Now we’ve tasted some of nature’s delights near Hobart it is time for us to leave and discover another natural spot of the Island, Freycinet Peninsula at the East Coast.

Before leaving Hobart, we try and order our rooftop rack leg – let’s cross the fingers we get it this time – and they promise us it will arrive the day after tomorrow. With Christmas quite near, we buy a pair of reindeer pieces for our car – a red nose and a pair of antlers. After that we leave Hobart and head to Marion Bay, quite an uninteresting bay, before we drive along some beautiful unsealed roads to the Freycinet park. Late afternoon we arrive in the park, order a campsite – at honeymoon bay – and go for a short walk at the Cape Tourville, with a superb view over some more bays.

Next day is a relaxing experience, we wake up late at the campsite and make a short walk to the Wineglass Bay lookout, before we relax at the beachside in the bay. Tis bay is rated as one of the ten most beautiful bays worldwide and so a real must see. The bay itself is quite nice – however similar to so many other ones, but we enjoy the sight of some dolphins in the waters and have fun with the wallabies on the beach.
When we leave the park, we head to the Friendly Beaches, a from far look-a-like to the Bay of Fires. Because we don’t have enough time to visit the bay, we are happy with the surrogate. After that we make the long journey back to Hobart, along some beautiful roads.

On Friday morning we say goodbye to Steve and Bec, thank them for our wonderful stay and the great hospitality they offered us before leaving in the direction of Craddle Mountain, for another driving day. The experience of being in a house for a couple of days proved to do both of us good. It made we’ve seen less from the island than we intended, but it felt relaxing and great after all these months on the road. Bec and Steve made us really feel welcome. Katie and Holly are two lovely, open kids whose company we really liked!
The next stop is the Repco… And believe it or not, but we got the right piece! The installation will be for tonight. Jippie, that struggle is finally finished.
The road to Craddle is quite a distance, so we go for a scenic lakes drive. Once again we pass some fabulous landscapes – sometimes forests, other times fields with sheeps and sometimes villages. Along the road we stop at a lookout over the Great Lake, make a stroll to the Pine Lake with the rare and typical pencil pines along it and enjoy the magical Liffey Falls. These falls we count among the most beautiful on our trip. We end a long day driving on a magical spot in the mountains, some 60 km from Craddle. These last km’s are for tomorrow.

Our last day in Tasmania will be a long one, so we get up early. In the Craddle Mt NP we head directly to the parking area and prepare for the summit walk. The beginning of the walking trail goes along some beautiful lakes – Dove Lake, the Lila Lake, Wombat Pool and the Crater Lake – with magnificent mountain sceneries on the trip. After a couple of hours walking, we arrive at the beginning of the summit walk. Initially the road is only steep, but it become soon a boulder climb instead of a walk. Both of us find this kind of action pure fun. At the summit we take some lunch, while we enjoy the stunning sceneries from every corner.
The way back goes along a different path, with more lakes and lovely nature. Nearly finished, we decide to make a detour along the easy Dove Lake walk to finish this beautiful day.
What a beautiful environment over here in the Craddle area. We’ve quite well discovered that spot of Tasmania.
Our sleeping location is not far from Sheffield – at the Devils Gate – hopefully this place grants us a good sleep… Tomorrow morning we have a boat to catch, so we surely need to be in time. We leave around 9 am, but need to board between 7 and 8 am. With only 30 km’s to drive next morning that may cause no problems… And so it is, good in time we arrive and leave the beautiful island with much regret and a promise to return – with more time – sooner or later.