While our US and Canada part of the holiday may be over, we had one last stop back home before our vacation was complete. A quick trip to Tasmania to meet Steve’s parents who have been travelling around Tasmania for the last few months. Check out their adventures at judyandjohntraveladventures.weebly.com
This was our second time to Tasmania. Our first trip was in 2012 when we flew into Launceston and drove down to Strahan in the middle of winter. This time around though we flew straight into Hobart for 3 days in January.
We stayed at the Hobart Airport Tourist Park and we definitely recommend it. Its a little way outside of Hobart but since Steve’s parents had the caravan it worked well for us. They have campsites, caravan sites and cabins. We stayed in a 1 bedroom cabin which was nice, clean and generally comfortable.
After arriving in Hobart we didn’t have time to do too much on the first day so we set off to find some wineries close by. Steve’s parents had already been to a few wineries and recommended Riverdale Estate. If you are into Peter Rabbit then you can’t miss this place as they have a Peter Rabbit garden and a shop with everything Peter Rabbit. We did a wine tasting and bought a few bottles of Pinot for the weekend. Just up the road is Puddleduck Vineyard. We had to wonder if there is some relationship between these two wineries, or some crazy competition going on or if Tasmania was just obsessed with Beatrix Potter.
Day 2: On our second day we decided to go on a cruise on the Derwent River. Steve’s mum heard about a lunch cruise for $38 from someone she ran into while travelling so we decided to check it out thinking it sounded too good to be true…. but sure enough Hobart Historic Cruises offers just that.. a sit down lunch cruise on the Derwent River for only $38. Now $38 doesn’t ever buy you much so I was a bit dubious about this cruise but it was fantastic!!! We definitely recommend it. The food was decent, the boat comfortable and all it all was probably the best value for money we have spent while travelling! They even have a dinner cruise for $59. If you in Hobart we definitely recommend checking it out.
Derwent River – Tasman Bridge
With our bellies full and having seen the full sights of the Derwent River including the amazing Tasman Bridge (heard some amazing history of this bridge) we headed up to Mt Wellington. Yet another site that can’t be missed in Tasmania, Mt Wellington offers beautiful views over Hobart and can’t be missed if you are visiting Tassie. Its a pretty steep drive up to Mt Wellington but well worth it for the views. Apparently its so elevated that it can cause havoc with your central locking and car electronics (so the signs told us) but we escaped without trouble. Half way up there is a little coffee shop called Lost Freight, so we stopped in for a latte and almond cake slice on the way back down. Some crazy guy who cycled to the top and left the same time we did managed to make it back down before us…. Im really not sure how he did it.
After a bit of a nap (we never on vacation after all) we had dinner at Richmond Arms Hotel. They seem to be affiliated with the same winery we went to the previous day so wine choice was easy. Food was good, but it was bloody hot inside. The sun doesn’t go down in Tassie until late in summer and eating dinner at 8pm in broad daylight seems a little weird for us Queenslanders. Richmond is beautiful, a little village lost in time. There is a little bridge in this town, appropriatley named the Richmond Bridge that is so picturesque and full of its own amazing history.
Day 3: and we are off to Port Arthur…. now we always thought Port Arthur was just a township. We were both expecting something completely different!!! In reality this place is a historic landmark steeped in history from early Australian settlement. Our expectations where definitely shaped by what we saw on the news and new of this place from the last 20 years, but that is just one (recent) part of this truely amazing place. Getting to adventure through the early Australian settlement and learn about the original history of the place was amazing. About 5 minutes into the guided tour we were both ready to go it on our own (we don’t do well with guided tours). We learnt so much about the early convict settlement and the history of this place, it was just remarkable to think that where we were standing shaped so much of Australia today. Port Arthur is a little pricy to get into but it included a boat ride around the island where convicts where buried (isle of the dead), a 15 minute guided tour and as much free time to roam around. Of course there is a darker side to this place (as most people know and if you don’t find out here) but this place is remarkable and something every Aussie needs to see and learn about.
After Port Arthur Steve’s parents took us to a few of the amazing natural sites including “The Devil’s Kitchen” and “Tasman Arch”.
Thanks Tassie… it was amazing again… We will definitely be back for our around Australia adventures in 2022.