Over the Christmas / New Years period of 2019, we along with some good friends headed to Tasmania for a month to explore as much as we could in the time we had. Tasmania has so much to see and do for such a small place that you could easily spend 3 months there and not see everything, so we packed in as much as we could in the month.
To get to Tasmania we decided to take the day sailing on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry as it was cheaper than the night sail. The trip takes about 12 hours and having 2 young kids we chose to get a cabin anyway so we could have a rest and the kids could have a sleep when needed. Now I usually do not get seasick but as the ship travels north, south and the currents run west to east it always has a small roll throughout the trip which did make me and the wife feel a bit unwell. (thank god for the cabin to lay down). Flying would have been quicker but we were taking the 4wd and camper so boat is the only way to go.
Taking a car and trailer to Tassie is fairly expensive and if only going for a week or so may be to much for a lot of people but when there for a month and with more than half of our nights in free camps along with having our own 4wd to explore was well worth it to us. Vehicles are subsidised on the ferry but trailers are not so as a result it costs less to take 2 cars than 1 car and a camper trailer.
On arrival we and after being inspected to make sure we did not bring in any prohibited fruits or vegetables, we made the short drive to Latrobe Mersey river caravan park for the night where we met up with our friends who had arrived 2 weeks earlier.
The next morning we all headed off together for Liffey falls where we stayed for 2 nights. What a beautiful campsite. Free and right beside the small river. here we played, explored the river and did the 6km walk up to Liffey falls which is quite a challenge when you’re unfit and carrying a 12 month old on your back.
Leaving Liffey Falls we headed to Launceston for some grocery shopping. We also had to get a new Jack Pack (Jack is our youngest and the pack he sits in we call the Jack pack) as the old one broke on the way back from Liffey falls. Good quality backpacks like these are not cheap but a great investment if you have very young kids and want to still get out hiking. We settled on the MacPac one and have been very happy with it.
While in Launceston we stopped at Cataract gorge for lunch and so the kids could have a play. We also took the chairlift across the gorge which my older son really enjoyed.
After lunch and a play we departed Launceston for Scottsdale which was a very picturesque drive with a great lookout on top of the range. There is a free camp just on the eastern side of town which has toilets and coin operated showers and is a nice little spot but you do get a bit of noise from the main road.
We stayed here for 3 nights and did a couple of day trips out and back. The first one was to Ben lomond NP and of course we took the back way there through the forests. The highlight of the drive has to be Jacobs ladder. This is a section of the dirt road up to Ben Lomond NP ski area that zig zags back and forward up the rock face to the top of the plateau. It is an easy drive with the road in good condition but for those afraid of heights it could be very scary.
The view from the top is spectacular from the rock formations to looking over the lower hills to the north. We had lunch and explored the ski area but being Chrismas time there was no snow around, only a few wallabies, before heading back down and back to our campsite. I imagine it would be a much trickier drive in winter with snow on the roads.
On the way back we came across a wombat that had recently been hit and unfortunately killed by a car. We stopped to check her, and found she had a live baby in her pouch. I carefully cut the pouch to get the baby out and we took it back to camp with us before contacting the Local Wildlife rescue group. The kids named her Coco and the last time we heard about her she was healthy and doing well in care.
I used to be a Wildlife Carer, which gave me the experience to know where and how to cut to get the baby out safely. I would recommend, if you’re not sure what to do, call the Local Wildlife Rescue.
The next day we headed to Pyengana cheese factory and had some tastings and of course bought way to much cheese (as we tend to do) before travelling further down the road to St Columbia falls for some lunch and a walk down to the falls. Its a short 400m walk through the ferns to the falls to a rocky narrow waterfall and a narrow creek.
On the way back to camp we headed through the St Columbia state forest to ledgerwood to see the tree carvings that are memorials to the ANZACs.
Leaving Scottsdale we headed back to Launceston to have the brakes on the trailer looked at as they were squealing a bit when they warmed up. Turned out to be a dodgy batch from the supplier but a machining of the drums fixed the issue.
While in Launceston we checked out the city park and saw the monkeys and the kids had a play on the train.
From there we headed to St Helens and camped at Grants Lagoon near the Bay of fires for the night.
In the morning we headed off to see the Bay of Fires and take the obligatory photos then checked out the shop in the bush. It is an interesting place with all sorts of antiques.
The Bay of fires aptly named from the red on the rocks, while not giving us its best due to cloudy weather was still an impressive place. From there we checked out Bicheno for lunch and the blow hole there which was pretty cool.
After exploring Bicheno we headed to Swansea to camp at the caravan park for a couple of nights.
Sunday morning after an early rise for sunrise we relaxed around camp for the morning (needed after a busy week or so) then headed out about lunch time to check out the local wineries.
We went to Gala, Devils Corner & Gala Knowe wineries and sampled the goods (as you do) then to the green frog cafe for ice cream which was a big hit with the kids. It was a quick dinner and bed after that before a big day the next day.
Monday morning it was up early to head to Freycinet National park with the intentions to do the walk to Wine Glass bay. When we arrived however we found out from the rangers that there was already over 300 people of the track so we decided we didn’t want to be apart of that crowded mess and changed our plans to do the lighthouse walk instead which still gave us great view including over to wine glass bay. It was also much shorter which worked for me carrying a toddler in a backpack.
We spent a bit of time up at the lighthouse taking pictures and relaxing before bundling back into the cars and heading to Mole Creek where we were staying for 4 nights over Christmas.
Mole Creek Caravan park…. Wow This place is awesome!!!
It is a small park so nice and quiet. We were camped right on the edge of the creek where we could splash around or look for the platypus or as some did, build a dam with the stone so we has the soothing sounds of water spilling over the dam all night. It is just one of those special places you find where the simplicity makes it perfect.
The 1st night there we went to the pub for dinner, the food was great and reasonably priced. We all just crashed in bed after that as it had been a big day.
Tuesday morning (christmas eve), we spent the morning doing much needed chores like clothes washing and such before going to visit some of the nearby caves. We took turns to go on a tour of the caves as we could not take the big backpack with the little one through the tight spaces, so Belinda went 1st into King Solomons cave with our oldest and then I went into Marapooka cave with Troy also. Marapooka cave has lots of glow worms and a small river running through it which was very pretty. Some last minute food shopping on the way back to camp in preparation for Christmas day.
25th December and a very Merry christmas at camp. We had pancakes for breakfast after unwrapping the presents and lots of running around the camp. Then a lovely lunch of ham and salads. It was a lovely warm day so the kids played in the creek all afternoon and the adults relaxed and we then had a cheese platter for tea, a brilliant day all around. It has been great travelling with our good friends on this trip making these special times even more memorable.
Boxing day we Headed to Turwanna wildlife sanctuary and saw lots of native wildlife including Wombats, echidna, Kangaroos, wallabies, potoroo’s, and of course Tassie Devils. Both the boys got to pat one of the wombats which was the highlight of their day.
Later in the afternoon we did a walk up to Alum Cliffs lookout, a fairly strenuous walk up then down hill but well worth it for the views.
That concludes Part 1 of our adventure in Tasmania. Stay tuned for part 2 just as soon as I have a chance to write it.
A Love of Adventures 