TASMANIA!!!

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent from Christmas to New Year's Eve in Tasmania. Tasmania (not Victoria, as I mistakenly wrote in my first post) is the smallest Australian state; it is an island just south of Melbourne, off the southeastern coast of Australia--an island off an island, with other islands off it.

I haven't travelled that much, but my weeklong solo adventure to Tasmania is definitely the best trip I have ever been on, and it will definitely go down as one of the best in my lifetime whenever I'm old enough to make that list. This was basically a "wilderness and wildlife" trip, and Tasmania is simply breathtaking, from its rugged mountains, lush forests, hilly countryside, crystalline waters, and pristine air. And it's the home of the famed Tasmanian Devil! It is beyond my comprehension why when I told some Aussies that I was going there they responded as people in the U.S. do when someone tells us they're going to Nebraska or South Dakota or some other Central Plains state--"Why? It's Tasmania." But my brief visit to "Tassie" has turned me into a card-carrying Tasmaniac (ha ha!), and I would love to visit again and see the parts I didn't get to this time around.

I rented a little Corolla hatchback that took me mostly down the eastern part of the island, and for six days, it was just me, the road, the Tasmanian wilderness--and my music. Awesome... In all, I travelled 1528km (~950 miles), not counting the walks I took.

The first three nights, I stayed in the city of Launceston in the northeastern part of Tasmania with my friend Julie, whose family I spent Christmas with, and then I went off on my own, making my way down to Hobart, Tasmania's capital in the south. As usual, here's an overview with a map. (If you want to head straight to the pics, click here.)

The places I visited

Day 1: Christmas Day. Arrived in Launceston with my friend Julie, whose parents live there. Enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch at their beautiful home and opened gifts.









Day 2: Boxing Day (Dec 26). Day trip to Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake, located in the northwestern part of the island. (Warning: lots of pictures of Cradle Mountain on my Shutterfly account--I got tired of picking and sorting). On the way back to Launceston, I drove along the northern coast. Boxing Day dinner was a delicious seafood barbecue with prawns (shrimps), scallops, and salmon (and contrary to the popular stereotype, Aussies don't often cook "shrimps on the barbie" but I'm glad I got to enjoy it).

Day 3: Day trip to Mt. William National Park on the northeastern tip of the island, driving along gravel roads and looking for wild forrester kangaroos. Then I went to the Bay of Fires, near St. Helens on the northeastern coast, and hiked along the coastal rocks. On my way back to Launceston, I drove through St. Marys, an area that has suffered considerable damage from the bushfires.












Day 4: Visited the Launceston Seaport and Cataract Gorge (in Launceston). Then Left Launceston for Coles Bay and Freycinet National Park, which, I've been told, is listed among the places that American should visit before they die. At Freycinet National Park, I hiked up to a mountain lookout to get a view of Wineglass Bay. It was absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately, my camera could never do it (or anything I saw there) justice. Then hiked down the mountain to Wineglass Beach, where friendly wallabies paid tourists a visit.









Day 5: Headed to Hobart, via the historic town of Richmond, which boasts the oldest convict jail (spelled "gaol") in Australia. After I arrived in Hobart, I drove to the top of Mt. Wellington, where I had a spectacular view of Hobart, the Derwent River, and the mountainous Tasmanian wilderness. I discovered that in doing so, I followed in the footsteps of such famous people as Charles Darwin and Mark Twain. How cool is that!










Day 6: Strolled through the lively Saturday market at Salamanca Place in Hobart. Then I headed towards Port Arthur, a penal settlement that was prominent in Australia's convict transportation history. But before I got there, and I must say this was more exciting to me, I made a stop at the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park, just in time to see the 11AM feeding of these feisty creatures (got there 5 minutes before, much to my relief since the next feeding wasn't until 1:30PM). Sadly, the Tasmanian Devil is endangered because of a facial tumor that is spreading among them. It's the only transmissible cancer, and the animals spread it among themselves when they attack each other. And believe me, they are vicious!









Day 7: Last day :( I returned my rental car in the morning and enjoyed Hobart until I left for the airport. I arrived in Hobart at a really great time because the Hobart Summer Festival begins the last week of December and stretches in to the first week of January. I got to see very entertaining street performers and eat all sorts of food at the Taste of Tasmania festival. Plus, the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was finishing up the weekend I was there, so yachts were arriving each day and the place was just teeming with people.













There you go. If you ever get the chance to come to this part of the world, be sure to put Tasmania on your itinerary. It was a fantastic way to end 2006. But fantasies can't last forever, and now I must float back down to reality. Starting Jan. 8, I have two weeks of intensive summer classes. Sigh...