As the Coronavirus numbers waned over the warmer Australian summer months, state governments started issuing incentives to re-ignite domestic tourism. Tasmania offered free return car transport aboard the Spirit of Tasmania ferry between Melbourne and Tasmania. So in April 2021, the Camry was packed and ready to go. Yes, we were taking our camping gear and this was going to be our first proper longer camping trip together. We have added an Aldi pop up tent to our swag accommodation as we needed some privacy to sit and get changed.

On the 10th of April with the car loaded to the hilt, we excitedly queued and were ready to board at Port Melbourne. It was astonishing to see how many trucks, caravans, campervans, cars and motorcycles were being loaded. It always amazes me how aeroplanes stay up in the sky with the weight they carry and now I was thinking how amazing it was for this ferry to float with all that cargo.

As it was a day sailing we opted to sit instead of having a cabin for the 11 hour journey. Masks were required to be worn. It’s always interesting sailing through Port Philip heads and is often known to be quite rough. Well going through the heads today was nothing compared to what lay ahead! The further we entered Bass Straight, the rougher it got. There were many loud speaker announcements for medical assistance required for sea sickness. I was quite surprised how well Ruthie was coping as there’s a bit of past cruising history with sea sickness there. We received a few texts from concerned friends as they’d even seen the reports of the extra rough crossing on the news! There were many “green “ looking people seated everywhere. It was so rough, you couldn’t walk without holding onto something every step of the way. All the merchandise had crashed from the shelves in the souvenir shop and to make matters worse the bar had been closed! I finally was able to make my way to the toilets and the noise coming from there was like a thunderstorm. All the cubicle doors were taking turns to open fully as we went up the swell and then crash closed on the downwards swell making the loudest thud.

It had been a tiring journey and we were pretty happy to arrive in Devonport. Our accommodation at the Abel Tasman Hotel and Caravan Park was nearby, but firstly we had to show our “border passes” and get temperature checked! All this winding up and down of car windows in the 6 degree weather was making us very happy we had elected not to camp tonight. Eventually we were unpacked and found a nice warm pub which served a delicious home style meal which along with a couple of red wines was enough to ensure a restful slumber at the end of day 1.

When we asked our children on what route to take around Tasmania, they all agreed for us to go clockwise. So the first thing Ruthie and Johnny did was to go anti-clockwise! We weren’t sure whether we’d get time at the end of our trip to get to that portion of Van Diemans Land (that’s my Dutch heritage coming out). With Bass Straight on our right hand side, we drove through the scenic coastal towns of Penguin, Burnie, and Wynyard until we got to Stanley. The attraction here is a gigantic rock called The Nut. There is a cable car ride or a steep walking path to the top. I was really glad the cable car wasn’t operating as the wind was gale force. The vista over Bass Straight and the town of Stanley made the exhausting walk to the top worthwhile.

A stop for a seafood lunch at the Boat Harbour SLSC overlooking the ocean and we were back on track travelling clockwise. To a degree we were still flying by the seat of our pants as we had no idea where to stay for the night. We had brought our camping gear and we were going to camp! Never mind that the overnight temperature was going to be zero. As it turned out, we lucked a very private camping spot at Port Sorrel. It was a beautiful grassy spot near the water. We liked the privacy as a crowd might have put pressure on us amateurs setting up a pop up tent and swag. As it turned out, everything went smoothly and I even remembered to bring the tent pegs!

When we awoke the next morning, the frost was still on the grass but we had been snug as bugs in our tent. The crunching noise that woke us was a paddymelon (small kangaroo) chewing on the frosty grass. It was a clear blue sky sunny day and we walked the path along the waters edge. There were paddymelons everywhere and they seemed to not scatter when we walked closely by them.

After packing up, our aim was to get to the North East coast. Our first stop was at Mitre10 where we bought a small blow heater and a hot water bottle, just in case of emergency. The drive took us through St Mary’s Pass with the road winding through spectacular forested country. We landed in Scamander on the east coast, a town of wide sandy beaches and views of the ocean.

We headed on to Bay of Fires through Binalong Bay. We spent quite some time exploring the orange rocks silhouetted by the turquoise waters. It was quite stunning. Our stop for the night was St Helens where we had wanted to camp. It wasn’t to be and the only accommodation we could get was a refurbished shipping container. It wasn’t 5 star but comfortable all the same. This area is a huge draw card for competitive Mountain Biking and this is their choice of accommodation. After a great nights sleep we were ready to proceed further down the coast and hopefully find a nice camping spot.