Devonport

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AS THE SHIP rolled in the moderate swell, crossing Bass Strait southwards overnight towards Tasmania, I awoke at first light and headed out of my cabin to explore the decks. The sky gradually lightened under fast-moving cloud cover, with no sign of a colorful sunrise. The ship continued rolling over the waves, breaking in chaotic white caps.

Looking southward, I could just make out some of the rugged mountains of northern Tasmania appearing out of the sea in the distance. They seemed far more rugged than anywhere I had seen in Coastal Australia. The clouds parted, revealing the sun which had already risen. The ship didn't seem to be rocking as much as earlier, with the shelter of the land now taking effect. The land appeared closer, and at one point, the lowland coastal headlands suddenly appeared as we approached our destination in Devonport. The ship cruised about a kilometre along the Mersey River before reversing to the wharf, from where we all disembarked. By now, the cloud had completely cleared, and it was a sunny day.

There was one final biosecurity check before I was free for the day to explore Devonport. Since the town center was on the other side of the river about five kilometres away, I ended up getting a taxi to the other side. I spent much of the day relaxing in several parks and exploring the town center. It was a small city servicing the port from the mainland, but otherwise a quiet town, especially being a Sunday.

A large viewing platform overlooked the river towards the ferry terminal, but since the departure wasn't until tonight, there wasn't much action on the river. The tide was out and starting to come in, filling the deep channel.

In the mid-afternoon, I caught a bus heading a hundred kilometres eastward along the top of the island to Launceston, Tasmania's second-largest city. The road headed inland, following several valleys between rolling hills of fertile farmland. The farms were small and productive, but the grass was quite dry, being at the peak of the summer dry season. To the right, in the distance, were several flat-topped mountains poking up under the perfectly clear sunny afternoon sky.

Upon arriving in Launceston, I hiked a couple of blocks from the transit centre to the pod hostel where I had booked. The pods were new, and the hostel was quite busy. Here I settled in for the night.