waterfalls, rainforest, beaches and a swimming pool
We were going to hike up to one of the peaks around lake st clair but there was low cloud covering the area, even more annoying to me since I had gotten up to see the sunrise. Instead of hiking, we drove to Mt Field nat’l park home of the spectacular russell falls.
The valley at the base of the falls is dense rainforest and the hilltops nearby are home to the second tallest trees on earth (behind the californian redwoods). The clouds had lifted by this point and it was a lovely day for walking around the park. We also stopped at a nearby wildlife park to see Platypus (strangest animal I’ve seen) and the ever popular Tasmanian devil…
After this stop it was back to Hobart for the night, we still had the car for another full day, but there’s nothing really between Mt Field and Hobart except some small, quaint, villages and farms. We drove by quite a few hop fields ready for harvesting.
Last day we had the car for we headed South of Hobart through another wine & farming region down towards the South coast, a very nice drive. We got as far as the paved road can take you and stopped at a great beach in Southport. It was too nice of a day and setting not to swim, despite the cold temperature of the water.
After that we stopped at Hastings for a so-called thermal pool where you can swim. All it ended up being (of course you don’t know this until you have already paid to get in) was a small, shallow very typical looking swimming pool with barely warm water in it. Not remotely hot like all the signs saying hot springs would lead you to believe. Pathetic! We soon left there and found another beach to chill on, more tough life…
So we completed our loop of Tassie in 10 days. I could’ve stayed longer in the Western regions and found parts of the East over rated. Much like anywhere, some stuff exceeds expectations and other stuff falls short. All in all it’s been a great road trip, 1900km in total, seeing the sites on this small island that is definitely very unique from mainland Australia. I also can’t believe how great the weather has been, in the 12 days I’ve been here I’ve only had 1 1/2 days of rain and the rest has mostly been sunny and warm!
Tags: Australia, Travel
Adam
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