Tasmania - A Devil of a Journey

Go ahead. I dare you.

Take a trip to Tasmania and try not to fall in love with this little island south most of Australia. The untouched beauty of Cradle Mountain surrounding the shimmering waters of Dove Lake. The rewarding hike through Freycinet National Park to a birds' eye view of Wineglass Bay. The fresh succulent oysters. Sullivans Cove Whisky.

With so many things to offer I find it strange that, without the backing of actual statistics, a lot of Australians themselves do not consider Tasmania as much of a holiday destination. The overwhelming sentiment amongst many people here is that the cost of a holiday to Tasmania is almost equivalent to a budget trip to Europe. Hence the obvious choice for them at least is to board a plane for a 20 plus journey to the other side of the world.

For me, Tasmania was the perfect destination for a one week holiday with my wife, mum, a cousin and her parents. After just a 3 hour flight from Sydney we find ourselves in the City of Launceston, ready to launch into our road trip around Tasmania.

Our first port of call was the Cradle Mountain, where we had booked a two nights stay at the Discover Holiday Parks in their Superior Cabin for 6 adults. The edges of the national park was approximately 2 hours away from Launceston. Nestled along the way though, there were a few places of interest of the delectable type.

The Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm (http://www.raspberryfarmcafe.com/home_cafe.html) has a pretty good restaurant serving raspberry in any way imaginable plus your usual Aussie fare, like burgers (including wallaby meat for the culinary adventurous) and fish & chips. 

Raspberry themed desserts

Try the free samples of chocolate covered raspberries at the counter, and after lunch go for a walk amongst its lush vegetation surrounding a small lake.

Lake at Christmas Hill Raspberry Farms

Unfortunately, the actual raspberry farm was not accessible to the public and you can only see it from a distance.

Our next stop was a hit with my mum and my aunt, the Melita Honey Farm (http://www.melitahoneyfarm.com.au). There is a wide variety of honey for sampling here, from the uniquely Tasmanian leatherwood honey to chocolate honey to ginseng honey. Also popular are the honey beauty products, Our personal favourite is the Orange Blossom Honey which served as our go-to hot drink in the cold winds of Cradle Mountain. Mum ordained herself as the unofficial honey drink maker for the rest of the trip, making sure all of us had at least 3 warm cups each every day!

A short drive later, we finally reached the fringes of Cradle Mountain and checked into our 6 person Discovery Park cabin (www.discoveryholidayparks.com.au/tas/cradle_mountain), which was kept warm and comfortable by a fireplace in the living area.

Dinner choices weren't plenty, but those that were there were good! Our dinner for both nights were at the Pepper's Cradle Mountain Lodge Tavern and Bar, providing warmth, entertainment and delicious sustenance in the form of steaks, chicken schnitzels and surprise surprise, Thai Green Curry which was pretty good for a place far removed from the chaos of Bangkok.

Should have scattered a few balls around
 so it's not that obvious this was posed solely
for the photo...

Ku Zhang looking stylish in his chequered scarf

Night came slowly in Tasmania in the final months of the year, and it only started getting dark at approximately half past eight. The last disappearing ray of sun light signals the start of the activities of the nocturnal inhabitants of the mountain, such as the wombats and the echidnas. Now most people recommended we signed up for the Night Spotlight Tour organised by one of the hotels there, but we decided that we could probably do the job ourselves and save $30 per person.

The only challenges I faced on the night drive into the Cradle (I've been in her. We are on first name basis after that, in my books) were her narrow winding roads, the rain that was beginning to pour, and a couple of backseat drivers overly concerned about my abilities and eager to return to the safety of our cabin. Their concerns evaporated immediately though when we chanced upon this handsome fella minding its own business in the middle of the road.

A hugly cuddly wobbly wombat

Mum herself forgot her concerns about my driving and braved the rain and blistering wind and ventured out of the car for this photo op...and then came back with a leech up her feet (followed by high pitched screams back in the cabin when she found them!).

Probably the moment she got bitten by the leech

We managed to catch a glimpse of some possums too, even one with her young on her back, and an echidna scrambling up the side of the road.

And finally, lo and behold, we actually caught up with the official tour van organised by one of the resorts and started tailgating them Not only did they provide reassurance that I wasn't not driving off the cliff, but they had a powerful high beam spotlight which they were shining into the forest to catch sight of the animals. So what they saw, we saw, for zero of the cost! Brilliant!

Despite all the adventuring we had throughout that day, I was also glad to finally be back at our warm cabin and bundled under the comforter, ready for some R&R and recharging our batteries for the real exploration of Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake!

Roadtrip Advice

A thermos flask.

Old Town 3 in 1 coffee sachets for the flask.

High powered flashlight.

Winter gear for the volatile weather in Cradle Mountain.

Going for Tough Mudder and hosting dinner for a few visiting friends on the day before our Tasmanian holidays means hectic packing, exhausted minds and sore limbs, and these were the items that we forgot to bring.

A few other tips for would-be travellers to Cradle Mountain:

• Bring a torch light and do your own night spotlight tour. Drive slow and safe and with luck you'll spot more than your share of the furry park residents.
• If you are a group, ask about buying the group National Park passes which is eligible for a vehicle containing not more than 8 passengers and is valid for 8 weeks. This cost only $60 per pass, as opposed to the individual park passes which cost $16 per person and is only valid for 24 hours.
• Be prepared for rain and cold, and wear appropriate layers and waterproof jackets for warmth and staying dry.
• Good food and beer can be found at the tavern and bistro at Pepper's Cradle Mountain Lodge. Also opened for dinner! (http://www.cradlemountainlodge.com.au/food-wine/the-tavern/)
• There are other less demanding walks around Cradle Mountain such as the Pencil Pine Falls and Rainforest walk, which is a 10 minutes circuit.