My Favorite Island: Tasmania
As my backpacking through the south Pacific ocean was coming to a close, I got on one of my last flights to the best state in Australia (in my opinion), Tasmania. Now, normally I am not one to pick favorites when it comes to places, but damn, Tasmania has my heart. I was going to be there for four nights and four days, so I rented a car upon arrival and headed to a new friend’s house for advice.
My plane flew into Hobart, which is on the southeast coast of Tasmania. After landing, I got my rental car, that looked kind of like a hearse, and I drove through downtown Hobart. I had a little bit of time to kill before I could go meet my new friends, so I went inland to a nearby park in the mountains. I was greeted by a group of chickens, and I walked around a bit to check it out. Eventually, I headed south of Hobart to where I had a “local connection.” My new friend, Dan, and his lady were nice enough to make dinner that evening, as well as host me for the first and last nights of my trip. I was also lucky enough to have to experts on Tasmania to help me plan my short road trip.
That night, they brought me out onto their balcony too see all of the wild animals that would come to their garden each night. I saw pademelons and possums trying to get through their fences to steal their vegetables. It was pretty cool. The next morning I left with my backpack, the route they planned for me, and a few book recommendations.
My first stop was the south side of Cradle Mountain/Lake St. Clair National Park. Upon entering the park, I got a map, and decided to do a short hike (or “walk” as they call it in Australia). The trail I followed was the Frankland Beaches Walk that went to Pump House point. It was refreshing to walk through a new type of forest and listen to the water. The trail consisted of walks on the beaches, boardwalks through swamp areas, and some areas to climb onto some rocks.
I like that boulder. That was a nice boulder.
The walk was a great introduction into Tasmania, and I saw lots of cool plants and lichens. After I finished my walk, I went back towards the visitor center.
Based on looking at my map/brochure, I was also newly aware that there are platypuses in Lake St. Clair, so I decided to sit on the dock by the visitor center, on the hunt for a platypus. I sat there for at least an hour and a half, just hanging out and looking for a platypus.
Platypus hunting…
Sitting at the coolest kinds of tide pools.
I love a good cascade.
Unfortunately, seeing a platypus was not in the cards for me, but I did see a lot of jumping fish. Once I finished staring at the lake, I got back into my car and drove on. My next roadside attraction was Nelson Falls. It was right along the route I was driving, so I decided to do the short walk to go see it. It was mostly a boardwalk, if I remember correctly, so wheelchair accessible as well!
The waterfall itself was quite rocky, but it was surrounded with greenery. I could feel the cool air coming off of the water.
For the rest of the day, I drove through the center of the island. I was surrounded by mountains, ferns, trees, and probably a ton of wildlife. There were so few cars on the road that I felt like I was the only person there.
On this last stretch going towards Queenstown, I drove across Lake Burbury, which was so beautiful that I was brought to tears. I am not really sure why, but I cried and wrote down the coordinates because of how it made me feel.
Once I got to the top of the Queenstown valley, I took a quick picture of my rental car with the “Queenstown” sign. I didn’t believe Dan when he said that this town was strange, but I definitely believed him once I got there.
That night I ate dinner at a local restaurant, and went in for the night at a motel. The next day, I woke up, packed my backpack, and ate breakfast at the train station in town. I also bought a bunch of postcards while I was there. From there, I started driving north. I was headed toward the north end of Cradle Mountain/Lake St. Clair National Park, and after a couple hours, I was there.
When I got there, I did the Dove Lake walk. It started at the north end, with a great view of Cradle Mountain. I took a little break to wade in the lake, and then I kept on walking through the trees by the water.
This trail also went through Ballroom Forest, which was a really interesting section of the forest that was very covered in moss. Overall, this trail was amazing, and the ecosystem was different than any other that I had seen.
Cradle Mountain in the background of my dip in Dove Lake.
Checkin’ out the King Billy Pine.
After this walk, I did the Enchanted Walk, which meandered through a very cool and mossy forest by the river. I really enjoyed it, and it was very easy. It was more of an observatory stroll than anything else.
The last walk I did was the Weindorfers Forest Walk. It was another short walk, but I got to walk through a very old forest of King Billy Pines. I really enjoyed that walk, and there was not one other person on that trail.
After that walk, I headed out of the park, but not before I saw a bunch of wombats just milling about. They seemed to have no awareness of what was going on around them, and they were just walking through the streets. I eventually ate dinner and made it to my accommodation.
The next morning, I woke up, and I made a pit stop at the gift shop. Then, I began my drive back towards Hobart. I stopped once for food, and I eventually made it back to Hobart. Per Dan’s recommendations, I went to Wellington Park before going to their house. Driving up, the road was twisting and turning, and eventually, I got above the clouds. The lookout area was a large rock quarry, and it was very windy. I was so high up looking down over the different islands that lie off of the east coast. This was overall a great way to close my trip in Tasmania.
Standing over Hobart!
After taking in the views, I headed back to Dan’s place where I brought them beer as a thank you, and we ate dinner. I got to look at the animals in their garden one last time before leaving for my flight at 4:00am the next morning.
The rock quarry from heaven…
This trip was one of the best trips I have ever taken, and I am very happy I did it alone. It was a great way to be able to take things in at my own pace. I cannot recommend going to visit Tasmania enough. Even though I doubt they will ever read this, I want to say a big thank you to Dan and Pete for making me feel welcome and for helping me have an amazing trip despite having never met me before.
As always, let me know if you have any questions about my trip or about Tasmania in general! I will try to answer to the best of my ability. Hug a tree, and see ya next time.
