TASMANIA IN 12 DAYS – The Ultimate Campervan Roadtrip!

There is magic in Tasmania! It is filled with incredible natural beauty – virgin white sand beaches with the softest velvettiest sand, gorgeous landscapes, mountains, rainforests and unique wildlife. It is a major backpacking, camping and road trip destination. So when my husband and I were planning our trip to Tasmania, he suggested that we hire a campervan! 

I was a little anxious at first, because the first (and hopefully last) time I went camping, I realised how much I hated sleeping in a tent. Don’t get me wrong..but tents are just stupid and take forever to put up, I have always wondered why someone would have thought sleeping on hard, cold ground was a good idea. I also discovered that I have amazing bug attracting abilities and not the small kinds that you can swat between your palms, but bugs that are the size of a car and can eat your face! Seriously guys, bugs have no regard for personal space and just come into your tent uninvited. But my husband is kind of a sucker for outdoors and adventures and he talked me into it and I am happy to announce that I did not regret it one bit! Campervan-ing was waaaaaayyyy better!

Campervan was great for so many reasons, it gave us an incredible amount of flexibility and complete freedom on our holiday to be able to customize our road trip on the fly. The journey itself was the highlight of the trip for both of us! 

How long to go for and when?

Even though it looks like a tiny portion of Australia, Tasmania is still quite huge. To be able to cover everything Tasmania has to offer, I would recommend spending at least 12-15 days there. And the best time to visit is in the summer – anywhere between December to February. The sun sets around 9 PM giving you plenty of time to drive around and explore this magical place. Contrary to the common notion that the whole of Australia is warm and sunny, the weather in Tasmania can change pretty quickly. I would recommend carrying a light jacket even in the summers as it can get quite cold in the evening!

Itinerary

• Day 1: Port Arthur, Tasman Peninsula and Surroundings
• Day 2: Swansea & Freycinet National Park
• Day 3: Explore Bicheno
• Day 4: Binalong Bay and the Bay of Fires
• Day 5: Launceston and surroundings
• Day 6: Exploring Stanley
• Day 7: Sheffield & Cradle Mountain National Park
• Day 8: Cradle Mountain National Park
• Day 9: Strahan and Queenstown
• Day 10: Queenstown and Mount Field National Park
• Day 11: New Norfolk and Hobart
• Day 12: Hobart

Driving route

Day 1: Port Arthur, Tasman Peninsula and Surroundings

We started our trip by driving east to Port Arthur. We accidentally stumbled upon the beautiful Dunalley bay. This unique aquamarine beach is only a few steps away past the sand dunes caused by the low tide! It is amazing how low the tide goes, you can walk really far! I would have liked nothing better than to just lay on the sand all day like a beached whale, but we hadn’t made it to the first place on our itinerary and left half heartedly after spending about an hour there! 

When you drive in Tasmania, keep an eye out for the novelty mailboxes! We were amazed to see the amount of thought and effort that people have put into customising their letter boxes.

Our next stop was the tessellated pavement located in the Eaglehawk Neck. The Eaglehawk Neck is also home to the famous geological formations like the Tasman Arch, Devils Kitchen and the blow hole which are less than 5 minutes apart. The tessellated pavement is a striking rock formation resembling a bed of mosaic tiles, filled with water, which at first glance seems like it has been carved by a craftsman. This place is nothing short of amazing considering this phenomenon took 60 to 160 Million years.

The blowhole is located in Doo-Town, famous for its whacky house names! I think Doo-town is worth a visit even if only for a couple of minutes as you make your way to the other attractions of the Tasman peninsula. Also try out the home-made ice creams from Doo-Lishus, they were right by the Blow Hole! It was extremely busy and we could see why! Their ice creams were doooooooooo-licious! Make sure you have some cash on you, since they do not accept cards due to poor internet connectivity in the area.

The last stop we made was to Port Arthur historic site, we stopped in port Arthur for a quick lunch, you will find a few restaurants and shops 5 minutes from the site. Once you reach the historic site, I would recommend taking a guided tour and checking the tour timings before you go, since the last tour is around 3PM. Wear comfortable shoes because it is quite a walk. It is interesting to learn about their dark history and the horrors that have occurred here in the past. It is ironic that a place as beautiful as this was actually the scene of horror in the past.

