Thursday 11th June 2015
My tour round Tasmania began early with a 7am pickup and after several other pickups we were on our way to our first stop, New Norfolk which was a food stop. Before long we were at our first 'proper' stop in Mount Field National Park where we visited Horseshoe Falls, a really pleasant waterfall...
...but as we continued through the trees we could hear a huge force of water and glimpsed the top of Russell Falls.
The pathway teased us away from the falls before bending back to the base of the stunningly tall three tiered falls. Taking photographs at the base, we became covered in spray!
Back on the bus we made our next stop at Medowbank Lake for photos...
...and transferred into the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. By lunchtime we had reached Lake St Clair, the deepest lake in Australia at 167m. I managed to get my feet wet walking round the edge and was glad to put dry socks on when we reached the hostel in the evening. While we'd been travelling west I was stunned to find snow along the roadside and enough at the visitor centre for someone to have built a snowman!
Continuing west we tried to walk beside the Franklin and Surprise Rivers but we couldn't complete the circuit because a fallen tree blocked the pathway. Our final stop of the day was Nelson Falls and this was the most impressive waterfall of the day.
Our stopover for the next couple of nights was the west coast town of Strahan (pronounced Strawn) where I shared a room with Cindy and Sonia, friendly girls from Holland and Germany. A barbecue dinner was included and we pumped the heating up to try and warm up!
Friday 12th June 2015
A relative lie in leaving the hostel at 8:15ish and four of us from the tour had booked on to a cruise around Maquarie Harbour, the 2nd biggest Australian harbour after Sydney.
The first point of interest was Hells Gates, so named because this is the narrow entrance that convicts entered through on their way to Sarah Island. The weather was glorious so we were able to leave the harbour and onto the ocean which isn't often possible. This ensured we were able to photograph Hells Gates from the ocean side.
Our next destination was a fish farm where the jumping fish were being fed from a hose. The large circular netting structures made the area look like something from a futuristic sci-fi set.
Now we headed into the Tasmanian Wilderness and our captain retold the facts around its UNESCO world heritage rating as we'd heard from Vicky our tour guide the previous day. Next stop was Sarah Island with a very dramatic guide, Kaiya, who told stories about the island's convict inhabitants, selecting members of the tour group to emphasise the stories. Many of the island's buildings had been made of timber so had rotten away but we're cleverly shown amongst the grass.
As the tour around the island was coming to an end, Kaiya was modelling how a jetty was formed by climbing further and further into the water (in a wetsuit) and ended up flinging herself completely into the freezing water!
Back on board the boat we devoured a buffet lunch on the way to a rainforest walk were we found Huon pines.
Our tour was coming to an end and after a quick stop to see Kelly Falls between the trees Cindy and I enjoyed the views of the river.
On dry land we had a quick talk in a saw mill before rejoining the rest of the group on the bus. Our day was coming to an end so we visited some sand dunes where I got a photo with Selfie Jack...
...and the day ended at Ocean Beach for sunset. At 40km long, this is the longest beach in Tasmania and from here there is no other land mass before South America!
Saturday 13th June 2015
Leaving the hostel at 7am the day started early but today brought the highlight of the tour, Cradle Mountain. As we entered the national park I was the first to spot a wild wombat before we started along a one lane road which was open to two way traffic!
Our morning was filled with a walk around Dove Lake at the base of Cradle Mountain. The clear weather brought breathtaking views, we were certainly lucky! It certainly felt peculiar walking along snow lined paths as we followed the undulating trail. At the beginning of the walk we were even luckier to find a platypus in the water!
After an hour and 40 minutes, Vicky, Cindy and I arrived back at the bus and ate our deserved lunch while we waited for the rest of the group to return.
Next we parked in another car park to go wombat spotting and we found several amongst the snow and grass.
Finally in the national park we stopped to walk around the Enchanted Wood (don't think it's the same as Enid Blyton's!) but before we got there this wombat scuttled across the road!
In the Enchanted Wood we found a couple of shy wallabies.
En route to Launceston we stopped at Sheffield - 'town of murals' - and while the murals created as part of the annual Muralfest we an unexpected delight, the murals were disappointing because many were on boards fixed to the sides of buildings rather than on the brickwork and they were all quite old fashioned.
In Launceston we gorged on Dominoes pizza and grabbed another early night.
We are meant to explore this earth like children do... Unhindered by fear... Propelled by curiosity and a sense of discovery. Allow yourself to see the world through new eyes and know there are amazing adventures here for you.
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