Tasmania is a 90,758-kilometer square island state located 240 kilometers off the southeast coast of mainland Australia. The Bass Strait separates Tasmania and Victoria state on Australia's mainland. Hobart, the island's capital is a vibrant port city by the Derwent River estuary. This port city is dotted with diverse tree species and beautiful and lush gardens. Tasmania's mountainous and scenic wilderness has rugged rocky formations and diverse flora like the rainforest, herbs, shrubs, native grasslands, and windswept coastal vegetation. Tasmania's land surface is  68,401 kilometers square and the water surface is 22,357 kilometers square.

What to do while visiting Tasmania

Approximately 40 percent of Tasmania Island are national parks and reserves that are protected. Besides the parks and reserves are museums, historic sites, and striking natural resources worth exploring.

Rocky Cape National Park

The 1619 hectares of Rocky Cape National Park are nestled around Boat Harbour and Sister Beach hamlets. Tourists can explore it on foot to get closer views of the striking rocky formations, scenic hills, and diverse shrub-land vegetation or stroll along the rugged coastline where salty water sprays fill the air. Some wildlife found there are, the blue tongue lizard, possums, wallabies, echidna, Tasmanian devil, bandicoot, and quoll, and birds like the eagle, cockatoo, and honeyeater.

Tourists can also learn about the rock shelters and caves past generations of Tasmanian Aborigines sheltered on for thousands of years, plus the community's history. Entry to caves is prohibited to respect the Aboriginal community's wishes. There also are secluded beaches to swim, scuba dive, snorkel, and fish and designated picnic facilities and barbecue sites. When leaving the park, tourists are advised to remove soil on their footwear to minimize the spread of phytophthora fungal disease which destroys native plants.

Entrance Fees

  • Individual $20
  • Children under 5 years Free
  • Vehicle (up to 8 people) $40

Tour Tasmanian Ghost Towns

There are 10 ghost and relic towns around Tasmania worth exploring that depict the island's past colorful history. Some of these ghost towns have today been reclaimed by the forest or are museums. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the towns' economies were sustained by hydroelectricity, mining, timber, brickwork, railway, and shipping. Tin, copper, gold, osmiridium, and crocoite were the minerals mined in these ghost towns back then and provided livelihoods to mining communities that lived there. Chinese, Italian and local Australians inhabited these towns.  These ten ghost towns are:

  • Poimena
  • Mathinna
  • Lake Margaret
  • Linda
  • Waddamana
  • Adamsfield
  • Pillinger
  • Gormanston
  • Williamsford
  • Dundas

Visit museums and historic sites

Tasmania has many museums and historic sites for visiting to understand the island's rich natural and cultural heritage and the tainted British colonial history in the island. Museums and historic sites there give a glimpse into European excursions into the island, local Aboriginal heritage, and Australia's colonial history. Tasmania has the largest convict sites collection of all Australian states.

The sites date back to the early 1800s when convicts were used by colonialists to build roads, bridges, buildings, and work on colony farms. Convict sites shine a light on the past atrocities committed during the British colonial era. The police museum on the island has artifacts and historical documents of policing on the island. The roles of the British army stationed there from 1816 to 1912 are archived in an army museum there too. Among the museums and sites to visit while in Tasmania include:

  • Tasmania Police Museum
  • Army Museum of Tasmania
  • Port Arthur Historic Site
  • Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
  • Richmond Gaol
  • Tasmania Transport Museum
  • Hobart Convict Penitentiary
  • Narryna - The merchant's house
  • Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
  • Ross Female Factory Historic Site
  • Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum
  • Cascades Female Factory Historic Site
  • Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)
  • City Park Radio Museum

Explore Bruny Island

Bruny is an island off the Hobart coastline on the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. It is two islands separated by an isthmus (narrow land strip) and has plenty of recreational activities for tourists to indulge in. Tourists can go on walks on trails at South Bruny National Park and State Forest Reserves and along the pristine beaches there. They can also explore high sea cliffs, deep-sea caves, and go on birding excursions, and cruises that enable them to see seals, migrating whales, and dolphins.

Flight tours are also available that give tourists the best views of this scenic island. Bruny Island is also a food lovers' gastronomic paradise. Tourists visiting can enjoy Asian cuisine and fresh seafood sourced there like oysters and locally grown foods. Craft wines, cider, and beers brewed on the island are available and other regular beverages. Natural honey from the island, artisanal cheese, and handmade chocolates made there are available for tourists to enjoy too.

Explore the Launceston Town

Launceston is a city in northern Tasmania and the island's second major city. It is by the Tamar River which factually is a 70-kilometer estuary. Launceston is famous for the scenic, hilly and rocky Cataract Gorge on the South Esk River. The gorge is 1.5 kilometers from the city center and has walking tracks, a swimming pool, a suspension bridge, and a chairlift that allows for spectacular views of the rugged gorge. On the south side of the South Esk River are a swimming pool and an open recreational park surrounded by bushland where peacocks inhabit. At the park, visitors have picnics and barbecues or dine in restaurants, cafes, and kiosks there.

Launceston has historic buildings dating back to the late 1800 and early 1900s. Strolling around the city tourists see 19th-century architecture unfold before them. The buildings include the Batman Fawkner Inn, Customs House, Albert Hall Launceston, and the Launceston Town Hall. The Old Umbrella Shop gives a glimpse into retail experiences of the early 1900s. The shop was run by three generations of the Shott family who made and repaired umbrellas. Today umbrellas are still sold and rare old umbrellas and old souvenirs are displayed. Every Saturday from 8:30 to 12:30 AM, visitors can buy farm-fresh foods at a local farmers' community market. Other places to explore in Launceston Town and its precincts include the following:

  • Prince's Square
  • City Park
  • Tamar Island Wetlands
  • National Automobile Museum of Tasmania
  • The Royal Park
  • Franklin House
  • Hollybank Wilderness Adventures

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