TO TAKE THE CARAVAN OR NOT ?
Tasmania, the island state of Australia situated south of the mainland.
And how do you get there.
Well certainly not by road. So your choice is left to either plane, or you jump aboard the Spirit Of Tasmania.
Now if you want to take your caravan, obviously the Spirit it is, and research is your best friend.
We looked at prices, and compared different times of the year.
It is easy, just get on to the website and put in dates and details and the prices will come up. Now when we added the caravan, the extra cost was between $1400-$1500 for the return trip, on top of the cost for the two of us and the ute. I then looked into Tasmanian accommodation prices, using approx $100 per night. Given the weather was going to be cold, so was not really conducive to free camping, it was financially better off for us to leave the caravan at home. Most of our accommodation came in under the $100 per night, due to caravan park specials, so for our 17 nights in Tassie, it was mainly caravan cabins for us.
And the fuel cost without towing the van was a hell of a lot cheaper.
Mind you, we will be back with the van, but when the weather is a little bit warmer.
We had never been to Tassie on the Spirit, so this trip would be a learning experience.
Now, before you board, you will be inspected by bio- security, as fresh fruit and vegetables is a no-no, along with a few other items.
We booked a cabin as we sailed at night. And I am so glad we did. Wow! What a rough crossing it was. The weather forecast had said that it was going to be a large swell, and for once they were right. It seemed like , if we weren't rocking side to side, then we were rocking front to back !
( Alright, I know there are boating terms out there, but they are foreign to me ! )
I am so glad that I had bought a packet of Kwells sea sickness tablets!
At least with having a cabin we managed to get a couple of hours sleep.
The staff on the Spirit were all so friendly and could not do enough for you. The choices of food available were amazing, and there was a wide choice of entertainment if you did not want to sleep.
When we docked at Devonport it was very early and quite dark but it did not take long to disembark and drive off on to Tassie soil.
Our Holiday had begun.
We started our day with breakfast at the Edgewater Hotel before exploring the town of Devonport and surrounds.
As it was pouring with rain we stayed in the car for a while and ended up driving to Port Sorrell. A quiet little town with a very pretty coastline. We did manage to go for a walk along the beach between the showers. Yep those coats and beanies are going to come in handy.
Once back in Devonport we found a small cafe and had a nice warm cuppa. Next job was to find a supermarket.
Coles it was, so shopping was done before heading to Devonport Discovery Park for the night.
Our cabin was warm and cosy and quite suitable for the two of us. The caravan park staff were friendly and the park was nice and quiet.
On checking out the receptionist rang ahead to get an up date on road conditions for us.
Next stop Cradle Mountain.
