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.

Thanksgiving in Tassie

Of all the American holidays, Thanksgiving is the one that we probably miss the most living abroad. There is no Australian equivalent to Turkey Day, though there are many different American expat groups that host gatherings, providing chances to eat large quantities of food. Interestingly, turkeys are harder to find  here and Australians do not understand the concept of using pumpkin to make a pie, since they prefer the meat variety. Last year we attended that type of event, but this year we opted out of the expat meet-ups and headed down to Tasmania, known as "Tassie" (pronounced "Tazzi") to the Aussies. I purchased flights back in June when there was a 2 for 1 sale, not even realizing that we would end up there over Thanksgiving. However, it was impeccable timing, because a fun trip is a good replacement for missing out on dinner with our families. Though it should be noted that we were salivating during discussion of my Uncle Bill's mashed potatoes and my Aunt Laura's delicious pies (not of the meat variety!), even while enjoying the stunning Tassie scenery.

We visited a few different areas of Tasmania, so I plan to do a post about each area in the coming days. In the meantime, check out who was visiting our campsite this time...