Tasmania Anyone?


peace

New Member
Hi,

Just happen to saw this topic and would like to ask if the weather is very hot in Australia in end December, can anyone advise.

Thought of planning a trip to Mel and Tas after Christmas.

Cheers,
Peace
 

cody

New Member
Its hot, but not half as humid as Singapore. It's still very enjoyable coz you wear what you would normall wear in singapore minus the perspiration.
Must bring sunscreen / sunblock.

Then again, aust gets frontal rain even in summer so please pack an umbrella.
 

meow

New Member
HI Cody,

Thanks again for the write up.
I guess it will be more fun trying to explore the area on our own..
We can't drive so most likely we might take the cab or public transport(least likely)
Could you also advise if the weather there is dry?
Is normal sweater for Taz enough in mid Aug?

happy.gif
 

cody

New Member
i would suggest that you bring a thick sweater with an water-proof coat. Bring your scarf & gloves as well since Aug is winter in Australia.

Yeah, the weather is dry. Bring plenty of moisturisers esp for your lips.

You can literally experience 4 seasons in a day, so your sweater should be lightweight so that you can carry it around all day. It's hot one moment, cold the next. Imagine, i experienced hail when i was there in summer!

I think i mentioned earlier that Tas is generally colder than mainland Aust, esp when the wind blows in your direction. Its worse in winter...

There are not very many cabs nor public transport in Taz. If you want to explore the other areas of Taz without driving, you may have to take day tours or even follow a package tour from Singapore.
 

cody

New Member
Hi Peace,

Will be sending the write up to u shortly. PLs check your email.

As i have mentioned earlier, Taz is generally colder than mainland austrlia even in summer. It will still be quite cooling just that the sun us alittle stronger but never half as humid as singapore.

Dun be surprised to expereice the 4 seasons in a day, so bring your light weight sweaters and jackets along.
 

erowen

New Member
Hi Cody
we have decided to visit Hobart in the last week of September , may i know how's the weather like?
We will be staying there for 1 week?
both my hubby and i are pretty scared of chills, will we look foolish if we wear gloves?
we will be going to wineglass bay too, is it very cold there also?
hope you can share with me!
Thanks!
 

cody

New Member
hi kely, i will send you the write up shortly.

Erowen: i think sep is warming up alittle from the midst of winter. BUT tasmania is generally colder compared to the rest of australia. Gloves? oh well, its really up to you. If you body and legs are kept warm, your hands should be ok. Do bring a scarf along to keep your neck and ears warm too.

Wineglass bay is nice nice nice!!! Trust me, you will be all hot and sweaty by the time you reach the lookout point for wineglass bay becase the trek takes 1.5hours one-way. All that up-hill walking WILL warm you up!

Now the water in wineglass bay is cold. So you may want to skip that. Anyway the aerial view of wineglass bay is nicer. Tho the beach itself is quite pretty too.
 

nyny

New Member
hi
what's the best month travelling to tasmania?
i am thinking of going there in september, advisable? how many days to be spent there is the best?
 

annie76

New Member
nyny..

september will still be pretty cold as Tassie's winter officially end in August. You might wanna wait just a while longer when all the flowers from Spring starts blooming. Delay it till oct-nov and you'll get to see fields of Tulip in Northen Tassie.

A week will suffice, to have an overview of Tas.

Need more info, just let me know. I was there for a year.
happy.gif
 

mudpie

New Member
I had my honeymoon in Tasmania last June. It was the onset of winter, and was just nice for me. I have never experienced winter before, so it was a pleasant surprise that I need not bundle myself up. But remember to wear winter wear (gloves & scarves) if you are going to Mt Wellington, the one in the background of Hobart city. The winds were so strong, our ears and hands ached for 2 days after that! We couldn't even walk straight!

I went on the Qantas getaway kind of tour; very nice as the operator bus (Tiger Line or something) will pick you up and you just give your coupon for each tour. We did not have time so we missed the Cadbury factory tour; but those who went said it's recommended and have deep pockets cos they let you take all you want (but pls dun embarrass yourselves by taking out bags!!! No one does it!) As for cheap chocs, even the guide said it'll be cheaper to buy when supermkts have sales! The only special offer is this special 1lb bag that sells for A$X, can't remember, and it's only 1 bag per pax.

