible.

Tasmania is an island off the south coast of Australia, separated from the mainland by Bass Strait, and is the smallest state in the country. It is among the most mountainous regions in the world and also enjoys one of the cleanest air and purest water in the planet.

We flew from Melbourne and were greeted with awe-inspiring sceneries even before landing at Hobart International Airport. I felt like I was transported to an entirely different world and for a moment my heart stopped while I watch in awe its beauty from my window seat. It made me realise how wonderful God’s creation really is.

Day 1

While most people would spend at least a week in Tasmania (which it so rightly deserves), we unfortunately have only four full days to spare. On the first day, we explored the city and went shopping (after realising we didn’t bring enough clothes appropriate for the cold autumn weather).

If you love the crowd, the days surrounding Easter may not be the best time to come as the town is nearly empty. When we arrive at Franklin Square, I couldn’t believe we were right at the supposedly busiest district, so I had to confirm. To my disbelief, a local said, you are already at the city centre! I promise I could count with my one hand the number of people I see at a time. Later on I was told, Tasmanians usually go to Sydney or Melbourne during holidays.

Speaking of holidays, many of the museums were closed during this time and buses only have services to certain locations, so our options in the city are fairly limited – to the shopping centres I guess.

Day 2

Mount Wellington is a short drive from Hobart’s centre. The drive going up is challenging with the narrow and curvy roads but generally safe (if you know how to drive in this kind of road). Luckily, we were not driving haha, as most tourists in Tasmania do. We called an Uber, which apparently was just launched in Tasmania a few months earlier. If you are going here without a car, you should ask the driver to wait for you because there are no cabs to take you back to the centre from here.

There are several activities and walking trails to take along the way but we headed straight to the summit. The best views must be there! Word of caution though, the weather changes very fast from up here, so better take this into consideration when planning your attire especially if visiting during the cold seasons.

The view from here is spectacular, and not to be missed.

Day 3

We were off to Bruny Island early the following day for a wilderness cruise with Pennicott Wilderness Journeys! The meet up point for the tour is at Kettering which is 45 minutes from Hobart centre. The island is separated from Tasmania and is a short, 15-minute, ferry ride from Kettering.

The island is further divided into North and South regions which are connected by a strip of land called The Neck. There’s a short climb up wooden steps to get this view.

We then headed to Adventure Bay where our speedboat is waiting for us. The next three hours will be spent exploring the stunning coastline of the Tasman Peninsula.

Time to hit the high seas!

Further to the southernmost point of the Tasman peninsula, the waves became bigger and rougher. We were told we were sailing right at the South Sea! How cool is that! And then we got to see this amazing coastal (albeit smelly) creatures.

Bruny Island is also famous for it’s specialty food and wine. You can sample and take home locally produced oysters, cheese, and even chocolates!

Day 4

We reserved the last day for a day trip to Wineglass Bay and Freycinet National Park with Experience Oz. It’s a 2.5 hour ride from Hobart which passes through the beautiful towns of Orford and Swansea. We also made a few stops to check local highlights like the Spiky Bridge en route to the National Park.

The hike to the Wineglass Bay lookout will take around an hour and a half at most. It should be a relatively mild hike on a 1.3km track, but it is still advisable to be prepared physically as the track can get steep real quick.

The view from the lookout is indeed spectacular. I wonder if I have seen anything so beautiful.

We were then given an option to either continue the trail down to the beach or return on the same path and explore Honeymoon Bay, Sleep Bay, and Cape Tourville. Everyone in the group chose the latter.

We were back at our hotel in Hobart at 7pm. Just enough time to prepare for our 11pm flight back to Melbourne. The time we spent here have been really short and as we soak in its beauty, we yearn to see so much more. I planned to return and hopefully drive further to Launceston and explore more of the countryside on the next trip.

 

xoxo