Tasmania or my last road trip in Australia

Before leaving Australia, I really wanted to visit Tasmania, which many people had raved about as one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

On February 18, 2018, I took a 10-hour ferry ride to Devonport with Tami, a colleague from Nyah, and Janina, whom I had met on Facebook.

From here, we headed towards the east coast. Tasmania has beautiful free campsites, and whenever possible, we always slept by the sea - Janina in a tent, and Tami and I in the car.

After spending a night in the north and in the beautiful 'Bay of Fires', we continued to Freycinet National Park with its famous Wineglass Bay. The uphill hike was okay, but coming back down involved 800 steps. Here, I once again realized that months of standing on an assembly line did not really improve my fitness! ;-)

On Fridays, we drove to Hobart. We stayed in a hostel as the weather was not great. In the evening, we went to a small festival in the city. Later, we attended a super cool concert by a Latin American band.

On Saturday, it rained again. So, we walked in the rain to the Salamanca Market, a large weekend market. After that, we visited MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, which the owner built for 75 million dollars. Some of the exhibits were quite controversial and walked a fine line between art and obscenity. For example, there was a machine that produced a poop at exactly 2:00 p.m. every day, 'Tim', a tattooed man sitting in the museum every day, and a collection of 77 illuminated plaster casts of vaginas lining a long corridor. You can take a look, but you don't have to! :-)

From Hobart, we headed towards the west coast. The landscape here was breathtaking and much greener than the east coast, where the meadows and fields were yellow and scorched from the hot summer.

The Cradle Mountain National Park is one of the most beautiful parks there, and we went on two long hikes. Tami even climbed to the top. Janina and I, due to our advanced age, decided to abstain. :-) In the end, we saw a lot of wombats!

Some nights were quite cold, but we made ourselves comfortable with candles, good food, and homemade mulled wine. ;-)

Tasmania was definitely worth the trip and one of the most beautiful places in Australia. Plus, we got along really well!

On March 2, I flew back to Sydney and spent my last days there.

And just like that, the year was over! I am grateful for everything I was able to experience here and for all the amazing people I have met!

And now, off to Southeast Asia! :-)