Devonport to Hobart and surrounds.

 630 the alarm sounds, and you awake onboard the Spirit of Tasmania, that is if you havent already risen. 

I know I take a while to get organised, so I set my alarm for 530. 

The cabin was small but adequate for what we needed, a good nights sleep before tackling our first day in Tassie. 

by 7am we were reversing the D-Max out of our very tight parking spot and heading off the ferry. 

When we hit street side, it was still dark out. We were hungry, you could eat on the ferry but we chose to find something along the way. We headed towards the highway, which would take us to the Midlands and Hobart Beyond. 

About 15 minutes out of town we came across a truck stop at Sassafras, and as anyone on a road trip knows, this is where you will find the good grub. 

there were a few  truckies and early risers inside, and we could see and smell why. 

Coffee and roast beef and gravy rolls for breakfast, dont mind if I do. Infact, I wish I had ordered 2. they were THAT good. 

We ate in the car and off we headed. 

The sun was just coming up by this time, so we could see the incredible beauty that surrounded us around every bend.  Through Elizabeth Town and just bypassing Perth, the Tasmanian one, not the WA one. I could see Cradle Mountain to the South West of us, and we skirted this mountain range for a while as we headed towards Symmons Plains, we made a quick detour into the racetrack, home of Supercars when they visit Tassie.  

A mutual decision was made that if we saw a brown sign, which usually denotes a tourist attraction that we would stop.  Tasmania is FULL of these signs, we would spend the next 10 years and never see everything.

Campbelltown was the first of these. OMG, what a gorgeous village this was. We stopped and walked, took pictures of everything, in awe at the history and beauty. We have already fallen in love with this state and we only just got here. 

Churches, old stores, sandstone buildings, the Red Bridge, and while it is a quintessential midlands town, its history is that of massacres and unrest when the colonial settlers came and 'conciliated' the last members of the local clan the Tyerrenotepanner. 

On the hills outside the town there are metal sculptures that catch the eye. 

Our next stop was Ross, a small town located on 78 kms south of Launceston, but an entire world or should I say century away. 

It was established in 1812 and lies in the lands of the Tyrernotepanner Nation, whom I mentioned before. The colonials gave them the name Stoney Creek nation.

Ross is also the home to a Female Factory, part of which still stand. Between 1848 and 1854 approximately 12,000 female convicts passed though its doors. 

It is filled with heritage listed sites, and I urge you to take the time to drive off the main highway instead of bypassing this town. 

Road tripping to the apple aisle.

  Sydney to Tasmania via Melbourne. 

When you think of Tasmania, what images are conjured up?

For us its all about the ambiance, tranquility, solitude, exquisite scenery and complete sense of being in the moment.  

Australia's southern most state is so many things. Home, holiday destination, photographers muse, eco haven, adventurers paradise. whatever you find there, it is sure to please your mind. 

We road tripped in early June this year (2022) in our Isuzu D-Max and had an incredible 5000km journey.

We left home really early because we had to be in Melbourne at around 4pm to get the Spirit of Tasmania from the mainland to Devonport that evening. First stop, and most important, was Maccas for coffee. As the driver in the family, I try not to have too many coffees or anything else because the result is lost travel time for pee stops. 

We headed south on the M7 and joined up with the Hume highway, we would stay on this most of the day. If you travel from Sydney to Melbourne, you can stick to the highway all the way and not go through 1 town if that's the way you like. We weren't in a hurry, because we gave ourselves plenty of time, so we had a couple of detours into Gundagai in NSW and  Holbrook as well as Winton in Victoria. 

Made it to Port Melbourne with plenty of time to spare then we joined the line ride to get onto the ferry. Every manner of vehicle, large and small was heading over this evening, as well as lots and lots of pets. You drive yourself onto the ship, the crew direct you, and you NEED to remember where your vehicle is parked, because you DO NOT want to be that person that holds the entire ship up unloading because your car is the one blocking everyone from getting off.  Before you are allowed to drive on they will stop and ask you if you are carrying firearms, flora or alcohol. You need to declare otherwise there can be huge fines.

Its a really great way to travel, I'm not much of a flyer, and you can

 book a cabin (several sizes available onboard) or you can sleep in reclining chairs in an enclosed deck if you are travelling cheaper.  

We booked a double cabin with a porthole, but it was dark as we left so nothing much to see, and you arrive in Tasmania at the crack of dawn. 

Not a bad feed onboard. 

If we havent bored you too much, we would love for you to continue along on our journey through one of the most beautiful places we have ever visited. 

I look forward to bringing the next chapter alive. 

Thanks for reading.  

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