Ever since I met the wonderful Lynda on my African adventure, Tasmania has been on my bucket list. I finally made it here to see my friend again for our second reunion. It was also the last time I drank so much in such little time. The bottle shop in New Norfolk was sold out of Baileys strawberry and cream because I bought it all. I drank it like they were milkshakes. New Norfolk is a little town in the Derwent Valley. It is a beautiful part of Tasmania. From their highest point you can see amazing views of the autumnal colours lining the River Derwent. It is just outside of Hobart City. Hobart is a quaint little city being watched over by Mount Wellington. The sun rises from Mount Wellington are awesome and very cold.
On my very first visit to Tasmania and I had to see a Tasmanian Devil. I didn't see any in the wild as they are nocturnal animals. I got to see them in Bonorong Sanctuary. This is where all injured animals are brought to. I never knew how many kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and Tasmanian Devils' get killed on the roads of Australia every day. It's hundreds if not thousands. Some that survive end up in this sanctuary. I met Maria who has suffered a brain injury which meant she only ran in circles from left to right. She can never run from the right even though she tries. At least her life now will be safer and she can run around for as long as she wants to without being run over.
I always forget how big Australia is. Even their little island is huge and I didn't have time to go up north of the island so didn't get to see the famous Cradle Mountain. I did go to Bruny island. Even as we got onto the ferry we saw dolphins and they swam with us all the way to Bruny. We didn't get to see any white wallabies but saw so many wild normal coloured ones up and down the island. We stopped by a penguin rookery at the Island Neck Game Reserve and we climbed to Cape Bruny light house. We tried wines, ciders and cheeses and had a delicious squid lunch by a beautiful but very cold beach.
The next day we headed south east to the Freycinet peninsula. The drive there was absolutely stunning. Every stop we made was a photo moment. The main reason for our trip was to see Wineglass Bay. It was a trek to get there climbing up many many stairs to the top but it was worth it. The views were just stunning. The surrounding area of giant red coloured boulders, blue skies and ocean with the white sandy beaches made it a picturesque vision of beauty. The walk down was a lot easier. We visited Cape Tourville for more stunning views. Then headed to my favourite beach yet. Honeymoon Bay and beach was just jaw dropping amazing. The mountain, sea and beach was beautiful and even though the water was cold I still loved it. On the way back we stopped at Devil's Corner which was in a beautiful valley where they made wines, ciders and cheeses.
We headed south again to the Tasman Peninsula to Port Arthur which is a village and historic penal site. The whole site was built by the inmates. There was a boat cruise around the harbour and bay and to Cemetery island. It was the only time it rained and luckily I was inside a boat. On our way back to Hobart we stopped by the stunning Tasman Arch, Devil's Kitchen, Remarkable Cave and the famous Doo Town.
I will be coming back to Tasmania no doubt as there is so much more left to experience. Maybe I will discover more words to describe it. Most of all it will be great to see my lovely friend Lynda again.
