Tasmania (Sep 7-11, 2009)

 Tasmania:

• Where the heck is Tasmania?  I had only heard about Tasmanian Devil - but didn't even know what kind of animal that was.  Tasmania is located 150 miles south of Mainland Australia - separated by Bass Strait.  Until the strait was discovered, explorers didn't know that Tasmania was an island and ships navigated around it thinking that it was all Australian continent.
• Known for its natural beauty, we had to set aside enough time to explore Tasmania.  Given the remoteness of places we wanted to visit - and it wasn't even tourist season yet - our best bet was to rent a car and drive around.  Roads were nicely paved and for the most part, devoid of (m)any cars.  Driving on the opposite side of the road was not much of an issue.
• Supposedly the world's best hiking is Overland Track - starting near Cradle Mountain, this six-day hike leads adventurers through some of the greatest mountain landscapes in the world.  It ends at Lake St. Clair.  There are no facilities along the trail, so hikers will need to bring everything needed to survive. 
  - We did not have that much time - and a lot more to see, so we drove to the starting point, Cradle Mountain, hiked around there.  Then drove to Lake St. Clair the same day and hiked there the next day.

Mon September 7:

• Left early morning, taking airport shuttle for 8:20 am flight from MEL (Jetstar JQ735).  Reached the runway and stopped because a bird had hit the plane.  Luckily, everything was OK and we reached LST (Launceston) on time.  It was cloudy.  We got off the plane using ladders both in front and back exits.  Interstate quarantine meant sniffing dogs were walking around checking our bags.
• Budget car rental was right next to baggage claim.  Rented a Nissan Tiida with 41000 km (with some hatch damage.)and drove 1185 km in 4 days.  It started raining and got worse as we drove.  This was my first experience driving in Australia (on the left side of the road), but having experienced roads in Australia for two weeks made it a bit easier to visualize.  Also, the traffic was so light in Tasmania that it wasn't a big issue for the most part.
• First stop Cataract Gorge - right in downtown, 14 km north of LST airport.  It was raining so there was no one in the park.  Nice quiet place.  Took the longest cable car ride - it was too slow, so we got very wet.  Ditched the return ticket and walked back instead.  Saw a lot of peacocks along the way.  Crossed the bridge and walked back to the car.
• Next, Bakers Beach - about 77 km Northwest of LST, an hour away.  Not much of a beach, but favorite camping and picnic spot.
  - Purchased a Tasmania National Parks Pass - $56 per vehicle (up to eight passengers, valid for up to eight weeks.)  Adjacent Narawntapu NP had walking tracks and abundant wildlife - wombats, wallaby and kangaroos.  Listened to singing frog recording.
• Around 4:30 PM, drove to Cradle Mountains.  Stopped at Latrobe for lunch half an hour later.  Another one hour drive brought us to Cradle Mountain region.  Wanted to go up to the park entrance, but it started raining.  Hotel Cradle Chalet Boutique Luxury Lodge was half an hour before the park entrance.  A separate cottage with own parking spot.  A king bed, spa tub/shower/heat lamps.  Continental breakfast was included.  No dinner unless ordered before 10 am.  So we skipped it.

Tue September 8:

• Cradle Mountain NP - left room at 7:30 and reached park at 8 am.  Park Center opens at 8:30 am.  So we drove on to Dove Lake.  This is the starting point for Overland Track, which runs 65 KM from here to Lake St Clair.
  - The famous Cradle Mountains were beyond the lake - sprinkled with snow from last week and partially shrouded in fog.  We did a two-hour Dove Lake circuit hike - it was very cold and sometimes windy.  Boardwalk most of the way.  Some snow on the ground, water puddles in some places.  Not too many hikers around.
• Left the park at 11 am and drove to Queenstown.  Stopped for a quick lunch (1 to 1:30 PM), filled gas (360 km/28 liters) and then drove to Derwent Bridge.
• Stopped at Nelson Falls on the way.  Wonderful falls at the end of nice boardwalk.  No one was there.
• Further down was Donaghys Hill Nature Trail - supposedly great views but not worth the hike.  So we continued on.
• Went to Lake St Clair visitor center - decided to walk around the next morning.
• Returned to Derwent Bridge Wilderness Hotel, a basic hotel but welcoming host.  Twin beds with electric blanket - shared bedroom, common showers, breakfast included.

