Part 1- Prelude
We did this trip in November 2015.
I realize it's been a while already.
Tasmania trip itself was remarkably memorable but the 6-day hike of Overland track we did was
our life changing experience.
People have different values on life.
We are more or less focusing on seeing nature by foot which we have realized since a long time ago
gives us more fulfilment and satisfaction.
We travelled from Hobart to Launceston via a few must see places along the eastern coast of Tasmanian Island.
Like NZ, Tasmania weather was unpredictable and treacherous.
We went there end of November overlapping early December.
In many ways it suited our purposes.
Usually end of November Suze's University semester finalized and her birthday happened to be then.
It is end of spring and early summer when weather is supposed to be getting warmer.
Also it's still not the peak time of Christmas and New year's day yet we could avoid crowds.
Eddie did a little bit of research as usual and showed me options.
Basically there were 2 options.
One: Luxurious hike
Two: Humble but real hike
To be honest I can not deny first I was strongly tempted to do number one option.
I've been hiking all my life since my late twenties but before this I've done only one multi day hike
more than 20 years ago.
Lots of factors discouraged me enough.
Bad weather conditions: In Tasmania it could snow even in summer.
Heavy back pack: You should carry around 15 to 18 kilogram heavy back pack.
No shower during this long hike.
Sleeping in tents or huts along with other smelly snoring strangers etc.
Problem was that number one option was way too expensive.
One person each cost 3000 dollars which meant 9000 dollars for this hike.
They give you nice food, comfy bed and hot showers.
Also you can carry a light day pack all the way during the hikes.
At that time we didn't have any proper gears for a multi day hike.
So number two option as self guided hike was based on hiring gears and transport service.
We decided number two option after a long consideration, for me reluctantly and worriedly.
They organized a lift to start and a pick up service from end.
They organized booking for our entries during the hike and purchasing National park passes.
Plus a ferry from Narcissus to St Clair National Park office at the end of hike too.
They lent us back packs, dehydrated food, rain gears( jackets and pants),sleeping bags including
liners, sleeping mats, tents and cooking utensils plus gas cookers and gases.
Also epirb ( emergency personal locater) was supplied.
I had been worried about the uncertainty of my capability since then until I started this hike.
Part 2 Tour before Hike
Day 1
We flew to Hobart where we started our trip.
This concluded in Launceston ,where we started and ended our big hike
and flew back to Sydney from there.
We wanted to see basically three things in Hobart.
One, Sunset in Mt Wellington
Two, Botanical Gardens
Three, Salamanca Markets in town centre
We only were successful for number one.
I still remember how gusty the wind was on top of Mt Wellington.
I couldn't dare to go out of car because of the terrifyingly formidable wind.
The wind was so strong that it shook and swayed our car continuously the whole time
we were there.
Eddie was of course very brave to make himself exposed swaying in the winds to take photos.
In the car I was listening to the wind howling with the blazing sun setting from intimidating grey sky
in the most unique setting we'd ever been.
Sun set was magnificent as always but I was glad to come back to our hotel in the end.
Day 2
We drove to Port Arthur.
It is a former prison colony and very popular tourist attraction.
On top of that it became more famous due to a mass shooting in 1996 which led 35 people killed and 23 wounded.
One good thing introduced from this tragic event was tighter gun laws in Australia.
We were walking around the ruins and remnants of prison buildings contemplating on times of 200 years ago
and admired well maintained gardens which were full of beautiful flowers.
It was a beautiful site which let us forget about the sad history and tragic events happened before.
We were caught in a shower before we were on a small boat cruising around the harbour.
On boat Eddie was downstairs alone separated from us typically
to get a better photo shoot and he was carried away with crowds who were going to get off of boat at a small island.
He was being checked by the staff and told his ticket was not meant for that.
After this incident Suze repeated this story more than million times to tease him.
Poor Eddie!
He barely managed a blank expression to escape awkward moment every time.
At night we went to downtown Hobart walking around to find a good restaurant.
