Feedback please - Tasmania in Jan/Feb 2023
Oct 19th, 2022, 03:27 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Feedback please - Tasmania in Jan/Feb 2023
Hello, I'm looking for feedback on our planned trip to Tasmania in Jan/Feb. 2023.
This is part of a 2-month visit to Australia which will also include Sydney, a SCUBA liveaboard in the outer GBR, Port Douglas/rainforest, Sunshine Coast, and Melbourne prior to Tasmania. After Tasmania, our plan is to do the Great Ocean Drive from Melbourne to Adelaide/Barossa Valley area and fly back to the USA from Adelaide. We originally planned to also visit Kangaroo Island but from the research I've done, it seems that Tassie has much more to offer and Kangaroo Island would not add that much to the trip so we are skipping that in favor of more time in Tasmania.
Our interests are:
1. Nature and scenery; we are light hikers but not serious hikers or campers/backpackers
2. Native animals
3. Food, wine, and local culture
It may not be apparent from this itinerary, but we prefer slow travel where we can have some down time and relax or do spontaneous things, so we decided to skip most areas west of Hobart except for Cradle Mountain National Park and the NW coast. This already feels a bit rushed to us but adding on Strahan, Huon Valley, etc. would be too much and those areas were not as interesting to us. Our current plans are:
- Arrive at LST on 25 Jan., spend 3 nights in Tamar Valley.
- 25 Jan. - check out Launceston and Cataract Gorge
- 26 Jan. - attend Australia Day Festival in Latrobe; then try our luck to see a platypus in the wild
- 27 Jan. - explore nature and wineries in Tamar Valley
- Drive to Cradle Mountain on 28 Jan. On the way, is it feasible to stop at both Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary and see the animals, followed by Marakoopa Cave to see the glow worms?
- 29 Jan. - Light hiking/exploring Cradle Mountain National Park. Do the Devils at Night tour to feed the devils.
- 30 Jan. - 3 Feb. - spend 4 nights doing a combination of sightseeing along the Northern Coast (the Nut, fairy penguins at dusk), visiting some of the Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail producers, and relaxing. The question is where to stay - split time with a night or two in Stanley and the rest in Devonport, or stay in the middle in Penguin or Burnie for the entire time?
- 3 Feb. - drive to Launceston and spend 2 nights. Attend Festivale on Saturday, 4 Feb. Depart 5 Feb.
- 5-7 Feb. - spend 3 nights on the East Coast. See Bay of Fires, Binalong Bay, Wineglass Bay, Freycinet - not sure if we should do one night up near Bay of Fires and 2 nights near Freycinet, or ???
- 8 Feb. - drive to Hobart and spend 5-6 nights - would like to tour Port Arthur/Tasman Peninsula one day, Bruny Island another day, experience Salamanca Market, Mt. Wellington, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, plus see a bit of the town. We decided to skip Maria Island despite the wonderful wildlife as the logistics sounded too challenging.
- Depart 14 Feb., assuming we need 6 nights in Hobart to do all of this. We would prefer to leave on 13 Feb. if we can fit all of this into 5 nights without exhausting ourselves.
I look forward to your comments. Thank you so much for helping point me in the right direction!
This is part of a 2-month visit to Australia which will also include Sydney, a SCUBA liveaboard in the outer GBR, Port Douglas/rainforest, Sunshine Coast, and Melbourne prior to Tasmania. After Tasmania, our plan is to do the Great Ocean Drive from Melbourne to Adelaide/Barossa Valley area and fly back to the USA from Adelaide. We originally planned to also visit Kangaroo Island but from the research I've done, it seems that Tassie has much more to offer and Kangaroo Island would not add that much to the trip so we are skipping that in favor of more time in Tasmania.
Our interests are:
1. Nature and scenery; we are light hikers but not serious hikers or campers/backpackers
2. Native animals
3. Food, wine, and local culture
It may not be apparent from this itinerary, but we prefer slow travel where we can have some down time and relax or do spontaneous things, so we decided to skip most areas west of Hobart except for Cradle Mountain National Park and the NW coast. This already feels a bit rushed to us but adding on Strahan, Huon Valley, etc. would be too much and those areas were not as interesting to us. Our current plans are:
- Arrive at LST on 25 Jan., spend 3 nights in Tamar Valley.
- 25 Jan. - check out Launceston and Cataract Gorge
- 26 Jan. - attend Australia Day Festival in Latrobe; then try our luck to see a platypus in the wild
- 27 Jan. - explore nature and wineries in Tamar Valley
- Drive to Cradle Mountain on 28 Jan. On the way, is it feasible to stop at both Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary and see the animals, followed by Marakoopa Cave to see the glow worms?