Accomodation

We spent the night at the Fortescue bay campgrounds because of its close proximity to Port Arthur. There are two grounds there, the Mills Creek and the Banksia, we booked the one at Mills Creek as it has the water views and you can drive your vehicle right into your campsite. We arrived late in the evening, so we had to do self check in. Make sure to carry cash with you, as you cannot pay with your card here! (We had to scrummage our backpacks for change!)

The road to get to Fortescue bay was basically just gravel and mud and it is not a fun drive especially when it is raining. Pro-tip: Offline maps can be very handy as we had no internet connectivity throughout, unless you can navigate by just looking at the stars – which you probably can’t! Wood fires are allowed in this campground, but being camping noobs we did not think of even getting a torch light. Luckily for us the campervan had everything we needed including torchlights. The campsite is surrounded by thick vegetation and there are plenty of wallabies and pademelons around! There are pit toilets here, which were very average. They were very basic but clean. The lights in the toilets are very dim and I would recommend you carry a torchlight if you want to avoid accidentally peeing on a frog or a hedgehog! If you want to have a raw camping experience in the forest, this might be a good place for you!

Day 2: Swansea & Freycinet National Park

We had a quick breakfast and were out on the road by 8 AM. The Drive to Swansea is about 2.5 hours and is one of the best drives with a lot of interesting places to stop by on the way.

We accidentally discovered the spikey bridge, which is another quirky little place to stop by in Tasmania. There was a sign with heaps of information about the bridge itself but nothing about the spikes on the bridge. Some say it was built to prevent cows from falling over the edge, into a gully, while others speculate it was to stop people from jumping to their deaths. The reason for these queer spikes still remains a mystery!

We made our way to Kates Berry farm – a popular dessert cafe overlooking fields of berries. It is a cute little cafe which has homemade ice creams, jams and chocolates. They are a bit pricey but their ice creams were pretty good.

Next, we drove to the Wineglass Bay. There are a couple of treks here, the highly recommended one being the Trek to Mount Amos, it takes about 3-5 hours return and the views are rewarding. Unfortunately for us, it was raining and quite foggy and we decided to do the easier wineglass bay lookout trek which takes just anywhere about 40 minutes to one hour! The clouds cleared up a bit as we reached the top but the view wasn’t what we expected due to the weather. Nevertheless it was a good experience.

Accomodation

We stayed at the Big4 Iluka campsite which is one of the best that I have been to so far! This campsite had beach access and it was wonderful to go watch the sunset at the Muirs beach! The facilities are excellent, they have multiple kitchens as well as a bbq. The toilets and showers were clean. They also had a pub right next door which was quite nice.

Day 3: Explore Bicheno

Our first stop was the Honeymoon bay, which was just 5 minutes away from our campsite. This is a must-see in Tasmania, it has the most outrageously striking backdrop. The beach was like a rippling blanket of aquamarine blue and you could see people snorkeling, swimming and diving here. 

Not too far away from the honeymoon bay is the beautiful Friendly beaches! This is a hidden gem and if you are after a secluded beach experience you can find it here. My husband and I were the only people at this spectacular beach, along with a couple of birds and wallabies. This was hands down my favorite beach in Tasmania!

Our next stop was the Douglas-Apsley National Park, you can either do a short walk to the water hole or a 2-3 hour hike to the Apsley Gorge. The longer hike to the gorge requires some bushwalking experience since you need to rock hop your way across the riverbed.  And most of you who know me know that I am really good at tripping and falling especially over things that aren’t there (my superpower!). In my defense I think rocks are totally untrustworthy guys! (WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU ROCKS!!??!!). Anyway, we did the short walk to the waterhole which was nice, you can even take a dip in the freshwater (like I did, thrice. On purpose. Obviously). But if you do not have enough time in Tasmania, I would suggest you give this a pass.

