Tasmania and the Wombats - Part 2

Day 1: A new day, a new adventure. On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, we were finally able to start our journey to Hobart and were happy and excited to have arrived in Tassie (as the Aussies call Tasmania) in the late afternoon. After smoothly checking into our nice hostel (my first hostel experiences were collected here), we quickly went to a Nepalese restaurant to recharge for the coming days.

Day 2: The capital Hobart is located at the foot of Mount Wellington. And what to do with a Swiss companion? Of course, hike as much as possible (after the Tasmania vacation, I was grateful to have bought good hiking shoes for my trip!).

So, in the morning, we packed our provisions, put on our shoes, layered up, and hopped on the bus. After about 2.5 hours of constant uphill climbing (where were the base camps along the way?!) we reached the summit. Mt. Wellington has a height of 1,271m and is known for its snow in winter - it was the first time I saw snow in July.

Upon reaching the top, there was a chilly wind, but the view of Hobart and its surroundings was unique. To make the hike a little more exciting, we decided to take a different path back - what a mistake. We went steep downhill through rubble, no one in sight and no cell phone reception - why the path was marked as an official trail was a mystery to us. Fortunately, at 3/4 distance, we were still able to get a coffee and hitch a ride back down with nice people we had met on top. After a hot shower, we were looking forward to a restful night - in theory. Who could have known that in an all-female room, I wouldn't be able to sleep a wink for a week because someone was snoring like crazy...

Day 3: Driving on the left side of the road is not as bad as everyone thinks, unless you're the passenger driving along the cliff edge.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, we picked up our rental car and were ready to explore the island. As a left-hander, everything related to the left should be easy for me - or so I thought. After getting in on the wrong side at the beginning, flicking the windshield wipers instead of the blinkers for the fifth time, and being overtaken by people on the right multiple times, I slowly got used to driving on the left. However, it took a little longer to stay in the middle of the lane and not drive with the left side of the car at the extreme edge - it's also uncomfortable when cars come towards you from the 'wrong side'. We drove northeast for 2.5 hours to the Freycinet National Park, which is famous worldwide for Wineglass Bay. To reach the famous beach, you have to walk down 1,000 steps ... and of course walk back up... But we had the whole beach to ourselves and could listen to the sound of the sea (and my little legs could rest).

To avoid having to drive all the way back, we spontaneously booked a hostel nearby - which turned out to be a disaster, but that's another story.

Day 4: After quickly freshening up at the restaurant across the street, our journey continued to Maria Island. With a small ferry, you can reach this idyllic pedestrian and cyclist island within 30 minutes (apparently, islands are our thing ;-) ). Once there, it doesn't take long to be surrounded by wallabies and wombats - a paradise for these fluffy creatures. Since we only had 4 hours on the island, the best solution was to explore the area by mountain bike. I agreed to this before I saw the mountains (!!!) on the island. Riding along the coast like a roller coaster (but with muscle power), we soaked up the sun whenever it appeared.

As soon as we were back on the ferry, the announcement came that the crew had seen a humpback whale during the crossing about 10 minutes ago. And indeed - within the next 3 minutes, we saw the spout shoot out of the water and the whale briefly appeared at the water surface before diving back down - what a crowning finale.

Day 5: We spent our last full day visiting a typical market at Battery Point and spontaneously decided to spend the afternoon on another island, Bruny Island.

Beautiful sandy beaches as far as the eye can see, amazing nature, wallabies by the roadside, and the sun on our faces. Unfortunately, it was only 9-12 degrees Celsius, but we still had to dip our feet in the crystal-clear water. Although this island is the 'typical' tourist island, we liked Maria Island from the previous day much better, but it was still worth the trip.

Day 6: Since our plane didn't depart until 7 p.m., we had almost the whole day to do something in Hobart - although we were a bit clueless in the morning. The good thing about hostels is that you are constantly in contact with other (usually like-minded) people and can exchange tips and tricks. After the 4th person strongly recommended the MONA Museum, we had to check it out - and we were not disappointed!

I'm really not a museum person, but the Museum of Old and New Arts is probably the best and at the same time the most bizarre museum I have ever been to. As a finale, we were able to witness a live jazz performance in the museum while enjoying a glass of Tassie wine before we had to make our way to the airport. Fortunately, there were no difficulties with the return flight, and we arrived in Adelaide at 9 p.m. on time.

Thank you, Tasmania, for your breathtaking nature and an unforgettable first vacation within Australia!