Northeast Tasmania

On 27.01 we headed to Tasmania. We secured a spot for ourselves and our car on the ferry from Melbourne to Devenport. It cost us $783 for the round trip. We have to return on 17th February, 3 weeks later. But that's not happening yet. The first week in Tasmania is behind us and we want to tell you about it.

Our return from our outback adventure via Adelaide went well and on 27.01 we arrived just before Melbourne, where our ferry to Tasmania started. Since we had some time, we stopped at a shopping center to do some laundry and buy some groceries. There we also discovered a massage salon, which Krissi used to get a massage on her already long-suffering back. A small Asian woman worked hard with her forearm and elbow to relieve the nasty tension. Kenny had 60 minutes to do laundry and do the shopping, but Krissi felt much better afterwards. We continued with lunch at the Sanctuary Lakes, where we saw many black swans and could watch an older couple stand-up paddling. We also gave our car a good wash because it was already quite red from the dusty roads in the outback. We also filled up the tank again because fuel in Tasmania is much more expensive. We arrived in Melbourne at 5 pm, where we enjoyed a nice warm shower at South Wharf, then we went to the ferry. Departure was at 7:30 pm, but we had to stuff our tomatoes, apples, and half a lettuce into us because fruit and vegetables cannot be brought to Tasmania due to fruit flies. We made it to the terminal on time, where our car was briefly searched, and then we drove onto the bow of the ship via a high bridge, from where we entered the ship.

Together with many other cars, we parked, packed a small backpack, and explored the ship. There was a sleeping room with 'Recliner' seats, where many people settled in for the night. We also left our stuff there. We strolled around the ship, discovered restaurants, bars, televisions, play areas, and of course the decks, where we could look in all directions.

We treated ourselves to a bottle of wine and shared a pizza while enjoying the sunset in Port Phillip Bay.

At the same time as leaving the bay, the sun set and the high waves of the open sea started to sway the huge ship.

We didn't really expect that after the peaceful first hour of the trip. However, the wine showed its effect undeterred and made Krissi especially funny as she staggered through the ship's corridors. We stopped by the sleeping room, but decided to go back and get our stuff and spend the night in our car, as always. So off we went. Until the staircase. Unfortunately, we couldn't go any further because the access to the cars is blocked during the trip. Well done. So we staggered back to the recliners and spent the night there. It was a very restless night because there were, of course, people snoring half to death and sawing tons of trees. The seats that could be leaned back were also not so comfortable. The mini blanket that was distributed couldn't do anything against the air conditioning, which apparently aimed to turn the dormitory into a refrigerator. Well, it's fine for one night, fortunately we booked the return trip during the day.

So we arrived tired and freezing at 5 am in Devenport. After half an hour we were able to drive the car out of the ship and headed straight to the Dockside Food & Café, which fortunately was already open and lured with 'All you can eat' breakfast.

So here we were in Tasmania. Unfortunately, we didn't have a plan yet for what we want to see or experience here. We took care of that directly in the café. Thanks to the tips from our good friend André and some research on the Internet, after an hour of analysis, we had a pretty good plan. With the opening of the shops, we first visited a supermarket to stock up for the next few days. Unfortunately, there aren't many shopping opportunities in the countryside. Then we went to the 'Spirit of the Sea' statue, where we saw our ship sail out to sea again.

We wanted to head south from Devenport towards Latrobe Warrabee Reserve to see some platypuses. On the way there, we already passed a giant platypus.

When we arrived at the reserve, we walked along the river and looked intensively for platypuses. On the way, however, we were surprised by something else. A large black pile on the edge of the path turned out to be a snake. Kenny, who discovered it, walked back slowly despite the shock so as not to make the snake feel threatened. Quickly, the snake slithered into the bushes. This was another shocking moment because you can't quickly tell which direction the snake is moving. Well, that was the first time we were so close to a highly venomous snake. Barely half a day in Tasmania and we encounter a tiger snake. The platypuses were immediately forgotten, unfortunately we had no luck with them on that day.

Hoping for platypuses

We continued south, passing the 'Garden of Topiarys', where we saw beautifully trimmed hedge figures, and a raspberry farm, where we took a quick look to sample the delicious treats.

In Deloraine, we had lunch at the 'Train Park', which got its name from the locomotive on display there. Unfortunately, we didn't take a picture of it. But from Deloraine, we had a great view of the nearby mountains, which we captured instead.

