A Tasmanian Birthday

Tasman Arch

This post will begin by giving a huge shout out to my mom for coming to visit the land down under and traveling with us to see the smaller island off of this massive island known as Tasmania, or “Tassie.”

Mom flew into Brisbane so we got to show her the city for a few days. Day one consisted of a long brunch of catching up, we both got the fried chicken benedict, naturally. On a Sunday the three of us piled in Margo and went to Mt Coot-Tha where there is a café and impressive lookout over Brisbane. We then went on to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which I think we all were enamored with. Even though the koalas were the main event, feeding the kangaroos were also a highlight.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

While Anthony planned to stay and work in Brissy that week, mom and I flew early on Tuesday from Brisbane to Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania. Tasmania is way South, basically on the latitude of New Zealand or Southern Chile. In March therefore, it was surprisingly nice and sunny pretty much all day every day. After enquiring if the weather was normally like this to a restaurant worker, he responded with a hard no, that they often get all four seasons in one day. So apparently we hit the weather jackpot whilst there. The accommodations at The Henry Jones Art Hotel were pretty great, and the location was right on the wharf. We had a boozy seafood infused lunch by the wharf and set off to explore a little more of Hobart via Taxi.

Lunch on the wharf

Probably one of the biggest takeaways from Tassie is that the food was ridiculously good. Side note, but in general I think that the quality of food is much better in Australia than in the US. When looking at labels, everything seemed to be relatively local and definitely made/grown in Australia. The yogurt we ate for breakfast was from the Tamar Valley just a short drive north, the wine we drank was from the numerous Tasmanian wine regions, the seafood was fresh caught, and this was emulated by the quality.

We travelled to the Port Arthur Historic Site the next day. It was another gorgeous day bear in mind. Port Arthur was a penitentiary in the 19th century where British folks sent their criminals. There is A LOT more history to it than that, but that’s the condensed version. We boarded a ferry to the Isle of the Dead where we heard stories about those that had lived and died at Port Arthur. Unfortunate circumstances these people were in, but also what a lovely place to be laid to rest.

Isle of the Dead

So on any travel guide, one of the top things to do in Hobart is the MONA Museum. It’s an interactive art museum that’s marketed as an adult playground. From the wharf, we took a decked out camouflaged ferry to the museum where we even sat in the “posh pit” where we were served champagne and hors d’oevres.. posh af am I right.

Taking the MONA ferry in style

Friday rolls around and suddenly I’m 25! Anthony’s flight lands in Hobart that morning and the three of us head off to the Freycinet Peninsula which is approximately a 2.5 hour drive through Tasmanian countryside. We stayed in Coles Bay funny enough, at the Freycinet Lodge, an ecolodge on the water and within the national park. The rooms were modern with a natural touch, the floor to ceiling windows almost made you feel like you were actually sleeping amongst the trees.

The day after my birthday was full of adventure. After breakfast, Anthony and I hiked to a lookout point over Wineglass Bay. We then met up with mom for an ATV adventure! It was actually a great time with scenic stops, and probably extra exhilarating for me since Anthony was my driver.

My handsome chauffeur

Again back to food and wine, we stopped at a cute café in town for lunch. We had the best fish and chips I’ve ever had, paired with the best riesling I’ve ever had. Somehow they’ve made a not-too-sweet but refreshingly crisp Tasmanian riesling. Relaxed and refueled, we got ready for a sunset kayak tour which concluded that day.

Before heading back to Hobart to catch flights later that night, we did some light hiking/sightseeing in our last hours on the gorgeous peninsula.

The water is so blue around the peninsula!

I got to spend my 25th with two of my favorite people in a spectacular location. I really couldn’t be more thankful or fulfilled. Although, as we were enjoying the heck out of ourselves in this remote location, the rest of world was beginning to face a massive crisis which we are now all very aware of. I definitely did not want this vacation to end and face the “real world!” To be continued…