Hobart looked like a well-kept old city with old cute buildings and gardens buzzing with tourists.
Day 3
The third day was devoted a whole day for Maria Island.
It was a convict probation station and no one lived there any more now so called a ghost town.
It's a national park and you could stay at a basic bunk accommodation too.
The island is about 20 kilometres in length from north to south and, at its widest, is about 13 kilometres west to east.
We checked out at our hotel in the morning and drove one and half hour's to arrive in Triabunna.
We pre-booked a ferry to the island and bikes hire on line beforehand.
We had to take our lunch with us before we got on the ferry.
In Triabunna there was only one small old fashioned run down looking café available but later we found
the wraps we bought from there were amazingly yummy.
We ate sitting on the rocks near cliffs admiring magnificent ocean far down with the bite of strong wind on our faces.
Wind was the dominating factor in Tasmania almost everywhere.
The ferry ride was only half an hour but I got scared as it was too small a ferry compared to high waves and
the scales of enormous oceans.
The island was seen from the boat very soon but it never came to close even though this small ferry exerted itself
to the fullest to reach there.
I felt we were in the middle of ocean forever but finally it reached there to my huge relief.
People on the boat scattered rapidly according to their purposes.
Some were up to a walking tour, us a bike tour and some were for staying a night or two there.
We biked around this small island.
Island was small and empty except people like us and old hollow ghost buildings here and there.
Hills and cliffs near the wild sea where trees couldn't survive, only unknown animals' droppings filled
in between grasses.
From time to time I was pondering what it was like in here 200 years ago.
Sun, high waves, cliffs and beautiful beaches.....remnants of old times which had endured indefinite times
with the gusty winds.
We came back drenched with a whole day's being in a different world.
We straight headed northbound to the next destination which was located inside Freycinet National Park.
We stayed there 2 nights.
It was located next to a quiet serene Honeymoon Bay.
Eddie was there mornings and evenings to take numerous photos of sun rises and sun sets.
He seemed to enjoy not only taking phots of them but also admiring them by doing it thoroughly.
The amount of time he devoted was remarkable.
Day 4
We had a hike down to Wineglass Bay in the Freycinet National Park mid morning.
It was a very hot day for a hike with scorching sun grilling down on us I remember.
When we arrived at the beach it was even better than the picture I saw from internet.
We settled on one of the numerous rocks where we ate sandwiches admiring the views
and chilled out for a while.
It was one of the best and characteristic beaches in the world.
In the afternoon I let them go for a guided kayaking tour to compensate our past experience
while I was resting at the hotel before dinner.
Suze was ecstatic of this idea.
When we were touring NZ we went kayaking in Milford Sound.
She was teamed with an old lady from the States and she had to do all the rowing.
Even this lady requested Suze to row more vigorously while she was taking photos.
She wasn't happy at all at the end of it.
Meanwhile me and Eddie had a bad time as well.
It was good at start but soon for some reason we couldn't make the boat move in the direction
we wanted it go.
Eddie wanted me to do nothing because according to him I only made it go the wrong way.
He must have been exasperated and tried to sort out his own way.
But typically I felt very useless and eventually got really upset about the whole situation.
Most of all I was hoping he was not acting as if we were in the battlefield, determined to go forward
to be alive....given that I was not that calm and cool to handle the situation too.
In the busy ocean with numerous larger cruise boats passing 5 small boats of ours were floating
and moving along according to the instruction from our leader.
The young girl from Canada was coaching and leading our group in the Milford Sound.
She urged me to help Eddie but I told her he didn't let me.
The way I spoke made everyone got attuned to our discord instantly.
Later I told our tour guide Craig that now I understood why he mentioned husband and wife shouldn't go kayaking together.
Anyway Suze and Eddie were a perfect team among all of the people as predicted and I was very happy to hear that.
After the disastrous kayaking fiasco in NZ.
They had a fabulous time rowing around beautiful National Park enjoying afternoon teas and fresh oysters supplied.
Suze was talking to me about what happened in her high pitched tones which she used when she was excited.
