Going to Australia: Tasmania Chapter

This might sound like a lie–i.e. I might look stupid, but to be honest, I didn’t know about Tasmania before my friend finally mentioned it. (Yeah, I know Tasmanian devil but somehow it didn’t click). So, umm, my friend said that Tasmania looked like New Zealand; i.e. it’s like the mini New Zealand, so if I couldn’t go to New Zealand, I might as well just go to Tasmania when I visit Australia. The Uber driver who drove me to Melbourne airport also said the same thing. So, I did. I didn’t have money to apply for a visa and visit New Zealand, so going to Tasmania during my trip to Australia seems like the best decision. I can’t tell how similar New Zealand to Tasmania is, though, since I haven’t been to New Zealand before. But, oh, well…

I went to Tasmania from Melbourne by plane. At first, I was worried that I’d have excess baggage and that I’d have to pay for it. I’d never got charged for only taking a backpack and a small sling bag before, but my friend said that it’s usually strict in Australia so somehow I was worried of the possibility of being overcharged for having excessive baggage. I should’ve weighed it, I knew, but, well…luckily, they didn’t even check it. I mean I understand the danger of having an overweight plane, but I guess it wasn’t full of passengers either, so… Pardon my excuse. (I still didn’t know if my baggage was excessive or not), but, anyway…

Arriving in Tasmania was quite a thing. I mean, when I first arrived in the airport, there was a sign saying that I have to remove all fruits or such produce. I took a local flight (from Melbourne to Tasmania) so I had never thought I’d need to do that. Local flights usually don’t require such a thing. I mean, I brought some food (instant and cupped noodles with me) including some bananas, and, hola, they confiscated the banana. I was okay since it wasn’t a big deal and I could buy bananas again. As long as they didn’t treat me like a criminal, I was fine, except that I really didn’t expect it.

Day 1: From the airport I took Skybus to get to my hostel I booked via AirBnB. (My host has already given me some instructions). I thought there would be some kind of public transports like bus available, but there wasn’t any, so I just went ahead and hopped on the SkyBus. It cost me $19.50. Getting off the SkyBus, I walked to my hostel (it’s just around 5-7 minute walk), checked in, and immediately went into my room. It was a 6-bunkbed room, and I was lucky to have all the room for myself ^^ Then I asked the staff about where to go in Hobart, Tasmania. I seriously had no idea. I mean, I had some ideas from my friend who had been there but it wasn’t like I had planned everything in advance. The staff told me to go to the Tourist Information Center and explored the Franklin Wharf and so I did. I was overwhelmed at first because there were so many tours available-some of which were quite pricey for me 😐 So I decided to go around the wharf while thinking about it. Man, I loved the wharf! I mean, I loved the boats, ships, and the reflections on the water! My One Piece mind was activated (you know how much I love One Piece!) and I even found this shop that said “Fishman” and I was like, “Gosh, I found the Fishman Island Arc!” LoL But, ugh, finally I decided to return to the Tourist Information Center to book a tour to Port Arthur. It was hard at first because the ones that I initially wanted were either fully booked or unavailable on the next day, the day I decided to (and I thought I must). Fortunately, the staff finally helped me find one for the next day. She even gave me the student-concession price even though I was not studying in Aussie. And I actually felt bad because they were actually closing when they helped me make the reservation. I mean, they were still open when I came in, but apparently they were about to close. I wasn’t aware of it I was so sorry. But, anyway, afterward I just went straight back to my hostel, bought some fruit and eggs, cooked instant noodles, and just went to my room to have some rest. But, oh, I got some postcards for myself ^^

