Oh how I love these people ❤️

Thanks for taking me in every time I turn up filthy, with bags of dirty laundry and a muddy tent.

Thanks for showing us Melbourne, for tasty dinners and even tastier wines.

We miss you. Hope to see you soon.

Freycinet is beautiful

The rays of setting sun playing over The Hazards from the Coles Bay campground was a stunning start to our explorations on the Freycinet peninsula. We camped here one night before our four day trek around the Frecyinet peninsula. It was the perfect place to acclimatise to the beauty we were about to experience.

On our first morning we prepared our bags, checking we had all our gear, food and importantly snacks for the next four days on the peninsula circuit. This was to be Tanja and my longest multiday hike (the previous being just overnight hikes) so we were a little nervous about forgetting something crucial. We took our time laying everything out in the sun before carefully stuffing it all into our packs. Then we struck camp, parked Fran in the day visitor carpark and headed around The Hazards towards our first campsite.

We had opted to spend four nights, taking advantage of every campground on the circuit, instead of the usual three nights on the circuit. This meant day one and two were quite easy hikes of just a few hours. We had lots of time for breaks, swims, and enjoying the views and changing forests as we headed first to Hazards Beach for the first night, and then onwards to Cooks Beach for the second. We made the short side-track to Bryans Beach on day two as well. During both days we barely saw another person apart from the Pennicott tour group dropped of at Cooks Beach, and a handful of other hikers at Cooks Beach. I loved being just a duo on the trails. Tanja and I fall into a rhythm, sometimes talking, often hiking in silence and stopping just to catch the bum of animal scurrying into the bush, or pausing to listen to the birds.

On day three we tackled the long climb up Mount Graham and equally long descent to Wineglass Bay. The trail is a steep and eroded crevice up the mountain. In many places we scrambled up wet slab or pushed through dense scrub. My thighs burned long before we reached the top, and the extra snacks and second lunch we planned for this day were needed. The views though from Mount Graham both south towards Schouten Island and north to Wineglass Bay were exceptional and made every step worth it. This day we spotted much evidence of the fungal disease plaguing mature trees across Tasmania, and found a few spots to pitch a tent outside the designated campsites which would make this route more balanced each day if we were to return in the future.

At our final campsite at the south end of Wineglass Bay we were rewarded with another perspective of sunset on The Hazards. It was an idealic view with boats moored just off shore, white sand and after fending off a curious wallaby and an even more inquisitive mouse (who pooped in Tanja’s cap in revenge) we fell asleep to the sound of wind and waves.

For the final day, we woke early in order to walk the length of Wineglass Bay before the day-trippers arrived. It’s a relatively short hike but lots of stairs to reach the pass through The Hazards. Feeling filthy and low on drinking water at this stage, we made straight for our car with the knowledge we had already experienced the best of the peninsula. We took a very quick swim at Honeymoon Bay to freshen up, and made a beeline for a nearby vinyard for a well deserved lunch.

Freycinet, you were incredible and although there are dozens of new hikes I would like to tackle in Tasmania, I can easily see us returning to see you again.

The Tasman Peninsula

When planning this trip I was very attracted to the Tasman and Freycinet peninsulas in the southeast. I thought these areas jutting from the island would be wild wind and sea-battered places. I thought they might resemble some of what I had seen around the Gothenburg archipelago during my trip to Sweden. For me, the Gothenburg archipelago conjures up the worlds of C. S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader or Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Quartet. Magical, mysterious and wild places of imagination were suddenly brought to life for me here. So the thought of returning to a place like this was exciting.

But Tasmania’s southeast coast is remarkable in its own right. The coastline with its towering cliffs, pockmarked with small caves and interesting geological features was totally unlike Gothenburg or anything I have seen before, but it did not disappoint. I was awed by the huge cliffs that form Cape Huay and Cape Raoul and the many fantastic rock formations precisely crafted by millions of years of geological and environmental activity. The forests of the mountains and the low scrub towards each cape are unlike anything I have seen on Australia’s mainland. On the capes, the coastal scrub is beautifully highlighted by rusty red and brown foliage. Absolutely stunning banksias lined the trails and much inspiration for future gardens was found.

The trails to Cape Huay and Cape Raoul are busy. Even in April, there were hundreds of people on each trail. Although the locations themselves are spectacular, I could never totally succumb to the wonder and beauty. At the point of each cape, it felt similar to visiting an art gallery as I had to take my turn to peer from the lookout before shuffling along for the next person. It’s obvious why they are popular, they are stunning, unique, accessible (lots of steps, hardened paths, boardwalks and railings) and only a few hour’s drive from Hobart. But with so many other hikers and tourists always within earshot if not in direct sight, I feel like the full emotional impact that these wonderful places offer wasn’t available to me.

