{"id":1505,"date":"2023-01-07T11:52:53","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T11:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diggingaholetoeverywhere.com\/?p=1505"},"modified":"2023-01-07T11:53:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-07T11:53:00","slug":"tasmania-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diggingaholetoeverywhere.com\/?p=1505","title":{"rendered":"Tasmania, Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you thought we were done with van life, think again! What better way to explore the tiny* island of Tasmania? (*it didn\u2019t feel quite as tiny when we got there, we could have used another week or two!)
Even though we swore if we ever lived out of a van again we would get a bigger one that we could at least sit up inside, our budget consciousness prevailed and we got ourselves another Spaceships van rental (with a loyalty discount, we\u2019re probably their best customers). Our Tasmania van was named Shooting Star, and we can\u2019t say we felt the same fondness of it that we did our dear Spyro in NZ. This one had a bad smell (we think mold), didn\u2019t have a solar panel to recharge the battery so we had to turn off our fridge at night, and overall was a bit run down. We won\u2019t hold it against her though, Shooting Star got us across all of the wild Tassie roads and kept us warm at night. And we got to explore a special part of Australia that a lot of people don\u2019t get a chance to!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hobart and the Surrounding Bush<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The biggest town on Tasmania is Hobart, which is where we flew in and picked up\/dropped off our van. Our first day we went to the top of Mt. Wellington and got a beautiful view of the city, plus our first taste of the cold. I thought Australia is supposed to be hot in the summer??<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spent a morning in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, where we learned a lot about the horrific history of how the Aboringal people were treated. Tasmania\u2019s history is especially horrible compared to the rest of Australia, and the exhibit laying out the timeline was very well done and we highly recommend it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We didn\u2019t make it too far out of the city for our first wilderness adventure. We did a waterfall hike to Russell Falls and Horseshoe Falls in Mt. Field National Park and decided to just spend the night there when we saw how beautiful the campground was. It was our first experience with Tasmanian wildlife with wallabies all around us, and we could not have been more excited! We also spent a couple days in the Hartz Mountains National park but got rained out of the hike halfway through. Can\u2019t win them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View from Mt. Wellington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Russell Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Horseshoe Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The East Coast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We started our east coast journey at the north end in the Bay of Fires. We figured it was named after the spectacular orange color of the rocks along the coastline, but learned it was actually after the number of campfires typically lit all along the coastline by the aboriginals. We spent a day driving and walking along the coast admiring the rocks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our next stop was the Freycinet Peninsula where I found a truly epic hike up Mt. Amos. The reviews I read mentioned it was pretty hard but that the views were worth it, so I figured we were up for the challenge. I had no idea what I had gotten us into though! We literally climbed up a mountain, about as vertical as you could get without just calling it rock climbing. The going up wasn\u2019t so bad, but I was definitely nervous about the going down. Once we made it to the top, though, it was absolutely worth it. 360 degree views of the water, including the absolutely gorgeous Wineglass Bay. So no regrets, even for having to slide down the entire trail on my butt on the way down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ended our coastal journey at the south end of the island on the Tasman Peninsula, where I admittedly once again got us into a hike that was much harder than expected. But this one wasn\u2019t my fault – the AllTrails elevation map didn\u2019t list the last ~1,000 ft of up and down elevation. I can\u2019t say it was a fun surprise, but it was truly breathtaking despite the added workout! We also stopped at the Devil’s Arch and the Tessellated Pavement on the way out of the peninsula. The Tessellated Pavement was especially interesting – created only by natural forces, the rock has been cracked and formed into almost perfect geometric shapes. Nature is cool!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On our way back from the Tasman Peninsula hike, we saw a “free beer” sign pointing to a camping group in the campground where we parked our car. Hard to say no to that of course, so we ventured over to introduce ourselves. It turned out to be a group of local guys who had spent the day crayfish trapping and were celebrating their huge haul and starting their crayfish boil (they had clearly started celebrating a while before we got there). They were very nice and we ended up hanging out for a beer with them and admiring the HUGE crayfish they had caught. Before we left, they let us try one and it was truly some of the best seafood we’ve ever tasted. They were eating well that night!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Devils Arch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Wineglass Bay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mt. Amos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tessellated Pavement<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tessellated Pavement<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bay of Fires<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bay of Fires<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tasman Peninsula<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Part of the Crayfish haul<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Wildlife<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The true highlight of Tasmania was all of the wildlife. As much as we loved New Zealand (and it\u2019s lack of poisonous critters), it was very exciting to see some animals again! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Wallabies – Starting our first night camping in the bush, there were about 5 wallabies that were hopping around our van. We couldn\u2019t believe our luck at choosing such an exciting wildlife location! Fast forward to the end of our week however, and we had seen so many wallabies that it wasn\u2019t even noteworthy if they were near. They\u2019re not exactly a rare sight, but are definitely cute!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Echidnas – we didn\u2019t even know these existed before we got here, but they have officially become one of our favorite animals. They look like a hedgehog but are actually most closely related to a platypus and are one of the only mammals that lay eggs. The first one we saw didn\u2019t care about us at all and let us get pretty close to gawk and take pictures. We\u2019ve since come across a few more while hiking and they all get scared and try to hide (pretty unsuccessfully, maybe not the smartest little guys). We will never get tired of seeing them!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Pademelons – they look like tiny wallabies, maybe just a bit bigger than a squirrel. We saw dozens of them our last couple nights camping.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Possums – we came across a few ravaging through the outdoor kitchen at our last campsite (gross). They\u2019re actually a protected species in Australia, a huge contrast to NZ who will pay you to kill them!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Kookaburras – very cool looking and quite common. We find them a little creepy, they\u2019re always watching and their laugh sounds like they\u2019re plotting a world takeover.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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    Wallaby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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    Echidna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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    Pademelon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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    Kookabura<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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