TASMANIA- Why the forgotten places are often the best

From the 18th to the 23rd January 2016 I embarked on my first road tripping adventure to Tasmania, Australia. I seriously recommend doing this trip one day; whether it be by car or motor bike, camping or staying in town. If you want to experience true Aussie culture, this is the place.

The adventure began on the sea. My family and I took the Spirit of Tasmania, parked our car on the bottom of the beast of a ship and trudged our way up the stairs to our little dorm which would be our home for the next 11 hours. Our departure was 1am, not that I got much sleep. I spent most of the night wandering the corridors of the ship.

The morning on the ocean just before land was visible

The morning was peaceful. I got up and took my blanket to sit at the back of the boat, watching the ships hull break the still ocean, causing a rush of white foam. It was not long before I could see the peak of land amongst the vast openness of the ocean, and soon after disembarking we were on the road.

The car is on the road, off we go

We left from Devonport first and drove an hour down to Mole Creek Caves on Mayberry Road, past Sheffield. 

Map co-ordinates : -41.578486, 146.289279

We did the Great Cathedral and Glow-worms tour in the Marakoopa Cave. The tour guide was extremely knowledgable about the unique carvings of the stones, and the trek up the stairs to the cathedral and seeing the glow worms were different from any other experience I have had. If you go, the caves are 9 degrees all year round so bring a warm jacket. Unfortunately, the Marakoopa Cave suffered significant infrastructure damage during the June 2016 flood event and is closed for the time being. To get more information on this visit the Parks and Wildlife website (http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/in...)

Stone icicles

They called this lit up part of the stone the 'Giant Pipe Organ'

From Mole Creek Caves we continued our journey on the road to Port Arthur, the coastal end point of Tasmania. We stayed there for two nights at the Big 4 caravan park, where my sister and I found out (to our absolute shock horror) that there was no internet service internal screams. I won't lie, at first this was a painful experience (how was I meant to keep my snapchat streaks!?) However, to switch off the technology-consumed world for a moment and be left alone to experience nature for what it is without the intention of 'Instagram' likes, it turned out to be a peaceful and rejuvenating few days.

We found out to our apparent ignorance of not doing our research, that most stores in Tasmania close around 7pm, and the restaurants close up shop by 8.30pm. Going through a couple wrong turns on the drive down to Port Arthur caused our schedule to be off by a couple hours, meaning we didn't get to check into the caravan park until 9.30pm. Hungry and quite tired, we were all a little antsy to get some food and settle in, so it was a bit of an awkward inconvenience to be told that dinner wasn't going to be served tonight due to not being up to scratch with how the locals do things (obvious tourists.) Oh, and this was before we found out there was no wifi *cue the tantrums.* A little bump in the road was not going to stop us from having a good time on this trip however, so we called it an early night and got up at dawn to ensure we all had a massive feed before we went exploring.

Day 1 at Port Arthur was spent at the Port Arthur Historic Site. This World Heritage-listed site is Australia's most intact and evocative convict site, containing much of our country's history. It has over 30 buildings, ruins and restored period homes set in 40 hectares of landscaped grounds.There are plenty of tours, ranging from guided walks to harbour cruises, making it one of Tasmania's must visit tourist destinations. Whilst this place is remembered for its Australian convict history, there is an overlying grief that laces this place due to the event of the Port Arthur Massacre taking place here in 1996. 35 were killed and 23 wounded as a result of shooter Martin Bryant. For more details on this event, visit: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...)

Wandering through the historic site at our own leisure was in some ways more fun than the tours, if you aren't much of a history wiz like myself. Whilst I appreciated it for what it is, I found it more enjoyable to explore and find the small hidden treasures of the site in the water fountains, overgrown hedges and the quaint surrounds. There was definitely something to take away from this experience for everyone, no matter your level of interest. 

shrine of remembrance: Port Arthur Massacre

Outsiders' view

Above the ruins

Me, in a tree

Finding of the water fountain

Once we felt we had completely explored every nook and cranny of the historic site and our feet were beyond sore, we drove back to the caravan site and made sure to book a table for dinner early (we might be tourists, but we learn quickly.) Dinner was at this cute 'old English' styled shack called the 'Fox and Hounds Inn.' With a bar and bistro as well as small rooms for overnight stays, this little place is perfect for back packers looking for a place to crash. It was definitely nice to sit and eat a hot meal, and that night it was happier sleeping with full bellies. For information on accomodation for the 'Fox and Hounds' visit their website: (http://www.foxandhounds.com.au)

Leaving the coastal end of Tasmania on the 22nd, we continued our drive to Tassie’s capital, Hobart. On the way to Hobart we stopped off to marvel at some of nature's most astounding creations, including 'Devil's Kitchen', the 'Tasman Arch' and the 'Blowhole'. I'll let the pictures do the talking for this one.

The Tasman Arch

Devil's Kitchen

Back in the car we continued the road trip to Hobart. On the way we passed a super cool bikie group, which has kinda inspired me to one day get my motorbike licence so I can be just as cool (much to mum and dad's disapproval.) 

Joy rides in Tassie, motorbike style

Eventually we arrived in Hobart. Although there isn’t much to look at, it is still a fascinating place to experience. We didn’t stay long here, only enough to have a meal on the Constitution Dock and wandering around the streets. We had a quick squiz at the Salamanca Market, and other small stores along the strip. The time that we were there the Salamanca Market was not as filled with stalls, however this is mostly known to be one of the biggest outdoor market places in Australia so it is worth checking out. 

From Hobart we continued our drive to Derwent Bridge, which by far had the most vivid and camera-loving scenery.