We actually paid extra $400 to get a lodge in Freycinet (about A$275/nite, plus car rental abt A$100). It was absolutely worth the money; the restaurant in the Frecinet lodge was superb. Never had fresher seafood! But the servings were huge so we had to reluctantly stop eating-I have the bad habit of finishing up everything on my plate, whether nice or not! Been taught since young not to waste food...

And I think there's enough said about the views; however be prepared for the bracing winds and waves in the evening, and the walks can be quite tough. The lookout to Wine Glass Bay is way up,up and up! We took almost 2hrs (not very fit hehe) one way, and I had to remove my sweater cos you work up a fine sweat! I suggest getting an early breakfast and going early so you do not have to fight for space and take pictures. the lookout is a small platform with a bench; can't fit so many people.

I think a good digital camera is a must; we wanted to take a couple shot as the "representative" photo of our honeymoon, but the picture taken was HORRID...the view was like in the top 20% of the pic, the rest of the pic shows our body and leg and the whole platform
sad.gif
And this was taken by an angmoh who was using a good Canon SLR camera; my hubby thought he would have known what he was doing, that's why we got him to take it for us! I still feel sore about this 1 year later.

Anyway 2 things to note, which no one has told me until after the trip!

1) How many of you actually saw the peaks of Cradle Mtn? Like those you see in the postcard? I was so disappointed as it was all misty and fogged up, we did not even see the shape of the peak! In the end only bought postcards
sad.gif
So do not be disappointed if you do not see the picture-postcard perfect view. Do look at the chart there which tells you how many days it rains/snows or sunshine a year in Cradle Mtn! The guide told us it somehow adds up to >365 days! Hehe!

2) Another thing to note is that it is recommended to travel from Launceston (and Cradle Mtn) down towards Hobart; this way you see more of the Tamar Valley, down the east coast of Freycinet and ending in Hobart. In Hobart do try Hog's Breath Cafe. They serve the best beef I've ever eaten, and I do not like beef! It's even better than the other branches in Perth and Sydney; must be the fresh food that comes direct from Tasmania.

All in all we are glad we chose beautiful Tasmania for our honeymoon. The natural beauty, friendly folks and great food will always bring back fond memories. In the week I was there, I saw more rainbows than I ever did in my whole life - and it's the great big arches that make you want to search for the pot of gold! I seriously recommend self-drive in Tasmania.
 

kia

New Member
hi cody,
can u send me the write up?? We r going to Tas Mania in Mid of Nov. We are going to spend abt 10 days there cos we have read so much abt there.
If we r doing self drive, do u receommend us to arrive at launceston and leave from Hobart? our idea is to tour whole of Tas Manis if possible...

thanks!
 

erowen

New Member
hi kia
i will highly recommend you to visit freycinet, wineglass bay. the view is simply spectacular. if you are driving, rem to stop by Kate's berry at swansea for her jams and ice cream. you will lurve it.
i was there last yr, simple lurve tassie. but i visited the south and east side of it.

I heard strahan and st helens are beautiful.but too bad i was at tassie for 1 week only
 

sweatcorn

New Member
hi all, I can't help but to add that i actually saw pple take bags n bags of choc out of the cadbury choc factory... sad to mention, they are singaporeans...
nono.gif


I went tassie during winter... right in the mid of winter (jul)... I wld advise those who hv intention to go tassie to go after winter as the weather will be warmer and there will be more things to c. your photos may turn out better cos of brighter sunlight...

Mudpie... after staying in aussie for 2 yrs... we always share a private joke among us (the asians)... some ang mos are hopeless at taking photos... so better dun ask them to help u take photos... we learnt it thru the hard way like u... ahahahaha
biggrin.gif
 

erowen

New Member
ahhahaha
sweetcorn

i couldn't agree with you more on the ang mohs hopeless abt taking pics!! oops, sorry no offense to anyone.

my hubby and i were using the digital camera, i very pai say to ask for a re-take when we realised the pixs were either loop sided or too we were too small
 

kia

New Member
thank everyone for your precious advise. I planned to arrvie and depart from hobart. How about renting a car? i am afraid tat if i get a small litre car, it will not be able to go up the mountain... should i get a 4 wheel drive or just get a car with higher cc since we have only 2 persons
 

kia

New Member
hi Erowen and sweatcorn,
i found a really cheap ticket at this airline known as jetstar. How is it?? it flys from Melbourne Tellumarine airport, is this the correct airport???
thanks
 

kia

New Member
sorry gals and guys, it s me again, i thought of going in and out from hobart. since i got 10 days to spend, i thought of having a thorough tour in Tas Mania, however, is the car rental more ex in hobart than Launceston since hobart is the capital of tas mania....??
 

