Touring by car or coach is the best way to get around. From its unusual history to its stunningly beautiful wild yet pristine natural heritage, Tasmania is beloved by all who visit. With more than 2000km of walking tracks and 18 National Parks, Tasmania also boasts 1.38million hectares of World Heritage landscape. From the capital city of Hobart to the food and wine centre of Launceston, the cities are a delight. Tour beyond to Cradle Mountain and Gordon River in the west and the unspoilt delicate beauty of the east coast and you’ll never want to leave Tasmania.
Hobart
Tasmania’s capital city, Hobart, is the second-oldest settlement in Australia and retains a charming small-town feel best appreciated in historic Battery Point, whose Georgian architecture has barely changed in 150 years. This is a city still resolutely focused around its harbour, where you can buy freshly-caught seafood from the fishing boats, and where you can admire the city’s contoured shoreline from the summit of Mount Wellington. The old stone warehouses play host each Saturday to the famous Salamanca Markets, where you can check out the local produce that is earning Tasmania a reputation as a gourmet’s paradise.
Launceston
Launceston is Hobart’s northern counterpart, and boasts elegant Edwardian and Victorian streetscapes, parklands and public gardens, and a lovely setting in rolling countryside along the Tamar River. Launceston is also probably the best place to enjoy Tasmania’s food and wine, with award-winning restaurants taking pride in their locally-sourced ingredients, including hand-made chocolates and indulgent desserts made from local raspberries and traditionally-churned Tasmanian cream. Just 15 minutes’ walk from the city is magnificent Cataract
Gorge, a spectacular chasm carved by the South Esk River.
Strahan & Tasmania's National Parks
Outside of the cities, much of Tasmania is sparsely populated and on an escorted or self-drive tour, you’ll discover fantastic national parks such as Freycinet on the east coast, and the extensive Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair which dominates much of the island’s interior. On
the west coast, the sleepy settlement of Strahan sits on the vast Macquarie Harbour, and serves as the jumping-off point for river cruises into the pristine wilderness of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, saved from development by passionate environmental protests in the
1980s and now protected as a World Heritage Site.
Separated by the Bass Strait this island state has four distinct seasons. Summer does not generally reach the high temperatures experienced elsewhere in Australia but it does receive the most daylight hours during the summer months. In the winter months the mountains usually receive a dusting of snow. The rainfall differs dramatically across the island. Hobart, is Australia’s second driest capital city (after Adelaide), while the west coast receives far more and the rainforests thrive.
