Working our way west  ( anticlockwise ) since arriving, Tasmania’s northern attractions were left for last. No particular reason for travelling this way other than the fact that it left Cradle Mountain for the end of our trip and potentially in a better weather pattern – or so we had hoped. It’s definitely one of Tassie’s “biggies” in terms of attractions but it is notoriously weather sensitive

Leaving Pyengana, we came down from the hills through Derby, Scottsdale and on to the coast at Bridport, one of Tassie’s favourite holiday destinations. A very touristy town with a great beach, it looked like the kind of place locals come with their families for a beach holiday. Not being beach weather during our time there it seemed a bit pointless to stay, so on we travelled to historic George Town.  Despite the historical connection, our main reason for visiting was to pop in and see an old school friend who’d recently relocated there – wonderful to catch up with Nick and we agreed neither of us had changed at all in the 45 years since we were at school together !

Launceston sits just below George Town and is Tassie’s second largest city. We used its excellent shopping options to replace some kitchen ware and also took in its downtown sites and its big tourist draw, Cataract Gorge. Following some recent overcast weather, Launceston was on its best behaviour while we were there !

Just west of “Launy” ( as locals call it ) is the Kentish region of Tasmania – including the delightful towns ( and myriad attractions ) of Deloraine, Railton, Mole Creek and Sheffield, so the next few days were spent exploring between the group of them ( they are only 20-30 kms apart ). Deloraine probably the pick of the bunch for us – spotting a ( generally hard to find ) platypus on the Meander River was a real treat, as was the drive to ( and hike from ) nearby Liffey Falls.

If Wineglass Bay was the star of the east coast, undoubtedly Cradle Mountain National Park is the gem of the north. Arguably Tasmania’s top attraction ( certainly one of its top few ) “Cradle”, like the Franklin wilderness, is World Heritage listed. Its hikes and walks are legendary with choices to suit all levels of fitness and interest. Crater Lake, Dove Lake and Lilla Lake are probably the most popular at the north end of the park ( where we entered ) and the hikes that connect them all are indeed pristine. Surprisingly, some of the very short hikes close to the Visitor Centre were equally impressive – our mindset is generally that you have to hike far to see the best, but it’s not so at Cradle Mountain. That said, die hards can tackle the 8 day Overland Trek (and plenty were ! ) but it was a bit outside our capability given the equipment that we ( don’t ) carry ! Not just lots of flora at Cradle but some impressive fauna as well with lots of wallabies, kangaroos, eagles, wombats, and ( of course ) snakes. Tassie only has 3 species but all are venomous – we managed a close up of 3 Black Tiger snakes on the way to Dove Lake. Enough for us !

After 3 days at Cradle, and with our return ferry to the mainland just days away, we made our way ( indirectly ) back to the ferry town of Devonport, travelling first through Waratah, then up to the north coast via Burnie, Penguin and Ulverstone. The fine weather continued giving us a wonderful final memory of Tasmania. Having spent almost 5 weeks here, we can truly say it’s a great state to visit, it’s easy to navigate and, after the huge distances of Queensland and Western Australia, it’s refreshingly easy ( and usually quick ) to go from A to B ( we met a couple bikers who lapped the island in a week ). As such, you can cover a lot of ground in a short time.

We now sail back to Geelong and begin preparations for leaving Australia 😔😔. In fact, when I say “begin” the word is a bit of a misnomer since we have ( for the past little while) already been exploring shipping routes out of the county. We are often asked “when are we going back” but in fact we have never wanted to simply return to North America – the question then, was “Where to next ?” Nothing firm yet but stay tuned for developments !

Will certainly miss “Tassie” – it has been everything we expected and in some cases more. The weather was a bit wobbly early on but we managed some great days where it mattered most and in the last few days it was consistently great. We leave with wonderful memories of places and people, but we are also happy to be getting back to the mainland. There is, at this stage of our journey, much to do !

Till next week…..