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-   -   PURE TASMANIA (https://www.fodors.com/community/australia-and-the-pacific/pure-tasmania-335762/)

lavici Apr 2nd, 2008 04:50 PM

PURE TASMANIA
 
dear fodorites: help! at the last minute my trip has been delayed, so now i'll have to quickly reshuffle
(what has taken me almost 6 weeks to plan) & rearrange the pieces of the finished puzzle of my upcoming australian trip.

i won't be able to arrive in time in hobart to go on the last "freycinet experience walk" of this season( april 11th), but i still want to visit tassie for about 9-10 days. i will potter around salamanca, mt. wellington, etc. but after "doing" hobart, i'd like to taste and sense different aspects of tasmania, so i found this http://puretasmania.com.au/
is anyone here familiar with these "pure tasmania" tours? they offer several attractive options.

afterwards my trip will continue on to: melbourne 4 days and hopefully the GOR to adelaide + the wine valleys 4 days,
take the indian pacific train to
sydney for 9 days( including a 4 day conference, and day trip to blue mountains etc )
mid may fly from sydney to uluru for 2 days.
with it just a week away, guess i should use wotif.com to reschedule my re$ervations? thanksthanksthanks.. janine

LizzyF Apr 2nd, 2008 07:37 PM

There are many different tours that you can take Lavici when you get to Tasmania and here are some suggestions for you

1/Take the adventure tour of Bruny Island
2/ Most certainly go to Port Arthur
3/ go to Cradle Mountain and spend 2 or 3 days there doing the hikes and walks - it is much better than Freycinet because its more diverse.
4/ google par Avion flights of the South West Heritage region and take in one of their flights/stays in the Wilderness
5/ Get to Strahan and take the Wilderness Boat trips or plane trips over that area.

You will be able to get all the information you need when you get to Hobart. There is a really good Tourism Bureau near the wharves where you will be staying and they can guide you about any of these things.
I will check on Pure Tasmania myself and see what they offer and get back to you.
Liz

lavici Apr 2nd, 2008 08:04 PM

hi lizzy, it's me, janine! i knew i could count on you! i will listen to your advice and think about changing from the henry jones ( i could always go for tea or breakfast) and staying at battery point at some cute B&B... mmm cozier for me alone, right?
i could plan all these wonderful suggestions at the tourism bureau! and i certainly prefer being flexible in this trip. i'm absolutely depleted by 'living with' mr. chávez for 10 years, so i need to get him of my hair,and do whatever/whenever depending on weather and x circumstance, take it easy and enjoy the different aspects of this very interesting island without the hassle, or of focusing only in freycinet. you are a doll! when you check this pure tasmania site,will you let me know? right now is midnight here again and i'm totally falling asleep as i write! saludos y gracias... janine

LizzyF Apr 2nd, 2008 09:21 PM

Janine - the Pure Tasmania site is more for people with their own cars and who want an idea of which direction they should go and what to see. I think that if you also google " discover Tasmania" you may come up with some other ideas as well. When is it you are arriving? Besos y abrasos Liz

lavici Apr 2nd, 2008 10:36 PM

hi lizzy i'm trying to get there around the 13th/14th of april,'cause i have to leave caracas next week to visit my kids in miami on my way over and y'know it takes me the two days later to arrive, so whatever i end up doing i'll try to be in hobart for the salamanca saturday market on the 19th. i'll check out the discover tasmania and the tourist bureau. do you know of a specific cute B&B?. yes lizzy not driving a car is precisely the biggest limitation i've found yet, but i'll give it a go anyway, and see what happens! at least i can take a bus around ...when are you leaving? or should i say coming over? jjj

LizzyF Apr 2nd, 2008 11:00 PM

I am leaving in the wee hours of April 18th so we will be crossing paths. Google coaches around Tasmania as well as they are very cheap and well run but I do not know where they go to. Make sure you go to Richmond and have a scallop pie at the Bakery as well as anything else that takes your fancy. I hope you really get some good R&R here - I am sure you will.
I personally do not know the B&Bs in Hobart. I did send someone to one in Sandy Bay ( Ferguson Street I think) but I don't know too much about it. I stayed at Clydsdale House on Sandy Bay Road and heard the traffic most of the night. Didn't think the owner were particularly friendly either. If you did have transport I think that would be a different matter though - why don't you try it and then I could give you lots of ideas.

