Full Circle: Ending Where We Began

Our final Tasmanian morning unfolded beneath clouds heavy with rain—a fitting atmospheric farewell from an island that had so often greeted us with dramatic skies and mercurial weather. As we watched droplets trace patterns down our windows, there was poetic symmetry in this slate-grey goodbye; Tasmania showing us its true self until the very end, unapologetically wild and beautifully moody.

Practical considerations directed our last day's journey toward Ulverstone, where we needed to fully charge our batteries before the mainland crossing. The necessity created perfect symmetry to our Tasmanian story—the laundromat where we now stood had been our first stop after disembarking the ferry eighteen months earlier, wide-eyed and unaware of how profoundly this island would reshape our understanding of home. Now we returned, veterans of countless wild camps and hidden roads, our golden chariot bearing the honourable scars of Tasmanian adventures.

"Remember when we first arrived?" Sal mused as we folded warm clothes. "We had no idea what was waiting for us."

With few charging options available in the area, we reluctantly paid for several hours at a local caravan park—a controlled environment feeling strangely artificial after so many months of wild freedom. As the batteries drank in precious electricity, we busied ourselves with final preparations, each task carrying the weight of conclusion rather than continuity.

Once restored to full power, we sought the coastline for one last significant moment—a final family photograph against the backdrop of this island that had claimed such significant territory in our hearts. Having Torrin alongside us for these final weeks had brought particular sweetness to our farewell tour; watching our oldest son discover Tasmania's magic through fresh eyes had allowed us to experience beloved places anew. His decision to join us for the mainland crossing felt like perfect continuation of this shared chapter, the adventure extending beyond Tasmania's shores just as our family connection transcended geographical boundaries.

The twenty-minute drive to Devonport's ferry terminal unfolded with heightened awareness—each bend revealing vistas we committed to memory with deliberate attention, each landmark noted as if maintaining mental inventory of treasures soon beyond reach. The sinking sun painted the Western sky in spectacular Tasmanian farewell, golden light spilling across landscapes that had become so deeply familiar they existed now within us rather than merely around us.

"We'll be back," Anth said with quiet certainty as the Spirit of Tasmania's massive silhouette appeared before us. Not a question or hope but simple statement of inevitable return. The knowledge that years might pass before that reunion did nothing to diminish its certainty—this island had become too significant to our story for permanent separation.

Once aboard and settled in our cabin, we climbed to the open deck as departure preparations continued below. Standing against the railing, we watched Devonport gradually recede—the shoreline that had first welcomed us now bidding farewell as engines hummed with gathering momentum. The three of us stood in contemplative silence, each privately cataloguing what Tasmania had given: lessons in resilience from mountain weather that changed without warning, appreciation for community discovered in remote campgrounds, reverence for wilderness both beautiful and indifferent to human presence. As the gap between ship and shore widened, Tasmania seemed to grow rather than diminish in our vision—its significance expanding beyond physical presence into something carried within.

Below decks, we discovered the restaurant we had somehow missed during our maiden voyage—a spacious dining area offering proper meal service rather than the limited cafe options we had utilised eighteen months earlier. This small luxury seemed appropriate punctuation to our Tasmanian chapter; we claimed a window table and ordered meals that transformed simple dinner into celebration of journey completed and new adventures awaiting.

"To Tasmania," Torrin proposed, raising his glass in toast. "And to wherever we go next."

Our cabin beckoned relatively early—crossing Bass Strait's notoriously temperamental waters warranted precautionary rest regardless of favourable forecasts. As the ship's gentle motion rocked us toward sleep, thoughts drifted between treasured memories and approaching horizons. Tasmania had transformed us in ways we were still discovering, its wild beauty reshaping our expectations of what constituted meaningful existence. The mainland awaited with its own promises and challenges, including the imminent clinical trial screening that both Anth and Torrin had secured—potential funding for continued nomadic exploration and Torrin's international adventures respectively.

Morning light revealed Australia's mainland through our cabin window—different coastline, different chapter. The overnight crossing had proven remarkably smooth, Bass Strait displaying uncharacteristic gentleness for our transition. As we disembarked in Geelong, wheels touching mainland soil for the first time in eighteen months, we felt that curious mixture of conclusion and commencement that defines all significant life transitions.

A practical breakfast at McDonald's provided necessary fuel and the all important coffee as we reoriented ourselves to mainland rhythms. The subsequent grocery shopping—stocking up on provisions for our continuing journey—represented perfect bridge between chapters: nourishment gathered for whatever adventures awaited beyond Tasmania's extraordinary embrace.

As we pointed our bus toward new destinations, the rear-view mirror framed the Spirit of Tasmania in diminishing perspective—not goodbye but rather "until next time" to an island that had ceased being destination and become instead relationship. Tasmania travelled with us now, its wild heart beating alongside our own, its lessons of freedom and presence informing whatever paths we might follow across the broader Australian landscape now unfolding before us.Read more