Bridge the Travel Gap

Devils and Delights: A Tasmanian Adventure

After a stopover in Melbourne for 1 night we headed for the Southern most state of Australia, Tasmania, flying into the capital Hobart. We were here for 6 days to explore a little of what Tasmania has to offer.

The accommodation we decided to use was mostly AirBnb and boy was that a great decision.

The 1st 2 nights we spent at Paul’s in Hobart. His place is literally a few minutes walk from Elizabeth Street and its many restaurants. A bit of a theme was that we seemed to stay at people’s places who had dogs, which was fun.

Hobart is a great city and we mostly just walked around and visited the 2 highest points to enjoy the views. Luckily, the days we were there the weather was kind.

I, also, visited the Cascade brewery the oldest 1 in Australia and, naturally, did a tasting.

Tahune Air Walk

The next day we visited the Tahune Air walk. We did the enjoyed walk and views from the tree tops. The loop track over the swing bridges was fun.

The times given to walk the tracks are generous.

It cost A$54 entry for the 2 of us.

The cafe was excellent and not to expensive.

There is a film about the history of logging Huon Pine and why it is 1 of the most valuable and desirable woods in the world. It would have been nice to see a film on the reason, making and future of the air walk. Perhaps in the future this will be developed.

The road to the air walk is 26 km from Geeveston and at the beginning there were a few potholes. However, 6km in it’s a lot better and sealed all the way.

Bruny Island

We visited Bruny Island. The return ferry was A$35.

Also, we visited Adventure Bay where Tasman and Cook both visited. There is a lovely 2-hour walk you can take and it took us out to the point and up to the top of the Cape with great views.

On the way back we visited a whisky tasting place near the ferry and tasted half a dozen Bruny oysters.

A visit to the Tasman Peninsula

We drove down to visit Port Arthur, the Unzoo and explore the area.

1 of our stops was the Unzoo which was previously called the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park. The Unzoo is 1 of the few places where you can see Tasmanian Devils feeding.

Situated on the Port Arthur highway and not far from Port Arthur is where Unzoo lies.

We visited Unzoo for 3 hours in the morning and really enjoyed it. Sarah the guide was excellent, bubbly, articulate and knowledgeable about the Tasmanian devils. We saw 2 feedings and it was great.

The Unzoo is educational in that I never knew the devils live only 6 years and the Tasman peninsula is only 1 of 2 places in Tasmania the face cancer, which decimated the wild population killing up to 90%, has not reached.

It was also fun to feed the forest kangaroo and wallabies. The bird show was entertaining. Not too crowded.

On cost we used a 25% discount voucher for 2nd adult and it cost us A$58, money well spent as some goes back to the conservation of the Tasmanian Devils. Ticket is valid for 2 days.

Port Arthur

Our visit to Port Arthur was relatively short as we had limited time and arrived around 4pm. We were able to buy the A$36 tickets at half price which allows access till 7.30pm. You don’t get the cruise with this ticket and unlike the full price ticket It’s not valid for 2 days.

We were lucky to catch 1 of the last guided tours. The guide was excellent giving the history of the site and people who were sentenced to the prison.

Afterwards we explored the buildings and exhibition to find out about the convicts and their life in this remote part of the world.

You can do the main site in 3 hours but will need longer for the cruise and if you want a visit to the Isle of the Dead where the dead convicts are buried. The memorial to the 35 people slaughtered by a madman in 1996 is tastefully done.

Our last day was in Launceston where we did a walk at the Cataract Gorge. Wish we could have had more time here, but we had a plane to catch!

What it cost?

Tasmania is not cheap but for our 5 nights we paid A$500. Rental car with petrol for 900 kms was for 5 days A$240. Food, drinks and visiting attractions was A$1100. In total A$1840. I’m sure the trip could have been cheaper, but we decided to splurge and had some lovely meals.