Freshly strengthened, we went on a hike to the Lobster Falls. We walked along a path for 40 minutes, which was initially very well maintained and wide, but became narrower and rockier over time. Eventually, we had to climb and the path was hard to recognize. That's why we mistakenly walked down a dried-up waterfall, which also led to our Lobster Falls.

The waterfalls themselves were beautiful to see, and we jumped from stone to stone to see every perspective. After a short break, we climbed our little waterfall back up and went back along the rocky path. This time without the snake. :)

The next destination was one of our highlights of the day. The Honeycomb Cave is one of the few caves that can be visited for free and we didn't expect much, but we were proven wrong. The cave was great and big. Armed with our mobile phone flashlights and sneakers, we climbed through the cave, through which a stream flowed, and where there were many amazing rock formations on the ceiling and walls. In the middle of the cave, the stream disappeared into the ground and the further corridors were dark but very exciting. We climbed around in them for a long time and were visibly thrilled.

The cave already belonged to one of Tasmania's many national parks. $24 are due per vehicle per day. Alternatively, you can buy a pass for $60 for the vehicle, which is valid for 8 weeks. We decided to take advantage of the second offer and bought a pass for the next few weeks online. After all, we want to visit several national parks.

We continued driving towards the east, to spend the night at a free campsite, the 'Lower Liffey Campground'. A beautiful campsite right next to a creek. We also used the icy mountain water to quickly clean our sweaty bodies after the hike. Then we fell into our beds early, as we had experienced a lot that day and the last night on the ship had been short.

On 29.01 we went straight to the Liffey Falls. From the car park, we first walked in the wrong direction and took a look at the 'Big Tree' a few meters further. 50m high, not bad.

But we wanted to see the waterfalls, so we finally found the right way. Between many tree ferns, we walked a kilometer through the forest until we saw water for the first time.

The waterfalls cascade down in several steps into the valley, so we walked along the river and looked at every little waterfall.

The last waterfall was the biggest and most beautiful. Of course, we climbed from stone to stone here as well.

The walk along the river also thrilled us because the plants in Tasmania are different from those on the Australian mainland.

The car rides are also more exciting here because many of the roads are unpaved and dusty. Most of the time, you are busy avoiding potholes or oncoming vehicles on the narrow roads. We are both glad to be traveling with a 4x4 vehicle. Kenny really enjoys driving the winding dirt roads.

One such road led to Launceston, where we stopped at the Cataract Gorge Reserve. Here, a cable car crosses a dammed lake in a gorge.

We had lunch there and then took a short hike along the river and around the lake. In contrast to the wooded surroundings in the morning, there were mainly rocks to see here, through which the river had cut its way. On the hike, we encountered several peafowls.

We ended the hike with a swim in the cold water. The free hot showers at the cable car warmed us up again.

In Launceston, we refueled and stocked up on groceries again, and then headed towards Ben Lomond National Park. From a distance, we could already see two smoke plumes hanging in the sky, which we unfortunately got closer to. Some bushfires have started in Tasmania due to lightning strikes, so we have to be careful. Our route passed by such an area, but we were not in danger, as we drove another 20 km to the Ben Lomond National Park free camp.

Still spooky when you see fire blazing in the wilderness. We survived the night without any damage. In the evening, a small kangaroo even passed by our car, which especially pleased Krissi.

On 30.01 we first drove further up the mountain in Ben Lomond National Park. After a while, we arrived at the Jacobs Ladder, a serpentine road that leads up to the plateau.

During the drive, you can see the beautiful rock walls of the mountain and get a better and better view of the plain in front of the mountain. Once at the top, you can go to the Watchtower Lookout, which we did. From there, the most impressive views could be seen.

On the plateau itself, it was relatively flat, and so we drove to the ski resort on the mountain. Of course, there is no snow or skiers here in summer, but a short hike leads from the village along the ridge.

We first followed the nice path, but quickly could not resist the urge to leave the path and climb the rocks on our own.

We encountered two kangaroos several times on our hike. Even after all the kangaroo encounters, we are still happy to see one. Especially at these heights, we wouldn't have expected that. The views of the Ben Lomond NP and the rugged rock formations are definitely among the highlights of our trip.

With that, our mountain adventure was over again and we continued driving south, where some waterfalls were waiting for us. After eating at the Mathinna Recreation Ground, we drove to the relatively unknown Mathinna Falls. These turned out to be a surprise as there was a lot of water and we could jump into the cool water. We even discovered that there is a small cave behind the waterfall where you can sit. Due to the temperature, we couldn't stand it for long though.

