Thursday, 26 April 2012

Tasmania

Our first camping night in Launceston
After quite a long journey (almost 20 hours and 3 plane rides) we arrived in Launceston, picked up our rental car and headed to the hostel - a treat for our first night of holidays (and to make up for sleeping on the airport floor the night before!). We spent the next day shopping for some essential camping supplies that we were unable to bring along with us (tent, air mattress, cooler) and set up camp in the city Caravan Park. Not quite what we were expecting but we wanted to be close to the city for one more night.


I made Gareth go to the Launceston City Caroling Festival to try to get us in the Christmas spirit! For those who are used to a cold Christmas, being in a warm climate makes it hard to feel like Christmas

Hiking along Cataract Gorge in Launceston
We were planning on climbing this day however it was a bit damp from the overnight rain. Plus, the climbs looked rather more difficult than described in the climbing guide!

After a few days in Launceston we drove on to Cradle Mountain for a few days of hiking. This is the famous Dove Lake. Just a quick hike around here for our first day.  The weather was lovely which we were grateful for as it usually rains almost everyday.

21 weeks



I was pretty excited to see a wombat!
Cradle Mountain
Day 2 at Cradle Mountain. After a night at the lovely campsite at Cradle Mountain, we got up early to begin the 5 hour hike up Cradle Mountain. The weather was forecast to be fairly clear, again a rarity around this area.






At the top! 

After a fairly easy hike, followed by about an hour of fairly difficult scramble (for the pregnant woman), we made it to the top!






We treated ourselves to a quant little cabin just outside Cradle Mountain. We'd planned ahead and brought all the fixings for a roast beef dinner. It was a well deserved treat.






We had this campsite all to ourselves, well except for the friendly kangaroos

Literally the beach was 10 steps from our campsite and not a soul on it. Probably one of the best sites we had the whole trip - plus it was free!





Our next campsite along the Bay of Fires. This is where I saw a penguin!
Gareth attempting some bouldering near our campsite




Coles Bay/Freycinet National Park. We lucked out and got a campsite here as usually you have to enter a draw in July to get a campsite at Christmastime





Not a bad way to spend Christmas Day. We treated ourselves to a fancy Christmas dinner at the nearby hotel. 



The beautiful Wineglass Bay


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