Next, we drove to Bicheno. We decided to reward ourselves with a couple of cold beers at this bar close to the Diamond Island. I can’t remember what the name of the bar was…beer does that to me amongst other things, which is a good thing sometimes, since the bar was quite peoply (this should be a real word!!) and people can be annoying especially when you don’t have the right blood alcohol level. The friendly bartender gave us a couple of tips. You do not really need to take a tour to the Diamond island to see the penguins come out, if you settle quietly at the beach at sunset, you can see the fairy penguins. The breeding season is from November to December. But please make sure you are quiet, don’t disturb them, block their way or use a torch/flash while taking pictures. Even though there are signs everywhere that tell you NOT to do this, It was infuriating to see tourists being complete jerks and using animals as photo props to gain social validation (sigh!)

Accomodation

We spent the night at the Bicheno Caravan park, this is a simple, small and clean caravan park. The  kitchen is a bit rustic but serviceable. They have a sign saying the kitchen closes at 9:30 PM, but the staff was very kind and said we could stay in the kitchen and use the bbq facilities for as long as we wanted. The kitchen does not have a lot of utensils, but we already had everything we needed. They also advertise 1$ hot showers in the main bathroom area. There is a smaller bathroom near the unpowered site which has free hot showers. The location is convenient, it was walking distance to everything we needed.

Day 4: Binalong Bay and the Bay of Fires

The next morning, we were on the road by 9 AM and were driving towards Binalong bay. On our way we stopped by the Iron House Brewery Distillery and Vineyard! I totally recommend you stop by this place for some tastings! The brewery is in a resort which has some amazing views overlooking the ocean. We went in for some beer and gin tasting. Seriously guys, it is okay to drink beer in the morning especially when you are on a holiday (I am not suggesting you replace milk in your cereal with beer …although that might not be such a bad idea either…*focus*). I had the gin paddle and my husband tried the beers, they were both really good! 

The Bay of fires stretches for nearly 30 kms. This beautiful part of Tasmania’s east-coast was named the hottest travel destination by Lonely Planet. You can drive along the Binalong Bay, all the way to the Gardens. Some of the beaches along the way are exquisite! We spend most of the afternoon exploring the rusty orange rocks. I also had to supervise my husband while he climbed up and down the rocks. At some point, he decided that wasn’t annoying enough and insisted that I needed to do the same. It is amazing how just when I think he possibly could not be anymore annoying, he manages to outdo himself! So we spent most of the afternoon aimlessly hopping from one beach to another, hunting seashells, climbing up and down the rocks. 

After we got tired, we went to the binalong bay beach for some more seashell hunting and a swim.  Unfortunately for us, the water was waaaay too cold! (Seriously Tasmania, Antarctica called, they want their weather back!!). After spending a few hours at the beach we made our way to the Peron Dunes! We did not need a 4WD, you can park your car near the sand dunes and climb a short distance to see the beach from the top. The dunes are rather easy to climb.

Accomodation

We stayed at the Hillcrest Tourist Park, contrary to the pictures I had seen on the internet, the place was run down and a bit jaded. The camp kitchen looked like it hadn’t been used or cleaned in centuries! I was pretty sure we would find fossil remains of dead animals had we looked carefully! The furniture in the camp kitchen was old and tattered. They had two bbq’s, one of which did not work. The bathrooms and shower areas were very basic. It was expensive compared to other campsites which in my opinion were way better! We also had very creepy neighbours, they wore very odd clothes (handed down by their ancestors from the Middle Ages) and looked like they had come straight out of a horror movie. Like that wasn’t enough, the man even had an axe! I made the mistake of picturing how easy it would be for him to kill me and suddenly I was convinced I was going to die! I insisted that my husband walk me to the bathroom, although that is not very useful since he is much faster than I am and can easily outrun me if we are chased by a serial killer or a ghost! Honestly guys, the best part about this caravan park was leaving it (alive!)

