I arrived in Launceston, which is the 3rd oldest town in Australia, located on the north of Tasmania. It is a lovely picturesque town, very compact, walk-able and filled with parks. The city is located at the base of the Tamar River, and the famous Cataract Gorge is a 15 minute walk from downtown; this was the perfect place to get adjusted and start my Australia adventure. The town is filled with numerous old buildings which have been renovated, yet maintain Old World charm. To have some real fun, my wife and I decided to cable hang glide, which we had read about . Following various directions by numerous helpful locals, we made our way to the mountain top which was in the middle of nowhere and met the lovely owner of this little known adventure.
After a few minutes of instructions, we gave it a try… going from the top edge to a few hundred feet below – great fun! We spent some time walking along the Cataract Gorge trail, rode the scenic chairlift across the river and took a walking/historical tour of the town with Tony (www.launcestonupclose.com.au), who gave us an interesting prospective of Launceston and why all the original buildings are still preserved. We got to see the Val d’Osne foundation which was shipped by mistake from France and saw the only monkeys in Tasmania at the city park enclosure. For those seeking a lot of outdoor fun, Launceston needs to be on your radar.
Day #7: Met up with friends and took the local bus for 2hrs; arrived at Hobart for our next 5 nights.ISitting on the base of Mt Wellington, Hobart is Australia’s second-oldest city. It started as the base for the famous Port Arthur penal colony (more later). The town features endless good restaurants, a lovely seafront, a famous market, and delivers on all fronts. I booked our stay at the Old Woolstore hotel(https://www.oldwoolstore.com.au/), which used to be a wool storage facility located on the waterfront. Prior to my Hobart arrival, I had contacted the amazing "Judy" (http://www.eyeseetasmania.com.au/) and discussed a number of options, despite endless emails Judy delivered on all fronts.
Day 1- Bruny Island-Traveled to the island via car ferry and visited the beautiful South Bruny National Park, walked along the ocean banks admiring the stunning coastline of the island, took a ‘bushwalk’ along the Neck (narrow isthmus joining the two parts of the island), but the highlight of our day was crossing paths with an ECHIDNA who was enjoy the day walking around.
Day #2-Visited the amazing Boonorong Wildlife Santuary: got to feed the Kangaroos, touched a Wombat, got up close and personal with Koala bears, saw many other native animals – but the highlight was seeing the Tassie Devils. We then drove to the top of Mt Wellington and got the stunning view of the entire area.
Day 3-Took on the long drive to Freycinet National Park and walked the very tough trail to Wineglass Bay Lookout.
Day 4-Dropped in on the open air Salmanca Market before visiting the famous Port Author historic site- the penal colony.
Day 5- Our last day – we visited the enchanting Russell Falls and enjoyed a picnic at Mt Fields National Park.. Sadly, we had to leave and hopped on a flight to Melbourne where new adventures awaited us.
Below a short video of a "Wombat" at the orphanage.