Tasmania Travel Guide: Essential Tips for a Memorable Contract
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Tasmania Travel Guide: Essential Tips for a Memorable Contract
Are you thinking of doing a contract in Tasmania? I say DO IT! You won’t regret it! Tasmania is an absolutely stunning location to do a rural remote contract. You can usually fly over from your current home base or drive to Melbourne and get a ferry across to the island, which means you can bring your car with you (which I highly recommend). Tasmania is widely known for having the cleanest air in the world (according to Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station). How amazing is that! Clean air paired with impressive scenery, and an abundance of wildlife, it is an Australian experience that everyone should enjoy at least once in their life!
What to pack?
This blog is written by Jess (HCA Brand Ambassador), who completed a contract over December – February, which is ‘summer’ in Tasmania and apparently the state’s warmest weather. But it was freezing, in my opinion. On my first day off, I made a quick trip to Kathmandu to buy warmer jackets as the cold felt next level to me (after arriving from sunny QLD especially). Everyone is different, but it’s the biggest piece of advice I tell people when they ask me about Tasmania and doing contracts there – bring WARM clothing!
Pack lots of exercise/workout gear, as there are so many incredible walking tracks and hikes that you can do while exploring. It’s a must during this contract.
What to do on your days off:
Hiking
Hiking is remarkable in Tasmania. Did you know Tasmania has over 2000 km of walking tracks and 18 national parks and is more than 20% classified as a ‘Wilderness World Heritage Area’? Tasmania has the oldest trees in the world – some are thousands of years old. I would highly recommend buying a national park pass to explore on your days off.
How much does a national park pass cost?
A daily pass (up to 24 hours) to a national park
Per vehicle (up to 8 people) $41.20
Per person $20.60
Cradle Mountain only pass
Adult $25.75
Holiday passes – up to 2 months and include Cradle Mountain
Per Vehicle $82.40
Per Person $41.20
I chose the vehicle holiday pass as I took an 8-week contract there and was able to explore 4 national parks during my days off.
Penguins!
See the penguins in their natural habitat by the shores at sunset. Did you know that penguins cannot see the red light? So if you want to capture some photos/video footage of the penguins, you can place red cellophane over your light and they are not bothered. I got the most incredible footage! If you are in Burnie (Northwest Regional Hospital), you can visit the “Little Penguin Observation Centre”.
There is honestly an abundance of wildlife in Tasmania. I felt that everywhere I looked, there was an animal of some type. When I came back to the ‘mainland’ from the ferry into Victoria, I instantly saw the difference in how much wildlife roams around the Tasmanian island compared to mainland Australia.
Some Tasmanian Culture
Take a day or overnight trip to Hobart and visit MONA (museum of new and old art) or a road trip to Port Arthur, which is the best-known symbol of Australia’s convict past.
Must-Have food & drinks:
Tasmania is home to excellent and fresh seafood which is exciting for all seafood lovers (sorry if you’re not, but they have other delicious food I promise)!
Tasmanian scallop pies as a Tassie staple. Fresh Tasmanian scallops are cooked in a delicious creamy curry sauce and encased in delicious pastry. Expect actual full-sized scallops, not chopped-up scallops – this shocked me when eating this pie, but I 10/10 recommend it. DELICIOUS
National pies – meat pies! They sure do love their pies in Tasmania. Filled with Tasmanian beef, this is a classic Aussie meat pie but again, another staple in Tassie.
Oysters! Get shucked oysters are very popular! You can’t get fresher oysters than the ones grown and harvested on Bruny island
Tasmania salmon – I mean, of course!
Just Tassie Things:
NO DRONES! You can use your drone in Tasmania. If you use an air map, you will see that the majority of the island is illegal to use your drone (I learnt that the hard way when I bought one specifically to use in Tasmania – whoops).
Oi Mainlander! The locals call you a ‘mainlander’. This made me very confused when I first heard it, but it means you’re from the “mainland of Australia” and not from their little island state. Once you get used to it, you get asked a lot as you’re a mainlander
Fun Fact! Baby platypus and baby echidna are called puggles. It’s a useless fact, but I thought it was adorable and wanted to share what I learnt during my time there
The Tasmania Travel Guide Ends…
As you can see, there are heaps to do in Tasmania, and I loved every moment I was there during my contract.
If this has inspired you to join, apply now via this link and make sure to attach your updated CV https://bit.ly/3NEYY8C
If you already work within HCA in the metro space but want to do a contract, you can go onto the eHCA app and click on SHIFT and then R&R PLACEMENTS to find a list of current vacancies. Once you see one you’re interested in, you can click on the small envelope and enquire!
Jess – Healthcare Australia Brand Ambassador