Our dinner was cold sandwiches we bought in the morning but it was a very good day for all of us.
Day 5
It was Suze Birthday.
However I happened to make her unhappy in the morning unintentionally.
We went to the hotel reception to check out after we had a good breakfast.
There were some mistakes made from our on-line booking company.
About which I didn't realize until I reached the fifth day's place.
During our stay in Tasmania we kept on moving so we had 5 separate bookings for
our accommodations.
Depending on their policies, some hotels charged me fully from the beginning,
others half or none.
I've got mixed up payment confirmations about the hotel in Freycinet National Park
and the next one from them.
So I had to show them my later-turned-out-to-be-not-true evidence sent to me from the booking site
to the hotel people.
I should have known the slight difference of payment and their mistakes at the time of payment at home.
I was rather upset because then I felt they were very rude and inefficient.
Suze tried to help me but she was insinuating I didn't know how to handle the situation or people.
Or it was one of those times we started adjusting each other when she became a young adult.
It's a bit similar situation just like with Eddie while we were kayaking with bunch of other people around.
I got offended easily so I kind of yelled at her when we were back at our car about her comment.
It was one of the many silliest moments I was carried away with my emotions.
I should have realized that she only wanted to help me in her way.
Even Eddie didn't approve me of yelling at her on her birthday.
Which fuelled my temper even more flare up.
She was still cranky and didn't want to talk to me when we were drinking one of the most delicious coffees with cakes
and then having lunch at a café in St Helens.
Typically for me, as time passed my anger thawed gradually and my usual senses back.
I felt quite guilty for making her unhappy on her birthday due to things which by then seemed not really to matter any more.
For her special day we booked a fairly nice accommodation with two separated rooms at the edge of St Helens.
We usually book a room for 3 people to save money when travelling.
We first went to Bay of Fire where millions of orange hued granite rocks were scattered along the white sand
beach under the blue sky.
It also was extremely gusty there.
We wanted to do a short walk along the beach but gave up the idea.
So we had a quiet relaxing day with a fabulous café lunch and a very good seafood dinner in St Helens for celebrating
Suze's day.
Except too emotional an event in the morning.
Day 6
We felt the temperature dropped down a lot over the night.
Once again I learned how temperamental the weather in Tasmania was.
I wondered how even supposed- to- be summer weather was colder than Sydney's winter?
I heard Eddie going out early in the morning while I was still in bed.
He was jogging and taking photos of another sun rise around there.
They prepared hearty breakfast for us and another couple travelling from Central Coast.
We enjoyed it immensely but as always for me it was not 100 percent comfortable to socialize
with strangers.
But in this way I was experiencing true Australian way of life which was worthwhile.
We headed to Launceston this day and supposed to see some waterfalls on the way.
But we must have passed them, instead we saw a lot of lupins passing quiet lonely roads and towns.
Day 7 and 8
We had two days at hand before our big hike.
Initially Eddie planned to do a hike in Walls of Jerusalem NP.
But we decided not to do it due to a bad weather and other conditions we had to consider.
So we had much more time to explore the city of Lauceston where we walked around, shopped, dined etc. compared to
being in Hobart.
Just a stone's throw from our hotel there was standing City Park.
I saw haughtily standing high iron gate painted too ominously dark black it looked out of place.
It must have been glamourous 200 years ago.
Layouts such as trees, grasses, flower beds and paths of the park was beautifully arranged.
On the whole I'd got an impression it seemed really old and not looked after thoroughly.
We strolled inside the park to find the Japanese monkey house only without them.
So we had to come back to see monkeys later when we were back from the big hike by Suze's strong request.
For unknown reason Suze was extremely fasinated with monkeys.
Day before our overland track it snowed heavily when it was freezing cold with dark cloudy sky above you.
I still remember I was dreading about upcoming event especially when the weather was like that.
We went to Mole Creek where we had a cave tour and a nice lunch afterwards in a café.
They had a powerfully warm heater inside and their food was fabulous.
I found almost everywhere in Tasmania food was delicious and remarkable.