Tasmania Part 3

An island off an island off an island down at the bottom of the world. That's where we found ourselves multiple times on this trip. Our clever friend, Sara, dubbed it "Isle-ception" and so it was.

 After a quick swim (and not-so-quick packing up of our coastal camp) we were southbound to Hobart. Enjoyed famous stops at Kate's Berry Farm and the Spiky Bridge (convict-built) en route.

On our final pit stop of the day we noticed we had parked at the ferry pick up for Maria Island (pronounced decidedly, Mariah) - a fairly uninhabited isle with no vehicles and gorgeous scenery. Darren was ultimately too intrigued to pass on it and since we were having a difficult time securing lodging down south, we stayed overnight to await the morning ferry. Funnily enough the only lodging left in that small town at dusk was a camper at the backpackers hostel. We were laughing but the kids thought it was brilliant and though cramped, it was admittedly fabo to enjoy the luxuries of a proper cooktop and hot shower.

Maria Island ended up being a cool, isolated isle (x3) on which to spend a glorious day of walking. It's history, as most parts of Australia and Tas, is convict-based. There were dilapidated gaols and boarding houses scattered about, but for the most part, we enjoyed the scenic step away from the fast-paced, mechanized world as we know it. There are virtually no facilities to speak of, but some travelers actually stayed to camp for a few days in the wilderness.

We dubbed these the Go Dog, Go trees - can't you just see the dog party up there?

Annie taking a break to pout about not getting a stroller ride

Dad affectionately remembers his day as "the mule"

Family trip pic #2 (none of them are stellar)

The cliffs and forests and meadows and beaches were all on such a grand scale. Really fun to drink it all in at a slow pace.

Kids were stoked about renting bikes on the beach to quicken the pace though.

You know, danger lurking around every cliff...

The Painted Cliffs were a highlight and really made me miss our red rocks back home in Utah.

Once we finally drove down to Hobart we found ourselves, at dusk again, without lodging. (The only "camping" near the city was a very crowded trailer park.) So we did some quick online research and scored a steal of a deal at a beautiful waterfront hotel in the heart of the city. Considering it was over Christmas and just prior to their biggest annual holiday (Sydney/Hobart Yacht Race/Taste of Hobart) we were extremely fortunate and it was the best move ever. Plenty of time to rest, relax, enjoy a calm Christmas and SWIM (the kids were hardly happy unless it was 3x a day - why?!)

We got lucky with two magical visitors on Christmas Eve! They're still trying to figure out how the Tooth Fairy and Santa got in without a card key...