statick2

My fiancee and I are American and we have been living in Far North Queensland for the past 2 years. We are moving back to the States and "on the way home" we are going to stop off in Tassie for 10 days and NZ for 3 weeks (another post). Here is the itinerary for Tassie. The accommodation and car hire are already booked so I guess I'm just looking for some input on some things to do and some things not to be missed. We enjoy hiking, kayaking and outdoor stuff, dont mind a fairly strenuous hike if it's worth it, good food and drink and cultural things as well.

I'd love to do some trout fishing if anyone has any suggestions.

I've read a lot about the Salamanca Markets. We will be in Bicheno so are the markets really that good that we may want to drive down to Hobart just for them?

20-Dec Brisbane - Fly to Launceston (7 am) - Cataract Gorge, Tamar Wineries
21-Dec Launceston - tour Launceston in am - drive to and stay at craddle mtn
22-Dec Craddle Mtn - stay at Craddle mtn - hiking
23-Dec Craddle Mtn 1/2 day - drive to east coast - stay at St Helens -
24-Dec St Helens - Bay of Fires Hike - Drive to Bicheno - stay at Bicheno
25-Dec Bicheno - Wineglass Bay Hike
26-Dec Bicheno- Freycinet National park - kayaking/hiking
27-Dec Bicheno - Drive to Hobart at some point??????
28-Dec Hobart - Bruny Island?
29-Dec Hobart - Port Arthur?
30-Dec Hobart in am - Fly to Sydney for NYE(4:50 pm)

Thanks,

Derek

Ballarat

I believe you will find Port Arthur very interesting. Bruny Island I have not been to.
It is a pity you have so little time in Hobart which we love to visit. If you have one evening free to dine out I suggest you go to the Ball and Chain restaurant at Salamance Place great steaks and quaint ambience.
Enjoy.

oliverandharry

Absolutely go to the Salamanca Market (note singular) but only if you can stay in Hobart and not return to Bicheno. Way too far to round trip it I think. A plus will be that the Taste of Tasmania is going on then - which we have always wanted to see. An easy drive to Kettering, your departure point for Bruny the next day, but watch your ferry schedules so you don't miss the last one back. A lovely finish to your time in Australia!

Susan7

There's a ticket you can buy for entry to all national parks, it saves you paying entry for each park, buy one at the first park you visit. Generally, it includes you and your car, except at Cradle Mountain where there's a shuttle service that moves between the various starting points for the walks--in that case the ticket covers the shuttle.

I'd highly recommend the bushwalk to the summit of Cradle Mountain. Don't attempt it if it's raining as the last hour is more like rock climbing scrambling up and over boulders, however, it's an amazing view from the top. I think it took about 6-7 hours round trip, so take plenty of water and lunch. There are lots of other great walks in the area.

The Wineglass Bay walk can be extended from the walk to the summit to include a descent to the beach and then a round trip. It's a relatively easy walk after the first steep uphill section. I think it's only 3-4 hours. There aren't a huge range of walks at this park, if you don't go kayaking on your second day, you might want to go inland and visit convict sites like Richmond.

ivenotbeeneverywhere

Pity you have booked everything because you are missing out some very interesting and beautiful countryside and perhaps the most delightful little city in Australia, Hobart. The Huon Valley would have been a "must do" and so would Hobart and surrounds, Richmond, the midland villages etc etc. Unless you are going to do the boat ride around Bruny Island I would put Port Arthur above Bruny every time, even if you are thinking of the boat I would still rate PA a "must do".

wlzmatilida

Hi Statick,

A great way to finish off your time in Australia before coming back home to the US!

Ballart made a restaurant suggestion, and I just want to give you a heads up that the last time I was in Hobart, it was the beginning of December and we had a REALLY hard time finding a restaurant because they were all booked out to office holiday parties! We ended up finding a "slot" at 10P at "Mummalucca" (which I recommend, btw!).

From your itinerary, you're obviously into hiking and done your homework as you've picked some great ones. On Dec. 21, my suggestion would be to leave Launceston as early as you wake up, drive to the Devil Park at Mole Creek and then onto Cradle, both of those are far more interesting than Launceston.

Oliverandharry mentioned the Salamanca market, which is great fun - but note - only open on Saturday. I agree too, about putting Port Arthur ahead of Bruny Island.

Hope this is helpful!

