Day 1
Hobart

Stepping off the stairway onto the airport tarmac, we were greeted almost immediately by friendly Customs & Excise officers wanting to know if we had any fruits, vegetables or food items...

You soon learn that Tasmania takes its agricultural industry VERY seriously. The Australian mainland already puts the international traveller through one customs screen for potential sources of germs or foreign species, but Tasmania also screens interstate travel to ensure their natural flora, fauna and agricultural products remain pristine.

We were met in the Arrival hall by Mike Booker from the Tasmania Travel Company. While I waited at baggage claim, Yi Peng did the necessary paperwork to collect our Toyota RAV4 from the Delta Europcar counter. The car was pre-booked for us by Mike. Our choice of vehicle was, like all of our plans for the honeymoon, debated, pondered and discussed at length between ourselves and with Mike. We wanted a comfortable vehicle, yet something that could see us off the beaten track occasionally. The car we got was barely over a thousand kilometres on the odometer and practically showroom condition!

			Deciding on what vehicle to rent was a real dilemma. We finally decided on a Toyota RAV4. Delta Europcar could guarantee the exact model of car at the time of booking. Nothing worse than asking for a RAV4 and ending up with a jalopy, right? The licence plates feature a Tasmanian Tiger.

We played follow the leader, with Mike leading the way in his car. From the airport, he first took us to a lookout point, Rosny Point, across the River Derwent from Hobart. It was a great introduction to Tasmania. We saw another rainbow (the first was on the approach to the airport), and Mike told us that they are common in Tassie. He then guided us to Hobart's Islington Hotel and left us to check-in, but not before giving us his cellphone number and instructions to call him if we needed anything.

Islington Hotel is small but beautiful. Like everywhere else in Tassie, everyone was soooo friendly and warm. It was already time for dinner by the time we settled in and our hostess Sandra gave us a rundown of our options. We were really glad we took her suggestion of a 10 minute walk to La Provencale, a tiny french restaurant at the corner of Macquaire and Weld Streets.

It was to our eternal regret that we didn't write down the names of the dishes that we had, and that we didn't have the opportunity to return to eat there again later in the trip. It was only a day or two later that we decided to record all our meals for posterity, but by then, we couldn't remember the names of the dishes, only the mmmmmmm wonderful taste!

By then, we were so exhausted from the full day of travelling that we went to sleep almost immediately after returning to the hotel.

Day 2
Mount Wellington, New Norfolk
and Mt Field National Park

The day began bright and sunny. During breakfast at the hotel, we pored over maps of Hobart and sought advice from our hosts, David and Sandra. We took up one of their suggestions to visit Mount Wellington, which we could see from the dining room.

It was a 20 minute or so drive away and the road is well maintained and signposted. At over 1200 metres at the peak, the mountain gave spectacular views of the whole south-eastern portion of Tassie (but remember, it was a clear day!).

Composite image (from 3 photos) showing panoramic view from the peak of Mount Wellington

The air was fresh, brisk but not particularly cold. However, the wind was moderately strong and we needed our rain shells over our fleeces to stay warm. The sheltered lookout building had lots of information and historical minutiae, as well as bronze maps of the surroundings, orientated so that you could easily identify all the prominent points out the huge windows.

After a yummy al fresco lunch at Maldini Italian Cafe in Hobart's landmark Salamanca Place, we took Highway 1 northwards then the A10 until we reached New Norfolk. On the way, we passed huge crowds. Coincidentally, that was the day of the largest Annual event on the Tassie calendar, The Royal Hobart Show, an agricultural show. Though we were tempted to stop and have a look, we decided to press on. Mike had provided us with amazingly detailed route descriptions ("... You turn off the main road onto a gravel road - SLOWLY - not just because it's gravel but there are 2 speed humps which are difficult to see. Then just keep going straight through the trees, a few hundred metres and you have arrived...") for almost all of the major driving we had to do throughout the trip, so it was absolutely a breeze navigation-wise. Not only route information, but alternative routes, side trips, points of interest, sights to see, even where the speed cameras are!

We checked into Tynwald Willow Bend Estate on the outskirts of New Norfolk. Well, "checked-in" meant collecting the keys from the mailbox because a note on the door said that Pat and Garry were out. We were booked for the cottage at the bottom of the garden, just a short walk from the 19th century main building itself. The cottage was refurbished from an old Granary, is self-contained and very homey. Within the very lovely garden full of flowers and willow trees, there were some picturesque ruins of some building, a mill, if memory serves.

"Tynwald" in New Norfolk - Quaint architecture and beautiful gardens

Since we had plenty of daylight left, we immediately set off to explore the region. We drove out on the B62, then the B61 towards Westerway. The landscape was really peaceful and the rapidly changing cloud cover created some stunning vistas.

Soon enough, we reached Russell Falls in the Mount Field National Park. From the visitor centre, it was a short 15 minute walk to the Falls through very wet and cool fern forest. It was the kind of forest you'd expect trolls and goblins to call home. A thoroughly enchanting introduction (for us) to the natural beauty of Tassie's national parks. Perhaps it was the fact that the walk was very short, or that it was just our first such forest walk in Tassie, but the Falls themselves came as a surprise. They were quite impressive, and not the just some small dribbling brook!

On the walk towards the falls, we had passed a couple who were on their way back to the visitor centre. We had, as is customary, said hello to each other as we passed. Nothing unusual, except that we later discovered that they were Pat and Garry and that they had recognised us when we later returned to Tynwald!

Pat and Garry are renowned chefs. In fact, Tynwald is probably best known for it's culinary delights. Booking for dinner is necessary as they can be fully booked on some nights. However, it was one of those quiet nights, and we were the only diners that night. This of course let them pamper us with their warm hospitality.

As a side note, throughout the whole trip, we noticed, wondered and worried about the unusually sparse number of tourists. Apparently, this had more to do with the fact that Ansett Airlines had collapsed just weeks before, thus dramatically curtailing the number of flights between Tasmania and the mainland, than with the worldwide slump in holiday travel following the horrific events of September 11th in the US. We were ourselves affected by the closure of Ansett Airlines, as our connecting flight from Sydney to Hobart was scheduled to be on Ansett. We managed to get Singapore Airlines to secure an alternative connecting flight via Qantas for us.

Dinner was so delicious, we just had to 'SMS' our friends to tell them about it!

Gingerly avoiding the rather belligerent peacocks strutting about the grounds, we walked over for dinner at the appointed time. Tim ordered Smoked Salmon on Pancakes with Aoili as entree, Ossobucco braised in red wine and tomato sauce as main course, while Yi Peng had Goat Cheese souffle with Walnuts, followed by Rib fillet on mash with mushroom and wine sauce.

To say that dinner was good would do Pat and Garry a major injustice. It was fabulous!! So good, that we were ummm-ing and ahhhh-ing throughout dinner and between courses, we were sending out SMS (short message service) text messages back home to our friends telling them about it all (much to their annoyance, since they messaged back that we had made them salivate in envy). Dinner at Tynwald was easily one of the 3 best meals we had in our time in Tassie, perhaps even the best. Not kidding.

After dinner, Garry handed us a large torchlight for the walk back to the Old Granary. We watched some TV, made an entry into their guestbook, and spent a lot of time reading the previous entries in it. Everybody was absolutely ga-ga over the place. Many were repeat visitors.

Day 3
Destination Strahan

We had a quick walk around the gardens in the morning before checking out and heading out west. It would be LONG drive to get to Strahan.

Go to Part 2 - Strahan & The West