WOW! Feb 12 was an adventure. It all started the day before (Feb 11) when Sierra and I chatted with our hostel receptionist about potential travel plans for the day. The receptionist, later to become our new friend, Laurence, suggested that he could show us around some natural sea cliffs near Port Arthur, Tas. We gladly took the offer, organized our plans, and headed out the following day. Laurence, along with another guest at the hostel, Arne, Sierra and I packed up our day packs in Laurence’s tiny blue car and headed out on an adventure.
First destination: Fortescue bay and the sea cliffs of Tasman national park. The hike to the cliffs was absolutely incredible. The scenery was breathtaking. The only minor flaw was the ridiculous number of stairs. Not going to lie, it was hard work and my legs were burning badly. But don’t worry, the experience was so worth it. And on the bright side, Sierra and I got to practice our plant identification skills that we learned in our time in Maydena. We even spread our knowledge to Arne and Laurence and taught them the difference between Proteaceae and Myrtaceae.
The cliffs were magical. Standing at the top of the cliff, looking out into the never ending ocean, I felt like I was in a dream. From our high elevation point we could even see tiny seals swimming around and waves crashing against the rock. We ended our long hike with a nice swim in Fortescue bay. The water was freezing. It was a very quick dip but nevertheless unforgettable. What a great day.
Next we headed to some natural ocean formations: Tasman arch, Devils Kitchen, and Tessellated pavement. We spent quite a bit of time poking around in the tide pools at the tessellated pavement site. Sierra and I got to apply our recent studies yet again at this site. We went around to all the different tide pools trying to identify the types of sea stars, limpets, chitons, and barnacles we were seeing.
Lastly, on our way back to the YHA, we spontaneously decided to drive up to Mt Wellington overlook for sunset. The overlook point gave us an incredible view of the entire city of Hobart and extended to some beautiful mountain ranges. We were literally in the clouds! There were rainbows. The sun was setting over the mountain. We saw wallabies. It was perfect.
Overall, the day was incredible and it was the perfect end to our time in Tasmania. I loved getting to know Laurence and Arne. They were both so sweet and it was amazing to hear about all of their crazy adventures backpacking, hitchhiking, and traveling around the world. I am so glad I made these new friends and I will always remember this day and my time here is Tasmania.