Tasmanian Wanderings - The Catalyst for Change
It could be said that our family trip to Tasmania was our catalyst for change. It was the break we needed and the break that would somewhat shape the beginnings of our future and set the wheels in motion for some sea changes to our way of life.
We are fortunate that Sarah’s father lives in Launceston in Tasmania and while we had visited previously we had not taken our girls so we decided we would hit the road and make the trek from our home, at that stage, in Adelaide, South Australia to Tasmania. We would drive to Melbourne where we would meet up with my mother, as she had never been to Tasmania and she was joining us on our trip, and all board the Spirit of Tasmania to set sail across the bass straight and make our way to Devonport Tasmania as the docking location. This departure point has since changed however and is now located in Geelong, Vic
I will say that the journey across the bass straight, for some, could not end soon enough and that some sick stomachs ensued throughout the night but all in all the trip and cabins on the ship were very comfortable and saw us dock in at Devonport around 0630 in the morning. After a quick breakfast in Devonport we made our way to Launceston where we would base ourselves for the duration of our trip.
While we were only in Tasmania for just over a week we managed to jam pack as much as we could into the time we were there. Our first destination was to visit Cataract Gorge. All i can say is if you visit Tasmania then you must have Cataract Gorge on your list of places to explore. It is thought that the earliest recorded visit to the area was in 1804 by explorer William Collins. The landscape within the gorge is truly magnificent with a free flowing river cutting a path between the mountainous valleys. A must do while you are there is to take a ride on the chair lift across the gorge. The chair lift is the worlds longest single span chair lift and gives you a birds eye view of all the offerings of the gorge.
The array of wildlife there kept the girls entertained and amazed and was truly spectacular. The peacocks were in abundance as well as the wallabies and kangaroos. The girls had a great time exploring and somewhat interacting with all the wildlife that was on offer at the gorge.
The next journey was out to the famous Cradle Mountain. This would be the first time our girls would set eyes on the famous mountain. The drive out though wasn’t without dilemma as the winding roads getting the better of Charlotte and we found ourselves on the side of the road cleaning up Charlotte’s breakfast that had decided to launch itself onto the back seat of our car. Thankfully though this didn’t dampen the day and we made it to Cradle Mountain where the girls were in awe of the amazing sight of the snow capped mountain. Unfortunately though it was somewhat unseasonably warm while we were there but there was still a glimmer of snow on the peaks of the mountain. Cradle Mountain is the 5th highest mountain peak in Tasmania but we would not summit the peaks today instead we traversed up to an open lookout which was a little bit of a “heart in mouth” moment as there was no barrier from the lookout to a rather large drop down into Dove Lake which laps the base of Cradle Mountain. We managed to get a quick snap shot, take in the view of the mountain and make our way back down. We had a delicious lunch at the stunningly beautiful Cradle Mountain Lodge while counting the myriad of wombats roaming around the grounds.
The next day we took a road trip down from Launceston to Hobart where we enjoyed the sights and sounds from the amazing Salamanca Markets before embarking on the epic and at times scary journey to the top of Mount Wellington. We had some discussions half way up the mountain as to whether or not we would push on to the peak of the mountain and thankfully we decided to continue up. The view from the top was like the view from the top of the world, taking in all that greater Hobart has to offer. Before long the clouds started to roll in which voided our view but It was truly spectacular and a trip we were thankful we made. On our return trip we decided to stop at a quaint little pub in Hobart for a sneaky drink to calm our nerves.
Our last day in Tassie saw us travel to the vividly colourful Table Cape Tulip Farm where the endless rows of Tulips made for a colourful sensory overload. From here we then traveled down to Boat Harbour with the spectacular white sands where the girls dipped their toes in the rather cold waters.
We then sadly said goodbye to the stunningly picturesque Tasmania. We had decided to extend our trip by a few days to allow us to take in the Great Ocean Road on our way back home. Stopping in at the 12 Apostles and the world famous Bells Beach. This is where the seasonably cold, no, freezing, weather kicked in as you may be able to see by the rugged up photos of us below. In spite of the cold it was awe inspiring to stand and gaze across at the 12 apostles. This is an amazing piece of mother natures artwork spread across the rugged Victorian coastline.
We stopped overnight at Warnambool to recharge the batteries before we embarked on the last leg of what can only be described as an epic journey and a journey that would set the cogs in motion for a shift in our mindset and a shift in this life’s adventure of ours.
