We’re fresh into 2026 and it’s already brimming with glimmers of gratitude. So many pockets of wonderful and happy. (And of course some less than ideal things, but let us not dwell on that).
We rang in the new year with a small martini party at our place with a few friends. A lovely way to welcome 2026. We soaked up the beautiful summer sun, spent time being cozy reading on the balcony, eating pastries and enjoying summer in the city.
Shortly after new years we were off to Tasmania for our road trip! This has been on our must-do list for a long time and we were so excited to finally have it booked! Our plan was to fly into Hobart, rent a car, do the lap of the island and fly back out of Hobart at the end. And guess what? It worked *flawlessly*. Sure there were the unavoidable bumps along the way, but overall a spectacular trip! Great weather (especially for Tassie), tasty food, safe drives and safe hikes.
After landing in Hobart we picked up our rental vehicle and drove to the Bruny Island ferry. The line to get on the ferry was painfully long and slow, but once we boarded it was smooth sailing. Getting off at the Bruny port we decided to hit some of the main tourist points before finding our Air BnB. We tried the famous oysters at Get Shucked and then drove from North Bruny to South Bruny for dinner at the pub.
The next morning we anticipated the included breakfast at our Air BnB, only to realise that what they meant was bread from the freezer and some random spreads. Hilarious.
After getting a coffee we headed out for our first full day of exploring. Tassie really pushes their ’60 Great Short Walks.’ So we did a bunch of them! Our first one was the Fluted Cape Walk. This walk started off on the beach where we saw an Oyster Plover. It then cuts back up along the coast and you get a mix of bush and rock as you make a hefty climb up to the Fluted Cape.
On the way back down we spotted our first echidna of the trip bumbling along through the bushes. After watching him for a little while, we finished our Great Walk with some beach time. There were quite a few jellies washed up on the beach so we took our chances with a very brief swim and then headed onwards for a bite of lunch and a local beer tasting.
Once we wrapped up lunch, we boarded the ferry and headed back to the mainland. Our next stop was Port Arthur where we rented the most adorable beach house along Eaglehawk Bay. This property had to be the best of the trip!
We went to the Port Arthur region primarily for the convict history. Established in 1830, Port Arthur is UNESCO World Heritage-listed and one of the best-surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation. Beyond the prison complex, the Port Arthur region is also home to quite a few different natural sights, hikes, distilleries, wineries and animal sanctuaries. Unfortunately, the weather was gloomy, windy and rainy; not so good for nature stuff but the perfect ambiance for visiting the prison.
We were sad to leave our seaside cottage, but were on to more adventures the next morning! We had to leave *very* early to make the drive up to Triabunna to catch our ferry to Maria Island (pronounced Ma-rye-ah). Google Maps did a shitty job navigating and ended up taking us through some very questionable backcountry roads. And to up the ante, whilst in the middle of nowhere with limited reception it started to pour and the visibility was shocking.
But fret not, we persevered through the uncertainty to eventually be rewarded with a paved highway and rainbow. Plus, we were on time to check in and catch our ferry.
The journey over to the island was uneventful and soon enough we were there! Maria Island is what people would call an ‘eco-tourism’ destination.’ It’s a car-free national park, a wildlife haven for kangaroos, wombats and Tassie devils, convict history at the Darlington settlement and other landscape features such as the Fossil Cliffs and Painted Cliffs.
Our main reason for going to Maria Island was to see tassie devils, wombats and get a good hike in. But sad to say, the shitty weather followed us from Port Arthur and every inch of wildlife was hiding. The winds were gale force, so strong that an emergency statewide fire ban was pushed out to minimize wildfire risks.
The island isn’t that large, so the winds sweeping over the island were immense. There was signage everywhere warning you not to get blown off the uncontrolled cliff faces, which seems like a joke until a huge gust almost knocks you over. This also meant that at the top of our hike we couldn’t summit due to the fall risk. I’m not sure if I’ve ever not finished a hike, and definitely not due to wind! We got to the last few meters of elevation before we had to stop. We braced ourselves for a few blustery photos and then headed back down.
Once we finished what we could do of the hike, we wandered around the island looking for wildlife. The only bastards crazy enough to be out walking around were geese. There were some kangaroos lounging in a field as well. But no wombats, we were thoroughly unimpressed.
We waited for our ferry departure and shortly docked back on the mainland. We drove up to our next destination, Freycinet National Park, ready to tackle another day and another national park.
