Tassie!

We went back to this lovely little island south of Australia for a second time, to see some of the places we didn't cover on our first trip. Tasmania has a population of less than half a million people in an area of 68,400 square kilometers - its very roomy! Over a quarter of Tassie is classified as a World Heritage Area or a National Park, so with such a large and relatively unspoiled natural environment, there is lots and lots of land to explore and hikes to do for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. We did most of what we could with our 7 days, but couldn't help to hope for yet another trip here to see more of what Tasmania has to offer....




So here's a small slice of Tasmanian history; welcome to the land of convicts. Tasmania has a short written history compared to most places in the world, but its quite interesting nonetheless. It obviously has a longer prior history with its aborigines that were there many centuries before Britain arrived in the 18th century, but their lives changed dramatically when the land was taken over. Tasmania quickly turned into Britain's own Prison Island in early 19th century. Here are a few stolen words from Lonely planet's Tasmania book; "In 1804, 74 convicts were shipped out to Van Diemen's Land (as Tasmania was then known), with 71 soldiers, plus their 21 wives and 14 children...Penal settlements were built in the island's most inhospitable places...by 1833 roughly 2000 convicts a year were sent to this end of the earth as punishment for often trivial crimes. The community quickly developed a very particular character: lawlessness and debauchery were rife. Yet it was also defined by great pioneering innovation and courage. Tasmanian culture has undergone a transition from shame and an increasing number of Tasmanians now identify with their convict past - or their indigenous heritage." The last convicts were transported in 1853, 74 000 convicts later, most of them served their sentences and were released to settle in the surrounding colonies. They then gained independence in 1856, they found gold and minerals, fought some wars, lived through Depression, tried to save the wilderness, and on and on. If you are interested in history, explorations, exploitations, Europeans settlements and first contacts with aborigines, sprinkled with interesting anecdotes, this land's story is a good one to read on.




We arrived in lovely Launceston, and then drove up to the north shore to George Town, where we explored the beaches' sand dunes to find penguins, and we found one! Then we drove out east for a few nights of camping on the Bay of Fires, a 30km stretch of beaches and lagoons with soft sand, clear (very cold) water, and surrounded by heaps of colourful rocks. After that we drove down the east cost, then cutting through the middle of the island, stopping for some hiking and cave visits along the way. We visited mining-moonlike-weird-colony Queenstown and then sleepy Strahan on the west coast. We then made our way to beautiful Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park, where we hiked the first leg of the famous Overland Track to see Dove lake from up high. It was very pretty, and sunny and we saw wombats!

Here are some photos