Oh the joys of solo travel.... I am sitting in a pretty funky tapas bar (the third place I tried for dinner as the two that
I actually liked were both hosting weddings) and typing on my laptop. I feel like a terribly important business executive
but probably just look like a wanker. Never mind!
Opposite me is a wall of photographs of some of the places I've been and they're making me really mad, because they are all
the sorts of photos I tried to take, but they are much better, and mine are pretty dull by comparison! Oh well, I suppose he
does make a living out of it so fair enough.
It's my last day in Tasmania before I board the Spirit, back to Melbourne where I have a whirlwind day of shopping planned. I am beginning to wonder how on earth I travelled constantly for almost a year - it's exhausting!
Which isn't to say I haven't enjoyed myself. Tasmanians are passionate about their island and I can see why. It is so full of contrasts; in a single day you can bask in the sunlight by the beach, shelter from the hail on a mountain top, and hike through a mossy green rainforest. It's not four seasons in one day here - it's forty.
The scenery really is ever-changing and magnificent. Cradle Mountain is a world unto itself, the Tarkine is a whole other dimension, the green valleys undulate into tree-covered hills. In the south there is wine and fruit, in the north tulips, lavender, cheese and honey, in the east salmon, islands and white beaches, in the west mining and forestry and stunning national parks. So much diversity in such a tiny place that it's mind boggling. I've lost track of the number of short hikes I could have done, but rejected due to the oncoming rain/cold/sleet/hail/fog obscuring the view.
If I could suggest one area of improvement - other than the weather! - it would be the cuisine. Tasmania has amazing produce: beautiful full-bodied wines, fresh and sustainably farmed salmon, endless stocks of trout, scallops, fruit, vegetables, berries, cheese... Much of it is exported interstate and it really is wonderful. But, unless you're eating in a high-end restaurant, your choices are generally limited to the standard restaurant favourites. Lasagne, pasta, beef, fish and chips. I've only had one meal here that was particularly special - it was at a little cafe in Launceston called "Fresh on Charles" and it was truly incredible. But otherwise I remain fairly indifferent. And I have eaten at a couple of places considered to be "the best".
People have also complained about the accommodation prices, but I haven't found them to be too bad. In most places I've had a good little pub room to myself for $40 - $60. High end accommodation is also, in my opinion, fairly affordable. I stayed at @VDL in Stanley which was about $180 per night, but worth about $300. Which brings me to the Tassie towns. Ross, Swansea, Stanley, Oatlands, Campbelltown, Beauty Point, Deviot are all very picturesque places. I especially loved Stanley, with its galleries and shops and the amazing looming "Nut" with its terribly steep. but terribly rewarding climb. The scenery in Gould's Country, around Pyengana, south to Cockle Creek, and in the north west at the Tarkine is spectacular. The Tarkine forest and coast especially are unparalleled and unique. Probably because of all the forest, there is a LOT of roadkill on Tassie roads. I saw a number of wombats, devils, and many, many pademelons (wallabies).
I felt a bit sad driving over the endless carnage, though not entirely surprised as Tassie drivers seem to defy the laws of physics when they scream around the winding roads. I pulled over often to let a local fly past (they usually waved in thanks). They're considerate drivers, and for the most past they seem to stick to the speed limits that I could only reach with white knuckles and teeth clenched. They keep left religiously. The speed limits are hard to follow - I seem to only ever see the "end 90" signs, but never the "start 90" signs that must match them! There are signs saying what the Tassie speed limits are that basically amount to "90 on country roads except highways when it's 100 or freeways when it's 110 or maybe the other way around, and it changes to 65 at night, and in towns it's 50 except when it's 60 or 80, which you will know because the sign at the end of the town will tell you what speed you were meant to be doing....." Hmm.
I've crisscrossed most of the south, east and north west of Tasmania now, and have been rewarded with some truly special sights. I nearly went on a flying fox tour through the treetops at Hollybank forest, but the only option was a THREE HOUR tour! Three hours! If I had someone with me then maybe I'd go, but I definitely do not have the attention span three hours on flying fox.
I did make my way to Tazmazia and the town of Lower Crackpot. Since I was young, I've always loved mazes, and always wanted to be immersed in a lifesize one. Tazmazia didn't disappoint - it had everything a maze adventure should have. Little signposts dotted around the place with funny sayings on them, mazes within mazes, a pot of gold, a jail, a spook house and in the middle, the Three Bears Cottage, accessed via a secret passageway. My inner child (who isn't hidden very deep) absolutely loved it. And of course Lower Crackpot - a very tongue in cheek little spot with buildings in odd shapes, fallen over, upside down, funny names and bright colours. A couple of kids were running through the place shouting to their brother who was lost in the maze, and trying to guide him through - pretty cute.
