I don’t know if Tasmania noticed our absence, but we sure missed it! Last week we returned to Tassie and introduced this unique place full of natural wonders to our five year-old twins Lake and Finn, taking  an overnight ride on The Spirit of Tasmania with our Land Cruiser and Cub Camper, dubbed “Cave Lion” and “Siberian Tiger,” respectively, by our Big Cat loving boys.

We were all super excited to make the trip to Tasmania. On the drive to Port Melbourne we came up with a new family song about taking an overnight boat from Port Melbourne to Devonport, Tasmania, to the delight of the boys. This ditty was performed during the hour-long lineup to drive aboard the Spirit.  It was sung by yours truly, and pantomimed by a toy stuffed Mars planet, to a tune very loosely inspired by a combination of Andy Sandberg’s “On a Boat” and “Troodon Night Train” by Mr. Conductor on the kids’ show Dinosaur Train. Other passengers waiting to board only wished their radios would play such a melodious tunes…

Sunrise on bottom of Bruny Island, Tasmania

The Spirit was ideal transport, with a restaurant, activities, a pub, and plenty of room to wander about as we left the mainland behind us. We stayed in a very comfortable berth with two sets of bunk beds, kids on bottom, parents on top.  Amazingly, despite the excitement over our new adventure, we were all asleep with no issues by ten. The voyage on the Spirit can encounter rough seas, and I have to admit I was a bit concerned I would tumble off my bunk during the night.  There was one time I woke up in the early morning hours and found myself looking down at Miranda.  I knew this meant trouble, potentially, as she was also in a top bunk, and there was only one explanation why I could be looking down at her — this boat was really rocking! But luckily, no one fell, and we made it back to sleep, and the kids mostly slept through the night as well. I’m guessing if they can fall asleep during a 4WD track down a mountain in the Victorian high country, they can handle some waves! Overall I’m happy to report no major issues or sea sickness for the team!

Lake and Finn prepare to snooze on The Spirit of Tasmania

The good news is that, even after all our adventuring over the mainland, Tasmania has not lost its shine. So far we’ve spent much of our time in the southeastern shores, with a long stint camping on Bruny Island, a pitstop in the Huon Valley and a run to the southernmost point. The coastlines here are raw, and the beaches can emerge in stretches of unblemished sand alternating with dramatic rock formations, windswept eucalypts or coastal spindle grasses. The rock formations are the most magical for me. Sometimes they are cliffs, where it’s easy to imagine Tasmania breaking off the mainland. Other times there are piles of boulders, or an intricate pattern with the sea intermingling with long flat rocks along narrow grooves carved slowly by the surf over time.

I’ve been so moved by the beauty here I’ve decided to embark on a new project. We are going to post 30 sunrise photos over the next month from our trip around Tassie to our MilesFromBrooklyn feed on Instagram.  Just log on to Instagram and follow @MilesfromBrooklyn or search for #thirtytassiesunrises

I’ve included a few sunrises in this post, and we will do a follow up post when as we near 30. In the meantime, stay tuned for some exciting family adventures from Tasmania on MilesFromBrooklyn.