4 replies to this topic

[ayatollah]

Further to my topic below. (Discover Tasmania TV series) I have decided to start planning my trip next year to Tassie. I will be booking flights within the next couple of weeks which will be as follows:
Belfast > London > Perth > Melbourne > Hobart > Sydney > Perth > London > Belfast

Overall I expect to have around 2½ weeks in Tassie, next March, which I want to squeeze as much as possible in. I will be based in Hobart but will be willing to have a few nights elsewhere. I will be in Hobart for the Fleadh Ceol, based in the New Sydney Hotel and date to be decided, and St Patricks day. (17th March)But will be out and about most of the rest of the time. I would expect to only see some of the east coast in the short time I'm over.

Things I will be doing:
Port Arthur (Anything else to do on the Tasman peninsula? I know about Doo Town, Tesselated Pavements and the Blowhole.)
Bonorong Wildlife Park (For the other half's animal meeting needs!)
Maria Island (Couple of nights of bliss. I love the place.)

Things I want to do:
Freycinet Peninsula (Wineglass Bay, etc)
Lake St Clair National Park (Cradle Mountain et al)

The things I want to do may not be feasible time wise but I would like a more educated opinion on this! Also what should I see south of Hobart?

I know that there are plenty of threads about what to do in Tassie but I find it overwhelming trying to look through them and work out my schedule on my own. So, I am asking what would you guys do to show the better half the best sights around Tassie when trying to show off the place in a limited time frame?

Any help appreciated!

[Shane V]

hi ayatollah.

I think there are boat rides down the Tasman Peninsula, taking you past some of the most beautiful cliffs I have ever seen. Do you scuba dive? There is some really cool spots to dive there.

Lake St Clair is between 3-4 hours drive from Hobart but definitely worth seeing. The short walks show off some really nice country and you may see some furry friends along the way.
Cradle mountain is about 6 hours drive from Hobart, and again worth the drive. The scenery on the way is absolutely gorgeous and when you get there the walks are great too. You'll be a little early for the Fagus, our only deciduous tree though.

South of Hobart I know about Cockle Creek. Lots of history there and a few walks as well. Hopefully others can help fill you in on what else is down that way. There is also the Huon Valley, not really south, but very beautiful spot.

To be honest the best way to see Tassie, this is what I think anyway, is to just drive around and when you see something you would like to take a closer look at, then stop and look.

Hope this helps and if I think of anything else I put it here

[ayatollah]

Just thought I'd pop on and give an update of how my trip went in March past. I managed to get 2 weeks in Tassie and only 1 week of travelling about!

My first week was taken up with the festivities at the Fleadh Ceol, it was an extremely drunken week! So after recovering I only had a week to get about.

Day 1, we decided to do the Peppermint Bay cruise. It was gorgeous and we got to see quite a few dolphins and seals. The meal, while not looking superb, was lovely.

Day 2, we drove up to Freycinet. It was a beautiful day and we did a couple of walks. We got to the Wineglass Bay lookout, but my wife took a cramp in her leg and could only face going back rather than down to the beach. We drove back to Triabunna to try and find a bed for the night. We were heading to Maria Island the next day. We found the last spot anywhere nearby, getting a caravan in the caravan park.

Day 3, we arrived in Maria and decided that we will do 2 walks. The Painted Cliffs and the Fossil Cliffs circuit. Absolutely beautiful, just as I remembered it! Bad thing was that we were supposed to stay overnight but the people that deal with the penitentiary bookings never got back to me. Best part was when, right at the end of our walking, we had seen nearly all the animals we could see, except for one exception, the wombat. My wife was giving off about this fact when we were walking round the back of Darlington and if my wife had taken one more step, she would have booted a wombat in the backside! Not only that but there was the cutest baby wombat with it! My wife was overjoyed! On the ferry back we got talking to a French backpacker girl who couldn't get back to Hobart for a couple of days, such was the bus service so we gave her a lift.

Day 4, we decided to take a lazy day and just go down town and do a bit of shopping. I picked up an Aussie cricket top, and thats about as exciting as that story gets!

Day 5, we picked up our French friend and went down to Port Arthur. We saw all the sights on the way down and dropped our friend off at a backpackers in Eaglehawk neck, she was heading off to somewhere else which I can't remember. We landed in to the cabin park down at Port Arthur and took ourselves off to a pub for dinner. Afterwards, we had booked into the Ghost Tour, so we headed down to the historical site. The Ghost Tour was good fun, watching all the scared ones is entertainment! This was only added to when my wife nearly fainted in one of the rooms of the Parsonage when the guide was telling a story. She scared the living daylights out of everyone, including the guide! After all the excitement we headed back to to the cabin.

Day 6, we went to the Tassie Devil park at Taranna, the feeding of the Devils and the bird show were good spectacles! We then headed down to the historical site again. We decided not to go on a guided tour as there was far too many people on it and we rather fancied exploring ourselves. We saw most of the buildings that we could and we couldn't have asked for a better day for it. We spent a good few hours just leisurely walking about and headed back for Hobart.

Day 7, we took ourselves off to Richmond. Beautiful little village, and the convict trail was very interesting. Sun was shining making everything look so green and lush. Picked up some stuff in the lolly shop before heading to Bonorong. Bonorong had a much wider variety of animals than the Devil park at Taranna but once again we missed the wombat, the feeding had just finished as we arrived and we couldn't find any that would come out to see us. But my wife loved getting to pat a koala. We were leaving again when I decided to ask if they could entice any wombats out before we left. They brought us round to a hidden wee bit where they were keeping a baby that they had found on the side of the road in its mothers pouch. It had been hand reared. It was adorable and my wife fell in love. My 14 year old sister tried to convince my wife to put "Mavis" down her jumper and walk out! Luckily she didn't, but she now thinks that a wombat would be the perfect house pet!

We went back to Hobart to do the last thing we had planned before we left, drive up Mount Wellie. My wife is the driver but she is also petrified of heights and some of the stretches of road literally had her right on the edge! But once we got up it was well worth it! Stunning views and, although there were clouds, we could see for miles upon miles. Hobart city looks so expansive from so high up and it really makes you realise how small you really are!

Anyway, that is what I got up to in my (2) week(s) in Tassie. It was exhausting but a fantastic time!

[Shane V]

It sounds like you had a great trip. Thanks for sharing ayatollah Much appreciated

[Mystic]

Definitely sounds like a great trip was had. Thanks for sharing it in so much detail. I have an American friend who has only seen photo's of wombats, and after sending her a photo of a baby wombat, she too wants one badly and thinks they are the cutest creatures on Earth.