Tasman Peninsula

The Tasman Peninsula is a beautiful place, lots of dramatic coastline and stuff. We hiked up to Cape Raoul, fantastic dolerite cliffs with the sea banging against them all the way. This was the first time we came up against the grading system, again. I think I've elaborated on that enough in previous years, but I still think it's dangerous the way they do it: basically every step you take outside your own garden is already grade 3 if it's not wheelchair accessible. And this leaves one with absolutely no feeling for how difficult the really difficult ones are in the end. Because Cape Raoul is more like a walk in a (hilly) park. Certainly not as hardcore as they make it sound in their description. Well, enough said. We stayed at Abs by the bay, a very nice motel, right on the bay, who would've thought. Good towels, too. 😁 the next two days saw rain, but lucky for us, there was a small strip along the coast line where the sky was blue, all the clouds pressing against the hills further inland. And since all our hikes were coastal, that was totally fine with us. ☺ So we went up to Cape Huay and also did the coastal track including a bit of off track fun by scrambling on to the top of the cliff side waterfall in waterfall bay. No risk, no fun. And we made the Reisebegleitung happy by spending a couple of hours at the Unzoo to see some very cute Tasmanian Devils. These funny little creatures are in many ways just like Wooster, so quite adorable. But with sharper teeth and more diligence in terms of really eating everything a cadaver has to offer, brain, fur, bones. Good onion! The fact that the Peninsula is only connected to the mainland by a small isthmus prevented the deadly (and contagious) facial cancer to spread here so the population is relatively intact and they've taken measures to ensure it stays that way. For the devils, I mean, not the native Tasmanians - they were all murdered by the Aussies in the 19th century of course, it's not only the Germans who are adept at committing genocide...

And we finally found some real fruit ice cream! Hell yeah, and it was sooooooo good, a little cart down in the blowhole / arch parking lot, they also sold fish and chips and the Reisebegleitung was very enthusiastic about that offering as well. Went back multiple times of course, to make sure they deliver consistently good quality - they do. Best real fruit ice cream outside NZ! Love you! 😍 💕 💞

Next stop Freycinet National Park or rather Coles Bay at its doorstep, just a short drive along some good gravel back roads away.