Third stop: Hobart
# Day 1
Arrived pretty early in the morning, and I must say that I was quite surprised at the size of the airport; I thought it’d be bigger! We were meant to take an airport shuttle to town, but I got an SMS (that was sent 1h before our arrival time) to say that there were operational issues and they couldn’t take us. WTH?! Luckily we managed to pick up our rental car though we were meant to pick it up in the city later during the day.
Found Tassie Backpackers without too much difficulty after navigating around the one-way streets of the city centre. We paid $28/person/night for the first night in a 3-bed dorm, and then $30/person/night for the next 2 nights in a triple ensuite. With only $2 difference, I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t book the en suite (unless it was already booked out, like it was on our first night). It’s a relatively old place, and the toilets/bathrooms look like they were haphazardly placed in the building. There was a big bathroom with showers, bathtubs and toilet cubicles, there were toilet cubicles alone, there was a toilet cubicle with just the toilet bowel and no sink – you get the drift. It was still clean and comfortable, but I guess we were just a lil spoilt after staying in YHAs, haha.
Anyway, we left our bags and had lunch at Underground 53. The shopfront wasn’t really eye-catching, you could easily walk past it without noticing it. But the place was really cosy and the waitress was so thoughtful. She realised Pek wasn’t there when she served his hot choc (he stepped out to go look for his sunglasses strap after we had ordered), and she said we should have told her so that they could have made it later and it’d still be warm when he returned :) They serve an awesome vanilla chai latte btw! I think Fi liked the spiced chai latte too.
Headed to Mount Wellington after that and drove all the way up to The Pinnacle. It was cloudy initially, but thankfully the clouds cleared up so we enjoyed the breathtaking views!
Jumping again. People must have thought that we were crazy.
And even more crazy, we went to plank on the rocks (I’m sure planking must be outdated by now…)
Doesn’t this look like a Hyundai Getz advertisement? Hehe :)
Drove down and stopped somewhere to take a short walk to O’Gradys Falls. And then drove further down to Fern Tree where we went on the Fern Glade track to Silver Falls and back.
Had dinner at Annapurna, I guess we all missed rice by then, haha. Had the Masala dosa, Butter chicken, Mushroom cheese pakora, Dal & lassi. Felt that they toned down on the spices, perhaps to suit the local tastes. Still good nonetheless!
# Day 2
White water rafting on the Picton River! :) We almost missed out on this because there had to be a minimum of 4. Eventually we were prepared to pay for the 4th person so that we could go ahead. But we got lucky and there was another group for the day, so glad it worked out! Plus we still had a raft to ourselves, which was awesome. Photos credit to guides/other rafters.
We stopped on the way back at a town called Franklin. Had a bite at a random Western/Vietnamese fusion cafe that served an awesome seafood chowder! Pek said he would come back to Tassie and drive all the way out here just for this ;)
# Day 3
Headed down to Port Arthur for the Tasman Island Cruise. It was gloomy but at least it wasn’t raining. To prepare us for the rough conditions of the sea, we were clad in these orange wind/waterproof jumpsuits which look like spacesuits, haha.
Took a short bus ride to Eaglehawk Neck where the boat was waiting. To be honest I was a lil nervous given my previous seasick experience. Thankfully I survived, and even managed to sit right in front of the boat! Either 1) the dimenhydrinate that Pek gave me worked, or 2) the ginger tablets the staff gave us worked, or 3) the seas weren’t too choppy, or 4) all of the above.
The tour ended about 1ish. After asking for recommendations, we headed back to Eaglehawk Neck for fish & chips out of a caravan. Follow the signs to “The Blowhole” and you’ll find it in the car park. Awesome scallops :D
We explored The Blowhole, then drove a short distance to Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen. Interesting rock formations/sea caves made by nature.
Visited the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park after that. Not only were there the devils, there were also quolls, kangaroos, birds & eagles.
Ended our day by going to the Remarkable Caves, which weren’t quite remarkable after all. At least there was a beautiful coastline!
Had dinner at Fox & Hounds Inn, which was probably the worst meal of the trip. Maybe Fi & I ordered the wrong dishes; Pek seemed quite happy with his lamb cutlets. When night finally fell, we went on the Ghost Tour at Port Arthur Historic Site. I must admit that I was a lil freaked out :( Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time (given that we went for the half-day Tasman Island Cruise), I would have liked to explore the Isle of the Dead & Point Puer Boys’ Prison, maybe next time.
# Day 4
Spent the last day exploring the city itself. Had brekkie at Machine Laundry Cafe at Salamanca Place, then walked up & down random streets. Too bad our visit didn’t include a Saturday, so we missed the Salamanca market.
Bought ourselves a souvenir each :)
The adventure ended back in Melbourne where we spent the last day along the Great Ocean Road. It’s my 5th time in 6 years, but I guess it’s on the tourists’ checklist so I had to bring Fi there haha. It’s my first time in summer though!
We stopped at Torquay for brunch and window-shopping, where I found a pair of Oakley aviators that actually fit my face (miracle!). Was thinking about buying it for myself for Christmas, given that the coating on the lenses of my current pair is peeling off and I’ve been too lazy to get it fixed. But I still like my current frame a lot, so I was going to go home and think about it. Besides, I don’t usually buy things on impulse, especially something that costs $260. You should have seen my hesitation before I finally bought my first pair of Oakleys. Anyway, I had a pleasant surprise when I got home, the boyfriend had bought it for me! Thank you dear :)
Stopped at Bells Beach, Kennett River (walked down Grey River Road to spot koalas in the wild), Apollo Bay (for the famous ice cream), 12 Apostles, and Loch Ard Gorge. They found it quite repetitive after what we saw on the Tasman Island Cruise. I probably didn’t give Melbourne/Victoria enough justice, but then again, they planned it such that we only had about 2.5 days here (maybe because I live here and Pek’s been here before) so there were limited places I could bring them to.
Anyway, it was a good break from work and I thoroughly enjoyed myself with these 2 buddies :) Ending off my travelogue with more jump shots!
