TRAVEL IDEAS
- Tassie Convict Stopover, 3 days
- Orion Expedition Cruises
- Natural Tasmania, 6 days
- Spirit of Tasmania 1 night
- Cradle Mountain Lodge
- Freycinet Lodge, 3 days
- Classic Itineraries
CITY MAPS
EXTENSION IDEAS
Which start in Hobart
COACH TOURS
1ST CLASS-DELUXE TOURING
- Launceston to Hobart, 4 days
- Hobart to Launceston, 9 days
- Launceston to Launceston, 12 days
BUDGET TOURING
- Launceston to Hobart, 6 days
- Launceston to Launceston, 10 days
ADVENTURE AUSTRALIA
- Taste of Tasmania, 6 days
- Maria Island Walk, 4 days
- Bay of Fires Walk, 4 days
- Cradle Mountain Huts, 6 days
- Cradle Mountain Walk, 3 days
- Heritage Cycle Tasmania, 6 days
SELF-DRIVES
- Tasmanian Self Drive, 4, 5 or 9 days
- Freycinet Lodge
TRAVEL PASSES
Tasmania
THE ISLAND STATE
Ever wanted to breathe the world's cleanest air, taste its most pure water and wander through pristine, World Heritage listed wilderness? The tiny island of Tasmania has all of these, plus friendly cities, internationally renowned local food, beautiful rivers and parklands and perfectly preserved historic buildings.
Ranked #1 in 2006, 2008 and 2009 " Top Islands: Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific" by readers of Travel + Leisure Magazine
ORIGIN OF NAME:
Known as Van Diemen's Land until 1855, the island was renamed for Abel Janszoon Tasman, the Dutch navigator who discovered it in 1642.
CAPITAL:
Hobart
FLORAL EMBLEM:
Blue Gum
FAUNAL EMBLEM:
Platypus and Kookaburra.
STATE FLAG:
The badge of a golden lion on a red St. George's cross within a white circle and a star at each extremity of the cross.
STATE MOTTO:
"Fertility and Faithfulness"
LOCATION:
Tasmania, Australia's island state lying approximately 240 km south of Victoria in the South Pacific Ocean.
AREA:
Tasmania is about the size of the Republic of Ireland, West Virginia (USA) or Hokkaido (Japan). The distance from east to west is 315 kilometres (189 miles) and from north to south 286 kilometres (175 miles). The area is 68,331 square kilometres (26,376 square miles) but only represents 1% of Australia's total area.
LANDFORM:
Mountainous, with peaks in the west exceeding 1,500 m (5,000 ft), Tasmania is an extension of the continent's Eastern Highlands.
POPULATION:
You'll rarely see a crowd in Tasmania, which has a very small population for its size. The total population is 474,400 (2000 est)(there are 19,546,792 (2000 est) in the whole of Australia). In contrast to other Australian states where the majority of the people live in the capital, only about 40% of Tasmania's citizens reside in Hobart.
In greater Hobart there are 194,200 people (1999 est); in Launceston 70,000; in Burnie 19,000; in Devonport 25,000. English is the language of the whole of Australia including, of course, Tasmania. As you walk around Tasmanian cities and towns you may hear other languages - people from many countries have settled here and brought their languages with them.
WILDERNESS AND WILDLIFE
Tasmania’s isolation from mainland Australia has ensured the survival of many plants, animals and birds that are rare, or even extinct, elsewhere in the country. Visitors are often surprised at how accessible Tasmania’s native wildlife is. In many areas on even a short bushwalk you can come across a pademelon, wombat or wallaby.
About 40 per cent of Tasmania is protected within national parks and reserves, and you’ll be surprised how easy it is to experience the wilderness – on a Dove Lake or Russell Falls walking track, from a cruise boat off Bruny Island’s south coast or by light plane to Melaleuca, deep in the south-west.
You can explore the dramatic landscapes of the world’s last great temperate wilderness – in the rugged mountain ranges, dense rainforests, wild rivers and glaciated peaks of the west coast and Central Highlands you’ll discover wildlife, scenery and vegetation unlike anywhere else on earth.
