Before we sailed
Back in February we were getting ready for our Spirit of Tasmania crossing. We had done heaps of research into what to expect, but a lot of information kept leading back to the spirits own website. There wasn’t any first hand accounts of people who had crossed, let alone people with pets.
We had asked a lot of questions on social media platforms on how people had found the kennels allococated to animals on the boat. Is it warm enough? Do we bring Tilly’s own bedding? Is water supplied? Are the animals checked on through the crossing? With a list of questions as long as our arm, we thought we’d put this post together on what to expect on the Spirit of Tasmania. Whether it’s just yourselves and your caravan, or if you will be travelling with your fur baby, here’s everything you need to know.
What your dog needs
We researched on what health care we would need for Tilly. One thing we found out is, things vary from state to state. In Western Australia, we’re quite lucky with what we have to do with Tilly. She has her normal annual vaccinations, worming and tick prevention tablets. However we don’t have to worry about paralysis ticks, or some of the more tropical diseases like leptospirosis.
Tasmaina has strict guidelines on importing animals and these have to be adhered to. We were informed she had to be treated for Hydatid Tape worm within 14 days of arrival in tassie.
There was a fair bit of debate about whether it should be administered by a vet with a vet certificate. Or would a self cert that a tablet had been administered be enough. To save on delays on arrival we decided to go with the vet option.
Tilly went to Highton veterinary clinic near Geelong within a couple of days of sailing. The vets and nurses are fantastic and gave Tilly a clean bill of health for her sailin, she was then administered the tablet along with some liver treats.
The night before sailing
We had opted for the day time sailing both ways as they were the shorter crossings, which meant Tilly would have less time in the kennelled area.
We stayed at sundowner caravan park, which is about 30km north west of Port Melbourne. Located on the M8, it was a case of jumping on the freeway and then merging onto the M1 across the Westgate bridge then into the port area.
We decided on giving Tilly a big walk the night before in the hope she’d do all the toileting then. We gave her a normal size meal that evening and had an early night.
The following morning we were up and about at 4am, we had already hitched the van up so had absolutely nothing to do. We had a quick cup of tea then headed off. As we got to the port area nice and early, there is a road just as you pull off the freeway called Beach street. It’s a tree lined boulevard with grass edging each side of the road. We decided to give Tilly a last chance saloon toilet break and thankfully she did what she needed to. As we weren’t sure if the seas were going to be ropy we opted not to feed her too much before the crossing. We gave her a handful of dry biscuits, just to put of a bit of food in her tummy. Then we headed for the port.
Port checkin
As you can imagine the port is pretty busy at this time of a morning. It’s definitely best to arrive as early as possible. At this point, You’re directed to a checkin lane, where the port authorities and quarantine staff will check your van and car over. They’re checking all gas is turned off and you’re not carrying any fuel apart from what’s in the fuel tanks. They are also checking that you’re all hitched up securely before checking under hood. We were actually carrying an extra passenger under our bonnet in the way of a dead bird…. we have no idea how he got there or how long he had been in there, but we don’t think it had been long. Finally quarantine have a good rummage through your fridge and freezer and then you’re signed off as ready to sail.
After a short wait, you drive through past the ticket office. You are given your tickets and if you’re travelling with your dog, they will also give you a tag to attach to the front of their kennel. It has identification on it, so if you need to be contacted they know which pet belongs to who. You are then directed to a holding area.
Boarding
About an hour before departure, they start loading you on deck by deck. If you’re travelling with animals you’ll be on either deck 3 or 5.
One option to be aware of is, you can leave your pet in the car. We thought long and hard about this option. Tilly would have probably slept most of the way, however it comes with its dangers. There can be rough seas and pictures have circulated the internet of a lorry toppling and falling on to a car parked next to it. Another concern for us what the issue of ventilation. With all those vehicles parked and not too much in the way of open decks, the air would be stifling. Finally another safety concern was the risk of a choppy crossing, we didn’t want Tilly getting thrown about too much. For all these reasons we opted for the kennel option to be safe.
Once on deck 5 we selected the kennel suitable for Tilly’s size. Be aware if you put a small dog in a large kennel, they may need to move the dog. If a larger dog comes in and your chihuahua is in a kennel meant for a Great Dane, your dog will get moved on. We put some bedding down for Tilly and put her in the kennel. Water is also supplied in a large steel container, which is secured to the base of the kennel. Tilly settled quite quickly, but a lot of dogs were barking.
TOP TIP
The animal kennels are located on deck 3 and 5. We recommend to get your pet onto deck 5. As we were loaded onto deck 3, this is where Tilly was supposed to be contained during her crossing. However, there is absolutely no fresh ventilation. They do have fans but they weren’t running when we were supposed to drop Tilly off. Not happy to leave her on this deck, we spoke to one of crew staff and he showed us to the kennels on deck 5. This area has open vents with fresh air coming in
The crossing
We made our way up to the main deck and to the cabin we had booked. It was $100 for the cabin, which we were grateful for. The cabins are basic, with a 2 single beds and an ensuite. However as we had been up super early and hadn’t showered that morning, we made use of the bathroom and had a bit of a sleep.
The main decks have everything you’d need for the crossing. There is plenty of seating dotted around the various decks. Alongside bars, cafes and restaurants. There is also plenty to keep the kids entertained with climbing frames and a games areas.
