Cheeky trip to Tassie

My wife and I have been lucky enough to have spent a fair amount of time overseas in our twenties. We have visited more than 20 countries together and seen some amazing things,
but we realised not so long ago that we haven’t even scratched the surface in our own backyard – Australia. We have both been to Victoria and Queensland but that’s it. So we thought
with a long weekend Approaching and Gem conveniently winning some free flights to anywhere in Australia, it was a sign to get out and see some more of Australia.

We chose to head south to Tasmania for 4 days to get a little taste of Tassie and see what it’s all about. We were more than impressed, so much in fact that we are planning on going
back again over Christmas and spend some more time there! With only 4 days up our sleeves we decided to focus on Hobart and the lower east region. For two nights we stayed in a
beautiful barn conversion in Huonville, and the final night in Sandy Bay in Hobart.

The south eastern area of Tasman is truly beautiful. The towns are small and full of friendly townsfolk, the roads are empty and well kept, and there is more than enough scenery to
keep you visually stimulated. We spent our days driving alongside the Huon River, eating at roadside cafes and taking regular photo breaks. We ventured into the National Parks and
took rainy walks to through the lush forests and stumbled across a glacier lake up high in the mountains. I wish we had more time here as there were countless walks and hikes no
matter your fitness level.

Our time flew by and we were already packing up the silver bullet aka the Nissan Micra ready to head back north to Hobart. Along the way we could resist stopping by Grandvewe
Sheep Cheese for a slice of their award winning sheep’s blue cheese and a glass of the tasty Pinot Noir, which we enjoyed while overlooking the rolling green hills of the farm. We ate
our treats, had a bit of a play with the resident dogs and were back on the road. With an afternoon stop and some beers in the sunshine at MONA. We spent hours here wandering through
the museum, it was fascinating. After we had made our way through the winding galleries we decided to rest our feet on the lawn. We pulled up a beanbag and sipped on some award
winning Moo-Brew, and enjoyed watching the sun go down behind the mountains.

Thoroughly exhausted from the day’s activities, we finally arrived at our nice, but oddly designed flat in Sandy Bay. After a quick meal we turned for the night, ready for another action-packed day of exploring Hobart.

There was something about Hobart that remind us of Europe, whether it was the wide roads or the old architecture around Salamanca Bay, whatever it was we immediately fell in love. We found a little spot for breakfast which was a hybrid cafe/Laundromat tucked away in the corner of Salamanca Square and it served up one of the best breakfasts I had eaten in a long time, and I can safely say Gem’s banana bread was the nicest banana bread I have ever eaten. With a few hours left until our flight, we decided to scale the winding mountainous road to the top of Mount Wellington for a truly stunning view of Hobart. It was a great way to finish off a really enjoyable few days in Tasmania, and I am already looking forward to our return.

Below are a few pics from the trip. I was testing the new Fuji X-T1 for most of the trip and it’s a great little camera. It took a bit of getting used to and the EVF was a challenge,
but in the end I got very attached to the little workhorse, and I can see why people are raving about it.