Tasmania - Hobart, Tasman Peninsula & Freycinet

Hobart
We arrived in Hobart after spending 5 amazing weeks in Melbourne. We planned on spending 4 days here before picking up our campervan from Tassie Motor Shack and travelling Tasmania for the next month. We probably could have done Hobart in 2 days, as its a pretty small and quiet place.

We climbed Mount Wellington which is 1270 metres and really steep at the end. The weather wasn't great but the views from the top were still worth it.

The Salamanca market which is held every Saturday is pretty good. I got an Australia charm for my bracelet and me and Chris pretty much eat our way through it.

Tasman Peninsula
After picking up our campervan from Tassie Motor Shacks we headed to the Tasman Peninsula which is where the worst convicts were sent back in the day. There's loads of sightseeing here and we stopped at the blowhole, devils kitchen, pirate bay, eagles neck and a convict coalmine before spending our first night in the campervan at Limes Bay.

One of the best things about Australia and especially Tassie is the amount of free campsites they have and loads right on the beachfront. The beaches here are bliss. Pretty much empty, white sands and clear seas! We stopped off at white beach for a swim and on the beachfront for lunch.

We stopped off at Port Arthur which is the most intact convict ruins in Australia, however at $30 each to get in it was a little out of our budget.

Mayfield
Another free campsite we stopped at was at The Buckland Inn and we were the only ones there!

We drove futher up the coast before passing what looked like a really nice campsite. We turned around and headed back. Mayfield campsite was right on the beach front on the way up to Freycinet Peninsula. It was lovely so we stayed a couple of days.

Freycinet National Park
This place is definitely a highlight of Tasmania, so many beautiful places. We made the walk to Wine Glass Bay and did the circuit walk round to Hazards beach. The weather is unpredictable in Tassie and it wasn't exactly the warmest day but we'd heard Wine Glass Bay is a must. The only problem is the amount of people who go here. The beach was packed but we were the only ones who braved the freezing sea! We did the walk in about 3 hours which isn't bad considering we walked 11kms.

Hazards Beach

Wineglass Bay

Swimming at Wineglass Bay

We stayed at the campsite in the National Park which was great and our first proper shower in days! We headed to Honeymoon Bay which can only be described as paradise.

We also took the drive up to Cape Tourville and back down to Sleepy Bay before watching the sunset at Richardsons Beach.

Melbourne

Chapel Street, Windsor
After a 3 hour drive to Heathrow Airport, a 12 hour flight to Bangkok, a 17 hour delay, a 10 hour flight to Melbourne I made it to Australia! Chris had arranged a house share for when I got there which turned out to be a shed :) It was pretty cool though and in a great location, just a 10 minute walk from Chapel Street.

The Shed

Chapel Street is one of our favourite things about Melbourne with loads of cool bars and hang outs. Our favourite place was Wonderland with its $3 schooners.

Wonderland

We lived with a few English guys and a Kiwi girl for the first few weeks before Míchéal and Francis moved in. A couple of Irish guys who we cant wait to see again.

Francis, Chris, Maéva and Míchéal

Melbourne

The train station was only a 5 minute walk from our house into Melbourne city centre, Flinders Street Station. The bar across the road from the station called Young & Jacksons had a roof top cider bar which me, Chris and Dan would hang out at. There's loads of roof top bars in Melbourne, Cookie has a pretty good one!

Flinders Street Station & Eureka Tower

Cookie roof top bar 

Victoria Market is absolutely huge and sells pretty much anything and everything. The hot dog stand and cheese counters meant a considerable weight gain whilst in Melbourne, but totally worth it!

Victoria Market

China town is packed full of restaurants and is the cheapest place we found to eat out in Melbourne. However, I still can't use chopsticks.

Chris booked for us to go on the tram car restaurant which takes you round the suburbs of Melbourne for 3 hours whilst serving a 4 course menu. The drinks were unlimited and we got to try Kangaroo for the first time. Pretty tasty!

Eureka tower gives amazing views over Melbourne. It cost us $16 to go up to the highest point in the city and is well worth it. Extremely windy though.

During our time in Melbourne we went to see LA Galaxy vs Victoria which meant seeing David Beckham and Robbie Keane. However, the atmosphere really doesn't compare to an English match. I also saw my first cricket match. It was about 6 hours of cricket, I still don't understand the rules, I still cant remember who was playing but me, Chris, Míchéal and Francis had a great time drinking and enjoying the sunshine.

St Kilda
Chris lived in St Kilda before I arrived and we'd often get the tram over to go to La Roche or for a Shisha.

La Roche

Whilst Chris was at work I'd usually go to the beach and relax for the day, sometimes with Dan. The gardens by the beach were nice for a change, especially if Chris had the day off work so we could go together. The pier at St Kilda beach is home to tiny penguins!

St Kilda Beach