Tasmania by the Numbers

The day after our long Overland-Track hike, we went up to Devonport to resupply and do some laundry. Our goal was also to be close to the city so we could catch the ferry as soon as a slot opened up. We expected to have to wait up to a week for a slot to open up; but as it happened, a spot opened up that day, so we washed the van and loaded it on the ferry for an overnight trip (by the way, the recliners aren’t very comfy).

Places we have been in Tasmania. Sadly, most of the west coast was left off since we had poor cell reception there.

Here are some interesting statistics from our journey on Australia’s island state.

• Time
  • Day entered: 29-Jan-2017
  • Day left: 14-Mar-2017
  • Total # of days: 45
    • Nights slept in van: 35
    • Nights slept in tent: 9
    • Nights slept in hotel/etc.: 1 night spent in the Bass Strait on the ferry on the way back to mainland Australia
• Distance
  • Driven: ~3,913 km (~2,446 miles)
  • Hiked: 187.8 km (117.4 miles)
    • Ben Lomond Summit - 2.8 km (1.75 miles) [1 day] 
    • Cataract Gorge - 3.2 km (2 miles) [1 day]
    • Mt. William Summit - 4 km (2.5 miles) [1 day]
    • Douglas-Apsley Gorge – 8 km (5 miles) [1 day]
    • St. Patrick’s Head – 5 km (3.1 miles) [1 day]
    • Freycinet - Cooks Beach – 24 km (15 miles) [2 days] 
    • Freycinet - Wineglass Bay – 10 km (6.25 miles) [2 days]
    • Cape Pillar Circuit – 40 km (25 miles) [3 days]
    • Bruny - Fluted Cape - 4.5 km (2.8 miles) [1 day]
    • South Cape Bay - 17.4 km (10.9 miles) [1 day]
    • Overland Track - 68.9 km (43 miles) [6 days]
  • Fuel fill-ups: 5
  • Total fuel: 455.29 liters (120.3 gallons)
• Money
• Total spent: $3340 USD ($4360 AUD) 
• Consists of the costs of traveling full time in Tasmania, including ferries
• Does not include gear or van accessories
• Average cost per day: $74.22 USD ($96.89 AUD)
• Average cost of diesel: $1.369 AUD per liter ($3.990 USD per gallon)
• National Parks visited: 9
• Ben Lomond
• Mt William
• Freycinet 
• Douglas-Apsley
• Tasman
• South Bruny
• Southwest
• St. Clair
• Cradle Mountain

Interesting observations about Tasmania:

1. At stores, they do not “give” you plastic bags. You either buy plastic bags from them, or you bring your own.
2. The people who reside in Tasmania are called Taswegians. (How bizarre is that?) Apparently they didn’t want to be confused with the adjective (Tasman) or the island’s namesake.
3. In total, the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services manages over 42% (2.9 million hectares) of the land area of the state.
4. The roads in the state are mostly rather “topsy-turvy.” Besides meandering through the country-side in anything but a straight line, the roads are not level and send taller vehicles pitching and yawing like on the ocean. Additionally, they often don’t have lines, and almost always don’t have shoulders. As a plus, unless it is a gravel road, you don’t have to worry about potholes too often.
5. Their roads are easily classified by using the alphabet plus a road number. For example, A3 is primary highway, while C843 is a tertiary road. Most often, the higher up the alphabet, the better the road.
6. Originally a penal colony, it is home to the second oldest settlement in Australia.
7. First explored by the French and Dutch, many of the islands features were named by them (Freycinet for example).
8. Taswegians avoid driving what many of us consider short distances.  I guess when the longest drive one can take is 4 hours or so, a 20-minute morning commute seems ridiculous?
9. While we were there, RVing and camping was very popular. There were but 2 locations where we were able to camp out of sight of others and feel deserted enough to take outdoor showers. Most free camps (and pay camps) were filled with other travelers and locals.