Day 5: Launceston and surroundings

We drove to the Bridestowe Lavender farm. The farm is beautiful you guys, just endless sprawls of purple! You can hear the bees buzzing through the fields and the atmosphere is idyllic! There is an entry fee of $10 per head during the flowering season (which is december and january). I would also recommend you try their Lavender flavoured ice cream- it has a unique taste and it was surprisingly very good, I can’t describe it, you just have to try it for yourself! It is also interesting to see all the different lavender teas, perfumes and even culinary lavender that they sell in their store. They have a cafe as well, where you can grab a bite to eat, although I must warn you, the waiting times can be upto 40 minutes when it is crowded.

After lunch, we made our way to Launceston. We stopped at the Cataract gorge first. I did not expect much to be honest, but WOW, what a surprise! You can choose to swim in the natural waterhole or the swimming pool, there is a suspension bridge, beautiful hiking trails, wildlife and chairlifts! I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Launceston, if there is one place you go it has to be here! 

We spent the rest of the evening exploring Launceston city and pub crawling. We went to about 4 different bars. My favorite bar was the Saint John craft beer bar! They have great local ales, I especially loved their dark beer! Good vibe, great music, friendly staff and a terrific way to sample the local brew!

Accomodation

We spent the night at the Launceston Holiday park. The showers and toilets were very clean. The kitchen was well equipped. Although we did not spend much time here, It was a pleasant stay!

Day 6: Exploring Stanley

We left Launceston and were heading towards Stanley. First, we stopped for some coffee at Deloraine which is a 30 minute drive from Launceston. We had some Gioconda coffee at the ‘Found in Earth’  cafe which was also a floristry and an antique shop! I loved the whole rustic vibe and decor! Although I don’t particularly like coffee (seriously guys we exist! Coffee just isn’t my cup of tea! ) my husband said he actually liked their coffee which must mean that it is in fact very good since he has a palate that is impossible to please!

From here, we drove to Devenport. Keep an eye out for the museum shop which is an old collectible yard sale by the highway. There were old music records, books, typewriters and loads and loads of antiques(Did I mention BOOKS?!!!!). You can’t take any pictures inside the shop itself. The place is run by an old man who is hands down the nicest person in the whole world! He gave us valuable local tips on where we should grab some lunch and what events we should go to! I bought a couple (or more like ten) books from him. I love buying books you guys!! I end up spending all my money on buying books rather than saving it for something totally pointless like retirement or food! 

We had a quick lunch in Devenport by the waterfront, you can also see the `Spirit of Tasmania` at the far end of the esplanade. You could even sail the Mersey river if you have some time. Then we made our way to Stanley – a leisurely hour long drive through the seaside villages of Ulverstone, Burnie and tulips filled Wynyard. 

A must do in Stanley is climbing the nut, an ancient volcanic plug. The climb is rather steep, but the views of this picturesque coastal village is breathtaking. Alternatively, for those of you who do not like to hike, you can take the chairlift to the top! The oceans are so impossibly clear, that you can actually spot seals and other marine life from the top! Also, it is amazing the things you learn while hiking – 1L of water weighs exactly 0.99Kgs and the higher you climb the heavier it gets. Also, there is almost always a 70 year old with a cane who is going to overtake you! 

After the hike, we decided to go to the Sisters beach and reward ourselves with a couple of beers! This beach was pretty unique – It was covered in seashells! 

Stanley is also one of the best places to watch penguins! They come out after sunset between the cemetery and the wharf. There is a viewing platform where you can see these cute little creatures. It is too dark for effective photography as they come out only at the very end of dusk (almost around 9:30PM in the summers), using flash is prohibited as penguins have sensitive eyes and this can frighten or disorient them(so please refrain from doing so!) Besides, the whole point of going is to see these amazing little creatures in their natural habitats and not take photos! However, to our surprise we did manage to capture a very unique moment of the penguins crossing the road! I wouldn’t recommend booking a penguin tour, just ask any of the locals and they will point you to where you can view these penguins for free, there will be so many of them, you surely cannot miss it.

Accomodation

We spent the night at the Stanley Cabin and Tourist park. It is located on the water’s edge and super close to the town and The Nut. The place was very clean and set out well .

