Relocation: Hobart to Melbourne
“Have you ever driven motor homes in the States?” Dustin at the Britz counter asked me.
“No, but this is my fourth relocation, so I think I’ll be fine! I even had to drive a 6 berth motorhome once,” I laughingly responded.
“That’s what this one is…” as she glanced out the window to the beast waiting just outside.
What originally was supposed to be a small campervan adventure for Maria and me to see a few things we missed around Tassie turned into a 7 meter long motorhome experience with our added recruit from the hostel, Juri.
Thanks to coseats.com.au, we had found the relocation that would give us 4 days to travel from Hobart to Melbourne, plus included a free ferry ticket for the vehicle and driver. Maria booked herself a flight from Launceston to Melbourne, where I’d pick her up after my overnight boat trip for one more roadtrip before returning the car. Juri coordinated a ride back to Hobart via one of the Facebook backpacker groups.
A later start than originally planned due to a baby shower for the hostel manager and Juri’s spontaneous decision to join causing a frantic pack, we headed off to Bonorong Animal Sanctuary.
My little babies. I’m so in love with Australian animals. Very familiar with my best friend, the kangaroo, here I loved learning more about Tasmanian Devils and Wombats. The devil has a jaw strength 5x that of an American pit bull, but is not a keen hunter due to poor eyesight and slow running speed. They’re instead scavengers and gorge eaters, literally known to fall asleep on top of a carcass after eating until they physically can’t eat anymore. A devil named Joffrey was kicked out of the “Save the Devil” breeding program because he was killing the females for fun (hence, named for the Game of Thrones king).
The next couple days, I was relieved to not spend too much time in cities with our giant car. Trust me, we had LOTS of incidents with the car, but luckily due to the kind Australian people we met along the way, everything worked out great! (despite a man asking me “Who let you rent this thing?!…rude.)
Leaving Hobart, we had our YHA group out on the main road directing traffic while I reversed from our side parking lot. As the trip continued, we had a couple help me reverse to avoid hitting the roof on tree branches and then again, a man guide me down a hill in reverse after the motorhome stalled out. You might notice a trend in struggling to reverse…but on the last day, we actually had a woman parade down a small mountain one lane detour road with a line of 10+ cars behind me as she directed the cars in front to pull to the side and make way. So, the struggles came in drive and reverse is what I’m trying to say!
Both Maria and Juri apparently have strong inclinations to swim or bathe in random forms of water. Maria had a sunset swim our first night camping alongside a river. Then, Juri despite rain decided to “shower” at the Bicheno Blowhole and rock jump the next day at the Launceston Gorge. Have I mentioned Tasmania is pretty cold? Wild people.
At first, having one of only two full days consist of pouring rain came as quite a bummer. We had hoped to hike the Wine Glass Bay loop at Frecyinet National Park, but in the end, it actually came as a bit of a relief since I had sprained my ankle a few days earlier and had planned to push through the pain, but was instead forced to relax. Luckily it was not my driving ankle!
I said “See you soon!” to Maria at the airport and “Goodbye!” to Juri in a Cole’s parking lot (we both needed snacks before going our separate ways!). The journey continued on with another hour drive to Devonport where the Spirit of Tasmania departed.
In some ways, I wish I hadn’t taken an overnight ferry as there was SO MUCH to see and do on the giant boat. I’ve never taken a cruise, but the game lounge, movie theater, bar, and more gave me a sneak peak to what one might look like. But, I knew sleep was my best option, so I curled up in my recliner bed for the night, watched a romcom on Netflix, and fell asleep.
Arriving in Melbourne, my level was the first to depart. With hours spent the night before waiting to board, I expected more to the exit, either a parking lot or area to pull off or something. Instead , I was thrown onto the streets of Melbourne. Instead of waiting here for Maria and her friend to take a bus, I cruised to their neighborhood, picked them up and headed up to the Dandenong Ranges and the William Ricketts Sanctuary. We spent the afternoon exploring the mountain ranges before returning the motorhome and returning to our car-free lifestyle.
