Cross the Bass Strait with Spirit of Tasmania

Many friends have missed the splendid serendipidity of sailing across the Bass Strait. The enchantment of the night sky and the ocean will keep you awake to fill up your spirit with the wonderment of the vastness, empty yet so fulfilling. Even when you sleep, in your dreams, while the ship sails into the middle of nowhere, just the laps of the sea and the whistling of the wind will keep you in your merryland to drool with a smile.

Many friends have asked me how I get to Tasmania. When I told them there is a ferry service from Melbourne, they all responded in bewilderment. Is there a ferry? No, it is actually a ship, like those cruise to nowhere kind of cruise ship. It is about 7 storeys high, with most of the lower decks for vehicles. Upper decks have beautiful and comfy sofa lounges with TV, video, games arcade, children play rooms, gaming lounge.

I particularly like the fine dining cafe (it's not big, so I don't call it a restaurant), where they serve steaks, italian pastas and a good choice menu with starter, main courses and dessert, wine and cocktails too. There is another bigger space, it is like food court, but they have 2 rows of buffet lines serving pasta, savouries and meat dishes with buns and cold cuts. I took the buffet, well, I really like the fine dining menu but I think it is odd sitting in a nice lounge in a ship doing fine dining alone, I kind-of decide against it, so went to have buffet which of course is much cheaper. I can fill up my plate for less than AUD10 (I think it is less than AUD10, I could not find my notebook now, perhaps when I find the facts, will amend it later).

While on board, I had all the time to read up the brochures and plan my itinerary around TAsmania. There is an office known as "Tourism On Board", you can even buy travel tickets and bus packages here. I bought my TassieLink ticket here.

So, instead of taking the flight from mainland Aussie to Hobart and miss the joy of sailing, do consider the next time you plan your trip down under. By the way, it costs me only AUD101 one way, the seat is like those in the airplane (see above pic). And the time of sailing was 11 hours. I boarded the ship at 8pm and arrive Devonport at 7am.

(By the way, my flight route was KL-Melbourne, Brisbane-KL, so I took a flight from Hobart to Brisbane on Virgin Blue for only AUD110 one way, will tell you the story next.)

Well, one thing I discover to my thrill is that, I thought Bass Strait is a small little water canal, like the one at Dover, England, dividing Australia mainland with Tasmania, but it takes 11 hours to cross it with a ship that sails at 27 knots. Now, that is a far!! But so much more enjoyable on the ship - oh, by the way, it saves me a night's stay in Melbourne. The next writing will be on the backpackers places I stayed while on my trip there last year in 2007 February.