Podium Finishes Tasmania

Well here we are back in Australia! Since we have now left Tasmania for the last time on this trip, I have gathered my thoughts to give you my 3 best cities/towns, attractions/experiences and caravan parks/camping sites and some honourable mentions.

What I can say about Tassie is that our luck continued to hold in regards to good weather. We visited the north, west and south coasts with no rain bar one day in Hobart. Even notoriously inhospitable places such as the west coast wilderness and Port Arthur delivered us postcard perfect weather conditions. Only in the last week did we get some rain while on the east coast , Launceston and Beaconsfield which we had to work around. But we did this.

However Tassie in January was cold. Poor old Fiona from Queensland suffered (or complained) a bit. However, I silently and considerately battled through the cold with no grumbling, in fact with aplomb as I am no stranger to hardship. Also in that last week it was very windy, something again we have experienced for the whole three months. The weather in that last week was very very changeable. Every 10 minutes you would move from rain to sunshine, wind to calm. While we packed for summer for a Nov/Dec/Jan adventure, we have been caught out by the cold which has been consistent. Fiona is correct in complaining that we have missed the entire summer. The bushfires in SA and Vic happened after we had left.

Anyway, my podium finishes

Cities/Towns

1.      1 . Hobart – I cannot go past Hobart. Perhaps I am inclined to favour the big cities coming from Sydney.  There is nothing like arriving in a city and wandering the heart of it to discover its character. The Derwent was impressive, Wrestpoint Casino, Constitution Dock, Salamanka, Battery Point were nice and Mt Wellington though crowded, offered fantastic views of the city. Hard to beat, considering the competition.

2.    2   Launceston – though Launceston did not get many wraps from our fellow travellers, I have placed it second. For me it was a decent sized city that made it interesting for me. We also visited it on a glorious day. The big pluses for me were Cataract Gorge that connected to the city. It was a lovely. Plenty of joggers, swimmers and cyclists down there. Very scenic and close to the city. Also I like the road network around the city. After travelling along single lane roads, a dual highway network was refreshing. Finally, Launceston was centrally and conveniently located for easy travel to anywhere in the state.

3.      3  Ross – this was a small historic town between Hobart and Launceston on the Midland Highway. It was beautifully tree lined, very quaint and had interesting antique shops. Also the bakery there was magical. The scallop pies were delicious and the home made wagon wheel biscuits looked to die for. This gives Ross a podium finish.

Honourable mentions go to Penguin and Wynyard on the north coast, Strahan on the west coast and St Helens was a pretty seaside town on the east coast.

Attractions/Experiences

1.      1  Cradle Mountain – Very impressive, Marions Lookout, Dove Lake and the Enchanted Walk were standouts. The weather was great for us, the mountain and lakes were in full view, there was plenty of wildlife and plant life and it was organised very efficiently. The trails were diverse and well maintained.  A must for bush walkers.

2.   2    Cataract Gorge – Very scenic, beautiful gorge, lovely landscapes, chairlifts, beautiful walks and flowers, perfect for those wanting to exercise,  spitting distance from the city and we visited on a magical afternoon.

3.    3   Port Arthur – just pipped the Stanley Nut and Mt Wellington Hobart. I was surprised. I was expecting a gloomy, spooky wilderness but instead Port Arthur settlement was set on several acres of beautifully manicured lawns. Again we had magical weather. It was very well organised, loads of information about life there for the convicts, soldiers and free settlers. There was a variety of talking and boating tours and plays. Very nice.

Honourable mentions go to the Stanley Nut and Mt Wellington Hobart which offer up fantastic view of the north west and Hobart respectively. Also the Gordon River cruise is worth a mention. The actors who tell the history of Sarah Island do an entertaining job.

Caravan Parks/Camp Sites

1.       Berridale Caravan Park on the northern suburbs of Hobart. Great location, had everything we needed, by  the water and was the only park that had ensuites to their showers.

2.       Rocky Cape – this was a camp site at the back of a pub! But it was great. It had all the basic necessities, wide open grounds for a cricket game, handy location to the Stanley Nut and nice neighbours.

3.       Cradle Mountain  Big 4 Caravan Park – great location right next to Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre, nicely sheltered sites, the camp kitchen had a couple of big fireplaces going (in January).

Final thoughts on Tassie, nice but cold and windy. Weather does not seem to be its strong suit. Some say that Tassie is like South Island New Zealand. For me, I think NZ betters Tassie pretty significantly. I also preferred Victoria and South Australia to Tassie. Though Tassie was nice and interesting, the weather in that last week and the cold in January I will remember.