Day 2: I went to Port Arthur. I didn’t know much about Tasmania but when I heard about Port Arthur, I decided that this one place would be on my list—all because I’ve been to Port Arthur around Niagara Falls in 2015 (ok, it’s not Port Arthur, it’s Old Fort Niagara but I don’t know why, I feel like it’s an Arthur thing 🙈😅✌️✌️✌️) and I also went to Arthur’s seat in Edinburgh last year, so I kinda wanted to do this series of Port Arthur visits and see the difference. The tour started around 9ish am, well, they picked me up at 8.30, though. I met a Korean girl when I was going to Port Arthur. She was taking the same tour with me so we were basically getting on the same bus/car. I was glad that she talked to me, and I felt bad because initially my inferior self thought she was just trying to show off how great she was but when I gave it a second thought, I think she’s quite a nice girl. We also helped take pictures of each other. I was really grateful for that. We had fun exploring the places in Port Arthur as well as the cruise too. The funny thing was when she asked me how old I was, I told her I was 32. Later I realized that I wasn’t 32 yet but I guess there’s no point in correcting it and telling her my real age. Like, I didn’t want her to think that the mistake was actually intentional as if I was purposefully telling a lie because I really didn’t mean to hide how old I actually was. I felt guilty for giving her a false info, though. However, it was unintentional so I guess it’s excusable? Sigh. (And hey, if you somehow read this, I’m truly sorry, and thank you!) Anyway, we spent quite a time exploring Port Arthur site. We also stopped by Devil’s Kitchen. We arrived back in town around 5ish when it was getting dark. And I thought I was just tired. When I went back to my hostel, I thought I would just make a reservation for a combo tour to Mount Wellington and Richmond the next day, but, well…

Day 3: I spent the morning just making my breakfast, exploring the town a lil bit before finally joining the tour to Mount Wellington. Originally I planned to take the 9am tour to Mount Wellington and joined the 12pm tour to Richmond (my friend in Melbourne told me bout this place). Unfortunately, due to the forecasted snow, the 9am tour was cancelled and postponed to 11am, which I finally joined. But the tour was really short. We spent only a little time at the top too. The wind was too strong. It’s so strong I was worried I’d get blown away. It was really cold too; I felt like freezing. And I dropped my camera, and now it has some dents on the edge since the glass was a bit broken/shattered. Sigh. But, oh, well, the view was really gorgeous. I couldn’t stop wishing it was summer. Going in winter was really a mistake. Well, at least for me. And if I ever get the opportunity to visit this place again, I’ll make sure it’s not winter ^^ But, again, it was fun. The driver was nice too. We got back around 2, I guess. Then I just explored the town. I visited the mosque too. The route was quite ascending; it was kinda uphill. I walked a lot. But I was happy 😊 And, oh, I finally sent the postcard, visited the museum, and decided to eat out because I just couldn’t keep feeding myself instant noodles; that wouldn’t be healthy. But, oh, of course I kept eating Asian food. LoL

Day 4: My flight was at night so in the morning I checked out but left my backpack in my hostel. In the morning I was just busy packing my bag then I joined the tour to Richmond at 12pm. I don’t know how to describe it. My friend in Melbourne seemed really impressed but I just wasn’t. It’s great and all; they had the oldest Australian bridge as well (you know I love bridges!) but I guess that was it. But, oh, I went to the Old Hobart. It was like the old and small version of Hobart town in general. They had this miniature of the places, building, and even the people. Good thing was I got some discount since I came with the Tourist Information Center Tour ^^ But it was really amazing. It was fun, too. Like, they challenged the visitors to find specific items like a falling boy, a tiger, a lady killing snake and a man skinning a kangaroo. Hence, as I was walking around, I tried to focus and find them. I had to go around the place more than once but it was really fun 😊

Then while waiting to return, I just explored the town on my own. Well, I wish I had someone to take my pics. Haha But, ugh, that was fine; I had fun 😊 Then, we headed back to town, maybe around 3.30pm. And I just returned to my hostel after getting some birthday presents for my friend’s son at Target (I didn’t know they had Target here. LOL, me!). I returned to my hostel only to take my backpack. Afterwards, I just took SkyBus to get to the airport. But, damn. 1^st, it was delayed. 2^nd, they finally checked everyone’s luggage including mine. Apparently, mine weighed around 10kg in total, the maximum allowed was only 7kg. The staff wondered if I could throw some stuff away so I didn’t have to pay for the extra. Nah, I wasn’t throwing anything away. It cost me $60, though. Damn. But, well, I knew it’s pricey but I guess I needed to console myself, so let’s just think that the $60 was also for my baggage when flying from Melbourne to Hobart with the backpack unchecked. That way I could be more at ease 😐

So, well, I guess that summed up my trip to look-like-New Zealand Australian town. I’d highly recommend people to get to this place in summer, not winter. Definitely not winter. Sorry, but I guess winter has become my nemesis, whatever that means…