I have just got back from the best 5 days in Tasmania, a state that often gets left out when travelling through Australia by Europeans. I am extremely happy that I finally got to do this amazing tour, and definitely would add it to my Australia recommendations for solo travellers (or with a friend)! I did the Famous 5 tour and, as the name suggests, in just five days we visited Tasmania's most famous spots.
Travel day
The trip started a day before the tour began. I flew from Brisbane to Hobart which was a 2.5-hour flight. I had no one sitting next to me, how lucky! I arrived in Hobart around 2 pm and was able to check into my hostel right away. I then spent some time wandering around and exploring the city of Hobart; the architecture and street art were very nice!
Day 1
The day started early, around 7am. At my meeting point, I got to know two of my travelling companions, which was very nice as a solo traveller having a friendly face before hopping in the van.
We were picked up in a brand new van by our guide Tim, who was immediately very enthusiastic and made us feel welcome right away. We had to pick up a few other travellers before the trip really started.
Today we would be travelling quite a distance as we were going from Hobart all the way to the West Coast, to a town called Strahan. A fun fact for me as a Dutchie was that Tasmania is 1.5x the size of the Netherlands, yet it looks like a small island when you see it under mainland Australia, bizarre!
Our first stop was at Mount Field National Park, which is known for its hugely tall trees. Here we took the 'tall tree walk', where we saw trees of up to 70 metres. As we followed this path we passed a small waterfall 'Horseshoe Falls' and ended at a much larger waterfall named 'Russell Falls', where we immediately shot our group photo. On the way back to the bus, we also came across lots of pademelons a type of Wallaby that were immensely cute.
We drove on after this fun stop to the famous Lake St Clair, where we had several hiking options. Myself and a few others opted for the longer route, where we walked along Platypus Bay, but unfortunately we didn't spot any platypuses. Great views though!
After this, we headed further west, which was noticeable because we had our first bit of rain. This was not very surprising as it rains over 300 days a year in western Tasmania. Fortunately, it was only a drizzle as we made our stop at Nelson Falls, a short 20-minute return hike through the rainforest to a beautiful waterfall.
Our last stop for day one was the Iron Blow, an area where a lot of iron and bronze was mined years ago. There are no more mining activities in the area, but it is a great place to admire the surroundings. Due to the minerals, the landscape is beautiful and there is even a mountain bike trail if you dare to race down from high altitudes.
After a long day, we arrived in Strahan, a cute village with a nice and neat hostel. We were all very tired so had an early night.
Day 2
On the second day, the group was split as there was an option to do a 6-hour boat cruise (for a fee) or a 10km hike through the rainforest and a walk through sand dunes. I chose the hike with many others and I am very glad we did because it was beautiful!
We went hiking in the Tarkine Rainforest to see the Montezuma Falls. Fun Fact: The trail used to be a train track.
It was pretty muddy though, so my shoes got very dirty (next time I would pack a plastic bag for these types of occurrences). It was all worth it when we arrived at the waterfall which was around 100 metres high. We also passed an old mining cave that they used when the train tracks were active. We saw many spiders, which many of us didn't like as much... but our guide told us that as long as you don't do anything crazy they just stay on the wall. Thankfully he was right, we did not have any more big spiders travelling through Tasmania after our cave visit.
After our fun walk, we went for lunch and even had some cake. It was the birthday of one of my travelling companions and our guide surprised him with a cake with candles, very nice that he had thought of this! Bonus: The cake was delicious!
After filling our bellies, we went to the sand dunes called Henty Sand Dunes. It was very steep uphill so we were absolutely exhausted when we got to the top but it was well worth it, rounding the hill to a huge beautiful view of the sea. The walk was very steep, so it made for a cool sight. After a stroll and hand-picking some pepperberries (our guide knew that they were safe), we headed back to Strahan. The pepperberry was a very spicy berry, and our guide dries them at home and crushes to use as a pepper or mix with salt for a nice spice combination.
When we got back to Strahan, some of the group went to see the longest-running play in Australia called 'The ship that never was'. It is about a pair of convicts who tried to escape from Sarah Island. The island was used as a penal colony where convicts worked under the harshest conditions in the rainforest, cutting down pines to build boats. This show often included the audience; I was not chosen to play a role thank goodness. The show was great fun and we laughed a lot all evening.
After the play, we went for a hamburger dinner with some of the group and then back to bed on time for another fun day tomorrow.