For the crossing we had taken food and drinks on with us as we weren’t sure how the pricing would be on board. However, it wasn’t too bad price wise for food and drinks.
There is plenty of information at guest services of what to see and do whilst in tassie. We grabbed a few brochures to give us ideas of where to go and stay.
The crossing going out was really smooth. As the boat left Melbourne, we went up on to the top deck to watch the sail out of port. We were pleasantly surprised that even when leaving the heads of Port Phillip Bay the boat remained calm.
Arrival in Devonport
One great thing about travelling with pets is that you’re allowed down to the car deck first. It helps that there isn’t hundreds of people all clambering down at once. We raced down to get Tilly as we still had to get her down on to deck 3 for the car. The girl was an absolute legend. She hadn’t had any accidents or been sick. Tilly was beyond excited to see us, but absolutely fine. We were really happy with how she’d pulled through the crossing.
We loaded her into the car and waited for the doors to open. When the doors finally opened, you are then directed to different areas. Those travelling with a pet need to show their documentation that their animal has been treated with the hydatid worming tablet. The port authorities have quick look then wave you through.
As we didn’t get in until after 6pm we stayed locally in Devonport at the discovery park. It’s only a two minute drive from the port to the park. It’s an amazing park, right on the ocean front and has great walks for Tilly along the front. There is a variety of sites available, with drive through and large grass sites for caravans, motor homes and tents. Alongside several self contained cabins, which looked quite spacious. The ablutions are all new and clean.
- For more information and bookings please visit http://www.discoveryholidayparks.com.au/Devonport
Sailing back
On the morning of our sail back we had an early start again. We had chosen to stay at the discovery park once again.
Like before we got to the port nice and early and asked for deck 5. This didn’t happen, we were loaded on to deck 3 but knew the score and got ourselves up the stairs to deck 5.
At this point, I’d like to say it was just like the sailing to Tasmania, however it wasn’t. On the crossing to Tassie we were on Spirit of Tasmania 2, which is a newer boat. On the way back to Melbourne we were on Spirit of Tasmania 1. The kennels aren’t near the lovely open decks. They’re next to the elevator and stairwells. It’s also next to where the road trains are pulling in and parking, the fumes were horrid. We loaded Tilly into her crate again, gave her a kong filled with treats, said our fond farewells and made our way upstairs.
Prior to sailing, we knew that the seas were forecast with up to a 10 meter swell. We had made preparations for ourselves with seasickness tablets and acupuncture bands. As we had booked a cabin again, we made our way to the room. Our crossing consisted of lying down in bed and waiting for the seas to settle. This didn’t happen until we entered the heads of Port Phillip Bay.
All the way back we were wondering how Tilly was going on downstairs, hoping she was ok.
Back to Melbourne
As soon as we were back in port and allowed to collect Tilly, we did do. It was chaos at the kennel area. Dogs were barking and had been sick. Their worried owners were bundling up their best mates up and carrying them off to their cars. Tilly was beside herself, but she’d held herself together really well, no toilet issues and she hadn’t been sick. We quickly got all her blankets and kong and headed for the car.
We drove from the boat and port area and quickly cleared Port Melbourne. Like last time we parked up on beach street and let Tilly out for a toilet break.
This time we decided to stay at Werribee South Caravan Park, just a 45 minute drive from the port Melbourne. The weather had certainly changed since we left Melbourne in February, it was so cold backing the van on to site at 9pm at night. The park is a lovely quite stop and well located next to the beach. The sites are great and ablutions are new and clean.
For more information and bookings http://www.werribeesouthcaravanpark.com
Once settled on site we got to give Tilly a full check over. She had settled down and didn’t seem quite as stressed. However, her nose was red raw. She must have been feeling that nauseous that she’d licked it to the point of being sore.
We spoke to our vets the following day back in Perth and they said when dogs or animals in general feel nauseous, they hyper-salivate. Our vets advised us to keep an eye on it and if needs be take her to a local vet.
In summary
THE PROS
We really wanted to see Tasmania and saw so many beautiful places along the way. If you’re going to make the trip with your caravan, we’d probably recommend at least a couple of months stay as it’s not cheap to take the car and van. From memory, we paid about $2000 for a return ticket and this is on the cheaper side.
Tasmania is full of stunning scenery at every turn. The food is amazing, its an abundance of fresh local produce, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We also found it really good for dog friendly accommodation across the state. Whether it be caravan parks or free camps, you don’t struggle with your fur babe.
THE CONS
Our only real concern is the trip on the Spirit there and back with Tilly. Unfortunately you can’t pick the weather or sea conditions when you book your travel. Naively we thought as it was summer it shouldn’t be too bad. However it’s the Bass Strait and it’s renowned for its rough seas.
We wouldn’t make the trip again with Tilly. After this trip I emailed the Spirit of Tasmania booking office and voiced my concerns over the kennel area. I believe they are building new ships and suggested they could make a small percentage of the cabins dog friendly. We would pay extra to have Tilly in a room with us, even if she still had to confined to the room during the sailing. The message back was a stock standard response, citing health and safety reasons. However in Europe they have pet friendly cabins on their sailings.
Maybe going forward it’s something that The Spirit of Tasmania may consider. We are a country of animal lovers and spend millions a year on the best for our furry companions. There is money to be made for Spirit and I think people would pay a premium to have their pets with them for the sailing.
Lets hope things change