Wed September 9:

• Woke up at 7 am, took a shower and had a plentiful breakfast (cereal, toast, eggs, yogurt, fruit, tea/coffee)
• Left at 8:45 am and drove to Lake St Clair Visitor Center.  Hiked around the lake for two hours - to Watersmeet, Platypus Point and End of Overland Track.  Then drove to Hobart - Mt Wellington.
• It was very windy, foggy, cold and drizzly.  Took pictures of snow on top of Mt Wellington.  But there was no view of Hobart to be seen until we drove down below the fog line.  We were merely 10 km from Hobart, where we will overnight tomorrow.
• Drove down to Tahune AirWalk, a steel canopy walkway located in the Tahune Forest area that sits over the banks of the Huon River.  Nice but expensive ($22) views of the surrounding valley and Hartz mountain.  You are 150 ft above in the canopy, but the walk is not anything about the trees.  By itself, this is a good day for picnicking / hiking.
• On the way back, visited falls near the summit of Hartz Mountain.  The road to the summit beyond the Park Entrance was all dirt (or gravel or unsealed) road.  Traffic on that road was giant trucks carrying wood logs.  The road was pretty treacherous - wet and slippery.  Quite unnerving, actually!  From the end of the road, you could hike to the top, but today wasn't a good day for that weather wise.
• Returning to the main road, drove to Dover further south.  The only hotel in town was Dover Hotel which had rooms available.  A$70 - common showers and toilets.  Dinner at the restaurant - our first dinner in Tasmania.  Good meal - sufficient food.

Thu September 10:

• Left Dover around 8 am.  Shared showers was no issue because only two rooms were rented.  Reached Cockle Creek - south-most point of Tasmania (and therefore, Australia.  Still 2000 km from Antarctica though.) in about an hour.
• Nice views along the way.  It was partly sunny - and mostly clear later on.  Only one car had signed in the park register in the past two days - and that was also from CA, USA.  People come here to walk to the South Cape Bay (the same reason we were there.) - the south-most point on the island on foot.  We walked through the woods, and then followed the boardwalk several hundred meters through flatlands, before reaching a hill, just beyond which was the ocean.  That's where we hit the deadend - fallen trees blocking the trail.  Couldn't find any trail around, and so returned disappointed.  We were almost there!
• Drove back up 22 km on gravel road to Southport and had a nice sit down lunch.  Debated between revisiting Mt Hartz (too far inside, climb afterwards to reach the top), Mt Wellington (was clear today vs foggy yesterday, and could drive up to the top, but decided against it), Eaglehawk Neck (something new, but additional 90 km driving - ended up here, a great choice.)
• Tessellated Pavement is an interesting natural phenomenon - a brick-like pavement on the seashore.  Further south 4 km are the Tasman Blowhole, a collapsed cave, Tasman Arch and Devil's Kitchen - all close to each other.  It was late in the day, but there was plenty of light.  There was very little walking and no crowds.  We got some great pictures.
• Fog was rolling in as we drove back to Hobart.  It was getting dark, and headlights were shining in our eyes, making it difficult to drive.  Luckily, we didn't hit any animals (had seen plenty of roadkill in the past three days - poor wallabies.)
• Nearly 200 km to the north is Bicheno, where we could watch Penguin Parade as they return home at dusk and parade back to their nests.  We had already seen one in MEL at Phillip Island Nature Park.
• Filled up gas, reached Hobart.  Stayed at Rydges (best Rydges so far compared to Cairns, Sydney) - we had a suite with one king bedroom, another with two doubles, kitchen, shower. And a nice breakfast included.  Helps to travel during non-peak season.

Fri September 11: 

• No plans for this morning.  Swimming pool wasn't heated and spa was out of order.  It was too cold anyways.  Just had breakfast, showered and headed to the airport for the return trip.  
• During this trip, found out that Rydges provided decent overnight accommodations at a decent price.  Returned the rental car (AU$177 for 4 days during which we drove 1185 km.) Jetstar JQ706 at 12:40 PM brought us back from Hobart (HOB) to MEL.