We left Melbourne on the Spirit of Tasmania and sailed overnight to Devonport, Tasmania. Arriving, tired but not (too) sick we picked up the groceries that customs disallows and headed to Cradle Mountain. Starting from Lake Dove we climbed Marion’s Peak and approached Cradle Mountain via the Overland Track. Spending only a shirt time at the very windy summit we returned via the Wombat Pools.
That night we camped at the Cosy Cabins Campground and in the morning headed south over the Highland Lakes Highway all the way to the Tasman Peninsula in the south-east. We checked in with the EagleHawk Dive Centre and went to explore. The next two days were spent doing four dives, two from Port Arthur (including one under the cliff of the Island used for juvenile prisoners), one under the famous Totem Pole and one in the giant kelp forests of Fortescue Bay.
We were lucky enough to have a friend in Hobart to visit en route to our walking point in the South West. After a feed, warm bed and rest we headed to the South West to make an assault on Mount Anne, the highest peak in the area. We climbed over 1km vertical from the trail head, passing over Mount Eliza and all the way to shelf camp for spectacular views of Mount Anne and Lot. With a diversion to the Mount Anne saddle in the morning, and bad weather approaching we returned and drove back through Hobart, stooping briefly at Russell Falls, to visit another old friend.
The last stop was Freycinet National Park. We found wonderful camping on the Friendly beaches and the next day paddled south down the west coast of the peninsula from Coles’s Bay to Hazard’s Beach. The last day we walked up to the classic WineglassBay lookout in amazing sunshine and along Wineglass Bay beach in a heavy downpour. Returning via the circuit track it was time to drive to Devonport for a motel-stop to catch the day sailing back to Melbourne.