The sun was already low when we started the 10-minute walk back to the car. We headed to Ringarooma for our campsite for the night. The roads were mainly unpaved and dusty. We encountered another kangaroo. When we arrived at the campsite, we realized that it was only meant for caravans. So we asked the local club that provides the campsite if we could still stay there. Everyone present assured us that it would be okay. We were relieved. :) The night was a bit stormy with thunderstorms, but we were safe in our car. Krissi unfortunately got a headache in the evening, but since we wanted to go to bed early anyway, we lay down exhausted and slept until the next morning.

On Thursday morning, we first drove to the Ralph Falls. They are the highest in Tasmania at about 100m, but a bit remote. So we drove a few more kilometers on dirt roads to the waterfalls. Kenny enjoyed the drive again. We went on a hike that leads through a beautiful boardwalk into a forest to the Cashs Gorge Lookout.

From there, we continued to the Ralph Falls. They didn't have much water to offer at the moment, but they wound beautifully along a curve through the rocks. And the view of the valley was also not bad.

The next destination was St. Columba Falls. Here, too, there was a well-maintained path to the waterfalls and back.

The waterfalls themselves are almost as high as the Ralph Falls at about 90m and had a lot of water at the moment. It looked very powerful and impressive as the masses of water fell to the ground. For Krissi, it was definitely a favorite.

We decided to have lunch at the nearby Pyengana Recreation Ground. There was a café with a pig drinking beer. Where else do you find something like that?

From there, we continued to the next waterfalls, the Halls Falls. We followed a path through the forest for 1 km and finally arrived at the waterfalls. They also had a lot of water, but didn't come close to the height of the St. Columba Falls. So we didn't stay long and set off for our next destination.

After three waterfalls that day... a dam. The Mount Paris Dam is an abandoned dam that was once needed for the mines nearby. Now the large dam wall stands as a monument in the landscape and is slowly being engulfed by the surrounding plants.

We drove further north to the 'Derby Tunnel'. Here, we hoped to find another cave that we could climb around in. But we found a tunnel that was made by humans and is currently apparently closed. Nevertheless, we took a few steps inside, but it was dark and humid and there wasn't much to see.

So we went back outside. There, a well-traveled mountain bike trail led past and we started longing for our bicycles that we had left behind in Germany. On an information board, we discovered many more mountain bike trails and already considered renting a bike. When we realized at the nearby campsite that almost only cyclists were staying there, we decided to also go mountain biking the next day. If you are in such a great place, you can't miss such an opportunity.

Said and done. The next day we went to 'Vertigo Mountainbikes' to rent a bike. There, we got two 'beginner' mountain bikes, which were nevertheless high quality. We were well equipped to ride the trails in the forest. Unfortunately, we were only allowed to ride the beginner trails with the bikes, but that was perfectly fine. It sounds easier than it actually was. We first rode a few trails around the nearby lake to get used to the bikes and then started the tour through the forest. We liked it so much that we rode it several times that day.

All the trails were lovingly built into the forest and sometimes went uphill or downhill steeply. Our thighs burned occasionally during the steep climbs, but the descents were even more fun.

There was also a stream crossing along the way, which gave us wet feet and pants but also a lot of joy. At the end of the day, we were very happy, although our bottoms suffered a bit from the hard saddles. After returning our bikes, we treated ourselves to a hot shower, which can be enjoyed at the campsite for $4 per person. Unfortunately, Krissi also got a headache in the evening, but since we wanted to go to bed early anyway, we lay down completely exhausted and slept until the next morning.

On Saturday, we started with a drive to the 'Little Blue Lake'. As the name already suggests, it's a beautiful blue lake. There was only a lookout point there, so we just walked around the lake for a closer look. By now, we know how much Kenny loves blue glowing lakes.

We continued to the northeastern corner of Tasmania, the Mount William National Park. After a short stop at the information office, we drove to the 'Scenic Lookout', which didn't offer such a great view.

So we continued via the Ansons Bay on well-made off-road roads to the Bay of Fires. On the drive, we encountered the third tiger snake of the day. It quickly slithered across the road in front of our car and disappeared into the bushes. We camped directly at the Bay of Fires at the Southern Sloop Reef Camp, where we immediately admired the beautifully red-colored rocks that give the bay its name. However, the weather was relatively cloudy, so we quickly retreated to our cozy car.