A Week in Tasmania

It was quite interesting to see how this particular piece of Australia can be so different from the mainland, and I’m not talking just about scenery and wildlife. Small things here and there stand out and create a very unique experience. For example, I’ve never seen poplar trees lining the roads anywhere in Australia before. Or so many timber forest reserves, for that matter. They also love the “JCN” abbreviation on the road signs there (meaning “junction”). They don’t however, like to put up too many speed limit signs, and as you return to the main road you have no idea whether it’s a 80 or a 100 zone. An extra $12 for the vehicle in national parks wasn’t a particularly great surprise either.

I liked Tasmania overall, but I didn’t fall in love with it. It was beautiful in many places, breathtakingly so in some, yet it just didn’t click with me the same way as, say, Pilbara or the Red Centre did. And it’s not the erratic climate, or twisty roads, or anything like that. Sometimes you and the particular place are just not that good together.

This trip was quite gruelling, too. Lots of driving, quite painstaking at times. Lots of hiking, too. Tasmania is not a big island, but one week is not exactly a generous timeframe, and when the clock is ticking you can’t help but try and squeeze as much sightseeing in one day as you can. And the summer days are long. So yeah, I was a bit knackered by the end of the ordeal. Will certainly pace myself better next time, when ferry schedules won’t hang over my head.

That being said, the camping experience itself was fantastic. A new setup that allows me to sleep in the vehicle is far superior in terms of comfort, not to mention the ability to use proper bedding and linen. Certainly there’s some room for improvement here and there, but overall my car is as close to a real touring vehicle as never before. Which is good, because there’s so many places out there that I haven’t seen yet.

So yeah, see you on the next one, folks. And thanks for coming in.