Day 3
Day three started early, with a quick breakfast before hitting the road to our first stop at the nearby town of Tullah, where we could all enjoy a coffee and sandwich. About a 2-minute walk away was a jetty with a beautiful view. Due to the good weather, the reflection on the water was beautiful, definitely a stop we wouldn't have wanted to miss!
After this, we headed to my favourite place on this trip, Cradle Mountain. Definitely one of the most famous spots in Tasmania, and for good reason! We were extremely lucky with the weather as the sky was blue and the sun was shining. As a result, we could already see the famous Cradle mountain peaks at our first stop, Dove Lake. We got here by shuttle bus. It is possible to walk to Dove Lake from the Visitor Centre.
There were many options for different walking routes so there was something to do for everyone. I and a large part of the group opted for the harder hike to Marion's Lookout at 1,200 metres. The hike was lovely but tough at times, we walked up about 300 metres and then enjoyed the view at the top. Here we also took a group photo and enjoyed our lunch.
Then the trek down began, this was also challenging but again beautiful. We were extremely lucky to see the colour change of the bushes and trees around our path. This is not often seen as there is only one week between the change in colour before the leaves fall off the trees. Another plus of this beautiful area! But the real bonus was seeing the wombats. On our way to the shuttle bus, we passed Ronny's Creek, the place to spot the wombat. And we definitely succeeded, there was even a stubborn wombat that came right up to us on the boardwalk to hang out for a while.
After this great walk, we continued driving to our sleeping place in Launceston or as they call it in Tasmania, Lonnie. We stopped briefly in the town of Sheffield, known for its murals, with the 2023 theme 'The spirit of adventure' so very fitting for this trip.
We also stopped at the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm and Van Diemen's Land Creamery. Now you might be thinking van Diemen's Land that sounds Dutch? That's right! Explorer Abel Tasman discovered the island, under the sponsorship of Anthony van Diemen, the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. The name was changed to Tasmania in 1856 to separate the island from its convict past and to honour its discoverer, Abel Tasman.
After a long day, we arrived in Launceston where we wanted to join a pub quiz, unfortunately, it was already fully booked. So we organised a pub quiz ourselves in a bar with a part of the group, which was great fun.
Day 4
We started the day with a walk from our accommodation nice and early. Stretching our legs before we would spend a long time on the bus again, as we were scheduled for a 3-hour bus ride. The walk took about 30 minutes along the Cataract Gorge Reserve and was beautiful with the morning sunshine.
After this, our long drive began to St Helens. At one of our toilet stops, we were able to spot platypuses, so that was a bonus! They were fairly small so we couldn't get a good photo of them but it was very special to see these animals in the wild.
Arriving in St Helens, we had a nice lunch, and then it was only a short drive to the Bay of Fires. A great stretch of beach with red/orange rocks, which have been given this colour by certain types of algae. Here we sat in the sunshine and also tried some circus tricks on the beach.
After this, it was a short drive to our final destination for the day, Bicheno. A very nice place where they have the Blowhole a bit by the water where the formation of the stones creates a water-spouting effect.
Day 5
It's already the last day of the tour... Time flew by but the experience will always stay with me. This day was again filled with beautiful places and lots of fun.
We started the day with a drive to Freycinet National Park, which is very well known among tourists. We started with a walk to Wineglass Bay, this was quite a tough walk 300 steps up and 700 down and the same back again. It was definitely worth it though, I sat on the beach in the sun with a Dutch travelling companion for an hour chatting away and enjoying the sunshine.
After this, we went for lunch at Honeymoon Bay, which was very windy, so we sought some shelter to enjoy our lunch instead of having it close to the sea. Then it was already time for our last stop at Cape Tourville, where we had a great view of Freycinet and Wineglass Bay.
Unfortunately, our trip ended there, as we drove back to Hobart, and some travelling companions left us at the airport, before the rest of us were dropped off at our hostels.
I stayed at the YHA hostel, which was really nice. After having a nice shower, some lovely travelling companions and I all were keen to spend more time together so we had one last group dinner. We had a delicious meal and some drinks at a nearby Hobart restaurant, before we really said goodbye and all went our separate ways. It was so nice to meet new people and create friendships from all around the world.
After reading about my experience, are you now also excited to visit beautiful Tasmania? Be sure to take a look at the Backpacker Deals Tasmania things to do page, or if you want to do the same tour as me, check out the Famous 5 Tasmania tour.