sweatcorn

New Member
hi husband-to-be,
generally car rental at airports tends to be a wee bit more ex then other locations cos of some airport surcharge... but then its $$ vs convenience... u prefer to take some form of transport to the city then pick up the car or get the car directly from the airport then drive off?? sometimes the car rental company got promo wif airlines when u show the boarding pass. u may wan to check that up too...

If I'm not wrong, we rented a 1.5 toyota corolla and we did not hv any problem going to fraycinet and cradle mountain based on normal roads, not those 4wd tracks....

I think the melborune airport looks correct... cos they got international and domestic terminals...
 

sweatcorn

New Member
husband-to-be, to add on, we took virgin blue, so cannot comment on jetstar... sorry...

also for the car rental, we rent the car from launceston city so dunno abt hobart's rate... but all these u can check out at the respective web sites of the car rentals... i.e. u choose pick up at hobart vs launceston then u c got any price difference...
 

anne

New Member
Hi husband-to-be,
Would like to check with u when is your travelling date this Nov? Well, me and my hubby intend to go Tasmania during the yr end..somewhere beginning of Dec or during X'mas.
Probably u can share with us your itenerary and tour package.
Appreciate input from others too!
Thanks thanks..
 

erowen

New Member
hi husband to be
i took Impulse Airlines (under Qantas) from melbourne to hobart. so i can't help you on jetstar.

for your reference, my air ticket alone was $960 (exclusive taxes) then, SIN-MEL-HOB and returning HOB - Sydney - SIN ( we made a 6 days stop at sydney), i think mine is abit X lor, as commented by my colleagues. I hope you will get a better rate.
 

kia

New Member
hi anne, the only thing i have done is book my air ticket from SG to mel and mel to tasmania. I have not start any actual planning yet but i have collected a lot of info from friends. Will send u my itinery after i complete
 

anne

New Member
Hi husband-to-be,thanks for the response. I haven't done anything yet! So, hope I can get some advise fr your itenerary when u have completed with all the planning.
Thanks thanks..
 

kysha

Member
hi husband-to-be

did u book ur air tics with jetstar? pls share wif me coz i'm planning to go taz this oct. how much did u pay?

thanks!
 

nalgene

New Member
hi!
I'm planning my hm to taz in Sept. But only have 5 full days after accounting for travel time. Can anyone advise on an itinerary?
 

xin_xin

New Member
HI all,

I'm planning to go Taz for my HM which will be next Jan. Wonder if it is possible to travel to around without Self driving coz my FH & I does not plan to drive. Any places in Taz is a muz to visit and is it ture that if everything(air fare + accomdation) DIY is cheaper than wif tour?

thanks in advance
 

jumbo

New Member
hi xinxin, I've went to taz end of May for a week with my hubby and 2 of my friends. Cos all of us had driving license so we did self drive there.. but in the end, only my hubby and one friend did the driving.. if u dun wanna self drive then it is better that u join the tour... cos it is difficult to get from one place to another place cos public transport somehow inaccessible there.. I'm not sure how much the tour package is.. that's why can't tell you DIY tour or package tour is cheaper..

The places we went are Cradle mountain and chocolate factory at Latrobe, Ben Lomond National Park, East Coast Nature World at Bicheno, Coles Bay (wineglass bay), Huonville, Huon Trail (Tahune Airwalk) , Cadbury Factory at Claremont Hobart and Port Aurthur Historic Site for ghost tour...
 

dazed

New Member
hi xinxin, i visited tas in feb this year for my honeymoon, but we self drive... i think it's pretty difficult to move around if you dun. i DIY everything, airfare, accomodation and car rental... and find that it's cheaper than package from travel agent... do try to book accomodation in advance though...

places ah, i recommend a accomodation in loongana, very nice and cosy chalet and you can see tasmanian devils, possums and wallaby right at your doorstep. unfortunatly it is quite isolated and dun think is accesible without driving... http://www.mountainvalley.com.au/
 

xin_xin

New Member
HI Jumbo & Dazed,

thanx for sharing!!
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looks likes it seems to be very inaccessible without self driving
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@ Taz might have to go wif tour then... if not would have to change the denstation.
 

