I can't believe how fast this semester has gone by, in a little less than a month I will be on the long journey back to the States. Classes (although not finals) finished up last week, and to celebrate the end of the semester, me and three friends from Australearn flew to Tasmania for a few days. While only a two hour flight, Tasmania seems a world apart from Sydney. Tasmania is that Australian island state on the very bottom of your globes, about 120 miles below the continent. It is sparsely populated with only about 500,000 people, and yet, deceivingly large area-wise. It is a very natural island, which feels like it is 10 years behind the rest of Australia. Everything (and everybody) seems to move at a slower pace, as if they want to actually enjoy the secluded natural surroundings, and not be caught up in the rat race of the twenty-first century. Gas stations are mostly serviced, closing relatively early. There are no "big" weeknights, its just a laid back place with a small town feel. A definite change from the bustling city life.
Upon arriving in Hobart (the capital city of the state), we rented a car in order to take in a lit of the sights. We spent the first part of Saturday afternoon exploring Hobart and Salamanca Market, an awesome street market offering everything from jewelry to gifts to homemade fudge (yum). Later that afternoon we drove down the peninsula to Port Arthur, one of the most notorious colony-era convict prison's. While in a beautiful area surrounded by water and lush green landscape; it has a brutal history. The remnants from a lot of the old buildings still remain and we were even able to walk inside the "punishment cell"-a solitary confinement cell which provided complete sensory deprivation for "unruly prisoners".
Anyway on a more pleasant note, the drive back offered my first opportunity to drive on the left hand side of the road! It took a little getting used to but it wasn't bad. The weirdest part was having the steering wheel on the right hand side!
The following day, the group of us ventured on a three hours drive up the coast to Wineglass Bay. Its hard to describe it, except to say that it is a 'perfect' beach...secluded, white sand, turquoise water, wallabies (a cousin of the kangaroo, for those of you who aren't sure) on the beach...it was fantastic! To access Wineglass Bay we had to go on a bit of a steep hike though one of Tasmania's many national parks. A bit of a tough journey but well worth it. That evening we drove another four hours to the small ranch town of Kimberly, where we stayed at our rustic accommodation for the night. It was basically a rugged little rental house on a horse farm. An awesome guy named Ray owned the farm and offered tour/accommodation packages for travelers. Included in this was a freezer stocked with sausages, bacon and every other essential Aussie staple for a true homey feel. The next morning Ray took the group of us on a horseback riding tour of the area. It was an absolute blast! I even crossed paths with a tiger snake (the fifth deadliest snake in the world)...lets just say I became a race jockey for a brief moment frantically trying to get away from the thing! Later that afternoon, Ray took us up to Cradle Mountain for ATV off roading. Speeding through a muddy 4wd course on the top of a mountain, it was an awesome experience, and definitely one of the highlights of my entire trip!
After a great afternoon, we said goodbye to Ray and headed for the Tasmanian Devil sanctuary. The devils, while resting appear to be very calm, are nothing of the sort when food is in front of them, their sharp teeth are exposed and they go absolutely crazy. Supposedly, these animals have a jaw force of 1,000 pounds!
Anyway, by means of wrapping up this rather long post, I will sum up by saying it was an incredible, awesome and exhausting trip! We were also able to meet some of the friendliest people who were able to help us out along the way, ensuring that we had an awesome Tassie experience!
Upon arriving in Hobart (the capital city of the state), we rented a car in order to take in a lit of the sights. We spent the first part of Saturday afternoon exploring Hobart and Salamanca Market, an awesome street market offering everything from jewelry to gifts to homemade fudge (yum). Later that afternoon we drove down the peninsula to Port Arthur, one of the most notorious colony-era convict prison's. While in a beautiful area surrounded by water and lush green landscape; it has a brutal history. The remnants from a lot of the old buildings still remain and we were even able to walk inside the "punishment cell"-a solitary confinement cell which provided complete sensory deprivation for "unruly prisoners".
Anyway on a more pleasant note, the drive back offered my first opportunity to drive on the left hand side of the road! It took a little getting used to but it wasn't bad. The weirdest part was having the steering wheel on the right hand side!
The following day, the group of us ventured on a three hours drive up the coast to Wineglass Bay. Its hard to describe it, except to say that it is a 'perfect' beach...secluded, white sand, turquoise water, wallabies (a cousin of the kangaroo, for those of you who aren't sure) on the beach...it was fantastic! To access Wineglass Bay we had to go on a bit of a steep hike though one of Tasmania's many national parks. A bit of a tough journey but well worth it. That evening we drove another four hours to the small ranch town of Kimberly, where we stayed at our rustic accommodation for the night. It was basically a rugged little rental house on a horse farm. An awesome guy named Ray owned the farm and offered tour/accommodation packages for travelers. Included in this was a freezer stocked with sausages, bacon and every other essential Aussie staple for a true homey feel. The next morning Ray took the group of us on a horseback riding tour of the area. It was an absolute blast! I even crossed paths with a tiger snake (the fifth deadliest snake in the world)...lets just say I became a race jockey for a brief moment frantically trying to get away from the thing! Later that afternoon, Ray took us up to Cradle Mountain for ATV off roading. Speeding through a muddy 4wd course on the top of a mountain, it was an awesome experience, and definitely one of the highlights of my entire trip!
After a great afternoon, we said goodbye to Ray and headed for the Tasmanian Devil sanctuary. The devils, while resting appear to be very calm, are nothing of the sort when food is in front of them, their sharp teeth are exposed and they go absolutely crazy. Supposedly, these animals have a jaw force of 1,000 pounds!
Anyway, by means of wrapping up this rather long post, I will sum up by saying it was an incredible, awesome and exhausting trip! We were also able to meet some of the friendliest people who were able to help us out along the way, ensuring that we had an awesome Tassie experience!
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