I spent some time in Launceston too, and took the chairlift across the First Basin at Cataract Gorge. The city seems to derive its energy from the place, and indeed knowing it is there adds a vibe of open-ness and frivolity to Launceston. I liked Launceston straight away. It is open and spacious, dotted with old buildings and parks. When I arrived it was fragranced with the smell of beer brewing contendedly away at the Boag's building. It smelt like crops and summer and drinking with friends. It is also considered the "design centre" of Tasmania. This may be a self-assigned reputation, but it does have an air of funkiness about it. The actual Design Centre of Tasmania is here, a shop housing beautiful woodwork, furniture and jewellery. You can buy giant pegs there, but while I was tempted, I failed to come up with anything sufficiently useful that one could do with a giant peg. (Hang giant undies on the line?)
While Hobart is a city well an truly entrenched in its maritime history, Launceston's personality is built around the Tamar River and the Cataract Gorge. The river isn't much compared to the Swan - it's incredibly muddy and the boats moored in the marina are sitting on beds of silt. At first I thought it was a recent phenomenon after an unusally dry winter or something, but after reading up on Lonny's history I discovered it has always been like this. The Gorge, however, is a fascinating battleground between two very different kinds of beauty. In the early 1900s, the people of Launceston decided to build their own playground around the Gorge. They created a swimming pool by the "first basin" and on the opposite bank, a "fairy dell" with green grass, pink and purple flowers, tall conifers and a rotunda for bands to play in. There were rules back then of course: no bad language, no unneccessary frivolity, rules that are kind of sweet in their antiquity but would have seen most of us in a lot of trouble if we had to abide by them!
So from cities, to mountains, to the coast, to the rainforest, via backroads, the Tamar wine route, dropping in to a couple of galleries and vineyards, meandering through "Meander Valley", I have found my way to Devonport. Today has been a day of relaxing and wandering in the much-welcomed sunshine, before I catch the ferry at 7:30pm to Melbourne. Then a whirlwind day of shopping in Melbourne, the train to Adelaide, 2 nights and a wine tour there, and then home! Home to my OWN home. Exciting!
There will be other updates for this trip of course, probably one in Adelaide, but the train trip won't go up until I get home as I'm guessing the Nullarbor won't have excellent phone reception... So thanks for your company, and don't go away just yet!
It's my last day in Tasmania before I board the Spirit, back to Melbourne where I have a whirlwind day of shopping planned. I am beginning to wonder how on earth I travelled constantly for almost a year - it's exhausting!
Which isn't to say I haven't enjoyed myself. Tasmanians are passionate about their island and I can see why. It is so full of contrasts; in a single day you can bask in the sunlight by the beach, shelter from the hail on a mountain top, and hike through a mossy green rainforest. It's not four seasons in one day here - it's forty.
The scenery really is ever-changing and magnificent. Cradle Mountain is a world unto itself, the Tarkine is a whole other dimension, the green valleys undulate into tree-covered hills. In the south there is wine and fruit, in the north tulips, lavender, cheese and honey, in the east salmon, islands and white beaches, in the west mining and forestry and stunning national parks. So much diversity in such a tiny place that it's mind boggling. I've lost track of the number of short hikes I could have done, but rejected due to the oncoming rain/cold/sleet/hail/fog obscuring the view.
If I could suggest one area of improvement - other than the weather! - it would be the cuisine. Tasmania has amazing produce: beautiful full-bodied wines, fresh and sustainably farmed salmon, endless stocks of trout, scallops, fruit, vegetables, berries, cheese... Much of it is exported interstate and it really is wonderful. But, unless you're eating in a high-end restaurant, your choices are generally limited to the standard restaurant favourites. Lasagne, pasta, beef, fish and chips. I've only had one meal here that was particularly special - it was at a little cafe in Launceston called "Fresh on Charles" and it was truly incredible. But otherwise I remain fairly indifferent. And I have eaten at a couple of places considered to be "the best".
People have also complained about the accommodation prices, but I haven't found them to be too bad. In most places I've had a good little pub room to myself for $40 - $60. High end accommodation is also, in my opinion, fairly affordable. I stayed at @VDL in Stanley which was about $180 per night, but worth about $300. Which brings me to the Tassie towns. Ross, Swansea, Stanley, Oatlands, Campbelltown, Beauty Point, Deviot are all very picturesque places. I especially loved Stanley, with its galleries and shops and the amazing looming "Nut" with its terribly steep. but terribly rewarding climb. The scenery in Gould's Country, around Pyengana, south to Cockle Creek, and in the north west at the Tarkine is spectacular. The Tarkine forest and coast especially are unparalleled and unique. Probably because of all the forest, there is a LOT of roadkill on Tassie roads. I saw a number of wombats, devils, and many, many pademelons (wallabies).
