An island covered in National Parks, mountains and rugged coast lines - sounds like heaven right? Well I give you Tasmania, the land of my dreams and the latest journey in my time abroad. We began our adventure mid-day on Friday with a quick one hour flight from Melbourne to Launceston. After getting our rental car and a quick stop at Annie's Take-Away we headed directly to the coast to explore Mount William National Park and Bay of Fires. Bay of Fires is miles and miles along the coast of bright orange rocks, so cool! From there we headed to Cole's Bay and our hostel for the night to get some sleep before (you know what I'm gonna say next) an early wake up for the sunrise!!! Heck ya! Nothing like a 4:45 am wake up call and chilly hike to get your blood pumping and mind buzzing. We hiked up to the Wineglass Bay lookout and watched the sun rise over the coast before starting the 3 hour hike up Mount Amos for an ever more stellar view of the bay. The hike to the top of Mount Amos was essentially one large rock scramble which proved to be intense but so much fun. The 360 views at the top did not disappoint and made the hike so worth it. After the hike/slide down the mountain we got on the road again and headed down the coast to Tasman Peninsula where we stopped at Tasman Arch, Devil's Kitchen, Tasman Blowhole and Tessellated Pavement. To end the day we hiked the Cape Huay Track, a 4 hour return hike that follows the coast to the outmost point, offering stunning views and towering cliffs at every turn. What I thought would be a easy sunset hike, turned out to be a pretty strenuous one, do your research folks! Huge shoutout to my travel buddies for being such good sports and exploring so much nature with me in one day, you all are the best. After the hike and a failed attempt to see the Southern Lights we headed to Hobart, Tasmania's capital, for the night. On Sunday we changed our plans from a day of driving and hiking and opted to stay in Hobart. We drove up Mt. Wellington, the mountain right by Hobart with amazing views of the city, ate brunch at a local cafe, went on a tour of the first brewery in Australia, and explored the Modern Art Museum. Some times changed plans and spontaneous choices can turn into a perfect day filled with views, beer and art. Never be afraid of being spontaneous and changing plans. Change is good my friends, something I am trying to learn myself. Check out the pictures below to see how insanely beautiful Tasmania is (musings continued after):
Side blurb: While this weekend was amazing in so many ways, it was also a very hard couple days for me. My cousin's wedding was on Sunday in Canada and while I knew when I agreed to study in Australia that I would miss it, I wasn't prepared for the tides of emotions that came with that. Their wedding was the first time in probably 5 years that everyone in my family - cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents - were all together at once. So to miss that took its toll. Studying Abroad has been so rewarding and I know that this experience will live with me forever, but it's moments like this that make it incredibly hard. I am so thankful to my family for the numerous facetimes, videos, and pictures that I received as it allowed me to feel as much like I was there as possible. Josh and Sarah - I am so so excited for you both and this new journey in your lives. I wish more than anything I could have been there to eat perogies, celebrate your love and Ukrainian dance the night away. I wish you so many days filled with love, happiness, adventure, excitement and fresh powered slopes. Welcome to the family Sarah!
1 successful weekend navigating with a map, 2 sunrises, 3 gnarly bruises, 1 rental car, 4 mountains, 2 sunsets, 3 hikes, 2 blisters, 5 tourist spots, 8 jam sessions, 1 Annie's take out, 1 delayed flight, 2 beer flights, 3 hostels, 3 wallabies, 6 abandoned beaches, 3 group hugs, 8 facetimes, and lots of emotions later, I am filled to the brim with a weekend full of rad adventures with wonderful friends. While I had my ups and downs this weekend I am so thankful to my travel ladies for helping me through it and keeping me positive and reminding me to just keep smiling.
Cheers - keleniak
p.s. Before this experience I promised myself I would do one new/possibly scary thing a week: This week that was exploring Tasmania, a brand new, stunning place. Definitely made the top of my list on places I have traveled to.