Fun Tassie fact: all Australian’s love a good pie and sausage roll. By pie, I mean a savoury pie, not a sweet pie. Think beef and gravy, scallop, chicken curry etc. This has slowly been growing on us. There is something about the golden pastry and ooey gooey insides. But it has to be a good one! Not any old pie will do. Thankfully, the National Pie Company is located in Hobart, the perfect place to go pie tasting. Their pies are even stocked in Coles with their own little fridge section! Rural Tassie sure served up some yummy pies as well.
Staying in Freycinet National Park was too tricky, so instead, we stayed in Swansea, roughly 45 min-1 hr away. The weather was finally on our side so we got up early to complete the Mt. Amos hike! We had really been looking forward to this one because of the iconic views of Wineglass bay. It was a tough scramble with a lot of smooth granite which made the climb slippery and technical in sections. It was also decently busy on the way back down with a lot of single-file sections which slowed up down some. The summit was absolutely worth the climb and wineglass bay was a stunner!
After completing the hike we took a chilly swim in Honeymoon Bay then grabbed another oyster lunch before heading to our last winery of the region. We finished the day with a walk around a lighthouse and spotted another echidna waddling around doing its thing.
From Swansea we continued north to Bicheno and checked out the whale trail walk. No whales were spotted.
From the whale trail we got back onto the highway and made it to St. Helens/Bay of Fires. Some people think it’s called the Bay of Fires because of the vibrant orange lichen that grows on the granite boulders in this region.
Tassie consists of a lot of farmland and small sleepy towns that close up shop by 6pm; so it’s integral to get all your fun, food and sightseeing in before the sun goes down! But thankfully, if you get up early and plan accordingly, you can really squeeze out every drop of goodness. We got our coffees, picked up some breakfast and drove out to The Gardens to eat on the rocks overlooking the ocean.
From breakfast we visited one more pristine white sand beach before heading west, where we traded coastline for rainforest and waterfalls.
Our final stop, of what felt like an eternity of driving, was the lavender farm. Oh, the lavender blueberry ice cream. Truly what dreams are made of.
After a marathon of driving we finally arrived in Launceston, affectionately referred to as ‘Launnie.’ There’s a bit of a rivalry as to which city is best: Launceston or Hobart. Both are historic cities with beautiful scenery, tasty food and Aussie culture; but I think Hobart still comes out on top for us. There’s something with being a port city surrounded by the mountains that reminds me of home.
Our next stop along the great Tassie circuit was Cradle Mountain and Lake St. Clair National Park. This was a top priority destination for us, and it really did live up to our expectations.
The National Park is ginormous so the logistics of how best to visit it were tricky. We decided to stay 45 minutes away and drive in for our day hikes. Staying closer would’ve been preferable, but so much more expensive.
Our top Cradle Mountain items were to hopefully and finally see wombats, summit Cradle Mountain and go to Marion’s Lookout. Chuffed to say that we ticked all three off our list!
Our first day in the park we did the Cradle Mountain summit via Marion’s Lookout. This was quite a long day. We started the hike nice and early and it took us around 7 hrs to complete the whole thing. There was a ton of rock scrambling which added to the challenge and slowed our pace. But it was worth it, a great day with the cutest wombats at the end which felt like the best prize. Finally seeing those adorable fuzzy bastards was perhaps one of the best parts of the entire trip.
We got home *exhausted* from our wilderness day, but so exceptionally happy. For Day 2 in the park we explored Dove Lake, Hanson’s Peak and the Tasmanian Devil Wildlife Sanctuary. Tassie Devils are endangered due to a contagious cancer called Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). Wildlife sanctuaries are doing what they can to breed out the cancer gene and reintroduce healthy adults back into the wild.
The drive south from Cradle Mountain is a long one around the national park. We wanted to visit the other side of the park, Lake St. Clair, but it added hours onto our drive so we decided to give it a miss. Instead, we drove south through rural Tassie, to Mt. Field National Park to complete the waterfall circuit.
Our last stop took us back to Hobart to fly home. Overall, the Tasmanian circuit was incredible, absolutely worth it. We saw 13 echidnas, 4 wombats, an Eastern quoll, pademelons, wallabies, kangaroos and probably a bunch of other stuff as well. We did 9 hikes, numerous wineries and our fair share of coffee shops.
The end of our Tassie road trip brought us to the end of the summer holidays and into another school year. I’m starting at a new school; ready for the new challenges and opportunities this presents me with. Looking forward to what comes next.
With love,
Alex & Michael
