Tasmania 2024 Day 3 – Devils, Spectacular Coastline, Back to Hobart

G and I woke up reasonably early on Sunday to pack up and head out to the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo while our friends had a more leisurely morning. I can’t remember seeing a Tasmanian Devil before, so we wanted to take this opportunity to see one. The Devils are endangered due to roadkill and a contagious facial tumour. The Devils on the peninsula are tumour-free and protected by a devil-proof bridge on one of the crossings from the population in the rest of Tasmania. We saw these two brothers get fed, which was wild. They fought for the piece of meat, and then one ran off it with the other chasing. They did laps of the enclosure until the one with the meat went in under a log, where they had another fight. The piece of meat was pulled into two pieces, and they both retreated to separate corners to finish their breakfast. It was hilarious to watch.

After feeding the kangaroos, we drove to Tasman’s Arch in Tasman National Park. You need a Pass to enter. From the carpark, we took a short walk to Tasman’s Arch, then looped back to Hell’s Gates before continuing on to Waterfall Bay. Since it has been so dry here, the waterfall was not flowing, but we enjoyed the spectacular views along the trail. We could see the dark stain where, after rain, the water plunges down the cliff face into the sea

Our friends had a long drive back home, so after our walk, we headed off, stopping for lunch at the Dunalley Bakery. Simple sandwiches hit the spot and then we hit the road, farewelling our friends with promises to catch up next time we are in the same part of the country.

The drive back to Hobart Airport was uneventful. We dropped the hire car off and caught an UBER to our city accommodation. After dropping our bags, we explored, walking up the hill to the Queens Domain, a large park with various sporting facilities. G was scoping out possible running tracks. Coming back down, we headed back along the waterfront and across to St David’s Park. G was looking for a plaque that mentioned his ancestors from the First Fleet, who had been transferred to Hobart after Norfolk Island was shut down.

For dinner, we went to Dana Eating House. The food is Southeast Asian and delicious—familiar dishes with a twist. For example, the Peking duck pancakes contained oolong tea-smoked duck, a subtle twist on one of our favourites. I also had a cocktail. Yes, that is chilli oil on top.

Back at our hotel, we watched some TV before having a reasonably early night so that we would be ready to get up bright and early the next morning.