We woke up in Hobart on Day 5 of our Tasmania Road Trip. I was completely in love with this beautiful island state of Australia. Having spent a major part of the previous day on road, the agenda for Day 5 was pretty simple – Drive to Mount Wellington, explore Hobart waterfront and at night, go in search of Bioluminescent Algae. You can find the links to the road trip at the bottom of this post.
I had read in different forums that if you are visiting Mount Wellington, due to unpredictable weather, it is advisable to check if there are any clouds covering the top of the mountain. If there are, then you won’t be able to see much. In our case, half the mountain was covered in clouds while the other half was still receiving some sunlight. Keeping our fingers crossed, we decided to make the journey.
The drive was fabulous, roads slowly winding around the mountain, all the way to the top. The weather outside kept switching between foggy to sunny as we crossed different sections of the mountain. At one lookout, it was cold and misty.
After just few minutes away from that lookout, I got to witness this view of the city, spread in front of us.
At the top of the mountain, the fog was slowly rolling in. We went for a short hike, along the side of the mountain, but the path was soon covered by thick fog, so we traced our steps back to the car park.
Soon, we were caught in the gust of mist, flowing across the mountain top. It felt absolutely surreal.
From here, we drove back to Hobart city, parked our car near the waterfront and went in search for a good restaurant to have lunch. Salamanca Place provided a huge range of options. We picked Maldini – a family run Italian restaurant as the menu looked quite appealing. We ordered Pizza, Spaghetti and some very good looking desserts.
We decided to rest at our hotel before venturing out again at night to look for bioluminescent algae. You can read all about that here – The Search for Bioluminescent Algae.
Day 6: Hobart to Tullah ( 315 km – 4 hrs 30 min)
This was the longest we drove in our 9 Days of Tasmania Road trip. And I have seriously run out of adjectives to describe this amazing untouched land. I felt like I had transported to a different world. The brilliant color of water, dramatic hills, serene lakesides, wild wild vegetation and non stop winding roads – you need to experience this atleast once in your life.
About 73 km from Hobart, we came across this vibrant looking rural town called Hamilton. The color of the hills looked absolutely bright, and striking against the blue sky. A mix of yellow and mustard – and specks of green trees spread across the hillside. I wonder how life would here? Slow? Busy?
Although I have numerous photos to show you guys, let me limit it to this place near Gormanston – Iron Blow Lookout.
Gormanston near Queenstown presents a brutal reality of mining in Tasmania. This region was once the world’s richest mining zone, but what now remains are the scars of the past. This barren landscape was brought about by deforestation in the 1800s and then sulphur, produced by mining process, further destroyed the soil and killed the vegetation. These lifeless mountains where greenery has only recently started creeping in, are in stark contrast to the otherwise lush and beautiful wilderness of Tasmania. It makes you stop and think how destructive human needs can be.
The landscape changes dramatically once you cross the mining towns. The barren mountains give way to thick foliage, Pine trees and beautiful lakes.
I thought once I reach the lodge, the journey would be over. But I was in for a huge surprise. When I booked our accommodation at Tullah Lakeside Lodge, I wasn’t expecting much. It was the cheapest of all the bookings, located in a remote place and there wasn’t much to do around the place, or so I thought.
But look at this view. Our room was right next to the lake, where I could easily watch the sky and the mountains : Farrell and Murchison. I regret not having booked one more night here. You could go boating or kayaking in these calm waters, surrounded by ancient rain forest. Food and Drinks were provided at the restaurant, not too far from our room.
The next day we drove to Cradle Mountains and Launceston.
Stay Tuned.
Related Posts on the Road Trip
Day 1 – Lavender Farm and Bay of Fire
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)
Day 7 – Dove Lake Circuit
I enjoyed reading your articles it’s give me valuable information thanks for share this wonderful article.
I am breathless with awe. I’ve been in Australia once, long ago, but I’ve never been to Tasmania. In your photos it appears to be the most beautiful part of the whole country.
Thank you for sharing this beauty with us.
Kay
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel
Nice view from the hill top,love the rocks
A beautiful location and you photograph it so well!! Love how you capture the foggy mist in some of your pics.
What a great place for perfect road trip and pictures are stunning. Nice post.
Wow – such beautiful scenery and shots.
Great shots.
Wow, stunning and diverse landscape. I’m always shocked at the damage pit mining does as well. We have a huge copper mine a few hours from Denver and they’ve removed a complete mountain to get the copper. It’s so destructive that I hope we continue to look for new ways to do things.
