The Return to Hobart

On our final morning in Tassie, we ventured out on a few short walks before heading south towards Hobart. On the way, we stopped at Kate's Berry Farm, where we sampled delicious jams and enjoyed yummy strawberry and boysenberry ice cream accompanied by a pretty nice view!

Gorgeous views on the drive back to Hobart!

We almost hit this Echidna as it was crossing the road!

Up close and personal but definitely NOT showing his face!

Once arriving in Hobart, we went straight to the top of Mount Wellington, a 4,000 ft mountain that towers over the city. On the way up the mountain, the weather was perfect. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the top, the weather had changed, with clouds moving in and the temperature dropping rapidly. We had been in shorts and t-shirts and suddenly we needed pants and fleece jackets!

The beach area on the right side of the picture is Seven Mile Beach, where we ate lunch.

After descending Mount Wellington, we had a few hours to kill before our flight. Overall, we were quite tired from the previous two days of hiking, so we did not want to spend those hours walking around in Hobart. We decided to head to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, where we would be able to leisurely stroll around, rest on a bench, or lie down in the grass (which is what Erik decided to do!). Springtime in Tassie meant there were some beautiful blooms to be photographed.

These flowers were in my wedding bouquet!

During our short trip, we were only able to explore just a slice of what Tasmania has to offer. We are hoping to head back for another long weekend, next time tackling the west side's popular mountains and hiking tracks!

Freycinet National Park

The drive from Tasman National Park to Freycinet National Park is filled with beautiful scenery. The road winds up into the hills and along a river before being exposed to the stunning coastline of the Tasman Sea.

Spiky Bridge, built by convicts in the mid 1800's

Beware of wildlife so strong that it can lift your car!

Once arriving in Freycinet National Park (pronounced Fray-sin-ay), we secured a campsite at Richardson's Beach. This site was actually closer to the beach than our site the night before, but there were fewer waves because the waters are more protected by land. Regardless, another sweet place to pitch a tent for $13!

A little after midday, we set out to hike the Mt Amos track. Mt Amos is part of the granite mountains (also known as the Hazards) which tower above the water, providing spectacular views. The hike required rock scrambling for much of the way up (for this reason it cannot be hiked in wet or rainy conditions...so fortunately for us it wasn't raining) and is very steep in portions, but the end result is extremely rewarding!

The large beach on the right is Richardson's Beach, where we camped.

Getting closer to the top...

...to be rewarded with this amazing view! Can you spot Erik in this picture?

Self-portrait thanks to the timer, because we were the only people at the top!

The way down was just as challenging if not harder than the way up!

After the Mt Amos hike, we decided to tackle the Wineglass Bay track so that we could actually put our feet in those waters we had seen from above. That hike is much less challenging, but still hilly, as it takes you up to a lookout point before descending to the water below. Our friend Andrew had told us that we must swim in Wineglass Bay despite the fact that it would be freezing cold. Only one of the Hansons was crazy enough to attempt that and it was NOT me!

I think that could be Mt Amos in the background

A quick dip in Wineglass Bay

Don't let the smile fool you...he was freezing!

Gorgeous stretch of beach!

Look who was waiting at our car when we returned from our hike!

At that point it was dinner time, so we drove a few minutes into the "town" of Coles Bay, where we found one restaurant open for dinner at 7pm. The place was called Tombolo, and they had a wood fired pizza oven, so we tried the night's special, a smoked salmon (Tasmanian salmon, of course!) pizza. The food was quite good and the employees were all very nice, and I would certainly go there again if we ever make it back to Coles Bay. We headed back to the campsite for the night, where we made friends with our neighbor, an Aussie from Melbourne who was just beginning a three week trip around Tassie. He generously shared beers with us (Iron Horse, a local Tasmanian Brewery) while we all enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.

Tasman Peninsula

Our trip to Tasmania started in Hobart, where we arrived bright and early on Thursday morning. After picking up our rental car, we headed east and then south to the Tasman Peninsula. Along the way we stopped at various scenic points, but our final destination was Fortescue Bay in Tasman National Park.

The only Tasmanian devil we spotted during our time in Tassie was on the license plate of our rental car!

Tessellated Pavement at Eaglehawk Neck

Tasman Arch

Once we had secured our $13 campsite (which was not difficult considering we were one of about ten others at the campground on a Thursday night), we headed out on the Cape Hauy track, a challenging four hour return hike. The scenery along our hike was gorgeous, and our pictures do not do justice to the rocky cliffs at the end of the track.

Cool view of Cape Hauy track.

If you look reallllllllll close, you can see Erik towards the left side of the picture!

Two of the rocky outcroppings are actually separated from the rest, called the "Totem Pole" and the "Candlestick" and they are used by rock climbers, which is insane given the height of the cliffs. Also along this hike, we spotted hundreds of lizards and our first echidna, which looks sort of like a porcupine. They are hard to spot because they blend in quite well with the Australian bush, but Erik spotted the creature when it moved.

One of the many lizards spotted during our time in Tassie.

Can you see the rear feet of the echidna?

Really cold water that feels pretty amazing when you have just completed a long hike!

The gorgeousness of Fortescue Bay!

Once we returned back to Fortescue Bay, we were ready for dinner, so we headed out to explore a bit more of the Tasman Peninsula  We drove all the way around the major road of the peninsula, past Port Arthur (which is a prison site where the worst British and Irish criminals were sent in the 1800's) and a few other small towns. Unfortunately, by 5pm, most places were shut down, but we were lucky to find a small grocery store open so that we could buy some food to grill back at the campsite. While cooking dinner, lots of wallabies started to show their faces, and most were not shy! It was entertaining to watch them while eating our dinner and preparing our campsite for the night. Remember when we had koalas in our campsite? I am not sure which experience was more exciting, as this was our first time getting a good glimpse of several moms with joeys in their pouches.

Our tent was set up about 20 feet from the beach, so after enjoying a beautiful sunset, we slept listening to the sounds of the waves crashing...$13 well spent if you ask me! :)

Friday morning we woke up early and headed north to the highly touted destination of Freycinet National Park.