Day 7: Sheffield & Cradle Mountain National Park

The next morning we set out to Sheffield! We drove past the tulip town of Wynyard. October is usually the tulip season and you can drive past the colourful display of magnificent blooms. Sheffield is a quaint little town with absolutely beautiful murals everywhere, depicting the local history of the region. Since it is in the vicinity of the famous Cradle Mountains, it is definitely worth a visit. We spent most of the afternoon wandering the streets, we stumbled upon a unique antique and collectibles store called ‘The Emporium’ (A hidden gem!). Every item in this store had a hilarious personalized handwritten note! I could spend a whole day here just browsing the books and the music memorabilia! He also sings and plays a bugle when you shop – I was surprised to hear him sing a Bollywood song when he learned we were from India! 

We reached the Cradle Mountain sometime past noon and made our way to hike the Dove Lake circuit. This is one of Tasmania’s premier nature walks and is fairly easy, the entire loop is ~6 kms and takes about 2 hours. If this is your first time to the Cradle Mountain, then this walk is a stunning introduction! It is picturesque with a variety of terrains throughout the walk. The boatshed located nearby also makes for some great photos!

After this, we did the quick ‘Enchanted Walk’ which takes about 30 minutes to complete. It is a twisty meandering path through the bearded trees, there is a pool at the end of the hike, where you can spot platypus if you are lucky!

Accomodation

We stayed at the Discovery Holiday Parks, it is a stone throw away from the mountain itself and brings the whole wilderness experience at the doorstep of your caravan! It is one of the few holiday parks located inside the Cradle Mountain-Saint Clair National Park. There was an open fireplace, the amenities were spotless and we got to see loads of wildlife at night! It is also my absolute favorite place to do star gazing!

Day 8: Cradle Mountain National Park

My husband convinced me that we should do the Marions Lookout hike, since our knees weren’t wobbly enough from the previous day!

I am not what you would call an enthusiastic hiker especially when it is at the butt crack of dawn! If you were to ask me if I wanted to go on a hike, then most likely my answer would be no (unless, I wanted to get you alone in the woods for some reason!). However..if you were to ask me if I wanted to see a gorgeous canyon, mountain, waterfall..I would probably say yes, even if I had to climb up a mountain with jelly legs! I get the greatest sense of accomplishment and satisfaction once I complete a hike! Hiking really teaches you a thing or two..like humans can survive solely on potatoes and candies.

It also makes you realise how useful the compass and maps can be (that is if you can figure out how to use it when you are lost). Seriously guys, it is awkward when you have to eat your friends!

So we started out pretty early, since this was a 11.5 km hike. Some parts of the trail were scary AF, there was one section where there were no pathways but only chains to help you climb up the rocks! That is when I realised I have spaghetti for arms! But i have to admit the views from the top of Lake Lilla and the Dove Lake are breathtaking and I could be easily convinced to do it again! 

We ended the day at the devils@cradle to see the Tasmanian Devil. They look like your regular stocky marsupial, but when they get hangry, they live up to their name! (pretty much like me, I am not responsible for the things I do when I am hungry). It is hard to find the devil in their natural habitat since they are endangered and at the risk of going extinct. Fun fact – they can eat pretty much upto 40% of their body weight..my husband was overjoyed to learn there were others like him in the world and he was not alone! Do not be deceived by his appearance as I was, he is a fat boy trapped inside a thin man’s body!

Day 9: Strahan and Queenstown

We head out to the fishing port of Strahan located on the quiet bay of Macquarie Harbour. We decided to drive through Queenstown which is Tasmania’s copper mining town. If you have time, I would highly recommend spending a day here and taking the scenic West Coast Wilderness Railway train ride to Strahan! This town has an alluring unearthly landscape and some of the parts of this beautiful scenery can only be seen on the train journey! I was totally in awe of this beautiful little town. Even though we did not have enough time to take the train to Strahan, we visited the queenstown station, it truly felt like we had stepped back in time. We decided to make a quick stop to Queenstown again before we left Strahan the next day!

