Big, boisterous Australia has so much to offer perhaps it’s no wonder Tasmania, its quieter, diminutive sister, has been somewhat sidelined. Clients are often pushed for time when visiting the Antipodes, and can get too caught up in cramming in the headline sights to consider a more off-beat alternative.
But it’s time for that to change. Second-time visitors, those heading out for a long stay or even travellers who just prefer to avoid the crowds will go crazy for Tasmania’s mix of pristine landscapes, indigenous wildlife, convict history and gastronomic delights – all on an island the size of Ireland.
To push Tasmania further to the forefront, the tourist board will hold its first UK roadshow this October, led by minister of tourism Michelle O’Byrne and the chief executive of Tourism Tasmania, Felicia Mariani.
Representatives from the state’s top hotels and attractions will attend. For more information, contact Susie de Cartaret on susie.decartaret@development.tas.gov.au or 01534 728728.
Highlights
With colonial buildings and settlers’ cottages, Hobart has a palpable sense of history. It’s a haven for tourists of an arty, gourmet bent, with plenty of great restaurants, museums and theatres.
Advise clients to sip a coffee by the dockside and watch the boats. And if they are there on a Saturday, they can head off to Salamanca market to browse arts, crafts and local produce.
The small historic town of Richmond is home to Tasmania’s oldest bridge, oldest jail and oldest Catholic church. The 16-mile drive from Hobart passes through some of the island’s best vineyards, so visitors can break up the journey at a cellar door.
Tasmania’s second city, Launceston, is in the north of the island, and also offers much for the palate. The surrounding area is home to vineyards, strawberry farms, and orchards, which are interspersed with the hazy purple of lavender farms. Clients can eat their way around the north, tasting local cheeses at King Island, hand-rolled truffles in Latrobe and knocking back a whiskey at Hellyers Road.
Port Arthur is one of the best-preserved convict settlements in Australia. It sits on the Tasman peninsula, on the border of the Tasman National Park, where short bushwalks allow visitors to see stunning views of towering rock formations.
Island National Park is a short ferry ride from Triabunna, a town 55 miles north of Hobart. This car-free island is a wildlife lovers’ paradise, home to wallabies, echidnas, and wombats.
Its waters are rich with seahorses, sponge gardens and anemones. Tasmania’s east coast is a land of stunning coastal scenery, with some of the most spectacular on the Freycinet National Park, which is home to the crystal-clear Coles Bay and the Hazards, a pink granite mountain range.
Further north, deserted white beaches and vast granite boulders touched with red lichen can be found at the Bay of Fires. Tasmania’s west is even more remote. Heading from Hobart, visitors first wind down the spiralling road to Queenstown, once the world’s richest mining town.
First gold and then copper was taken from the ground, but now the industry has ceased, tourists can take tours of the abandoned mines. Beyond these scarred hills, the lush landscape of the real western wilderness begins.
Visitors can take the historic steam train to Strahan, crossing high trestle bridges over deep gorges, and stopping at restored station buildings along the way. Strahan is the starting point for cruises down the Gordon River, which
take passengers deep into the pristine rainforest.
Further north lies the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, famed for its wonderful walks, with routes lasting from 20 minutes to six days.
New accommodation
The island has beefed up its luxury offering with Saffire, the new £18 million, 20-suite resort on the Freycinet peninsula. Stone, timber and glass combine to create a sleekly deluxe hideaway offering gourmet food and a pampering spa in a remote and beautiful coastal location. There are interconnecting suites for families and activities include water sports, mountain and quad biking, wildlife spotting and star-gazing.
Austravel offers Saffire from £465 per person per night, full board, based on two people sharing a deluxe suite, including a spa treatment and some activities.
Also new are the Pavilions at Moorilla, a winery outside Hobart. Owned by professional gambler and philanthropist David Walsh, the site will open at the Museum of Old and New Art to showcase his £143 million collection free to the public in January. The eight on-site Pavilions feature artwork from the collection. Rates start at £200 per room per night.
The 80-room, four-star Hotel Collins is in the capital Hobart. It’s situated near the waterfront close to the sights and retains its 1930s façade, although the interiors are modern. Anzcro offers the hotel from £102 per room per night.
