Tasmania - North West

In April we set off on a family holiday.  This is the first proper holiday we have had as a family; we often set off on camping trips on long weekends but we had not done anything on a bigger scale since our honeymoon some time ago.  Tasmania was the only Australian state I had not been to so it was high on my list of  must see holiday destinations.

I am not listing our holiday in strict chronological order but have decided to briefly break it down into regions starting with the North West.

We drove from New England NSW to Melbourne and caught the Spirit of Tasmania overnight.  Both children were VERY excited to be sleeping on a boat.  I was less excited as I had left a uni assignment to the last minute and had to get it submitted before I could relax and start to enjoy the experience.

We woke up as we sailed into Devonport.  There was high excitement as we realised we were here (and my assignment was submitted).  We drove to Stanley to see The Nut.  We caught a chairlift up which both children enjoyed.  We wandered about the top looking out over the views.  

The walk around The Nut was listed in the app for the 60 top shorts walks in Tasmania.  I recommend this guide for anyone heading to Tasmania.  It was great with the kids as I knew the short walks would be suitable for them and their little legs. 

We were well dressed for the Tasmanian weather and both kids looked like a walking Kathmandu advertisement.  They enjoyed having their own packs and I was glad I didn't have to carry 'all the things'.

We hiked around Leven Canyon Lookout and also Fern Glade near Burnie (both listed in the short walk guide).  At this point we were a little awe struck by the natural beauty we saw everywhere.  The children enjoyed the hikes and driving along the coast line

We called in to the town of Penguin too.  We didn't see any live penguins as it was late in the season but we did enjoy seeing the penguin statue.

The highlight of the North West for me was Cradle Mountain.  I LOVED this.  We hiked around Dove Lake which was one of the top short walks.  It was amazing hiking around the lake seeing the snow on the peaks above us.  It was cold but not too bad when we were walking. 

I discovered the best way to get myself in some holiday snaps was to discover and embrace the 'selfie'.  I don't like photos of myself generally speaking but I did get less self conscious after a few attempts.

 After the hike we caught the shuttle bus back to the information centre for a warm chocolate.  If you ask the children which part the hike the enjoyed at this point they will tell you the marshmallows!

We called in to the Cradle Mountain 'Devils at Cradle' centre to see the Tassie Devils in person.  They are such funny little critters.  They canter about everywhere and I was surprised how active they were.  This fellow put on a good show for us.

Both children rate 'Tasmazia' at Sheffield as a highlight of the whole holiday.  I am not a huge fan of mazes but there was a large variety of different mazes, a miniature village and even a tick list of things to find as we wandered about lost so as far as mazes go, this one was pretty good.

We discovered Spreyton Cider at Spreyton (strangely enough).  We did a tasting and both decided that the very dry 'vintage' was our favourite.  We also enjoyed the 'classic' and 'perry'.  If it is a cider made from pears it is not actually a cider but a 'perry'.  Strange but true fact.  'Perry' was my second favourite and we bought a couple of bottles to enjoy as we holidayed. 

I took nearly 1000 photos for the 2 weeks we spent in Tasmania.  Possum and Blue said it was the best place they have ever been but I think a small part of that may have been having both parents on holiday with them and not working or worried about anything.  This was the holiday we wanted to take as a family, to relax and enjoy each other, to remember what it was to have fun without thinking about work, study, or the jobs that needed doing at home.