Entering the enveloping forests

Completely surrounded, Derwent Bridge is magical

Our first stop at Derwent Bridge was to admire the brilliant talent of Greg Duncan, who has put on display his sculpture of Tasmanian history out of panels of wood. His website describes the idea of The Wall as a 'work in progress. 'The Wall' is being carved from three-metre high wooden panels. The carved panels will tell the history of the harsh Central Highlands region - beginning with the indigenous people, then to the pioneering timber harvesters, pastoralists, miners and Hydro workers.
When completed The Wall will be 100 metres long. Greg Duncan’s sculpture The Wall will rank as a major work of art and tourist attraction in Tasmania.’

Walking through each section of the Wall was beyond incredible. I’m not sure if I personally would want to ever call this place a mere 'attraction’, for the life work of an dedicated individual's project on the significance of Tasmania’s history deserves a more prized label. 

A (sneaky) picture of the contrast between the finished and unfinished panels

After seeing The Wall, the rest of the day was a spontaneous mix of hikes and bush walks. We visited another highlight, Lake St Clair, Australia's deepest freshwater lake. Through this area we were able to walk through shadowy forests, full of greenery that encapsulated us as we trekked. We found a small gravel clearing where we were able to park the car, and saw a sign that directed us on a few different walking trails. 

Note the "3-5 days"...

We began our walk, excited to see the Franklin River and have some fresh air. It was quite the warm day as well, so it didn't take us long before we worked up a sweat. I'm really not sure why we didn't notice it sooner, but about half an hour in I hear my sister whine to my dad from up ahead, "Why haven't we reached the end, yet the sign said its a 15 minute return?" They stopped to chat which gave me a chance to catch up to them (I had been taking my sweet time, but if we had come this far, I was determined to keep going.) I remember telling them not to turn back and something along the lines of "I'm sure the end is near" (lies.) None of them listened to me -thankfully- because when we finally made our way back after an hour of walking we realised we had been walking on the track that would have taken us 3 to 5 days. It gave us a good laugh though, and along the way we saw many amazing sites.

River crossing -one of the most magical things I've experienced. Felt like I was in 'A Bridge to Terebithia'

The stairs we climbed

Mossy creeks

Forest covered board walks

Whilst at Derwent Bridge, we stayed at the Bronte Park Cottages. It was a cute little place, however we were lucky to even get a room. When we got there the owner of the place greeted us and told us he was the only one left working there; all his co-workers had up and left him due to business being so minimal it was about to close down. For this man, this place was his living, the back bone of his income, and it was really saddening to see the closing of the cottages. It is an unfortunate reality that a lot of small business owners all around Australia are forced to shut down due to little sales, or by being bought out by larger corporates. I hope to one day see a change in the recognition of small business owners in Australia's economic future, and with that the promotion of more local production to support our society. 

From our stay at Bronte Park Cottages we continued the road trip to our next destination, Strahan, which was about a 2 hour drive away. One of the things my sister really wanted to do on the trip was visit some beautiful waterfalls for obvious instagram-worthy shots. Looking for some scenic places to stop, we found one little forest walk which took us to Nelson Falls, the most stunningly beautiful waterfall Tasmania has to offer (in my opinion anyway.)

Nelson Falls is situated in the Princess River Conservation Area in the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park, between Queenstown and the Derwent Bridge. The entrance to the walk to get to the falls is only 700 metres from the road (Lyell Highway A10), making for an easy 20-minute return walk (I can vouch for that too). The forest along the board walk getting to the waterfall holds many different ancient plants, including seven species of fern. There are interpetaion panels along the walk that highlight this; taking you back to when Tasmania was a part of the great supercontinent of Gondwana. Once you reach the falls, depending on the water levels you can climb along the rocks right up to the flowing waters edge. Just be careful as the rocks are extremely slippery, so if you plan to visit this magical place make sure to be wearing correct shoes.

The fam up ahead, me straggling behind

Nelson Falls board walk

the beauty itself

the perfect shot

We reached Strahan and spent the day exploring the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. We found the entrance to another waterfall hike as we strolled through the forest, which lead us to Hogarth Falls. 

Hogarth Falls look-out

yet another instragram pic

Hogarth Falls was the last waterfall we visited for the trip. Our road trip continued from Strahan up to Stanley, which we had driven to for my sister to find another waterfall. However, during the time we were road tripping there was a lot of bush fires and we were told by SES crew that we were to turn around and not travel any further as it was too dangerous. 

It was incredible to see the intense layers of smoke that fogged the sky as we went further and further into Stanley, and it was a small relief to be told to turn around as i could ‘smell the danger’ if you’d like (pun intended.)

The encroaching smoke

Back on the road

We made it back onto the main road and finished our loop of Tassie by driving back to Devonport, where we started. We stayed here for the night in a sweet little cottage and it was by far the best interior design inside. My inner design eye and love for vintage knick knacks was going crazy when I saw the beautiful old mirror sets and arm chairs in the corner of each room. I wish I had a picture to show you the cuteness of it all. The back yard of the cottage was filled with fruit trees that had blossomed an abundance of apples and peaches which were really refreshing to eat after the long drive. To top it off, we also had reception! So my sister and I caught up on our social lives to pass the time before dinner. 

We had dinner at the local RSL, just a short walk up the street from where we were staying, and then came home to the cottage. The sunset that night was absolutely stunning, shadowing the line of houses so they were only black silhouettes. 

Sunsets and Silhouettes

We could see our boat, The Spirit of Tasmania, in the loading dock from a distance, and I came to the realisation that it was home time.

We journeyed back home across the seas. I sat on the hull of the ship and looked out at the land of Tassie until I could see it no longer. Sure, Tasmania may sometimes be a forgotten place, but it certainly won’t ever be forgotten by me.