There are multiple things to do and see in Strahan, you can take a cruise into one of the pristine temperate rainforests of the Gordon river. Our next stop was to the Ocean beach, which is the longest beach in Tassie. I was gobsmacked to see loads of quadbikes and the likes being driven up and down the beach, it is also an important breeding area for birds, so watch your step! We went for a swim and later realised that it is not the most ideal beach for swimming as the waters get rough and it is unpatrolled. We loved the isolation, the smell of the sea and the open sky! It would be crazy not to visit the ocean beach if you were in Strahan! 

After a swim, we visited the Henty Dunes, the dunes can be accessed by a small car park just off the highway and there is an extremely steep sand climb for 70 metres or so (vertical) to crest. I also learnt what sandburns feels like and how much I missed my hideous hiking shoes! Later we went for a stroll in the Strahan historic foreshore walking track, rewarded ourselves with a couple of beers at a local bar and made our way back to the campsite! We also witnessed the most incredible sunset here. The sky was different hues of pink, purple and orange! We took what seemed like a zillion pictures but it still doesn’t do justice! You just have to experience it for yourself!

Day 10: Queenstown and Mount Field National Park

We started out early to explore the copper mining town of Queenstown. We made our first stop to the Iron Blow Lookout. As if driving up Gormanston through tiny hairpin bends wasn’t exhilarating enough, once you reached the viewing platform you are literally blown away by the wind and the scenery itself, the wind screams through the mountains and I have never felt such a rush with both feet on the ground! We managed to capture some stunning images of the open cut mine and the colours of the surrounding rocks with some quick mobile shots! 

From here, we decided to make a quick stop at Nelson Falls, it is only a short walk on a level boardwalk through a beautiful forest.It takes only about 10 minutes to reach the falls. 

From here, we made our way to the Mount Field National Park, the drive is beautiful and we accidentally stumbled upon so many beautiful landscapes, we stopped to admire the landscape of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park hidden behind tall trees. We also stopped for a quick coffee at the Hungry Wombats cafe! I was surprised to see that it was actually busy and buzzing with people, contrary to the roads of Tasmania, which were almost always empty! I was starting to think we were the only two people in this beautiful place.

After doing a quick self check-in at the Mount Field National Park campgrounds, we made our way to Russell Falls and Horseshoe Falls, which is a quick walk from the campground itself. We had a quick bite to eat at the information center which has its own restaurant.

I would have really reeeeaallyy enjoyed the hike up to the waterfall, had my husband not almost stepped on a snake the size of a Velociraptor!! It creeped up on him while he was climbing the steps of the boardwalk! This seemed to amuse some tourists who began to take selfies with the escaping snake while I was screaming in the background, tap dancing and climbing giant tasmanian oak trees to my sheer surprise! After that incident, we made sure to keep our eyes open to any wildlife in the forest and did that pay off!! We finally saw a platypus enjoying a relaxing float downstream under the Horseshoe Falls! That got me super excited and I forgot all about our near death experience earlier on in the day!

After having some dinner at the campsite, we went to see glow worms in their natural habitat. You can spot the small grotto of glow worms near Russell Falls, there is a sign that indicates the area. At first I was terrified by every rustle in the bushes, but to my pleasant surprise it turned out to be only the friendly pademelons. Once you approach the area you have to switch off all your torch lights, so your eyes can adjust to the dark. The luminous larvae of the mosquito-like insects become more visible, and can resemble a field of stars in the night sky! I have previously seen artificially cultured glow worms but this was far more enthralling! Just exploring the national park, in the dark, and to be greeted with the glow of the worms, the possums watching us, at eye level, as we walked past them and to see pademelons in large numbers. This should definitely be on your list of places to explore in Tasmania!

Accomodation

We spent the night at the Mount Field National Park campgrounds because of its sheer proximity to the national park. It was basic but clean! If camping is your cup of tea, then it also has some beautiful campsites right beside the river. We really enjoyed our brief stay here.