I felt a bit sad driving over the endless carnage, though not entirely surprised as Tassie drivers seem to defy the laws of physics when they scream around the winding roads. I pulled over often to let a local fly past (they usually waved in thanks). They're considerate drivers, and for the most past they seem to stick to the speed limits that I could only reach with white knuckles and teeth clenched. They keep left religiously. The speed limits are hard to follow - I seem to only ever see the "end 90" signs, but never the "start 90" signs that must match them! There are signs saying what the Tassie speed limits are that basically amount to "90 on country roads except highways when it's 100 or freeways when it's 110 or maybe the other way around, and it changes to 65 at night, and in towns it's 50 except when it's 60 or 80, which you will know because the sign at the end of the town will tell you what speed you were meant to be doing....." Hmm.
I've crisscrossed most of the south, east and north west of Tasmania now, and have been rewarded with some truly special sights. I nearly went on a flying fox tour through the treetops at Hollybank forest, but the only option was a THREE HOUR tour! Three hours! If I had someone with me then maybe I'd go, but I definitely do not have the attention span three hours on flying fox.
I did make my way to Tazmazia and the town of Lower Crackpot. Since I was young, I've always loved mazes, and always wanted to be immersed in a lifesize one. Tazmazia didn't disappoint - it had everything a maze adventure should have. Little signposts dotted around the place with funny sayings on them, mazes within mazes, a pot of gold, a jail, a spook house and in the middle, the Three Bears Cottage, accessed via a secret passageway. My inner child (who isn't hidden very deep) absolutely loved it. And of course Lower Crackpot - a very tongue in cheek little spot with buildings in odd shapes, fallen over, upside down, funny names and bright colours. A couple of kids were running through the place shouting to their brother who was lost in the maze, and trying to guide him through - pretty cute.
I spent some time in Launceston too, and took the chairlift across the First Basin at Cataract Gorge. The city seems to derive its energy from the place, and indeed knowing it is there adds a vibe of open-ness and frivolity to Launceston. I liked Launceston straight away. It is open and spacious, dotted with old buildings and parks. When I arrived it was fragranced with the smell of beer brewing contendedly away at the Boag's building. It smelt like crops and summer and drinking with friends. It is also considered the "design centre" of Tasmania. This may be a self-assigned reputation, but it does have an air of funkiness about it. The actual Design Centre of Tasmania is here, a shop housing beautiful woodwork, furniture and jewellery. You can buy giant pegs there, but while I was tempted, I failed to come up with anything sufficiently useful that one could do with a giant peg. (Hang giant undies on the line?)
While Hobart is a city well an truly entrenched in its maritime history, Launceston's personality is built around the Tamar River and the Cataract Gorge. The river isn't much compared to the Swan - it's incredibly muddy and the boats moored in the marina are sitting on beds of silt. At first I thought it was a recent phenomenon after an unusally dry winter or something, but after reading up on Lonny's history I discovered it has always been like this. The Gorge, however, is a fascinating battleground between two very different kinds of beauty. In the early 1900s, the people of Launceston decided to build their own playground around the Gorge. They created a swimming pool by the "first basin" and on the opposite bank, a "fairy dell" with green grass, pink and purple flowers, tall conifers and a rotunda for bands to play in. There were rules back then of course: no bad language, no unneccessary frivolity, rules that are kind of sweet in their antiquity but would have seen most of us in a lot of trouble if we had to abide by them!
So from cities, to mountains, to the coast, to the rainforest, via backroads, the Tamar wine route, dropping in to a couple of galleries and vineyards, meandering through "Meander Valley", I have found my way to Devonport. Today has been a day of relaxing and wandering in the much-welcomed sunshine, before I catch the ferry at 7:30pm to Melbourne. Then a whirlwind day of shopping in Melbourne, the train to Adelaide, 2 nights and a wine tour there, and then home! Home to my OWN home. Exciting!
There will be other updates for this trip of course, probably one in Adelaide, but the train trip won't go up until I get home as I'm guessing the Nullarbor won't have excellent phone reception... So thanks for your company, and don't go away just yet!
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| I love these birds - they look like they are all dressed up for a dinner party in their little suits. I think they are Plovers..? |
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| Boatshed at Cradle Mountain - Dove Lake |
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| The Village of Lower Crackpot - take a look at the business name... |
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| Words of Wisdom in Tazmazia |
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| Lichen... familiar shape? |
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| OMG LEGITIMATE TIGER SIGHTING!! |
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| The change in weather - blue sky on the left, hail storm on the right! |
1 comment:
Really liked reading this. Appreciate you sharing. keep up your good work thanks.
Wine Tour
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