6D4N Tasmania: Mar 2010

Day 1
Well, it was 4 nights instead of 5 as the first day was on air! We took Air Asia to Melbourne and Tiger Airways to Hobart, returning to Melbourne via Virgin Blue as there are more timing options for Virgin Blue.

We didn't want to pay for the RM30 entertainment fees onboard and we had nothing to do. So to kill time, we chatted using the free chat function even though we were sitting next to each other , haha. That's how bored we were.

Sunset as seen onboard.

We reached Melbourne airport at midnight and our next flight to Hobart was at 6.10am the next morning. Most of the shops and restaurants have closed by then. Immigration was smooth. We collected our luggage and proceeded to T3 where Virgin Blue was located. T3 area is large and is carpeted so we took our “nap” at T3 while waiting for the next flight. McDonald was opened throughout the night at T3.

Day 2
The next morning, the flight out to Hobart was smooth and punctual as well. We arrived at Hobart around 7.35am, collected our luggage and exit to look for our coach to town. There are two companies that offer airport transfers. The Airport Shuttle, run by the Redline company charges A$15 one way and they will be there at each arrival of the flight. They are just outside the exit door towards the right. http://www.tasredline.com.au/airport.htm

We booked our airport transfer from another company called “10 Buck Bus”. It’s a family owned business and they charge only A$10 one way. Website: http://www.tenbuckbus.com.au/. You will find them towards the left of the exit. Just walk all the way to the end and they normally park somewhere near the red post box. If unsure, just check with the security officer stationed at the exit door. He will direct you there.

The journey to the city center was fairly short, about 15 – 20 minutes away. The driver dropped us at the corner of the street from our hostel. It was just a short walk away. We stayed at Hobart Central City Backpacker. Refer to the reviews on hostel for more information on this place.

We left our luggage at the hostel as we arrived way before the check-in time. Our first visit was to the Salamanca Place and the Waterfront. Well, the Salamanca Market was nothing fascinating to us even though it was very popular. Maybe we went with too high expectations after reading so much about it. It is just another of those morning market cum flea market. They sell vegetables, plants, clothes, toys and some home made bags. They also have some stalls selling burgers or hotdogs. We had a brief walk but could not find anything interesting there.

We left soon after and walked to the waterfront nearby. It was quiet and nothing much to see. There are quite a few cruise companies there that offer various types of short cruises but we didn’t want to try any as we have a noon tour to Mt. Wellington.

We headed back to the town centre, had a short walk around and stopped by a café near our hostel for some hot chocolate and pastry. The weather was gloomy and cloudy in Hobart and we were also tired as we did not have a good rest the night before. We decided to go back to the hostel after that for a short rest before we go for our next cycling adventure at Mt. Wellington. Since we were not allowed to check in, we took our nap at the sofa at the hostel lounge. There were some others who were there watching TV but we didn’t care. We just want our sleep. We had a good rest though and were more refreshed after that.

We waited for our Mt. Wellington guide from Under Down Under to pick us up for our noon tour. We were asked to wait outside St. David’s cathedral for the pick-up and it is just a few steps away from the hostel. There were 8 of us in total, including the two guides. There was a couple from Melbourne and another two friends from Sydney. We drove up to the peak of Mt. Wellington, were given 15 minutes to look around and take pictures before they started briefing us on the bicycles and the route. I wish they have given us more time to look around and take pictures as it was really very beautiful up there and there are many scenic look outs on the way. We didn’t have time to explore all and merely had a few quick poses and snaps here and there.

These are the bicycles that we used.

The bicycle ride down the mountain was thrilling to me. That was my first mountain biking experience and I have not cycled for ages. The bike was going down very fast and the road was bumpy and at times curvy. We have to look out for cars as well as the road down was narrow and also we didn’t want to skid and fall off the cliff. I braked all the way and it was so painful on my palms especially my right palm. One guide was leading us in the front while the other guide drove the van and followed us from behind in case of emergencies. I was always the slowest and have to catch up with the rest every time. The guide made a few stops on the way down (probably waiting for me to catch up!) and that’s where I took the opportunity to rub the pains off my palms before I continuedagain. The other bikers were like professionals! I gave up after 12 km as I couldn’t stand the pain on my palms anymore and because of the pain, I couldn’t control the bike properly. The rest continued on through the woods while sis and I hopped onto the van. Poor sis, I know that she wanted to go on but she rather keeps me company then. Sorry sis, I spoilt your fun. The trail through the woods would be even more challenging with its rocky path. The guide told me later on that I should just let go as it would be more difficult to cycle down with the brakes. I thought to myself, yeah right! I would go all the way down the cliff! I find it a little difficult to maneuver the bike around the curves especially at 90 degrees or 120 degrees bend so I had to go really slow.

