We just did a whirlwind 3 week stint over at Tassie.
Way too cold for this guy (even pre-winter) but beautiful nonetheless.
Highlights were Port Arthur, Bay of Fires, Hobart and the view from Mt Wellington (we were lucky to get a rare clear day with views of the entire region), and cradle mountain. Throw in wild wombat viewing st Cradle Mountain, seals playing the bay at Bicheno and an intimate penguin tour at Low Head and it shaped up to be pure magic.
And that is not to say the rest of what wasn’t equally spectacular. We tracked where we went on a tourist map…Still plenty we missed.
Is 3 weeks enough? Probably not but we were all ready to come back to the mainland.
Homeschooling took a back seat for 3 weeks as we were go-go-go from sun-up to sun-set. That’s the beautiful thing about home-schooling. The official curriculum can take a back-seat while they learn in the real-world. We ticked off history, geography, science, art, and just about every other subject on the curriculum…
A few pointers if you are planning it:
- Spirit of Tasmania. Book well in advance, the return trip was completely booked out when we looked last year from Feb through to July. Plan ahead and stick to your plan. At one point we contemplated delaying our return trip but it was next to impossible to find a return slot. Also worth getting a cabin so you have somewhere private to chill, regardless of night sail or day sail. The seas can get pretty rough (though we were pretty lucky)
- Travelling with doggo. It’s a 10-12hour sail. You can book a kennel in the ventilated decks. We chose however to keep doggo in the caravan. Warm, comfortable and we gave him a chill-pill from the vet. He handled it like a champion.
- Have an idea where you will stay and do day trips. A lot of Tassie is small windy roads and sometimes a lot of dirt. You don’t want to necessarily tow a caravan everywhere through all this. Time of year will also make a huge difference, these roads can be quite treacherous for the uninitiated (like me) through winter.
- be ok with the fact you won’t see it all.
- the windy roads will make for slower travel, expect an 50km drive to take an hour and a half. If you were in doubt about replacing your break pads before you leave, do it.
