TasMANIA Day 5

Ah the last morning of a trip, always bittersweet. Was definitely excited for a proper hot shower at home but was not at all ready to leave Tasmania! For as much as all the Aussies make fun of it, Tassie really is an absolutely incredible place. At least it wasn't too long of a drive back to Hobart that morning, so we allowed ourselves a little bit of a sleep in since we were all pretty exhausted from the late nights and early mornings. Bad combination that I always end up falling into when travelling! Oh well.

We decided to make a trip to MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) that's just outside Hobart because we had time before our flight and it's meant to be an incredible place. It's definitely unique to say the least, considering the main level is at ground level, and then proceeds to go 3 levels underground! It's quite the experience as you start from the bottom and work your way up, and definitely feels like a maze at time. The art in there was a bit strange for the most part, some of the contemporary stuff just really wasn't my cup of tea. But that's not to say there wasn't some truly amazing pieces! One room in particular played with the idea of the tickers in a stock exchange room and projected the noises and numbers around on all the walls - literally kept me completely drawn in and interested for a solid 15 minutes trying to figure it out and see everything. Definitely a very cool experience and worth the trip!

I like the simplicity of the sign right when you walk in

Beautiful view from the terrace outside

After the gallery it was unfortunately time to head to the airport to catch out flight. After the most ridiculous adventure to find a petrol station to fill up the car, involving a 20 minute detour off the freeway, we found out that Hertz actually has pumps right in front of the return area. Another oopsies moment. But we had plenty of time before the flight so it was no worries! Flight ended up leaving a bit late too so we had even more time than expected.

But with Tiger it's true you're never guaranteed to be on time, so after being put in a 20 minute holding pattern above the airport to give other airlines priority we were all happy to land. Then we find out we have to let another flight use the gate to board, so we sat in the airplane on the tarmac for 45 minutes. Needless to say everyone was pretty grouchy by the time we got off. And apparently this is common with Tiger! So taking that into account, along with the miniature seats with no leg room, and the fact that Jetstar is only about $5 more on most flights, I definitely think I'm going to take a pass on flying with Tiger from now on. 

All in all though it was a fantastic trip! It was good fun being able to chose to do whatever we wanted with the freedom of a car, and I had great company of friends for the trip. No one killed each other and we all came home with smiles so that's always the best sign :) I still can't believe how much we managed to get done in a fairly short trip, but we covered all of the major things and I'm so happy that we decided to head to Tasmania! It's so off the beaten path (part of it's charm) that you don't get all the tourists, instead you're left with the stunning nature and spectacular views that even my camera doesn't do justice to. 

Safe to say we all had an awesome trip! One last goofy shot on the plane because that's how we do it.