Anyway we reached the bottom of the mountain and we had a short tea break at the garden before we continued on to the waterfront where we ended the tour at about 4.45pm. It was a good and fun experience for me. Would I go again? Yes, I would say, BUT on a more relaxing ride where I can go at a slow speed and stop as many times as I want to enjoy the views along the way down, not busy catching up with the rest and no chance to even look at the scenery.

Can you see the tower at the mountain or the mountain behind me? That's how far we have cycled. Under Down Under is one of the popular tour companies in Tasmania. The other one is Bottom Bits Bus.

We walked back to the hostel from the waterfront, checked in (finally) and took a nice hot bath. It was about 6.20pm when we left the hostel for dinner. We were shocked! The street was so empty, quiet and deserted. Even the restaurants were closed. Oh my, what are we gonna eat? No shopping for us? Geez …. There was one Chinese dumpling restaurant just two doors away and it is still opened. There were no customers inside so we decided to walk around a little to see if we can find any other restaurants around. Most of the restaurants that are still opened are the Asian restaurants selling Chinese food, Japanese food or Indian food. We decided to go into an Chinese restaurant and ordered a bowl of won ton noodle and fishball noodle each. It costs A$9.50 each bowl. The serving was quite big. As there was nothing much to do, we head back to the hostel after dinner to have an early rest for our day trip tomorrow.

Day 3
We were excited! We are going for a day tour to Frecinet National Park today to visit some of the most beautiful bays and lakes in Hobart. We waited outside our hostel for the guide from Bottom Bits Bus tour to pick us up and they came punctually at 7.30am. It was a lady guide and she is very knowledgeable. We had one round of introduction before we head of. There was a couple from Sydney, a mother and daughter from Melbourne, a lady from Ireland, a guy from Brazil and us. We stopped by a bakery to buy our coffee/breakfast and lunch as there will be no restaurants at the National Park. On the way there, we stopped by a Spiky Bridge. Don’t ask me what’s the history about as I was more keen to snap pictures and hop off the van before she finished her first sentence. That’s why I had the history/story board taken here for you to read yourself.

Next everyone dozed off and was awaken again to see a herd of sheep crossing the road. After that it’s sleeping time again … until our guide woke us up when we reached the park. It was drizzling in the morning when we reached but shortly after the rain stopped. We were lucky, the cloudy day was slowly changing to a cool sunny day and towards the afternoon, the weather was fantastic and the colours of the sky and bays were beginning to turn bluish.

Our first stop was at Coles Bay. We had to walk and climb a little to reach the place. It was just so-so. The sky was still cloudy and the colour of the bay was pale. I think it was due to the weather.

Then we proceeded to Wineglass Bay. It was beautiful but again it was not as colourful as what we saw on the websites. The colour of the bay was pale blue and the sky was still cloudy. It was a beautiful place though, if only the weather is better.

On the way down from Wineglass Bay, we saw that the bluish colour of the sky and bay was slowly emerging. It was about noon that time and the weather was getting sunny. We also passed by this tree and the guide told us that the zigzag marks on the tree was left by a beetle.

Next we head to Honeymoon Bay. All these places require some walking and light climbing. It was beautiful. By this time, the sun was out but it wasn’t hot. The cold wind was blowing. Fantastic weather! Colours were beginning to show as well. The blue sky emerged and the sea was bluish and greenish. We had our sandwich lunch here, sitting at the beach, watching the birds and admiring the beauty of the sky and beach under the sunny weather and cool wind. How romantic if only ….…..

After lunch we left for Cape Tournville. Again, this is a lovely place. You can see it for yourself. I supposed the weather and the colours of the sky and bays beautify the place a lot.

We continued next to Sleepy Bay. On the way our guide plucked a leave and asked us to smell. It smelt like durian to me but none of them know what is durian. I tried to explain to them what fruit durian is but I guess you know from their expressions whether I succeeded or failed in my explanations :-)

Finally reached Sleepy Bay, our final stop for the day. Wow! Amazing! Heaven! What else can I say? We spent the most time here and I would love to spend longer here if I can. Even the holes in the rock fascinate my sis. She instantly became a kid again and has to be helped by our guide to climb into the hole.

On the way downhill from Honeymoon Bay, this was what we saw. We could not resist the bluish lake and stopped by to take some quick shots. We have to run after the others later.

We stopped by at Kate's Berry Farm on our way back to Hobart. We had some hot chocolates there. We were told that their ice-cream was nice but in that cold weather you wanted us to try the ice-cream? No no....

We reached Hobart that day around 7pm and we had Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner before we rested for the night. What a fruitful day. It’s time to pack up and say good-bye to Hobart the next day.

Day 4
We booked our Redline coach ticket to Launceston online for the 10.00am departure so we have some time in the morning for a proper breakfast before we leave Hobart. The Redline bus depot is a 15 minutes walk from our hostel and the distance from Hobart to Launceston is about 2.5 hours.

