The Tasmanian landscape stole my heart. This island state of Australia, with its pristine white beaches, tall formidable mountains, diverse and unique wildlife felt like a part of Narnia. Miles and miles of land, without a soul in sight. Except for few jellyfish and lizards. And cute little Wallabies. No queues, no parking hassles. Just you and the never-ending wilderness. This post covers day 1 of my Tasmania Road Trip.
I had been planning this trip for quite a long time. Accommodation, car and flights were booked 5 months in advance, so I spent the rest of the months dreaming of Tasmanian Devil, Cradle mountain and preparing an itinerary that would take us around the Tasmanian coastline.
As this post was turning into a humongous read, I am covering only Day 1 of our road trip here, and will upload the rest in the coming days. Hopefully I won’t kill you with boredom 🙂
Our 9-day road trip started in Launceston, where we landed from Sydney. After getting the keys of the hired car we made our way to the popular Bridestowe Lavender Farm, about 65 km from airport. Once we crossed the Launceston city, rolling hills of evergreen trees welcomed us. We kept driving along the meandering roads, with the playful Tasman wind caught in our hair.
A soft hint of lavender fragrance hung in the air when we drove into the farm. I had never seen lavender fields before. My eyes lit up at the sight that lay in front of me. Rows and rows of lavender spread across the hilly terrain, with the bluish silhouette of the mountains afar. It’s a sight you don’t forget easily. I even tried their delicious lavender-flavoured ice cream.
From the lavender farm, we went in search of the Little Blue Lake in South Mount Cameron, 80 km away. I had found a picture of the lake on Pinterest and it looked so pretty and fascinating that I planned the route to cover this less popular area. We did have trouble finding the exact spot as our GPS refused to understand the address. After a few wrong turns, we finally found our way right into the car park.
Originally a mine hole, the color of the water is brilliant aqua blue, caused by the minerals present in the soil. Amidst the pale surroundings and tall trees, the lake somehow looked very lonely. Untouched! We were the only ones in the whole area. And the only sound was that of the wind howling through the trees. I sat on the edge, admiring this gem of nature, while my husband took a quick nap in the car. I cannot describe in words how I felt sitting there, under the blue sky with this beautiful sight in front of me.
After compising enough poetry in my mind, we made our way towards St Helens, a coastal village in the Eastern Coast of Tasmania, 80 km away. We had planned to spend the first two nights of our road trip here.
Thoughout our journey, I was amazed by the rich and diverse landscape of Tasmania. The sad part was there were numerous dead wildlife by the roadside, maybe a victim of the previous night. It was one of the reasons why we decided not to drive after dark.
We reached our motel late in the afternoon. Since the sun sets only at 9 pm, we decided to explore the beaches near our motel. After taking a shower and quick bite, we drove towards Binnalong Bay, a beach in Bay of Fires area, popular for clear waters, white sandy beaches and huge granite boulders covered in orange coloured lichen. It is a sight common all along the coast of St Helens and even further south.
We were driving towards the bay, about 15 km from our room when the landscape suddenly changed and dense foliage gave way to backwater covered in black swans. We both were surprised to find such a huge flock of black birds, leisurely swimming in the water by the roadside. We stopped on our way back as my husband is absolutely fascinated by these beautiful birds. The sun was still in the sky at 8 pm when we decided to get some dinner and call it day. A bottle of wine , prawn crackers and Chinese takeaway to end an incredible day. Btw, it feels really strange to sleep at ‘night’, when the sunlight is still streaming through the window shades. Another first to the list.
Stay tuned for more travel tales.
More posts on Tasmania Road Trip below :
Day 2/ Day 3 – White Sand, Shells, and Wineglass Bay
Day 4 – Tasman Peninsula
Day 5/ Day 6 – The Stunning Tasmanian Landscape (Hobart and Tullah)
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Beautiful pictures, love to see Lavender farms.
P.S. Loved these pics on your Instagram 🙂
What a stunning place! I love lavender fields and lavender ice cream! I’d like to do this trip one day.
Would love to rent a car and drive the extent of road; you planned a great itinerary. The lavender fields look magnificent!
So beautiful… the lavender field is just amazing. I love the flower pots 🙂
I have a few friends from Tassy and they’ve been going on about how great it is! Your photos are also convincing me! 🙂
Those lavender fields are sooo beautiful! Wonderful photographs. I really regret not visiting Tazy whilst IN Australia now.. might have to plan another visit.