Tasmania looks beautiful! I kinda like it when a mist rolls in, it makes everything feel fairy-like.
Lately I have been seeing lot of photos of the Lavender Farm on social media. It looks really amazing!
I would like to do one day a road trip in Tasmania like yours!
Wow those views look magical! I didnt realise Tasmania had so much to offer. Definitely putting that on my bucket list
What a wonderful view of Tasmania, thanks for sharing. I would love to go on a road trip here!!
Valerie
The views are simply stunning!!! Some of them reminded me of the movie “LION”, about an Indian boy who got lost and was adopted by the Australian couple. Have you seen it?
Tasmania looks incredible! I lived in Sydney for a short period of my life but never made it down to Tassie unfortunately! Your pictures are stunning, I think the fog made for a gorgeous photo.
I dream of visiting Tasmania some day! Thank you for sharing this epic guide.
This looks and sounds like an absolutely stunning place that I think I would love. Funnily enough when I was in grade school I fell in love with the notion of visiting Tasmania but I haven’t made it there yet.
I am yet to visit Tasmania, but my husband has spent some time riding his motorbike around the island and he just fell in love with the countryside. Its easy to see why isn’t it! Natural beauty, great fresh food and a colourful history!
Your pictures are the Number ONE reason I would want to visit Australia :)And hey look! Love the climbing stats on the Pin counter 😀
Whoa the pics Raj!!! I am stunned into silence at the natural beauty you get to gorge on, in such regular dosages. The pic of the city spread out with the misty road is my favourite out of it all. I love coming to your blog to read about these trips and the pics.
Oh, you know what – those few clouds you did have over the Mount Wellington after all, just added to the beauty of the view!
Love your photos, and it sure seems like a great road trip to have. Thanks for the tips, would have to consider this when coming to Tasmania. 🙂
Wow – the landscapes look unreal!! What an incredible road trip. I love all your photos.
And I love that life-sized chess game in the park!
Road trips are the best way to explore a city! I enjoyed reading about your experience. Tasmania looks beautiful!
Wow – these photos are absolutely stunning and do an excellent job of showing the beautiful landscape. Thanks for sharing and for making me add yet another destination to my travel wishlist 🙂
I agree the landscape is beautiful but Gormanston seems depressing because of the mining, but it looks like an amazing trip.
Such beautiful photography – that misty morning shot is just stunning!
Wow, these photos are just stunning! Never been to Tasmania or thought about visiting it but now I added it to my bucket list 😀 Thanks for sharing!
Stunning pics, Raj! I’ve heard so much about Tasmania. Was glad to read and see the places from your eyes.
This is so beatutiful.. Straight out of a postcard:)
Stunning stunning stunning pics, Raj. I can’t take my eyes of them 🙂
AtoZ at Kohl Eyed Me
AtoZ at Something’s Cooking
What a beautiful country and photos. Thank you for sharing. I have never seen or heard of Sea Sparkles. how incredible! https://riseandsoar.com/a2z-theme-reveal_improveyourlife/
Beautiful.
Beautiful pictures, I never new the area was so diverse!
it is an amazing place. Thanks for stopping by.
Do you know this format even look real ? It looks like a picture that has been painted. I really want to come to your country now. Is etc me soon hopefully 🙂
Lovely pics, creatives and experience 🙂
thank you so much Zainab. Glad you liked it.
When we visit Mount Wellington, we went around sunset to capture some great shots. It was beautiful up there with the clouds and everything. Tullah lake looks gorgeous. I really need to do a road trip to Tassie in the near future. So much more to explore than when I last went.
yeah, even we had to strike out a lot of places because 10 days wasn’t enough. You, for sure, will love Tassie 😀 Thank you.
Oh! I will stay tuned. Lovely photos and lovely trip. Only one thing, you have written “my thick fog” I think it should be “by thick fog” I think.
oops my mistake… Thank you for letting me know 🙂
Wow, I had no idea Tasmania had such diverse landscapes. And the views from everywhere you went are just stunning. Sounds like this is one of those must do road trips!
oh it sure is 🙂 You gonna love it. Thank you stopping by.
What a fasntastic place for a road trip! Tasmania looks absolutely beautiful. Just look at those mountains! I’d love to go there one day to look for Tasmanian devils 🙂
yes, it’s a beautiful world out there. Thank you.