Tasmaniac Campervan Adventures

Itinerary

Hobart – Paradise – Cradle Mountain – Launceston-ish – Bay of Fires – Wineglass Bay – Hobart

Our Campervan Adventure

Tasmania blew our minds, and we did not even see half the things there were to see on the island. After our two week stay at Tiger Hill Farm in Buckland, we spent a few days in the quaint city of Hobart – with more second hand bookstores than pubs, and a lot of pubs – before heading off to explore the North of the island. The challenge was that we had just 4.5 days to fit it all in.

We traveled with Barry, a friend and fellow volunteer we met at Tiger Hill Farm. Our chosen mode of transportation was a campervan that slept three people, had a small fridge and two gas cookers, and was tall enough for us to stand in (which, it turns out, is quite a luxury).

With the itinerary outlined above, we got a bit of everything…

On our way to Cradle Mountain, we slept in a forest in Paradise (ha!) before heading up the pass in the morning. The snow-covered cars we crossed were a hint of what was to come, and yet we were still shaking our heads in disbelief when we parked in front of the visitor center and saw thick sticky snowflakes falling steadily. We went on the Crater Lake hike, along boardwalks and up and down a few hills. The landscape was utterly surreal (think Star Wars meets Galaxy Quest), and the weather could only qualify as crazy and ever-changing. This included heavy snow, sun, wind, sleet, and hail – all within a 3h timespan (no wonder we didn’t see any wombats!)

In the Launceston area, after crossing Batman bridge (no, really) we drove by stunning properties ranging from summer homes to vineyards before going wine tasting at Goaty Hill vineyard and Bay of Fires winery which had Eddystone Point wines as well Bay of Fires wine. All delicious, though the type of soil lends itself best to whites (pinot grigio and  sauvignon blancs reigned) with some light reds (pinots at best).

Bay of Fires delivered stunning views and one of the most gorgeous white sand beaches I have ever seen which we camped right next to. In case you were wondering, yes, the water (which is “shared” with Antarctica) is freezing cold!

On our last day, we made it to Wineglass bay for more hiking – as usual on very well maintained paths and with great views and this time also very cool benches. Personally, I particularly appreciated the fact that Wineglass bay is right next to Promise bay…

Last but not least, coming back to my high school math teacher’s conviction that a picture is worth a thousand words, here is our adventure in visual form: