Week 1 - East coast of Tasmania

Week 1 - East Coast of Tasmania

Getting started

Arrived in Devonport late at night with a slightly delayed ferry. I had forgotten how sleepy Tasmania is and was reminded upon this fact as soon as I walked into the only open supermarket in the town to stock up on food for the days ahead. Due to the quarantine restrictions for Tasmania I was not allowed to bring in any fresh fruit and veg, so the fridge was pretty empty. Having stocked up I headed to Narawantapy National Park not too far from the ferry terminal. As I was arriving, the sun was setting, the fields where golden in colour and I was starting to realise that I was finally on the way. Some kind soul had left some fireplace unattended with perfect coals on it, and I threw on some sausages and made a salad for my first dinner by myself in Norbert. Felt slightly strange, but had no time to think as I got surrounded by about 20 school kids who rocked up on some sort of activity camp and made lots of noise until 12 am! So much for peace and solitude!

In the morning, I went for a walk and spotted kangaroos, tasmanian pademons, dragon flies, a dead penguin on the beach and a lovely lake. All very nice. Headed East to the Tamar valley in the pissing rain. Stopped at a petrol station and when I had paid for the fuel I realised that there was a sit-on lawnmower next to me which was filling up. This is Tassie after all and the pace is much slower than on the mainland. At night I went on a excursion to try and see penguins on the beach. Mission succeeded and the penguins even walked to close to me that I could have touched them. 

Had a few days when I did not meet many people and headed to the remote North-East corner of Tasmania and specifically Mt William National Park. Found an amazing campsite within about 15 meters from the beach, spotted some fishermen on the beach so I was off for a good start. I got the guys to show me how to set up the fishing rod for the conditions on that we had for the day and got some bait of them as well as good tips. Its amazing how men just assume that you are practically disabled when I comes to practical things (which I can only think it’s because I am a woman). Well, I had a beer and a good chat to the two blokes who where on a lads fishing weekend away from the kids and wifes. Well, it must had been beginner luck because I did catch a nice salmon and they went back to the camp with only empty Jimmy Beam and coke cans. ;-)

There was a guy at the campsite who had the same car as me, so I went over for a chat. His name was Fritz, a retired guy from Holland who was in no rush traveling around Australia. He was a very interesting chap and it turned out that he had crossed the Sahara Dessert 6 times. He pulled out a hammock and had a snooze. I realised that I need one of those as well. Ideal for afternoon snoozes and surfing the net after a hard day driving. I shared my salmon with him and we had a few beers around the fireplace. At this point the two blokes had had a bit too much Jimmy Beam and was still not having much luck with the fishing. I was glad I had Fritz to chat to. 

I continued down the coast to what I was hoping would be the highlight of my trip as I had been to the Bay of Fires once before 2 years ago, when I was in Tasmania with my parents. I found the same amazing campsite as I stayed in previously, only this time the weather was even better and I decided to put up my new external tent ( also know as the 'sup-stuga) for the van to keep out the wind and sun. Again, I headed to the beach to try my luck with my newly purchased bait and hooks from the local tackle shop. I was in luck again, and caught yet another salmon and made some friends on the beach. It turned out that there was 2 more ‘Troopies’ camped next to me at the campsite. They where two lovely couples which I ended up hanging out with for the next 2 days. We fished, cooked shared travel stories and made nice fires in the evening. They had all been traveling for a couple of months and gave me some good tips of what I needed to get. Definitely getting an inverter, which means I can charge my computer, phone etc whilst driving. Bingo!

I liked the Bay of Fires as much this time as last time. It’s a magical place with gobsmacking scenery. I guess that is why there is a picture of this place on the cover of the Lonely Planet for Tasmania. 

We continued in convoy style down the coast chatting on the UHF radio on the way. It’s the first time I have really used the radio since the sand driving course and it makes driving alone less monotonous. The others continued to Hobart and I decided to stop for a night in Freycinet National Park. Once of the most visited parks in Tasmania and renowned for Wineglass Bay. The large visitors centre and the amount of hired campervans puts me off a place like this, but decided to stay the night and explore the area. It’s truly beautiful and I cracked a beer open and went to watch the sunset by the beach with the other travelers. I must had really managed to switch off that night, because I slept for over 11 hours and did not hear the alarm clock the next morning. The plan was to head to Hobart to meet with Maria and Claire, friends from Melbourne, who had gone to Hobart for a weekend getaway. 

I arrived in a bit of a state, slightly late for the Cascade Brewery Tour. The girls had hit the town the night before and was slightly worse for ware. However, the tourguide must have had his weetabix that morning, because I have never seen anyone so high and excited about home-brewing of beer before. It was hard work listening to him talk and we suffered through the 90 minute tour and looked forward to the beer tasting. Following the tour, we drove Mt Wellington, which is about 1,200m mountain near the centre of Hobart to look at the spectacular scenery. All we got was a white fog...... never mind, we would have to try again the next day. Had an eventful touristic cruise at night time for dinner. The food was shocking and the company interesting. This included a whole group of ladies from Geelong  on a dirty girls weekend away who where pole dancing in the main cabin. Well, they made the trip more exciting indeed. 

Next up.... South Corner of Tas and the Wild West