Hiking The Needles, Rainforest Walk, & Dinner in Hobart, Tasmania
Read Pt. 1 // Pt. 2 // Pt. 3 // Pt. 4 // Pt. 5 // Pt. 6 // Pt. 7 // Pt. 8 // Pt. 9 // Pt. 10 // Pt. 11 // Pt. 12
This was one of my favorite days, in Tasmania. We started it off by driving into Southwest National Park, which had been high on my must-see list, and hiking The Needles. This hike is only about 3k long, but it takes about 2 hours to complete it, because it is incredibly steep and the beginning is quite “boggy”. But it’s definitely worth the effort, because the views are breathtaking!
From the top of the trail, we could see for miles (or kilometers). There were wildflowers, jagged rocks, and unfortunately a fire, in the distance. The wind was blowing in our favor, but we didn’t want to push our luck. So after snapping quite a few photos and refueling with some sandwiches, we made our way back down the trail. The descent was almost harder than the hike up. I was using any limb or rock I could reach to keep myself from falling, rather than climbing, down the mountain…
Before heading out of the park, we decided to try out the Creepy Crawly Nature Walk. This trail is an easy, fifteen minute walk, along a boardwalk in the rainforest. The trees grow thick, and are covered in layers of moss. The sunlight barely breaks through the canopy of limbs, above, and the ground is soft and springy.
Once we completed our second trail for the day, it was time to make the hour drive back to Hobart. We were regretting not booking our mountain Airbnb for two nights, instead of the one night we had coming up, but it gave us one last chance to enjoy the beautiful capital on the bay. We ended our day with fish and chips from Mures Lower Deck, followed by ice cream from Van Diemens, on the wharf, then crashed, back at our Airbnb, for a much needed night’s rest.
