I have been to lutruwita / Tasmania many times. Holidays in my childhood, solo explorations of the Tasman Peninsula in my early 30s, obligatory trips to MONA, even a babymoon in a campervan from Hobart to Freycinet. It's one of the first places I think of when I get the opportunity to book a holiday. I had never been to the north east though! Wowee, it is spectacular. I thought I'd share some of the amazing locations and sites we saw.

In the lead up to my art retreat with Artable Studios, we loaded up the car onto the Spirit of Tasmania and crossed the mighty Bass Straight. (Fortunately in good weather!) We had a few spare days so we headed to Bridport on the north east coast, about 45 minutes from Launceston.

This coastline was so spectacular, a rougher more rugged version of the Bay of Fires on the east coast, still featuring those iconic lichen coated granite boulders. We enjoyed Bridport so much, especially a day spent at the Mermaid's Pool - a really special little beach.

 

After Bridport we set off for Enclave Tasmania, the home of our art retreat. It is located in Winnaleah, a tiny town in the north east corner. The neighbouring town of Derby is better known, especially if you are a mountain biking enthusiast. We based ourselves here for the next week and did excursions out to the local sites including this beautiful lake. Our host Gillian has dubbed it the 'Mirror Lake' as it boasts the most amazingly perfect mirror-like reflections. Plus a decent platypus population!

 

Another of our excursions was to larapuna / the Bay of Fires. We spent the whole day at Binalong Bay and we managed to nab the most incredible weather. It was the perfect day for capturing one of the most magnificent beaches in the world.

 

Our final excursion was to the Little Blue Lake. It's an old (tin?) mining site. Although the brightness of the sky was dullening the colour a little, the lake really was the most remarkable shade of blue. The white and ochre coloured clays surrounding the site made the blue pop even more.

 

I already can't wait to get back to this part of the world again, we really had the most amazing time. It was one of those trips where you end up with a new list of places to visit longer than your original one. There's so much to see and do in this quiet corner.