Tasmania
I catch my first flight since going from Singapore to Sydney and cross the Bass Straight to Australia’s island state- Tasmania.
I leave the huge, crowded Melbourne International and two hours later hop off at Hobart. At the opposite end of the spectrum this airport is smaller than most bus stations.
Apart from it’s laidback, peaceful remoteness the thing that most distinguishes Tas is it’s geography. This is one of the few parts of Australia with lots of hills and mountains.
I’m staying above a pub which is pretty cool. I also seem to be the only person staying there. So I get to choose what channel to watch. I can choose freely between the two.
My first tour is out east to Port Arthur. A prison settlement built on a peninsula with a surprisingly spooky ghost tour at night.
After a few beers to settle my nerves I miss my tour bus the next day and have to catch a regular coach to catch them up.
At one of our rest stops the driver tells us not to wander to far:”There’s seven kinds of snakes in Tas. Out here they’re all fatal.”
The rest of the trip involves the climbing of mountains, the viewing of waterfalls and the eating of ice cream.
