Tasmania: in the land of the Tasmanian Devil

Devonport Launceston Bay of Fires St.Helens Bicheno Port Arthur Richmond Hobart Strahan

We started our journey from Melbourne to Devonport in the evening on the ferry 'Spirit of Tasmania'.

The beach in Melbourne is really busy...

We survived the eleven and a half hours quite comfortably in comfortable sleeping chairs.

But Devonport at 7.00 in the morning was not very charming with only 9 degrees and cloudy sky, so we continued to Launceston after a good breakfast. Before that, we quickly bought warm hats in the expectation that we would need them later here. But that was not so easy because in some shops they told us that it was almost summer;) ... but after some searching we managed to find some hats.

Juts outside Launceston are the Tamar Island Wetlands, a special landscape with unique wildlife.

In contrast to Devonport, Launceston greeted us much more friendly with sun and more pleasant temperatures;).

There are two extremely interesting museums in Launceston, the Queen Victoria Museum and the Queen Victoria Art Gallery. We visited both and learned a lot about the incredibly sad history of thousands of criminals who were brought here from various British colonies to Port Arthur to serve their sentences as forced labor under inhumane conditions and to become 'honorable' and God-fearing members of society. Not to mention that at that time, repeated theft of bags or food was also considered a serious crime. The poor, mostly men, were not only taken away from their social environment, but also far away to an largely undeveloped island. Hardly any of them could return to their families after serving their sentences, because of course they lacked the money for that.

As we later learned during a guided tour of the prison area in Port Arthur, the prisoners received education and training if they were well behaved. But similar to today, hardly anyone wanted to employ former prisoners. So many of them later came to Hobart and settled there.

Forest and bush fires are not uncommon here despite cooler temperatures, but they are essential for the vegetation.

The Cataract Gorge is a short walk from the city center, a wonderful place to recharge. If you like, you can even explore the area from above with a cable car.

Cataract Gorge Launceston

To finally see Tasmanian Devils and wombats, we went to the East Coast Nature Park in Bicheno.

So far we had not seen any living wombats in the wild, only unfortunately those that had fallen victim to road traffic :(.

A close relative of the koalas, this cute wombat

The Tasmanian Devils are unfortunately threatened by an infectious cancerous disease, of which 75% of the animals in the wild have already fallen victim to (according to the information from the animal keeper). Intensive research is being conducted to find special ways to save these peculiar animals. If that fails, they too will become extinct, just like the Tasmanian Tiger, which can now only be admired as an exhibit in museums.

The entrance fee is relatively high, but the exciting guided tour by the dedicated staff makes up for it.

In the enclosure, there are also some less shy kangaroos, peacocks, and other bird species.

The Tasmanian tiger snake and her colleagues;) are of course in an enclosure.

Beauties on the beach

St.Helens

This kitten looks as if it knows what is being promoted here;).....

Richmond is also a place closely linked to the history of convicts. In 1823, they built the Richmond Bridge, which is now the oldest operating motor vehicle bridge in Australia.

And finally, we reached the aforementioned Port Arthur.

Liz's excellent tour of the extensive grounds and a harbor cruise left us with a creepy impression of how terrible life must have been as a prisoner here. Particularly serious cases were brought to a small island nearby, where they were left to their fate with other inmates without provisions.



We had planned three days for the capital of Tasmania. We couldn't find a caravan park in the city, but we found a particularly beautiful one in the nearby Cambridge, which also had a nice restaurant and a very good pizzeria on site. Being on the road with a motorhome means being able to live autonomously to a large extent, to take care of yourself and to be free. I also like to cook and we both are a good team in the everyday skills that are necessary to ensure a smooth process in a small space. Nevertheless, it is sometimes very nice to go out to eat... Since Australia is generally quite expensive in this regard, we think about it carefully and do not let it become a habit. Of course, as mentioned before, it is different to travel for such a long time or just to go on vacation for a short time.

The Salamanca Market takes place in Hobart every Saturday. There, where all kinds of delicious, curious, and artistic things are offered, we naturally had a look around.

In Mount Field National Park, we took a very nice hike through the rainforest to three waterfalls and an area of giant trees.

We stayed overnight in the park, where the pademelons, a small kangaroo species, were hopping around between the caravans.

In Derwent Bridge, we made a quick stop to visit 'The Wall in the Wilderness'. A local artist has started a project there, which is still in progress. He intends to depict the history of Tasmania through large-scale wood carvings on a 100m long wooden wall over a period of ten years. What can already be admired is extremely detailed depictions of people and animals. Taking pictures is not allowed, but it can be revealed that the exhibition is already very impressive and worth seeing.

The west of Tasmania is much rougher and cooler.

On our way, we passed by a decommissioned copper mine, where there is now a green lake to see from a viewpoint called the 'Iron View Point'.

There are several such places along the route where various mines have been established, which in my opinion spoils the otherwise beautiful area quite a bit. But of course, jobs were created in this way. Queenstown and Zeehan, for example, are places that were created along with a mine.

In Strahan, which is beautifully located on the Gordon River, we stayed for one night and then continued our journey to Ulverston.

There, we celebrated Peter's birthday in a very nice restaurant. Going out for a long time is not so easy here, because many places close already at 8:00 p.m., and others at the latest at 10:00 p.m. (!). Night owls do not have it easy in terms of going out😉.

Those were our two weeks in fascinating Tasmania. Now we are looking forward to meeting Martina in Anglesea and spending a few days with her.