ultramouse

New Member
Hi,

My wife and I visited Tasmania in Dec 2002 by tour package. It was 2nd day of spring when we touched down in Tasmania. We enjoyed ourselves very much during the trip. We joined SA tours then. A good place for honeymooners. We will be going to Switzerland for our honeymoon this year after our wedding dinner this dec. Hope it will be a nice trip too.
 

melodygrac

New Member
Hi Jumbo,

Realized that you went to the places that I wished to go. How many days did you spend there? How was the itinery like?
 

no_life

New Member
Hi grac, I am one the frens who went with Jumbo.
We went there for erm... 8 days 7 nites. If u wanna the iternery i can sent u tonite cos i left the soft copy at home. (NOW in office).
 

icedrops

New Member
Hi folks,

I'm planning for a 12 days trip to Tasmania with my family. Intend to go 1 round starting from Launceston->East Coast->Hobart->Cradle Mountain->Launceston again. Anyone taken this route before? Which are the logical stops along the way? Can any kind souls share with me ur itinerary? Really appreaciate it.. thanks alot!!!
 

idono

New Member
hi icedrops again :p

when do u intend for the 12 days trip? coz i'm considering one in dec bringing my little boy along, but since 1st time bringing him, i'm kinda worried.
 

icedrops

New Member
Haha yup me again :p Actually me planning for next yr.. but need to do more research & planning 1st if hv time cos Taz is quite a big place & this is also my 1st visit there so need to gather more info 1st.

How old is ur boy? Is this his 1st overseas trip? My gal is coming to 4 soon & we just came bk from a 10 days trip to Gold Coast 2 wks back. It's a very child friendly place cos there's theme parks & lotsa other attractions there suitable for children. She really enjoyed herself there. Taz on the other hand is all abt nature & landscape, so young children might not be able to appeciate it.. but it'll gd retreat for the whole family
happy.gif
 

idono

New Member
well, he'll be 4 next march. so gold coast is recommended? guess i'll go end of yr when its not cold.
 

icedrops

New Member
Yup, it's a good place to visit esp. for kids. As for weather, u can actually go anytime of the yr cos Queensland is the warmest state in Oz so it will not be tt cold even during autumn & winter. When we were there 2 wks bk, temp ranges bet 16-27dc so it's really cooling throughout. It's only night time when it'll get more chilly esp. when the wind blows.. so just bring along a jacket will do if u're going out.

December will be hot cos it's summer time so if u're planning to go during tt period, do make sure u apply sunscreen b4 going out else can get sunburnt easily, esp. with a kid ard gotta be more careful. Even when we were there 2 wks bk, the sun is already scorching hot during the day but coz of the cooling weather, u wun feel tt much. So to avoid the hot weather, it's best to go during Apr-early Jun or Aug-Oct.
 

kerenelu

New Member
Hi,

I am thinking of planning a trip to tasmania this dec. Hopefully going F&E, but not doing self drive. Will be getting hop-on tours from there.

Now very confused about the flights. If i wanna cover hobart and launceston, is it SIN-MEL-LAUN-HOB-MEL-SIN?? From MEL to LAUN, any domestic flight to recommend? What is the mode of transport for LAUN-HOB then? Then i must get from HOB to MEL again? Like tat, dun we incur lots of flight costs?? Need advice on this..
 

zacey

New Member
hihi..

to cover hobart and launceston, it will be advisable to self-drive... much cheaper than using air flights option.. i'm not too sure whether are there agencies that drive you there..
 


pumpkin_patch

New Member
KK,

U can chkout VirginBlue or Jetstar.. they both offer cheap domestic airfares to Launceston from Melbourne. Qantas will be slightly more ex.

As for getting to Hobart from Launceston, self-drive is still the cheapest, easiest & best way to go coz u can plan out ur own routes & the places u wanna visit all at ur own pace & time. But if u dun like driving, there're still many local agencies there who provide day tours from Launceston-Hobart & vice versa. Can chkout here:
http://www.discovertasmania.com/home/index.cfm?SiteID=176&SubSiteID=387

We're also planning a trip to Taz next yr.. currently still doing more research
happy.gif
 

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