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Tasmania's capital city, Hobart, is an intriguing blend of heritage, lifestyle and vibrant culture. Situated between one of the world's finest harbours and a majestic mountain, Hobart is a blend of colonial and contemporary designs. A city of fine restaurants, bustling markets and convivial locals.
Just an hour's flight from mainland Australia, Tasmania is about the same size as Hokkaido. Australia's only island state is the home of an ancient beauty that includes vast tracts of World Heritage wilderness and cool climate rainforest, untamed rivers, and spectacularly wild beaches.
Around Hobart, the forests are home to the world's tallest flowering trees and also Australia's wonderfully unique wildlife. Wallabies and wombats abound. The unique platypus, rare on the mainland, can be found, sometimes quite easily, in unspoilt rivers. And if you want a wild enounter with the endemic Tasmanian devil, well, that can be almost guaranteed too.
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| Location: |
Tasmania |
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| Language: |
English |
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| Currency: |
Australian Dollar (AUD$) |
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| Climate: |
Hobart has four distinct seasons - warm, mild summer with long daylight hours from December to February, warm days and cool nights in autumn, March to May, crisp cool days in winter, June to August and cool spring days, September to November. In summer the average temperature is 23℃ and in winter 12℃. |
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| Transport: |
Hobart Internatinoal Airport is located 20 mins north of Hobart. There
are car rental services and a door to door bus from the airport into
Hobart. A suburban bus network operates around Hobart. |
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Food
Enjoy Tasmania's fine food and wine in the celebrated cafes, restaurants and providores of Hobart which offer award winning local produce and cool climate wines - including rieslings and pinots - seafood, fruits, Tassie Beef and cheeses.
Things to do
- Mt Wellington bike ride - cycle down the roller coast-like descent of Mt Wellington
- Penguins - travel to Bicheno and watch penguins return to the beach at dusk
- Walk Tahune Airwalk - walk over the tree tops, just 1.5 hours from Hobart
- Try Fly Fishing - fish for trout in the hills outside Hobart
- Barilla Bay Oyster Farm - Taste local fresh oysters shucked straight from the clear Tassie water
- Pick fruit - Sorrell - summer berries and apricots can all be picked from farms near Hobart
- River Derwent Cruise - enjoy a cruise on the Derwent and spot dolphins in the river.
Accommodation
In Tasmania, the choice of accommodation is as varied as the scenery. In towns and cities, you might choose an historic hotel, a self-contained apartment, a cosy Bed &
Breakfast, a friendly backpacker hostel or a chic hotel. Away from the bright lights,
perhaps your fancy runs to a colonial cottage, a comfortable wilderness lodge, a
room in a country pub, a tent by the sea or a campervan.
Salamanca Market
Hobart's Salamanca Market is near to the harbour where the fishing fleet and cruise ships dock. The market regularly attracts football-size crowds. And for good reason: it is, surely, as eclectic as anywhere in Australia. Woollens and wood turning. Wafts of incense and bratwurst. Retro fashions. Proteas and Antarctic images, fruit loaves and organic vegies, and jewellery by emerging Tassie designers. Some of the best arts and crafts, food and flowers produced in Tasmania are displayed here. This market is as much a Hobart institution as the great sandstone warehouses, now galleries, cafes and bars that watch over the market goers.
Wildlife Parks and the Tasmanian Devil
There are a number of wildlife parks around the state where up close encounters with devils, kangaroos and wombats are guaranteed. At the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park, just an hour from Hobart, visitors can feed kangaroos, watch devils during feeding and see a bird show where falcons owls, and cockatoos star.
Seahorse World and Platypus House are both near Launceston, on the banks of the Tamar River. At Seahorse World visitors can see more species of intriguing seahorses and pipefish (they belong to the same family as the seahorse) than anywhere else in the world.
Platypus House is right by Seahorse World. The mysterious platypus, like the devil it is unique to Australia, can be spotted with far less effort than on the mainland where it is often far more elusive. Platypus House is the only venue where visitors can watch Tasmanian Platypuses in an indoor setting.
Cradle Mountain
Just 144 km from Launceston and around 80 km from Devonport, Cradle Mountain is a prized piece of Tasmanian wilderness; the mountain is part of a World Heritage listed national park as pristine as it is dramatic and rugged. The mountain is at the northern end of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.
Walk the famous Overland Track which takes 6 days or an easy 2hr walk around Dove Lake. Enjoy the wild flowers, ancient forests and spot wildlife on your walk.
Port Arthur
Port Arthur is the most recognised convict settlement in Australia. It's an expansive mix of ruins and buildings - the site spreads over 309 acres and has more than 30 historic buildings. The beauty, however, belies the stark reality: for the convicts sent from the UK - few were hardened criminals - this was a place of far more misery than beauty tourists now find.
Freycinet and Wineglass Bay
The Freycinet Peninsula takes its name from the French who explored these parts in the 19th century. Freycinet is, however, one of Tasmania's most popular national parks. Walking trails are an integral reason for the popularity. Many of the visitors do just one walk - to celebrated Wine Glass Bay. The walk to the Wineglass Bay lookout (1.5km) is one of the shortest on the peninsula. The view from the lookout is high enough to take in most of the deserted bay.
Launceston and the Tamar Valley
Launceston and the nearby Tamar Valley just might be the gastronomic heart of Tasmania. Launceston is Tasmania's largest city after the capital, Hobart. Home to just 98,000 people and set beside the expansive Tamar River this northern city has a relaxed air with gracious nineteenth-century buildings.
Photographs supplied courtesy by Tourism Tasmania |
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