The ultimate 7-day Tasmania trip!

My time in Tasmania is unfortunately already over and now I'm heading to Sydney. But before I don't get to it anymore, I want to tell you a bit about my round trip and of course the most important thing - show you pictures! I got along great with my two travelmates Guillome and Sophie!

Day 1 - Maria Island

My absolute favorite of the trip was Maria Island. The wildlife there is simply fantastic. Kangaroos, wallabies, birds, small squirrel-kangaroo-like animals and loooots of wombats. Many of the animals are not shy at all and can simply be petted or just curious, others run away quickly. Especially with wombats, it looks very funny because they just look like a running fur ball. The nature on Maria Island was also beautiful! There are no cars and no roads on the island, the hiking trails are simply on grass. The nature is simply untouched and super beautiful. There are the so-called Painted Cliffs, which are rock formations that look like they have been painted. Very impressive.

Day 2 - Freyinet National Park (Wineglass Bay)

On day 2 we took an 11km hike through the Freyinet National Park. We had planned 5 hours for this and we kept to that more or less. It was very exhausting, but it was absolutely worth it. The view from the lookout onto Wineglass Bay was very impressive. It's called that because it looks like a wine glass. I haven't really recognized the wine glass yet, you can try your luck :D Unfortunately, I got a blister, which made the second part of the hike very painful, but the nature was still amazing. Within 10 minutes, the landscape changed 3 times. First you're on a white sandy beach, then in what feels like a rainforest, and suddenly you're in a grass-swamp landscape and feel like you're in Africa. And on the way back, we walked along the beach where we found a lot of beautiful seashells! After sunset, we went on a tour to a beach to see penguins that come to shore in the dark and take care of their babies. Oh, they were so cute. Maybe about 25cm tall and the babies didn't have any feathers yet, more like fur, and they fought for food 😊 They make very interesting noises while doing so.

Day 3 - Bay of Fires

After Maria Island, my second favorite. Impressive beaches, fine white sand, turquoise blue water and pure sunshine! This is how you imagine paradise. We first took a little swim in Binnalong Bay, which turned out to be a bit disadvantageous afterwards because it was very windy and sand was swirling around and sticking to us. We then continued north to the Bay of Fires, where my absolute favorite place was (The Gardens) with red rocks, white beach, and the water. But the other beaches along the bay were also paradisiacal!

Day 4 - Launceston to Cradle Mountain

On day 4, we first visited a gorge near Launceston (I still don't know exactly what that is in German). There were also peacocks and baby peacocks 😊 Then we went to a small Swiss village called Grindelwald, which really looked like Switzerland (Since Sophie is Swiss, we just had to do that). Then came my 3rd favorite of the round trip - the Mole Creek Caves. That was my first visit to underground caves (as far as I can remember). We saw glowworms, impressive cave formations, and were in a large area - the Cathedral. The tour guide said that people often bring their instruments here or sing because the acoustics are unique. So, with a little urging from the other 2 and the rest of the tour, I started singing Hallelujah, which was one of my most unique moments so far. The sound was really special! And it reminded me of my sister's wedding, which made it even more special. We stayed overnight at a wilderness lodge in Cradle Mountain. And what a luxury - we had a room to ourselves with a huuuuge bed 😊 In the evening, we did a feeding tour in a sanctuary for Tasmanian devils. This is a species of animal that only exists in Tasmania and is unfortunately endangered. The animals are very cute, but I can also understand why they are called devils. They only eat meat and everything that is part of an animal - fur and bones. And they fight like devils for their food, which can be heard in interesting sounds.

Day 5 - Cradle Mountain

We spent the day hiking in Cradle Mountain National Park. 2 hikes totaling 12km and 5 hours, and there was a good climb in altitude again, but this time it was relatively easy! And the view of Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain was simply amazing. We must have spent at least 1 hour just taking photos :D Sophie is a pole dancer, so as soon as a tree or something pole-like was in sight, she struck one pose after another. Guigui and I usually had a bit of a problem trying to do the same. The day was really beautiful. Breathtaking views and just nature. I will become a mountaineer (probably not). There is also an Overland Track that leads from Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair in 6 days and 108km. Guigui is starting it in 3 days. We stayed overnight in Queenstown, which is a really cute little town that looks a bit like a Western cowboy town. Except for a supermarket and a few shops and hotels, there's not much there.

Day 6 - Lake St. Clair and Mount Field National Park

So, the last day on the road took us past a few waterfalls and Lake St. Clair. Nelson Falls and Russell Falls were very impressive! At Lake St. Clair, we took a little 1.5-hour circular path that led us to Platapys Bay (platypus are amazing). Unfortunately, they are very shy and we didn't see any ☹). In the evening, we came back to Hobart again and surprisingly we got a whole apartment to ourselves instead of a booked 6-bed room. For the same price! We had our own bathroom, TV, kitchen - everything that backpackers normally don't have. So we enjoyed it to the fullest!

Day 7 - Bruny Island

From Hobart, we took a day trip to Bruny Island, drove around the island a bit, saw most of the bays and beaches, and visited a small lighthouse. The view from up there was breathtaking! I definitely preferred Maria Island, but Bruny also has some beautiful spots. And for the first time in Australia, I drove a car on the left side. That resulted in a few abrupt brakes when I wanted to press the clutch and a lot of windshield wipers instead of blinkers... but after a short time, you get used to it. (And yes, we all survived and the car is still intact :P)

In summary, an amazing trip through the impressive nature of Tasmania. I am very sad to leave my 2 travelmates and Tasmania behind now. Sydney will be a very different experience, but I'm still looking forward to it!