I was really excited to visit Tasmania, an island off mainland Australia about the size of Switzerland. Jon and I enjoyed our minivan camper so much that we decided to give it another go for our last few days in Australia. This time though we were stepping it up a notch and going for one that had a kitchen behind the driver’s seat and you could stand up inside of it. No more lifting the bed up to get into the refrigerator!
Our kitchen.
We headed up to the North of the island to Cradle Mountain which we heard had an amazing hike up to the summit. We were winding our way up the mountain, Jon driving our new camper-van like it was a Lamborghini, when we heard a ping noise. The van seemed to lose some of its pep but slowly crawled the last mile up the mountain to our campground. We arrived just in time for the snow/hail. Yes, it was actually snowing and freezing. We made ourselves dinner in the fireplace kitchen and I was just heading to take a warm shower when Jon came back and told me that the camper-van would not start.
Views on our way up to Cradle mountain and a short walk we were able to do near the base.
The next day a tow truck came to pick us up and we made our way back down the mountain in the back seat of the tow truck this time. And guess what, because the weather was so bad I never actually even saw cradle mountain because it was covered by clouds. I was lucky enough to see a wombat which must be the cutest animal on earth. We spent the entire day at the garage and finally somewhere around 4 pm they told us and they could not fix it and would be driving another van out to us but it would take 5 hours.
Our camper-van on the tow truck.
Adorable mom and baby wombat.
Thankfully that was the end of our camper-van trouble and bad weather. As soon as we left the mountain it was sunny and gorgeous. We headed straight to Cataract Gorge park in Launceston where we let loose some pent-up energy by hiking. Jon jumped off a bridge with some local teenagers and I ate the most amazing berry ice cream. My choice may have left me with an extra pound but Jon’s left him with a bruised tailbone.
Launceston’s beautiful Cataract Gorge park and Jon climbing over to jump off the bridge. Not every day you seen a grown man in his underwear getting ready to jump.
We found a campsite right on the beach at the Bay of Fires and spent the day swimming in its turquoise waters.
Me at our campsite at the Bay of Fires. Can you imagine waking up with a cup of coffee and that view!
Fresh oysters and a Chardonnay, a Tasmanian specialty.
The next day we headed to Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park and hiked up for the dramatic view of the gleaming white beach and then down to spend some time in this breathtaking bay.
Wineglass Bay.
Our last stop was to the former prison settlement of Port Arthur. After the original Aboriginal people, Australia was first settled by convicts sent over from England due to overcrowding in the London prisons and England’s need to colonize Australia. We felt like we could not leave Australia without seeing at least one of these historical sites.
Port Arthur, not bad.
Journey with Christina 