We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.
— Anonymous.
Welcome to my travel blog! Meet Lily the Vansion (our 2002 converted Ford Transit), Neeko, our crazy puppy and Chandler (not seen in these photos), my camera shy boyfriend. I’m just getting started but you can subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
I think it’s safe to say that some of the most beautiful coastline and beaches I’ve ever seen are on the East Coast of Tasmania. The East is pretty well travelled with the scenic Great Eastern Drive bringing lots of vans, campervans and well, tourists along it’s roads. But don’t let that deter you from visiting this amazing place, it’s well worth a visit. We spent almost two weeks driving along the 176 kilometres of coastline, taking our time and relaxing along the way.
Here are my top four picks from Tasmania’s East Coast:
1. Bay of Fires
Bay of Fires is one of the many National Parks in Tasmania. Unlike a lot of them though, it is dog friendly and has heaps of free campsites that are downright stunning (thanks WikiCamps!). It is most know for it’s fiery coloured rocks along the coast and amazing clear turquoise water. But don’t be fooled, even on a hot day, the water feels absolutely freezing! It is after all relatively close to Antarctica. We spent four days here when we first came through lounging on the beach, going for a quick dip in the ocean and hiking on the many nature trails. We even came back here at the end of our trip because this is where I wanted to spend my 30th birthday.
2. Policeman Point Campground
Policeman Point is a free campground at the north end of Bay of Fires. It is a little off the beaten track (30 minutes of driving on a dirt road), which explains why it was pretty quiet when we went at the end of November. The beach is set on an inlet, with a deeper channel that you can swim in when the tide is out, which surprisingly had warmish water compared to all the other beaches we swam in Tasmania. The sunset was pretty wicked here as well! I may also cherish this place because we met some fun people on our second night that were also travelling in a van. We shared lots of cider, wine and our homemade port with them and our night ended with rum shots (never a good idea). We spent the next day lounging in bed watching Peaky Blinders and eating lots of shapes to recover.
3. Freycinet National Park
Freycinet National Park is a must-see on Tasmania’s East Coast. It is quite touristy, with bus loads of people getting dropped off and hiking the famous Wineglass Bay Lookout Trail. Even though it’s packed, this short and steep hike is well worth it and if you want to get stunning views of the Wineglass Bay up close, you can descend the hundreds of steps to the beach, for a more tranquil experience. The only downside (or upside if you like to get your fitness in) is having to go back up all those stairs. There are also many other hiking trails, lookouts, and beaches in Freycinet, so you could stay here for days exploring the Park. Unfortunately, Freycinet is not dog friendly, so we chose to only spend a day here. There are a few free camping options surrounding the National Park, as well as dog friendly beaches.
4. Scamander Forest Reserve
This place was an unexpected detour that turned out to be one of our favourite free campsites in Tasmania. It is quite the trek to get to, with almost 10 kilometres of forestry roads that are in bad shape, but hey, if Lily the Vansion can get there, I think anyone can with a bit of patience and maybe a spare tire just in case. We had the whole place to ourselves for two nights straight, but it can feel a bit eerie and quiet at night if you’re alone in your van (maybe that’s me being paranoid or listening to too much true crime podcasts). This is the best place to recharge your batteries, and we spent our time wandering through the forest and swimming in the salt water river (that’s not too cold!). But the best part, hands down, was the rope swing that we spent hours on jumping into the river, or just going for a post-dinner swing. On our way out, we stopped by Swims East Coast, a really funky cafe in Scamander, that is in a shipping container, oh and their coffee is pretty good too!
Stay tuned for our top picks of Hobart and Southern Tasmania!
Our journey began at the start of November this year. After six months of working in my boyfriend’s hometown of Ceduna, at the South Australian side of the Nullarbor (so pretty much in the middle of nowhere), our van conversion of our 2002 Ford Transit (aka Lily the Vansion) was finally ready for a spin.
But where to go? There were so many options to choose from and we were on a limited schedule (6 weeks to be exact) because we wanted to be back with family for Christmas (my first Aussie Christmas!). We decided on Tasmania because it’s a little less travelled than for example the East Coast of Australia. We also heard from many people that it’s absolutely stunning and it is full of wilderness, great wine, fresh seafood and really nice people.
Within hours of driving off the Spirit of Tasmania (an 11 hour ferry ride from Melbourne which is an experience within itself), and into Devonport, we quickly realised how hilly and windy the roads are here. Our poor old Transit struggles uphill, but she always gets us to where we want to go and is reliable (most of the time). There’s also heaps of wildlife EVERYWHERE in Tasmania. Off of highways, on footpaths and on every hike we’ve done (even the short ones) we’ve seen a number of cute cuddly animals like echidnas, bettongs and Neeko’s favorite the wallabies (more on this in my next post). We haven’t spotted any Tasmanian devils yet, so we might need to head to an animal sanctuary to see these fascinating creatures.
More on our adventures in Lily the Vansion next time…
Hello! My name is Melanie, I am 29 years old and I live in a van (for the moment). I am a Canadian travelling around Australia with my boyfriend and our little puppy. We don’t know how far we’ll make it, but we’ll travel as long as we can. Our first stop is Tasmania!
Here is what you will be able to find on my blog:
Hope to hear from you if you have any comments! Until next time.
Living in Transit 