For the purposes of this entry and all future entries under the “Tasmanian Adventure” menu directory/category, the word “we” describes my family, consisting of myself, my parents and three younger brothers.

Today we departed for our nation’s southernmost state aboard the Spirit of Tasmania. Having never been to Tasmania, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I had heard numerous reports of its beauty, but also of its dismal weather, one person describing it as “boring”. however the negative reviews were far less common. As such this was really all I had to guide my expectations.

So although I was banking my money on our destination being beautiful, my experiences of the journey there weren’t quite cutting the mustard. The whole process from boarding to disembarking was probably the most boring thirteen hour stretch of my life.

The boat voyage itself is 9 hours, however we were delayed for an our due to engine difficulties. We arrived on the boat at 7am this morning, the boat left Melbourne at 10am and we arrived in Devenport at 7:30pm, however we weren’t away from the docking area until 8:30, following a lengthy disembarking and quarantine process. At this stage I would not recommend traveling to Tasmania by boat unless you are bringing your car (which of course we have) or have an adversity to flying. and then at the very least book yourself a recliner or cabin because lying down in the lounge area is “strictly prohibited” and you will undoubtedly be exhausted at some point along the journey. Also when you sleep you don’t notice the floor moving like when you struggle to walk in a straight line from the lounge to the Captain’s Table eating area.

I will say this though, it is pretty cool outside on deck. You don’t notice the movement of the boat as much here and the wind can offer some fun. There are some activities aboard the boat including a cinema area where showings are sometimes done and face painting for kids and a band playing. However the films shown on our journey were Tasmanian focused, one of the showings was a series of short films which were like sideshows with voice overs.

Perhaps there is more on offer during the night voyage, but considering today’s experiences, the cost of the voyage and having to pay for all your meals on board if you don’t bring your own food to eat aboard, in future I’d much rather fly.

INITIAL REACTIONS;

– Tasmania seems very green when first seen from boat

– It is very quiet

– The air is icy but the sun is shining

PONDERING POINT;

– Why were all the television stations set to the Northern Territory/ Central Queensland boarder? There were television advertorials for stores in Alice Springs and Mount Isa and business operating solely in this region.