On the Tasman Peninsula, we camped at Fortescue Bay. It wasn’t our favourite spot. The beach and bay are spectacular and as it sits right on the trailhead for Cape Huay it made tremendous sense as a base camp. But the site is mostly used by caravanners (not my favourite neighbours when camping) and a boat ramp brings a steady stream of traffic through this site. So on our final days on the Tasman Peninsula, we moved to Biviouac Bay, a walk-in-only campsite just a few hours away. After three nights hemmed in by vans, we relished the space and isolation. It’s a small bay reached by hiking around a few other small bays and over small headlands. Once we set up our tent and after taking lunch we continued further along the trail, to the east-facing cliffs facing towards the open ocean. Here the trail was just ours. We saw no one and heard nothing but the wind, the sea and the birds. And although the cliffs here aren’t as famous as the Three Capes, this short expedition means more to me than the main walks. We returned to these cliffs before dawn the next day, bringing our stove for coffee and porridge to welcome the sun. Although delayed by a thick cloud on the horizon, it was still a special sunrise, the first we had watched together in a long time. Greeting the day’s first light, and then returning to our campsite, kicked off our travel day to Freycinet.

Pretty happy with this campsite at Freycinet National Park.

Our hike to the peak of Hartz Mountain

It’s an incredible walk through stunning moorland and wet forest. There is an unbeatable view towards the mountains in the south west and also back towards the Huon River and the ocean. My favourite walk so far. Much of the early section is boardwalk and formed track, then you do a very steep climb to Hartz Pass before a boulder scramble to the peak. We were also blessed with amazing weather.

We stayed with our friends Connie and Paul in their 100+ year old home in Geeveston. I fell in love with their backward filled with fruit trees, vege gardens and a super old eucalypt in the back corner. All that was missing were some chooks!

Hiking on Bruny Island we were spoilt with a beautiful day to wander around the Labillardiere Peninsula.

We managed a quick dip back at the campground too although the waters are super chilly.

Our adventure in Tasmania began with a few days in Hobart. It might seem a little silly to drive across the entire island in one day when we had three weeks to explore, but it just happened to be a weekend when three different markets were happening. As I was planning the initial days of our trip, it felt like the perfect place to start. Sometimes, when faced with a blank page, it’s helpful to set some constraints. In this case, having a fixed date to be in Hobart gave me a framework to plan the rest of the trip around.

For our three-night stay, we chose the Alabama Hotel, a charming, retro-styled hostel in the heart of the city. It was an affordable option, with the trade-off being no private bathrooms. However, the friendly staff, lively bar, and sunny balcony to enjoy a drink before heading out made it all worth it.

We were spoiled with an abundance of delicious food from the markets, restaurants, cafes, and bakeries. My personal highlights included the congee from Rough Rice at the Hobart Farm Gate Market and the blueberry Danish from Pigeon Whole Bakery.

Meeting (or at least catching a glimpse of) my food idol, Adam from Rough Rice, was a definite highlight. I’m a huge fan. The congee is absolutely superb, and it’s something I’d love to incorporate into our own food repertoire. There were many tasty toppings, including a rich slow-cooked wallaby gravy.

Mountain biking down Mt. Wellington / Kunanyi was definitely not on my 2025 agenda. Neither Tanja nor I have much experience with mountain biking, but I wanted to explore the city in a unique way. Sometimes cities can blur into one another without anything to make the memories stick, and challenging ourselves physically was the perfect way to make it memorable. We both loved it. We took it easy and, thankfully, avoided any crashes. However, the adrenaline definitely kicked in a few times. The Pipeline Track, which we followed, runs alongside an old pipe that likely once supplied Hobart with fresh water, weaving its way up the mountain to Wellington Falls.

We also visited Mona. It’s obligatory I guess when you visit Hobart. A weird and surprising place. We enjoyed the experience, but I’m not sure if I loved the art.

Tanja and I left the south coast, farewelled our summer home and made our first camp on the way to Geelong. Tanja suggested boarding the ferry to Tasmania felt like descending into hell.

One last swim at Tathra. It’s a georgeous beach!

The waters down south will be a lot cooler 🥶

I just finished my final shift at Drift Tathra. On Tuesday we leave the Bega Valley which has been our home since October. New adventures await but there is much sorrow in leaving.