The journey from Hobart to Launceston was quite scenic and I was enjoying it throughout. We arrived at Launceston around 12.30pm, collected our luggage from the bus and walked to our hostel. We stayed at Launceston backpackers. There aren’t many hostels in Launceston and this is the more popular one. You can actually request the driver to drop you off one block away from the hostel but you need to notify him earlier and have your luggage with you as there is no proper drop off place at the road side. Anyway we didn’t and we walked about 20 minutes to the hostel from the Launceston transit center. As you come out from the transit center, walk towards the right, cross the road and go straight. You would have to pass a few cross roads before you come to the junction where the Canning Street is. The hostel is on your right, opposite the park. Read the hostel reviews in the hostel section if you are keen to know more.

After the check-in, we went for a walk in town center. We stopped by a café. Time for coffee for sis and a juice for me. This drink is called spider lime. We asked the guy to explain what it is and it is actually our lime float here, haha.

After a few walks we decided to head to Cataract Gorge. My!! It was such a loooong walk. Everyone told us that it is about 15 – 20 minutes walk but the 15 – 20 minutes never end!!! Every time we stopped to ask a pedestrian, it’s always 15 – 20 minutes. In the end I think it was about an hour’s walk from the town center. Not only that, it was a tough walk too as it was uphill all the way. Well, good exercise for us though.

Cataract Gorge is a nice place. It’s beautiful and quiet. We didn’t manage to cover the whole place in 1.5 hours. If you wish to cover some of the hiking/walking trails there, I suppose you would need about 3 hours in all to be able to enjoy the views and have a nice slow walk.

Day 5
This morning is our day tour to Cradle Mountain with Under Down Under Tour. Our guide is Ian and as usual our group consisted of people from all over the world. We stopped at a bakery first to pack our breakfast and as the tour price is inclusive of lunch, our guide purchased our sandwich lunch there as well.

Our guide thought it would be interesting to show us the town of Railton, which is known for its topiaries so he drove us through that small town. We saw topiaries everywhere in that town. Interesting! Now I know where the topiaries at Farmville came from. Must be from Railton!

Next we had a half hour stop at Sheffield. This is a town of Murals. The town itself is very laid back and quiet but the walls on many shops and places are painted with Murals. Here’s what I meant, to give you a glimpse of it:

We also had a brief stop at Weindorfer's place and forest. Weindorfer is the one that found Cradle Mountain. That's Weindorfer's house, of course he's no longer alive today.

Next to it is Weindorfer's forest. It takes about 10 minutes to complete the trail without stopping. Walking through the forest makes me feel like in Lord of the Rings.

Then we continued to our Cradle Mountain from there. Our guide was an interesting person. He will stop when he thinks there is something interesting for us to see. It was a little sunny then and we came across this place which is out of nowhere. He said we may be able to spot a wombat as the sun is out so he stopped us and asked us to go look for a wombat. So here we go, walking in one line hoping to see the wombat but the weather suddenly changed and the wind was blowing with some slight drizzle. We headed back to the van, disappointed. But for me, I guess it was not wasted at all as I managed to capture a beautiful shot of the place.

All right, we are seriously heading to Cradle Mountain this time. No more stopping. We reached the entrance park a short while later and the weather was real bad. It was drizzling and the sky was gloomy with dark clouds. While Ian went into the office to get our park permits, some of us went into the souvenir shop. Sis and I decided to buy a rain jacket each at A$20, size 10. Ah hem, that was kid’s size, haha … thank God for our small built because we get to buy kid’s sizes at kid’s price!

The road leading into the mountain was very narrow and can only take one car. Every driver has a walkie-talkie and they notify each other of their locations. If they know another van/bus is coming, they will park at the side to give way for the oncoming van/bus. We took the Dove Lake hiking trail which is one big circuit around the lake at Cradle Mountain. It takes about 2.5 hours to complete the trail. Well, it was rather disappointing to follow a group of people who appeared to want to reach the finishing line as fast as they could. All they did was just walk and walk and walk. We didn’t see them taking pictures or stop to take a breather and admire the views. Sis and I was like practically chasing after them all the time as we stopped at many locations to take pictures and to enjoy the views. The weather there was always changing too and we were glad that we had our rain jacket and a few layers of clothes. It can be sunny for 5 minutes and then the cold wind will start blowing and drizzle starts. This hot, cold and wet cycle went on throughout our hike there.

Cradle Mountain was beautiful and it was rather disappointing that we only have time to complete one trail out of the many scenic hiking trails available. I suppose I will be making a trip there again one day to complete the other trails. That day we reached Launceston and back at the hostel about 5.45pm. We had dominos for dinner and also went shopping for some chocolates at Coles supermarket that is nearby our hostel. That wraps up our trip.

Day 6
We reserved for our airport transfer the day we arrived at Launceston. Our flight to Melbourne was at 9.10am and the airport shuttle from Under Down Under came to pick us punctually at 7.25am. We reached Launceston airport in 10 minutes time, had a smooth check in and arrived at Melbourne exactly 3 hours before our next flight out.

Thank you Tasmania, for showing us the beauty of God’s creations. See you again!