lavici Apr 3rd, 2008 09:43 PM

thank you lizzy! i'm sorry i will cross/miss you this time. i know liz, the car thing is really a limitation. but, i don't know... i'll let it flow and see once i'm there. but, just imagine being sooo tired and jet lagged and having to drive on my wrong side of the car +my wrong side of the unknown streets + the roundabouts, for the first time in my life, and without a copilot to help me with the maps and/or directions. maybe it sounds daunting from my depleted mindset here, but once i get there i'll promise i'll open myself to the experience and let it flow and see what i can do. i will surely go to richmond and try the scallop pie mmmm i guess, i'd better walk around tassie to keep my weight down with all the foodie gourmet stuff ;) have a wonderful trip yourself and give me the good ideas just in case... i'm all eyes and ears. jjjjj

LizzyF Apr 4th, 2008 12:24 AM

Hobart is a small "city" of about 180,00 people roughly. The whole of Tasmania is only about 480,000 so the roads are quite uncluttered and at least very easy to drive on. The busiest area is where you are staying in Hobart and once out of that area you are on the open road - more or less. Now I must pick you up on one thing - to drive on the other side of the road is a matter of getting in a car, telling yourself you can do it and just do it. The car rental places are not far from the wharves and are in Harrington Street. I would think that 10 minutes and you would be fine because most of the inner Hobart Street are one way anyway.

Bokhara2 Apr 4th, 2008 01:45 PM

If I could just endorse & add to LizzieF's comments about Tas & driving in general "On the other side".

What I found the first time I drove in Europe ("other side" for me), was that, because the controls are on the "other side" too, it's much easier than you might imagine.
The other thing is that in Australia,unlike much of Europe, automatics are as plentifulro rent/hire and same price as manuals, so you don't even need to worry about gear changing with your "other hand".
The primary rule we ALL learn still applies: Driver = closest to centreline of road. Passengers = kerbside. In oncoming traffic, the drivers still pass next to each other.

It's your choice, of course - just that in places like Tasmania, it's SO beautiful and SO easy to wander around in your own car, gives MUCH better access to the places you want to visit, etc., etc., than you can ever achieve with public transport.

One of the things lots of visitors to Australia find hard to grasp is that, while we're a huge country, we have a relatively small population and simply don't have the public transport infrastructure that exists in other places.

Tasmania is particularly well served with tourist information, maps, driving times etc., in their Tourist Centres. I do think short tours have their place, too - and can give a lot of information & show you places you might miss on your own. Whilst this might seem contradictory, what I'm advocating is getting a car for running around & exploring, then taking a day tour here & there if you find one that appeals to you.

What if you hired one for a day trip when you're leaving Hobart & see how you go? If you don't like it, you can always take it back. You won't need one in Hobart itself, you can walk everywhere or take a bus. :)

End of rant for "get the car, Lavici" :)


lavici Apr 4th, 2008 10:53 PM

i have to thank you liz and bo, for cheering me up about my capabilities. i checked and there's even a package of stay @ HJones + 3 days/w car. i did drive once in anguilla b.w.i but the steering wheel was still 'on my side' and i did ok. after reading this bo, i'm almost behind the wheel, because i felt limited without being able to move around as i please. and from everything i've read up to now, i understand tasmania is best seen and enjoyed from the freedom of stopping for berries, and oysters, or ice cream, or some wineglass bay watching etc.
i think that the perfect combination would be what bokhara suggests: some day tours and a coupla days drivin' with the wind in my hair... what about wallabies smashing on the car? and b'the way what are wallabies? like seagulls? forgive my ignorance but the charming names of the australian fauna just equals it's edible flora( fruits) ;) jjj it's 2.am here so i'm gong to bed right now...or else i won't be able to adjust to australian time until the day before i fly back home.... jj

Bokhara2 Apr 5th, 2008 12:23 AM

No, Lavici, a wallaby ain't no seagull! ;) It's like a small kangaroo.
www.cosmosmagazine.com/.../20070509_wallaby.jpg

You're more likely to see them at dawn & dusk and at night. They operate on the 'mad dogs & Englishmen go out in the noon day sun' theory & sensibly rest up in the shade during the day, coming out to graze in the early & late day.


Bokhara2 Apr 5th, 2008 01:09 AM

Sorry - that link didn't work.
Try this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallaby

lavici Apr 5th, 2008 05:25 PM

bokhara you definitely ARE my australian guru! ja ja ja how silly of me i could have googled 'wallaby' instead of thinking it was a seagull, but this was great because i got to read such an interesting article, i just hope theY don't start harvesting wallabies for making medicine.
it's sooooooo cute! like a small furry kangaroo, but i read somewhere in the forums that people frequently run over them in the roads :'( ?
i'm at the discover tasmania, pure tasmania, fodor's and lonely planet sites checking tassie out AGAIN...i'm working my enthusiasm up for renting a car after i've blown a way the jet lag of my 24 hour trip to get there. beso jjjj


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