Travel Tasmania

SPIRIT OF TASMANIA

After the vast distances that characterise any Australian mainland driving holiday, Tasmania is positively dinky.

You’d be hard-pressed to spend more than three hours behind the wheel, though even the shortest intended coffee break tends to take much longer due to the fascinating diversions at every turn of the Apple Isle. Where but at Bicheno on the state’s east coast can you order a $7 lobster sandwich to go with your cafe latte?

As a family driving holiday destination, Tassie has much to offer. The Spirit of Tasmania ferry services from Melbourne are efficient and quite cost-effective if you’re on the island for around a week. If you’re taking just a short break, it’ll probably pay to fly and hire a car. There is also a service between Sydney and Devonport, the cost of which has been slashed to invigorate sluggish demand.

>> holiday accommodation in Tasmania

For teenagers with energy to burn, Tasmania offers more outdoor adventures than you can poke a stick at: take to the rapids on the Picton or Franklin rivers; take a cable hang-glider above Trevallyn near Launceston; paddle a sea kayak in sparkling Coles Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula; go jet boating; take a quad bike to the massive sand dunes at Strahan on the rugged west coast; or cycle down Mount Wellington above Hobart. There are also World Heritage wilderness areas for bushwalking in pristine old-growth forests and mighty cliffs from which to abseil near Hobart, Launceston and the Freycinet Peninsula.

While saturation advertising in recent times gives the impression Tasmania is awash with tourists, that’s certainly not the experience on the ground. There are so many places to visit and things to do that the tourist population is spread to the extent that for the visitor from Sydney or Melbourne, it feels positively empty.

Port Arthur’s reputation as a penal settlement and site of the catastrophic massacre in 1996 tends to overshadow the extraordinary beauty of the area. True, there is a sense of sadness about the place, but this in no way distracts from the spectacular location.

The coastline of the Tasman Peninsula is quite stunning – beaches, arches, columns and cliffs provide the impetus for exploration and the chance to get right away from the pressures of life.

Don’t miss the tessellated pavement at Eaglehawk Neck as you arrive on the peninsula. This is a natural geological phenomenon whereby an expanse of rock by the seaside looks as if it has been neatly laid in blocks.

There are some excellent accommodation options in the area, one of which is listed in this issue of Unique Places to Stay. And make sure you have plenty of film in your camera, or a large memory card if you’ve graduated to digital photography.

The historic village of Richmond is en route to Port Arthur and it’s well worth devoting a couple of hours to explore its cobbled streets, galleries, tea houses and classic settler architecture. Richmond is home to Australia’s oldest bridge, construction of which started in 1823. While Sydney Harbour Bridge gets more press, the Richmond Bridge cannot be far behind.

The village’s Catholic Church dates from 1836, it boasts Australia’s oldest convict jail, and it also offers an amusement park for children. See Hobart recreated as it was in the 1820s at Old Hobart Town Historical Model Village.

Even if the rates at Hobart’s newest 5 star hotel are a little steep for an overnight stay, don’t miss the pub at The Henry Jones Art Hotel, which is located in an historic building on the wharf. The developers have maintained the integrity of the original sandstone building and populated the hotel with magnificent artworks, many of which are by leading Tasmanian artists.