Day 11: New Norfolk and Hobart

We left Hobart for the last two days, because we wanted to attend the Taste of Tasmania – Australia’s longest running food and wine festival. It is a fantastic event with a great vibe, wide variety of drinks and food, live music! Highly recommend to anyone wanting to experience the amazing produce of this place. From Mount Field National Park, we headed to Hobart, but stopped at New Norfolk for some breakfast. The city of New orfolk was buzzing with the locals enjoying the vibe of the weekend flea market. Lots of eclectic array of wares, all things vintage, accessories and books!!!! YES!!! We stopped at a comic book store and almost bought the entire store even though we did not have any room in our strictly 7-kilo cabin luggage. I decided I would just carry them in hand along with the rest of the 10,000 things we purchased in Tasmania. Next, we drove to the Pulpit Rock Lookout for a birds eye view of this city! You get river views, mountain views and valley views all in one place! We spent a couple of minutes here just enjoying the beautiful surroundings!

Next we drove to Hobart, dropped off our camper reluctantly after a few tears! The camper had become our home for the last 10 days, we was already experiencing withdrawal symptoms and needed a few parting beers to calm our nerves! We dropped our luggage at the hotel we were staying at and headed to the Salamanca markets! Nothing like a little (or a loooooottttt) of shopping to uplift the mood. It is a vibrant outdoor market at the heart of Salamanca Place. It had what seemed like a jillion stalls selling anything you could possibly think of! These markets are only open till 3PM.

All the shopping got us really hungry! We gobbled up some very delicious curry pockets and mini pancakes. By this time there was music playing everywhere and the alcohol was pouring like water. The Taste of Tasmania was packed with people! There was a lot of dancing, I mean almost everyone turns into a dancer after a few drinks but some people just get straight up possessed (I might be one of them!). We danced till what seemed like 10PM at the festival! My feet were dying and I was ready to go back to the hotel. But my husband had so much energy, he wanted to go to a local bar for a drink! Never believe a man who says “one last drink”! We finally walked back to the hotel at 4AM!!! 4 AM you guys!!! And only because I slept off on the plate of fries and refused to dance with ketchup in my hair, else we might have ended up having breakfast beers at that bar whose name I cannot remember!

Day 12: Hobart

It is amazing how both my husband and I wake up so early during our holiday. Else we would have never known what 5AM looks like! Just adding additional hours to your vacation time is great! We started our day at MONA museum! My husband is a sucker for art so it was a must do on his list of things to do in Tasmania! I only ever like museums with historic artifacts minus the screaming children and crowds of people. But I did enjoy this one, since I wasn’t expecting to see what i did! Some works of art was pure genius! 

Some were grossly interesting like the poo exhibit – a giant machine which eats, digests and finally poops out faecal matter like the human body!

There is something there for everyone!

After spending the whole morning at the museum, we headed back to the city for some lunch, beers and a game of scrabble. We also met a very interesting uber driver who suggested we go to the chocolate museum as well, unfortunately we had to catch a flight later that night and did not have time to actually visit the place. 

Also Tasmania has some very good restaurants for vegetarians! Most places did not disappoint! We visited an Indian restaurant here and the food was gobsmacking delicious!

Hiring the Campervan

We picked up our campervan at the Hobart airport (for more information about the campervan see here). We wanted something small so that it was easier for us to drive around and park the camper which in retrospect was a very good decision. When we travel, we usually like to find locations slightly off the beaten track, so we had to drive on gravel winding narrow roads for hours at times! At first, the idea of living in the campervan for 12 days seemed a little daunting, but by the end of my holiday, I was in love! 

Tip: We would recommend booking the excess insurance with the campervan booking, which covers you in case of an accident. Lots of road-kills along the Tasmanian roads which increases the risk of an accident. The insurance costs around $45 a day. (However since we travelled during the Christmas holidays, it was a bit more expensive than usual). 

Tasmania has hands down been my favorite holiday destination in Australia so far. We would totally recommend visiting this beautiful place if you haven’t already. We have so many good memories from that trip. The beautiful hikes, the whitest white sand beaches, getting hopelessly and desperately lost in the fern forests, driving down a mountain with no tread on the wheels and the people… If you can, you absolutely MUST GO TO TASMANIA!

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