It is hard not to fall in love with somewhere nicknamed ‘Tassie’ isn’t it? Even after you’ve heard the guttural grumble of a Tasmanian devil through your tent wall, or toured the poignant yet chilling grounds of Port Arthur, an ex-convict penitentiary. This vast and isolated island state is located 240 km (150 mi) south of Australia, separated from the mainland by the navy-blue waters of the Bass Strait. It is the dollop of ice-cream falling from Australia’s cone; however, unlike lost blobs of summertime puddings, it is not so easily forgotten.

Tasmania is vast, rugged and remote; it is also quaint, quirky and curious. Its history is stamped with harrowing tales of unforgiving penal colonies and a long and bloody war between British colonists and aboriginals. Among its wild, raw and dizzyingly diverse landscape, temperate rainforests house mossy waterfalls, alpine heaths are scarred with icy streams, and Jurassic coastlines tower like fortress walls above sapphire waters. Puncturing these panoramas are a smattering of towns and cities – some historic, some eccentric, but all uniquely

charming and inhabited by a wonderfully laid-back population. Tasmania may be a popular spot for vacationing Kiwi’s and mainland Aussie’s, however, it is relatively absent from the rest of the world’s radar – understandable given its geographical isolation, though nevertheless inconceivable considering its epic, unparalleled beauty. More than once it has been dismissed as old-fashioned and inconveniently remote, yet those who write it off will do so regrettably because its antiquity and seclusion is its asset, and its capital is transforming with every passing moment into a sophisticated and desirable hotspot.

Cascade Brewery, Hobart

TasmaniaTap into

Tasmania’s wilderness is its draw, but if tents and trekking poles aren’t your thing then set up camp in one of the island’s charismatic cities or towns. Hobart is its waterfront capital, sitting snug within the pressing walls of the Tassie backwoods and Mount Wellington. Its downtown is an eclectic jumble of hip cafés, nautical eateries and colonial cottages, scattered along the granite waters of the River Derwent. Here, locals bustle through Salamanca Market on sunny Saturday’s filling their baskets with sweet treats and native blooms, boats awaiting departure to Antarctica bob patiently in line in the sleepy harbour, and intrigued tourists trundle to the MONA to gawp at the subversive antiquities adorning this ‘adult Disneyland’. Hobart hums with promise and prospect, so pack your raincoat and prepare to lose yourself among the titillating tastes, sounds and sights of Tasmania’s cool capital.

Hobart’s history is something of a highlight. As Australia’s second oldest capital, it bursts with memories of convicts and colonisation. Simply wandering the gas-lit streets of Battery Point which heave with colossal, colonial mansions, will evoke the essence of this bygone era. Meanwhile, in Salamanca Place where jam and metal was once churned out by the crate-load, the old sandstone warehouses still stand to attention at the street side, drawing visitors with their newfound function as bookshops and art galleries. Perhaps the best place to immerse

yourself in Tasmania’s past is Richmond. Colonial curiosities tumble around every corner in this picture-perfect town which is home to Australia’s oldest gaol, and a model village replicating life in Hobart in 1820. For an even larger helping of history, complete with a drive along Tasmania’s dramatic coastline, head to the infamous ex-convict settlement at Port Arthur. This is the Alcatraz of Tasmania: once the site of the island’s most notorious convicts and still clouded in tales of hardship and loss.

Don’t be fooled into thinking the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is just a relic of the city’s cultural scene; decorative arts, fossils, Antarctic artwork, and native flora give a fascinating and encompassing insight into this wild isle. Newer on Hobart’s historic scene is Mawson’s Huts Replica Museum where visitors should prepare to be plunged into the history of Tasmania’s lengthy relationship with Antarctica. Considered one of the city’s finest cultural spots, this museum exposes the history of the Australasian-Antarctic Expedition of 1911-1914 through detailed replica huts. Also a fresh face on Hobart’s cultural circuit is MONA (the Museum of Old and New Art). Hugging the banks of the river in the city’s northern suburbs, MONA is a humorous and utterly outrageous collection of ancient antiques and shocking contemporary works, opened by the Australian gambler and businessman David Walsh.

Along with a collection named, ‘Stuff David bought when he was drunk’, MONA sees astonished visitors goggling at white porcelain moulds of female genitalia that hang boldly alongside 1,500 year old Egyptian sarcophagi.

If you have even the faintest form of an appetite after visiting MONA, then get ready to booze and devour your way through the rest of the city. Hobart bloats with gourmet eateries, and its drinking scene is anything but drowsy. From unexpected roadside stalls and wholesome farmers markets, to high-end bars and fine dining restaurants, there is plenty for travellers to get their teeth stuck into. The unconventional thrives in Hobart, and at the restaurant Ethos (a converted 1830s chemist), don’t expect to catch sight of a menu, but do expect to dine beneath chandeliers made from glass bottles. Along with defying convention, Ethos embraces all that is local, serving native wines and artisan-sourced food. For a plate of the city’s

signature seafood head to Mures, a harbour front, family-owned establishment with bags of character and gourmet delicacies dragged straight from the sea, including Tasmanian oysters and ocean trout.