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

Melnq8

Hi statick2 -

What a great way to wrap up your stint in OZ - Tassie and NZ, two of my personal favorites.

When I think of TAS I think of beautiful food, wine and endless walking opportunities. Here are a few suggestions:

Launceston/Tamar Valley:

Launceston isn't all that interesting IMO, but the Tamar Valley certainly is. If you like Cabernet Sauvignon, you'll want to call in at Velo Wines, located in Legana. We enjoyed picking our own strawberries at Hillwood Strawberry Farm, and they make some interesting fruit wines and vinegars.

Rosevears Waterfront Tavern in Rosevears (north of Launceston near the start of the Tamar Valley) is a great spot for dinner.

You might also enjoy a stop at the Tamar Island Wetlands located between Launceston and Legana on A7, the longest estuary in Australia (70 km) - loads of birds. From here you can take the 1.5 km boardwalk to Tamar Island.

Cradle Mtn:

The Cradle Mtn Lodge tavern is an inexpensive option for good meals - we ate there every night of our stay

For a pretty hike, you might consider taking The Overland Track to Crater Falls, Crater Lake and up to Marion’s Lookout (starts at Ronny's Creek car park). Sections of this walk are steep. An alternative return is via Wombat Pool, Lake Lilla and the Cradle Valley Boardwalk. Go early, the car park fills up.

Bay of Fires/Binalong Bay:

There's a great walk to Dora point - park at the Skelton Point Picnic Area - excellent coastal views.

We had a wonderful meal at Angasi, overlooking Binalong Bay.

Just curious about the Bay of Fires walk you mentioned - it seems I might have missed this one. Would you mind sharing the details (for future reference)?

Freycinet:

Iluka Tavern in Cole's Bay has really good meals

In addition to the Wineglass Bay lookout walk, there's a nice hike that continues on to the bay, crosses the isthmus to Hazards Beach and follows the coastline around the base of Mt. Mayson. It takes about four hours.

Treepol

Statick2,

wow, you have quite a few busy days already. I'd recommend the award-winning Bruny Island eco cruise http://www.brunycruises.com.au/ for a look at the island from both the sea and the land. Bruny Cruises offer a number of ways of getting to the island, however, as you are already busy it might be an idea to take the tranfer from Hobart and add in any island tours that are offered in conjunction with the cruise.

I did the cruise in February and highly recommend it - there are some Bruny Island wildlife photos here, some of which were taken from the cruise, http://picasaweb.google.com/Treepol/...dsAndWildlife# - the later photos feature Bruny Island.

Cheers,

Pol

statick2

Thank you all very much for your replies. Even with all the research Ive done, there is nothing like first hand experience.

oliverandharry - Unfortunately we are stuck returning to Bicheno on Saturday. Being over Christmas, nearly everywhere required at least a 3 night minimum stay.

ivenotbeeneverywhere - we are going to Hobart - for basically 3.5 days. Are you saying that that isn't enough time? Is it not feasible to hit Port Arthur on Dec 27 and the Huon Valley another, still giving us 1 and a half days in Hobart?

Melnq8 - I came across the Bay of Fires as it was name the "hottest travel destination of 2009" by Lonely Planet. There is a 4 day guided walk that you can take (www.bayoffires.com.au/) but there is also a conservation area and from what Ive read there a quite a few camping and parking areas along the 30km stretch. Our plan was to solicit some local knowledge and find either the best section for a longer walk or to stop and take a couple shorter ones as we drove up the coast.


Thanks again for all the great info. I look forward to posting my NZ itinerary in hopes of some equally outstanding tips.

Melnq8

Thanks statick2. I thought maybe you were referring to a specific track. It seems The Bay of Fires guided walk is located in Mount William National Park - we spent some time there and just so you know, it's unsealed and pretty isolated - we drove for 40 kms on an unsealed road looking for a track and never did find one - we ended up in Anson's Bay, population 18. From what I've read, the guided walk goes right through there, but we never found it - you'll probably want a really good map before you head into the park.

Humbug Point Nature Scenic Reserve is more accessible and there's some hiking there, although we didn't care for it as much as the walk to Dora Point, which was gorgeous with orange lichen covered boulders set against the aquamarine of the sea. It's almost surreal.

You're making me jealous...I want to go back!

Bgale

When you leave the Launceston area heading to Cradle Mt, take the time to visit the town of Sheffield. It is a great little town and almost every building in town has a mural painted on it. We really enjoyed this little town.