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On Boxing Day after watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart sailing race, we hopped on a plane to Hobart, Tasmania (better than traveling 4-5 days at sea!). We'd been looking forward to this trip for a while, so it was great to land and begin exploring a new place. We had the evening in Hobart to walk around and have dinner before heading off the next day up the east coast to the Freycinet Peninsula.

I had reserved a campsite right on Richardson's Beach in Freycinet National Park, which I felt really lucky to get given the campsites are given away via a ballot system for the Christmas/New Year period. We set up camp and enjoyed some local Tassie beer - Moo Brew - on the beach. Mike grilled some steaks/mushrooms/onions for dinner and then we watched the sunset by our tent.

The next day we went on a 12km hike to Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach. Hazards Beach was empty and the water crystal turquoise blue - it was paradise. We walked the length of the beach in awe at the lack of people during the 'busiest' time of year for tourism in Tasmania. We went down to check out the campsites at the end of the beach and after not much discussion decided this was where we wanted to spend our thrid night.

After returning to our campsite at Richardson's Beach, we jumped in the ocean and then took (cold) showers. We decided to drive up the coast because we did not want to miss seeing the little penguins in Bicheno and the beer drinking pig at Pub in the Paddock in Pyengana - both came highly recommended.

It was a lot of driving for one evening, but so worth it. Feeding the pigs - Priscilla and Priscilla Babe (the younger one) - was hysterical. Priscialla even burped after she slurped the beer down! We did learn that the pig beers are mostly water with a little beer for taste. After eating some pork sausages at the bar (why order anything else?) we headed back down the coast to Bicheno for a 10pm tour to see the little penguins. They come out of the ocean when it gets dark to a grassy area with various burrows to feed their young and sleep. We saw hundreds of the little guys - it was really neat.

The next day we packed up our campsite and put together a few backpacks with gear for our night at Hazards Beach. We arrived after a few hours of hiking (thanks to Mike for carrying the big pack!) and got the prime tent spot. We spent the afternoon swimming, watching the wildlife and walking around. At dusk there were wallabies hopping around and one was pretty bold and got really close to us. It was an increcible camping experience..one we'll never forget.

We ended our trip in Hobart, which was a lot of fun given all the activity on the waterfront from the Sydney to Hobart race. We walked around looking at all the big racing boats and even got to welcome a handful of finishers! The Taste Festival was also going on so we had fun trying local food while sitting outside under the almost full moon on our last night. Hands down, I think it was definitely the best time of year to be in Hobart with all the race activity, food/wine and warm weather.

Tasmania is so pristine..as with the other places we've been, I'd love to see more and wish we could have stayed longer.