Working up a thirst? Combine a healthy dose of culture with a hearty array of pale ales at the Cascade Brewery. Rising in all its 19th Century gothic glory from the forested-foot of Mount Wellington, Australia’s oldest beer awaits the touch of your taste buds. If a pint of the golden stuff isn’t your tipple, try one of Hobart’s renowned whiskey distilleries. Sullivan’s Cove is one of the world’s finest single malt whiskies, and its distillery – with a brimming trophy cabinet and an aura of convict history – is ready to be toured by travellers who have a penchant for the finer things in life.

1) Mount Wellington2) River Derwent

3) Port Arthur4) Cascade Brewery.

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HobartHistory, Culture & Gourmet Eats in

Tasmania isn’t all museums and malt whisky. With 40% of the island made up of national parks and reserves, expect to be clambering over the odd peak and wading across the occasional river at some point on your travels. Maps spilling with names like Cockle Creek, Wineglass Bay, Cradle Mountain, and Dove Lake fill travellers with zealous anticipation, so it won’t be long before your inner adventurer is calling out for a gallivant across grassland and glaciers.

Hobart is the gateway to the southern wilderness where rolling wine valleys and majestic national parks are flanked by a chiselled coastline. Join the Southern Wine Trail through the Coal River Valley for a hearty taste of Tasmanian food, drink, culture and countryside, or don your walking boots and trek into the south’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed wilderness. The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park is an ancient landscape, shaped by glaciers and 3,000 year old pines and boasting dramatic changes in vegetation. Monolithic peaks fall away into teeming rainforest, deep valleys and plummeting gorges, but most famous are the pristine rivers which weave through the park and can be rafted with a guide. Peppering this other-worldly landscape are steaming waterfalls and the magnificent peak of Frenchman’s Cap so be sure to allocate enough time to explore this supreme national park.

The island’s North West is a picture of sweeping coastal drives and undulating, patchwork countryside. In this region, the peak of adventure is Cradle Mountain whose soaring mass is best explored by helicopter. Alternatively, plunge into the Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park and join a walk through ancient pines and around lakes of silver, keeping your eyes peeled for a platypus or a Tasmanian devil. In the Tarkine Forest Reserve, descend into thick temperate rainforest

in what is one of Tasmania’s most spine-tingling wilderness experiences. Hidden among the gnarled, copper trunks and the laced canopies of leaves are meandering forest trails to be walked, lazy waterways to be kayaked, and unique aboriginal sites to be explored. Foodies, meanwhile, will have a field day feasting on the farm produce of this region. The Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail takes travellers across small towns brimming with artisan delights, past road stalls caving under the weight of fruits, pies and cheeses, and through farms swelling with ice-cream, chutneys, vegetables and local wine.

A rich mining history meets remote rainforests in Tasmania’s West Coast region. Considered one of the nation’s final frontiers, travellers to this area can visit its largest coastal town of Strahan for artisan eateries, arching beaches skirted with silky dunes, and departure on the West Coast Wilderness Railway. This antiquated steamer will chug deep into the ancient pine forest and through the region’s most sublime landscapes to Queenstown – a ‘moonscape’ mining town deep in the mountains. Alternatively, visit the ruins of a penal colony on Sarah Island for an unnerving insight into the realities of convict life.

Crossing to Tasmania’s eastern shores, the highlight is the Freycinet National Park. A drive through this virgin wilderness will whisk you past azure bays, icing-sugar beaches and granite splashed with pink-orange lichen at the renowned Bay of Fires. Bird watchers will be astonished with the species that thrive here, including the white-bellied sea eagle and the Australasian gannet, whilst those looking to relax should cruise to Wineglass Bay where a flawless crescent of sand meets indigo waters. This is edge-of-the-earth road-tripping like no other.

Continuing into Tasmania’s northern region the landscape is mottled with grand heritage-listed estates, fragrant splashes of lavender and strawberry farms, and the historic city of Launceston. A thriving boutique-style food and wine scene zigzags through the city’s Georgian streetscapes, which are broken with exquisite parks and gardens. Here, travellers can browse markets bursting with handmade crafts, dip into the city’s hefty slice of wilderness at Cataract Gorge, or bag front row seats at a Tassie Hawks game. Alternatively, Woolmers Estate to the south of the city is a striking pioneer farm with a rich architectural heritage and a National Rose Garden where over 5,000 roses fill the country air with a sweet scent; it is a charming change from the vast, monumental vistas of the national parks. Tasmania’s northern shores are also the gateway

to the microcosmic beauty of King Island and Flinders Island, where the freshest of air fills a landscape of world-class golf courses, offshore shipwrecks, lone lighthouses and deserted beaches.

To say a destination has everything is a terrible cliché, however, given this is a truism with regards to Tasmania, it is utterly necessary to employ such a phrase. This isolated Australian island state is not a location given much attention in the northern hemisphere, yet its past is captivating and moving; its wilderness is unmatched and unspoiled; its cities are historic and avant-garde. It may lie in the shadow of the Australian mainland, but Tasmania thoroughly deserves the spotlight shone on all its wilds and its wonders.

Wild at Heart

1) Cradle Mountain, Dove Lake 2) Freycinet National Park

3) National Rose Garden

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