What to see in Tassie ?

[GrahamL]

Hi :)

going there in mid march (8 days) and would like to get a few thoughts on what to go look at , I was there a year ago based around Hobart .

Probably arriving on a Saturday ( motel stays) and at this stage planing to head to Zoodo( (meerkats everywhere ) then Port Arthur staying first night somewhere over that area .

Would like to be back in Hobart friday afternoon /night to catch the markets saturday , so its the space in between we need to fill , my wife would like to go to Cradle mountain (day or two ?). but what else on the way there and back

weather ? / wet /cold this time of year ?

regards
graham

[JA]

We embarked on 2 week Motorcycle Tour of Tasmania earlier this year travelling about 2500km over 2 weeks. Our route is shown in the picture (mural) below, with our overnight stops and some way-points marked on the map legend (bottom left of 1st pic). There were also many beautiful places we visited along the way, not mentioned on the mural. Boatharbour (beach 3rd pic) was truly magnificent as was Richmond (2nd Pic).

We had a ball everywhere we went and met loads of wonderful folk. Many places we went were very dark at night, esp. Southport and Queenstown (Great country hotels at both locations)

Best
JA

In addition to that mentioned on map, Also See:

1. Hastings Caves
2. Wynyard - the best Meat Pasties in the world !!! (they say Tasmania, But I'd go further)
3. Port Arthur Complex - as well as the Port Arthur Cruise of the local bay & Isle of the Dead "Tour"
4. Strahan and the local bay cruise (you could possibly get there via historic railway from Queenstown)

[raymo]

The best single thing you can do in Tassie is the Bruny Island cruise; its
terrific, major award winner.
The caves known as King Solomon's Cave, and Mole Creek Cave are
a very pretty drive not very far from Cradle Mountain. Beautiful caves.
The night antics of the fairy penguins near Bicheno are worth a look if
you haven't already seen them on the mainland.
Wonderful fishing around Lake StClair region, if that's your thing.
The Gordon River Cruise from Strahan is brilliant, as is the Seaplane trip
that lands up the river, and you go for a walk through the forest to a waterfall.
The rail journey from Strahan to Queenstown is very entertaining, but
is unfortunately only steam powered in the winter.
Wineglass Bay is beautiful, if you are happy to do a gentle 45 min
walk to get there.
Salamanca market on Saturday morning is a must, oodles of interesting stalls, and a number of quality buskers.
A drive up Mount Wellington goes without saying.
raymo

[csb]

Russell Falls and the Devil's Kitchen were interesting places I visited 10 years ago.

Also trek up to Cradle Mountain. Best time is in Autumn/Winter seasons. This area has the appearance of hilly areas in UK countryside - lots of land with few trees, mainly rocks and shrubs. Very picturesque.

[lazjen]

You are not going to be lacking for choices as the previous posters have shown.

A couple of things to note: unless Google maps have been updated properly, it tends to be too optimistic with travel times, i.e. it's likely to take longer than you think even without stops for sights, etc.

Also, at dawn and dusk, the wildlife is very active and can be a road hazard, which unfortunately, you're likely to see the evidence of everywhere.

Given where you're going already, and factoring in Cradle Mountain, I'd suggest Freycinet NP, Bicheno area and maybe Launceston on the way there, and maybe Mt Fields NP and the Mole Creek Caves on the way back.

You don't have many days, so don't travel too much. Better to do a few things well.

[graham.hobart]

Have you thought about the Port Arthur ghost tours? it's an evening based around the penal buildings with torch lit walk and atmospheric stories. Lots of fine places to eat and drink now in Tas. If you head to Richmond there are a bunch of wineries just outside- I would recommend Puddle Duck winery. Lovely gardens and food and wine.

[Tinderboxsky]

Very good advice from Lazjen.

Tourists are always caught out trying to cover far too much ground in too little time. The average distance covered in a day is inevitably far less than expected - the roads are much narrower and far windier than expected, there are so many things to stop and have a “peep at”, there are all sorts of road hazards, such as farmers, road works and wild life to slow you down and so on. I would strongly urge you not to try to cover the whole State as some of the suggestions would require. From your first post I am thinking you should miss out the West Coast this trip.

Doing a few things well will also allow you to slow down a little and immerse yourself in the “Tassie way of life”. To do this you need to have a clear picture in your mind as to what is important to see and do, research and find these in advance and plan your trip accordingly. There have been plenty of good suggestions on this thread that could fit into your target list.

Check out MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) online to see if it interests you. It has become the “must do" tourist destination in Hobart.

Enjoy your trip.

[Sconesbie]

Yes, watch the roads. They're not as wide as mainland roads and can be windy at times. Allow 2.5 to 3 hours between Launceston and Hobart to be safe. Around 1.25 hour from Launceston to Devonport and about another 3/4 hour from Devonport to Burnie. Not sure on timelines with places on the east or west coast.

Wildlife is abundant from dusk to dawn and please slow down where possible as one, we are not keen having a lot of roadkill and two, we don't want any devils hit by cars.

Enjoy the scenery, the food and wine (if you like a tipple) but not if you are driving.

Tasmanian's are nice people and will generally try to help or guide where possible.

Thank you for choosing our state and I hope you enjoy it and come back later for a longer stay.

[GrahamL]

Thank you so much for the advice ,

Yes we will go to Mona my wife already had that one inked in.

No never seen penguins so thats a look in , though am planing an Antarctic trip in a year or so so there may be a few down there;)
We did pirate bay to port arthur on one of those boat cruises amazing will look into weather dependant , they say they go out in all weather , see how the wife feels about that , I think theres a few lookouts and such on the way over to port arthur so will see,

Yes I will miss the west coast this trip and appreaciate the distance and road thing from past experiances , a lot of small stops and places that need you to backtrack a little really soak up time , tassie reminds me of
the south island NZ in that you can spend a lot of time not going very far.

I want to walk hobart at night/ dawn again to soak in and photograph the old buildings ,

again many thanks I'll take this all in and work it through what we will do .

regards
graham