Tasmania

[Prawn_86]

Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name. It is located 240 kilometres south of the eastern side of the continent, being separated from it by Bass Strait. The state of Tasmania includes the island of Tasmania and other surrounding islands. Tasmania has an estimated population of 494,520 (March 2008) and an area of 68,401 square kilometres.

[Prawn_86]

Tasmania is the one state i have not been to. I hear it is quite nice and much bigger than most people anticipate.

Anyone been there?

[Smurf]

I'm here right now... :)

As far as holidays in Tassie are concerned, there's a lot more to see than most would expect and no, you can't realistically drive around the state in a day (physically it is possible, but who really wants to drive 1000 km or so non-stop for a holiday?).

The weather's not as most seem to expect either. Hobart in fact has the second LOWEST rainfall of any Australian capital city (Adelaide being the lowest) and has half the annual rainfall of Sydney. That said, the state's West Coast is a lot wetter. Best time to come for the weather would be February or March but be aware that Tassie weather is always variable so come prepared just in case.

Things to do? Lots of scenic and natural things of all kinds. Too many to list here but I'd suggest you do either the clockswise or anti-clockwise round trip of the state. Allow two weeks unless you're in a hurry. Take longer if you've got heaps of time but two weeks is reasonable for a relaxing stay.

But don't come to Tassie looking for big department stores, exciting nightlife and other city things. Yes they do exist but even in Hobart the scale is small. Lots of restaurants certainly, and some pretty decent ones, but you'll easily be in and out of literally every nightclub in Hobart in a single night so don't come here looking for a party unless it's the Falls festival or an organised event like that.

As for getting around the place, either bring your own car across of hire one unless driving isn't an option. Otherwise do an organised coach tour but driving yourself is the way to go if possible. There are no toll roads to worry about (including major bridges) but you do have to pay to enter a National Park. Other than relatively short tourist trips, there are no passenger trains in Tasmania. Unless you only want to do or see some specific things, I'd recommend arriving and leaving from the same location (Hobart (air), Launceston (air) or Devonport (ferry)) and doing the round trip.

Don't stay in the one hotel for the whole time - move around rather than travelling back to (for example) Hobart each night. It WILL take longer than you think to get places - the distance may not be too far but most roads in Tassie aren't suitable for travelling fast.

If anyone's got any questions then I'll do my best to answer them. :)

[chrissylewis03]

i've actually got someone wanting a driving tour of tassie and i'm trying to work out what to do with them.... they have 2 weeks to play with and have 2 kids so prob won't want to be on the road heaps.

can you think of any main kid friendly spots i could book accommodation, a few central places where they could do day trips from?

cheers,

chrissy

[Smurf]

can you think of any main kid friendly spots i could book accommodation, a few central places where they could do day trips from?

cheers,

chrissy
You could divide the state into a few areas as follows. This will make more sense with a map in front of you. Where to stay then depends on what you wnat to do and where that is.

North-West. This means the western part of the north coastline and not anywhere actually on the western coastline. Stay in one of the small towns (plenty to choose from - just look at any map) and travel from there. If you don't want the small seaside towns etc then Devonport (pop. 25,000) and Burnie (pop. about 20,000) are a bit bigger. Be warned that whilst it isn't a bad spot these days, Burnie is still essentially an industrial town and freight port so is relatively noisy by Tasmanian standards.

North. Stay in Launceston and travel from there.

East Coast. Popular tourist area with plenty of small towns and isolated resorts to choose from.

South. Stay in Hobart and travel from there is the most central option. Plenty of hotels to choose from but be aware that anything on the Waterfront (the area in and around Salamanca Place) may not be the best choice with children since this is the dominant late night pubs and clubs area of Hobart. That said, it transforms absolutely by day and especially on Saturday for the iconic Salamanca Market.

Also consider staying somewhere in the Huon (not necessarily at Huonville) if you don't like travelling far each day as there's quite a bit to see down there. Whilst you could travel the 40km or so from Hobart easily (it's a good road - 100 km/h) staying locally is an alternative.

South-West (Strathgordon). If you plan on doing the road trip to the South-West then for practical purposes consider it part of Hobart unless you specifically want to stay locally. Truly spectacular scenery that will impress just about anyone but that's it apart from fishing in the lakes and a walk across the massive Gordon Dam (worth doing for the experience and incredible view downstream even if you have zero interest in the structure itself). So a day trip is what most do but accommodation is available in the area.

South-West (other than Strathgordon). Consider it part of the West Coast. Access by boat from Strahan. For practical purposes there are no roads or significant human activity in this area other than tourist boats on the Gordon River, the whole lot being part of the World Herritage Area.

West Coast. This means the towns of Queenstown, Rosebery, Tullah etc and not the actual coast. Worth a look but be aware that it is essentially a series of mining towns surrounded by bush. Strahan is a tourist hot spot however and isn't a mining town. The West Coast Wilderness Railway runs from Queenstown to Strahan. The infamous bare hills are at Queenstown although to a large extent they are now covered by trees (something that divides local opinion by the way). If you've been watching Top Gear Australia or just want to feel totally isolated then you might want to drive down to and across the Pieman River. It's an easy round trip from any of the West Coast towns.