- 29 Jan. - Light hiking/exploring Cradle Mountain National Park. Do the Devils at Night tour to feed the devils.
- 30 Jan. - 3 Feb. - spend 4 nights doing a combination of sightseeing along the Northern Coast (the Nut, fairy penguins at dusk), visiting some of the Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail producers, and relaxing. The question is where to stay - split time with a night or two in Stanley and the rest in Devonport, or stay in the middle in Penguin or Burnie for the entire time?
- 3 Feb. - drive to Launceston and spend 2 nights. Attend Festivale on Saturday, 4 Feb. Depart 5 Feb.
- 5-7 Feb. - spend 3 nights on the East Coast. See Bay of Fires, Binalong Bay, Wineglass Bay, Freycinet - not sure if we should do one night up near Bay of Fires and 2 nights near Freycinet, or ???
- 8 Feb. - drive to Hobart and spend 5-6 nights - would like to tour Port Arthur/Tasman Peninsula one day, Bruny Island another day, experience Salamanca Market, Mt. Wellington, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, plus see a bit of the town. We decided to skip Maria Island despite the wonderful wildlife as the logistics sounded too challenging.
- Depart 14 Feb., assuming we need 6 nights in Hobart to do all of this. We would prefer to leave on 13 Feb. if we can fit all of this into 5 nights without exhausting ourselves.
I look forward to your comments. Thank you so much for helping point me in the right direction!
Oct 19th, 2022, 10:03 PM
#2
I don't know Tasmania well enough to comment much but it sounds like you have a good amount of time to see and do what's on your list. Don't be too disappointed if you don't see any platypus in the wild. They are very elusive creatures and can be difficult to spot even if they are in the water. Also Jan/Feb is the hottest part of the year in Australia but the only time we've been to Cradle Mountain was in January and we found it freezing cold. So be prepared with warmer clothing and summery stuff as well for other areas.
The Australia Day public holiday often means Australians take an extra day (or two) off work and have a short break away, so if you haven't already done so, I'd book accommodation around that date. As far as splitting time between two different towns, for me it would depend on how far the day trips are away. Ideally I'd stay in one place for longer, it's more restful, less packing up and checking in/out etc. But if the day trips are a long drive, then better to move location. We find Google Maps very optimistic and tend to add quite a bit to their estimated drive time.
The Australia Day public holiday often means Australians take an extra day (or two) off work and have a short break away, so if you haven't already done so, I'd book accommodation around that date. As far as splitting time between two different towns, for me it would depend on how far the day trips are away. Ideally I'd stay in one place for longer, it's more restful, less packing up and checking in/out etc. But if the day trips are a long drive, then better to move location. We find Google Maps very optimistic and tend to add quite a bit to their estimated drive time.
Oct 20th, 2022, 07:44 AM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't know Tasmania well enough to comment much but it sounds like you have a good amount of time to see and do what's on your list. Don't be too disappointed if you don't see any platypus in the wild. They are very elusive creatures and can be difficult to spot even if they are in the water. Also Jan/Feb is the hottest part of the year in Australia but the only time we've been to Cradle Mountain was in January and we found it freezing cold. So be prepared with warmer clothing and summery stuff as well for other areas.
The Australia Day public holiday often means Australians take an extra day (or two) off work and have a short break away, so if you haven't already done so, I'd book accommodation around that date. As far as splitting time between two different towns, for me it would depend on how far the day trips are away. Ideally I'd stay in one place for longer, it's more restful, less packing up and checking in/out etc. But if the day trips are a long drive, then better to move location. We find Google Maps very optimistic and tend to add quite a bit to their estimated drive time.
The Australia Day public holiday often means Australians take an extra day (or two) off work and have a short break away, so if you haven't already done so, I'd book accommodation around that date. As far as splitting time between two different towns, for me it would depend on how far the day trips are away. Ideally I'd stay in one place for longer, it's more restful, less packing up and checking in/out etc. But if the day trips are a long drive, then better to move location. We find Google Maps very optimistic and tend to add quite a bit to their estimated drive time.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
anniep625
United States
8
Sep 11th, 2022 03:06 PM
LaContessa1
Europe
0
Jul 17th, 2022 03:15 AM
LakesideChick
Australia & the Pacific
4
Aug 10th, 2015 02:18 AM
lizF
Australia & the Pacific
6
Aug 6th, 2005 07:25 PM
