Tasmania

 

Tasmania is often described as a state similar to stereotypical Ireland; windy roads, lots of green and cold! At this time of the year, a visit to Tasmania will guarantee all of those things.

We arrived to Hobart on Tuesday evening and picked up our rental car before making the trip to Bicheno. We decided to drive half way up the coast as we were tight on time, giving us a great starting point for Day 1.

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Bicheno
Food-

We arrived in Bicheno around 8pm to find every food stop closed. We were extremely disappointed when we went to The Oasis as we asked the waitress if we could still order dinner, to which she responded ‘Nah’. I went into the bar to speak to someone there to point us in the right direction and to which his response was ‘Nah’ and he walked off. My face obviously showed my shock as a patron came over and suggested a few takeaways to try. We were delighted to receive the help but couldn’t believe the rudeness of the staff,  I definitely wouldn’t recomnend such an unprofessional establishment. In the end, we had chocolate and Doritos for dinner.

Accomodation-

We prebooked Bicheno Backpackers which was $159 for four people. It was clean and tidy with excellent kitchen facilities, we were more than satisfied.

Attraction- Bicheno Blowhole

We weren’t keen to hang around too long so we went to the Bicheno Blowhole which is located very close to Bicheno Backpackers. 

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St. Helens

St Helen’s is a quaint little country town which had a clear connection to fishing, assumed by the many fishing boats in the bay.

We had our first meal of the day at Banjo’s Bakery. It was so cheap compared the Melbourne and Perth prices we are used to. We all had a delicious coffee, toastie and spinach & ricotta roll for less than $12.

Attraction-Bay of Fires

Wow! The ocean here is amazing! The turquoise water and clean sandy beaches were stunning and I only wished it was summer time. The Bay of Fires stretches for 50km up the east coast of Tasmania but we didn’t spend the time seeing everything. It is certainly something I would like to revisit during a warmer season.

Attraction- Skeleton Bay & Skeleton Point
Park the car and get some fresh air on this short walk. We trekked an easy 20minutes to Skeleton Point which looked quite similar to Bay of Fires but a nice walking track.

We were well on our way to our next destination, Launceston. There were some great stop offs along the way.

Attraction- Cheese Tasting At Pyengana Dairy

We stopped off at this cute place to taste some cheese and a glass of wine was inevitable. Pyengana Dairy is literally on the side of the road (St. Columba Falls Rd) with the dairy farm out the back. When we went inside we were welcomed by an open fire and a friendly face. The cheese was great, the glass of wine we enjoyed at the picnic benches was also great.

Attraction- Saint Columba Falls

These falls were very easy to access and great for those who are not fond of hiking. The 10minute walk down to the base of the falls through the damp floor of the rainforest. It was a beautiful walk and the falls were powerfully amazing!

We tried to get to Ralph Falls and failed miserably! We ended up driving through the Mount Victoria Forest Reserve…big mistake! We eventually made it out and were back on the right track to Launceston!

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Launceston

What a beautiful city. I’m not entirely sure what I expected but I thought it would be smaller than what it was. We only spent one night here so I would definitely like to return and a direct flight from Melbourne makes it easy.

Accomodation- Penny Royal Hotel

We loved this old style hotel. The rooms were huge and all the doors were latched instead of a modern style. After speaking to a work colleague, she said there were much nicer places to stay but we really liked the character this place had.

The two disappointments were the miserable amount of free wifi for each room (I think we scrolled thrpugh Facebook for 5mins and it was gone) and the breakfast the next morning. Mini Me paid $11 for a bowl of cereal which I assumed would be bottomless but no, it wasn’t. We had Eggs Benedict which was pretty average so I probably wouldn’t eat here again.

Eating Out-

We went to Steakhouse and this was collectively, our favourite meal of the trip. We purchased a bottle of wine and a steak each. Choosing a main from the menu gives you access to a pretty great salad bar. Yes, I squirmed when I heard salad but there were hot and cold pasta and noodle options and stir fried vegetables amongst the choices so we were all extremely full leaving!

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All of the above was completed in one long day and  Day 2 was to be a busy one so we relaxed in our rooms and had an early night. The next adventure was about to begin!

What do you love about Tasmania? What did we miss?