Central Plateau. Bushwalking and fishing are the reasons you'd consider going there. It's a hot spot for both but there's really not much else there. If you like the idea of staying literally in the middle of nowhere then the old construction town of Tarraleah is now a tourist resort.

[chrissylewis03]

wow, that's very involved smurf! but extremely helpful!

thankyou

[Smurf]

Typical travelling times from Hobart CBD for an ordinary car driven by someone not familiar with the roads. If you sat on the speed limit it would be quicker, but for the roads other than the main highways I'm assuming a tourist generally wouldn't choose to drive like that.

Launceston - 2.5 hours sitting on the speed limit (110 most of the way).

Devonport - 4 hours

Burnie - 4.5 hours

Queenstown - 4 hours. Anywhere else on the West Coast will take longer than this if starting from Hobart.

East Coast - will depend on actual location but it's further from Hobart than it looks and you won't be sitting on 100 all the way.

Huonville - Around 45 minutes. Futher south, for example if you are going to the Airwalk or Hastings Caves, is quite some distance past Huonville so allow plenty of time.

Strathgordon - Allow 2.5 hours each way, more if you're going to stop along the way and take photos of the scenery.

City to top of Mt Wellington - Yes you can drive right to the top of the mountain behind Hobart. It's only about 20km but expect the trip to take at least 45 minutes each way - it's quite driveable in any vehicle (including large buses) but it's a slow, winding road all the way to the top (sealed all the way) once you get past Fern Tree. Be aware that it's usually a lot cooler up there than in the city and also quite windy so bring warm clothes even in summer.

Kids (even locals) seem to love going up the Mountain. There's no snow most of the time but it can settle up there at any time of year. If you'd like something with a bit more thrill than a car ride, you can always do the bike ride from top to bottom (there's a company that runs this as a tour if you don't want to cycle up yourself). You can actually ride all the way to Kingston, via Summerleas Rd (a back road through the bush with almost zero traffic), with almost no peddling required and that's 25km or so. Just make sure the brakes are in good working order because you'll need them.

[Prawn_86]

Your making it sound like we should organise a trip to tassie one time Smurf :)

[chrissylewis03]

yeah, a trip to tassie is definately on my to do list. every body keeps telling me that it's boring, no night life etc. but i actually don't care, not every holiday i go on i want to go out clubbing, actually i would prefer a holiday to get away from that.

so tassie sounds perfect with it's pristine landscapes, i can't wait to visit.

[kennas]

I woul add in doing the Overland Track from Lake St Claire to Cradle Mountain. 5-8 days depending on what you do on the way, but one of the most bestest treks in the world. Stay at Cradle Mountain Lodge in a cabin at the end. Sensational!

[Smurf]

yeah, a trip to tassie is definately on my to do list. every body keeps telling me that it's boring, no night life etc. but i actually don't care, not every holiday i go on i want to go out clubbing, actually i would prefer a holiday to get away from that.

The night life issue is more about locals 18 - 35 moving away as a consequence of the limited local night life rather than impact on tourists as a whole (though obviously it's an issue for some).

Ask any local 18 - early 20's who has just come back from an interstate trip what they did and odds are they'll just give you a list of clubs they went to and maybe name a band or two they saw since that was the whole purpose of the trip. That's an economic and social problem for Tas but only an issue for tourists if you want to do that sort of thing whilst on holiday.

[Prawn_86]

TASMANIA has been singled out as Australia's best offering to the world with its inclusion in The New York Times' list of top travel destinations for 2009.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,28318,24947172-5014090,00.html

Looks like your not alone with your thoughts Smurf :)

[Monsoons]

I was born and raised in Tasmania but moved to NT in 2000. All my family are still in Tassie though and I went down over the Christmas/New Year period to catch up with them :)

[Smurf]

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,28318,24947172-5014090,00.html

Looks like your not alone with your thoughts Smurf :)
Well I never thought an old Hydro town (Tarraleah) would be winning a national tourism award. Anything's possible...

It's a good use of a town that otherwise has no ongoing use though, and a bit less controversial than some of the other ideas that have been tried in order to bring tourists in to the town (though the dominatrix did get the place rather a lot of publicity a few years ago). It's all family friendly now however. :cool:

[CradleMtn]

I woul add in doing the Overland Track from Lake St Claire to Cradle Mountain. 5-8 days depending on what you do on the way, but one of the most bestest treks in the world. Stay at Cradle Mountain Lodge in a cabin at the end. Sensational!

Spot on Kennas, beautiful part of the world. I love the Lodge, especially the breakfasts!

[bucky]

Tassie is a nice place, a lot of heritage stuff there and very beautiful indeed. Just don't go down when it's winter or you'll freeze!