Tasmania

Tasmania is beautiful and wild. It reminds us of the Pacific Northwest but with fewer people and weirder wildlife.

We started our Tassie trip staying at a beach house 40 minutes outside of Hobart. We arrived a little early for check in and so we walked to the beach to check it out. It is impossible to keep our kids out of water when they see it and so I suggested to Asher to take off his shoes and roll up his pants to dip his toes into the water. I turned back to find him running straight into the ocean wearing nothing but his t-shirt. I had him put his underwear back on before taking photos ;) Later on we visited the beach with boogie boards!

We spent the next day at Port Arthur – the site of an old (early 1800’s) reformation prison/camp. Our tour included a harbor cruise – a real highlight for me.

Next we traveled up the eastern coast to a very rustic farmhouse near great beaches. The home was likely built in the mid 1800’s and had some charm and some quirks but it was a very quiet and relaxing base for us for the next 4 days as we soaked up sun and searched for shells – trying out different beaches each day. Although it is prime tourist season we usually had the beaches to ourselves, I’m not sure where everyone was! We also spent a day at Freycinet National Park where we did a 11 km hike: a circuit that took us over a mountain saddle to Wineglass Bay, one of the most photographed and picturesque beaches in the world, then across the peninsula (through swamp with loads of misquitos, “mozzies”) to Hazards Beach and then back along a hilly trail that followed the ocean back to our car. Eric says that this day deserves its own blog post – it was definitely one that we want to remember. The older kids walked the entire way, I carried Maren on my back, and Eric carried all of our food and water. Cadie and Asher had some complaints and tumbles but pulled through and really were rockstars. We ate lunch at Wineglass bay and played in the water there but if I had to do it over again I would head straight for Hazards Beach. Wineglass was more crowded than Hazards beach (most people turn around at Wineglass) and Hazards was just as beautiful with finer sand.
Wineglass bay:

Hazards beach:

Also whilst (trying out some Aussie phrasing here) staying on the east coast we took a penguin night tour in Bicheno, an hour north of where we were staying. It was this windy road trip that Asher choose to get car sick and vomit all over everyone 5 minutes from the destination. Luckily the send-off point for the tour was a surf/beach shop that sold clothing. Unluckily, the clothing was $$$. Asher will now be wearing his million dollar sweatpants everyday until there are only threads keeping it together.

We cleaned up as quickly and best as we could and spent an hour watching little blue penguins come back to their burrows from sea. The tour guide even opened up some of the burrow boxes and we got to see penguin chicks. (Photo courtesy of our tour guide.)

We ended our Tassie trip inland at a cottage northwest of Hobart. We spent one day at a wildlife rehabilitation center where we fed kangaroos, pet a wombat, and watched a Tasmanian devil eat a dead chicken.
Friendly roos:

Devil himself:

The final full day was spent in Mount Field National Park where we did another long (but shorter) hike to 3 waterfalls and through a grove of really tall swamp gum trees. Many of the trees were over 400 years old and are among the tallest hardwood trees in the world. In a meadow area just off the car park we found some pademelon – the smallest of the macropods. Despite their size they could hop quickly and I had a hard time getting a photo.

We were in Tassie for 8 days in the middle of summer but it never got very hot – there was only one day where I felt like it was warm enough for me to put more than toes in the water (Although the kids had no problem getting soaked). In our last cottage we even needed the heaters on at night! The climate is very mild with lots of vineyards, orchards, and fruit farms. We were able to pick cherries, strawberries, nectarines, blackberries, and a raspberry variety (tayberry) at one U-pick farm. It is not a place I could live (too cold) but wow was it beautiful and unspoilt.