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Day 1 - Newcastle - Hobart - Tasman National Park Our Aussie friends had sold us on visiting Tasmania; they had explained it was a beautiful part of Australia with massive diversity and a real different feel to the main land, so we were totally stocked to see it for ourselves. Friday early morning we jumped out of bed to catch our 6:00am flight to Hobart with a connection through Melbourne. Once we were on our flight to Hobart the pilot had suggested there might be some turbulence near Hobart and he wasn't kidding! As the plane descended though the clouds we felt like we were at Canada's Wonderland on a roller coaster ride! Once we were through the cloud cover we safety landed to the Land truly down under. Our first moments in Tassie we experienced some of the beauty of the land and people that all the Aussies had told us about. Everyone was super friendly and on a much more relaxed pace than the main land (which is already pretty relaxed). Shortly after our flight arrived, we were picked up at the airport and taken to our van rental where we were introduced to our campervan, which would be our wheels and home for the next four nights! After researching different van companies we went with Devil Campers because truthfully their prices couldn’t be beat and there were no terrible reviews online. We didn’t have high expectations; for the price we expected the van to be more or less ghetto but we were pleasantly surprised that everything was clean and functioning! The owner showed us around to all the neat and funky features. It was a pop-top campervan that had a mini kitchenette with a sink, gas stove, fridge, cupboards and even a small closet with clothes hangers! Along the back walls were two benches and a table that we could set up during the day. During the evening the benches flattened into a comfy double bed, above the bed was a storage area that also converted into a double bed however we used it to store all the bedding. At the other end of the van, above the car seats was another storage area where we put bags and food while driving. Once we got acquainted with the van we set off for another adventure and headed to the infamous Tasman National Park, 100 km south east of Hobart. Although the distance wasn’t very much the roads are very small and winding so we had to take our time. The roads are also covered with road kill… yuck! Unfortunately locals drive very fast and with there being so many nocturnal animals road kill is inevitable. The scenery to the park was beautiful, the road followed the coast with great lookouts along the way. Once we got near the park we turned down a 14 km unsealed or better known at home as dirt road, which led us to where we’d be staying. As we drove the whole van rattled away, we kept our fingers and toes crossed hoping we wouldn’t break down as we had just signed a document stating we wouldn’t drive on unsealed roads… woops! It was well worth the risk, the campsite was set in a beautiful area right on the waters edge in a bay with ocean access for the lucky people with boats. We hadn’t pre-booked so we were happy to hear that it wasn’t fully booked up, all other campers were there fishing and had great big ocean fishing boats rigged with heavy duty fishing poles. Once we got settled we set out on our first Tassie hike. On the way we ran into some fisherman who had gotten back and were preparing their dinner. The hike took us through the forest and then opened up to viewpoints looking out onto the bay where the campsite was set. We kept climbing and then veered off course to where the Ranger had suggested we sit to watch the moon rise. We caught it at the perfect time, just as the sun set this massive ball of fire rose over the ocean and lit up the area. We stayed enjoying the moonlight until our bellies started to rumble, when we finally decided to head back. Good thing we brought our headlamps as it was night dark. The trail was pretty easy to maneuver in the dark and we were only spooked once when a little wallaby jumped out onto the trail and hopped along with us for a bit. Once we were back at camp we made a delicious pasta dinner then headed to bed to wake up for sunrise. As our alarms went off on Sunday morning we decided it was a better idea to stay in the warm bed and watch the sun rise over the bay instead of hiking to see it rise over the ocean. We did go for a little of a walk to get some views but then returned and made our way to the next park, Frecyinet National Park. The drive between the two parks took a good portion of the day as we would stop at lookouts, for food and at one berry and chocolate farm where we spoiled ourselves with delicious chocolate and beautiful views of the park in the distance. Once we arrived in the park we decided to head out on a small hike up to a nice lookout of Wineglass Bay, a beautiful bay with a pristine beach stretching in the shape of a wine glass. After our hike we settled into our campervan spot then headed out to the local pub for some grub. Being in the area known for it’s salmon I had the wild salmon and Andrew ate the the Sunday roast, the food wasn’t anything special but the atmosphere and people were friendly and hospitable. During our first few days in Tasmania we experienced lots of beautiful scenery, super friendly people and the awesomeness of having a mobile home! Stay tuned for the second part of our Tasmanian Adventure!
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