Tasmania is a bit of Australia that is well known but few chose to come and explore. I am going to try change your mind about that! Tasmania is a state of Australia located 240 km off the Southern part of the mainland and is about the same size as Ireland or Switzerland. From top to bottom is is 364 km long and about 300 east to west making it very accessible for a self driving road trip. The longest day of driving we did was about 3 hours in total so no mammoth drives like the mainland means you can see so much in a relatively short time frame.

Tasmania’s beauty is like no other and its landscape is so diverse; from the lichen covered rocks and white sandy beach of the east to the bleak alpine plateaus of Cradle Mountain National Park. It is steeped in convict history and has some tragic stories of the islands indigenous history, which makes it for such an interesting place to visit. The food and wine scene is just as epic and the landscape, with some of the countries best wine, cheese and local produces.

The best way to see this beautiful state would be self driven in a camper van. The drives are short, road relatively quiet and there are so many free and paid campsites along the way with excellent facilities. If camping isn’t your thing, there are plenty of guest houses, hotels and B&B to chose from.

When to go?

Dec-Feb: The summer month would be best to go for long days, settled and warm weather and festivals such as Tasmania’s taste of summer in Hobart. Best time to go for hiking and swimming. We got beautifully warm weather in Dec and Jan but you can have 4 seasons in a day and the weather can be very unpredictable at any time of the year.

Jun-Aug: If you’re looking for a winter getaway where you can wrap up, cosy by a fire and see the snow on top of Cradle Mountain. Prices will be lower as it is off peak season. Some of the hiking trials may be closed due to poor conditions. Expect lows of 5-10 degrees in the cities and minus figures in the mountains.

How long to go for?

If time is on your side and you want to do plenty of day hikes, you would not be bored with 2.5-3 weeks however, we spend just over two weeks in Tasmania and we felt this was perfect for us. We saw everything we wanted to see without being too rushed but we had the long days of summer on your side and woke up early everyday to make the most of our time.

You can definitely see the highlight of Tasmania if you have one week also. I will outline a perfect two week and one week itinerary here to give you a rough idea on what is achievable. Flying into Hobart and out of Launceston or vice versa is a good way to save time if your car hire will allow dropping off your vehicle at a different location.

Car or campervan?

Cars are cheaper to drive and fuel is expensive here but accommodation is not cheap and some of the places are quite remote so may not have accommodation or you might have to drive a bit out of the way to find it. There are holiday parks/caravan parks in most towns and plenty of free campsites so if you are self contained or camping, you can pull up and pitch at them. CamperMate is a free app you can download here to find free and paid campsites and all types of facilities such as water, toilets and public showers. If you’re staying in cities, planning on eating out anyway and not going for that long, a care might be a cheaper option. If you’re going for over a week and going to be heading away from the cities, a camper van would work out cheaper and more convient. Hiring cars and camper vans is not cheap in Tasmania though, during COVID-19 pandemic they apparently sold a lot of their rental fleet and supply of rental vehicles is reduced. Book well in advance for camper vans especially when coming here. We booked ours through Travel Playground and got a good deal on it.

Parks Pass

If you are heading to more than one national park (you need them for A LOT of places) you are best buying a parks pass. If you are only going to a park for the day you can purchase a 24 hour parks pass for 24 hours for $40 but it EXCLUDES Cradle Mountain. It is well worth the 2 month or annual pass. You need to have the number of the pass displayed when in a national park in your front window. However if you purchase a holiday pass which lasts up to 2 months, it includes Cradle Mountain and costs $80, or an annual pass costs $90.

Daily Pass – up to 24 hours, excludes Cradle Mountain
Per vehicle (up to 8 people)	$40.00
Per person (under 5 years no charge)	$20.00

Icon ​Daily Pass – Cradle Mountain only (includes shuttle service)
Adults (18 years and over)	$25.00
Children (5-17 years, under 5 years no charge)	$10.00
Family (2 adults, 3 children)	$60.00

Holiday Passes – up to 2 months (includes Cradle Mountain)
Per vehicle (up to 8 people)	$80.00
Per person (under 5 years no charge)	$40.00

​Annual Park Pass – all parks
General	$90.00 $72.00 concession
Seniors – all parks (conditions apply)*	$36.00

2 week itinerary:

Hobart (2 nights)- Bruny Island (2 nights)- Port Arthur (1 night)- Maria Island (1 day/night)- Coles Bay– (2 night)- Bay of Fires (1 nights)- Launceston (1 night)- Stanley (1 night)- Cradle Mountain (1 night)- Strahan (1 night)- Lake St Clair (1 night)

1 week itinerary:

Hobart (1 night)– Bruny Island (1 night)– Maria Island (1 day/night)– Coles Bay (1 night)– Bay of Fires (1 night)– Cradle Mountain (1 night)- Launceston (1 night) (fly out of Launceston)

Getting there:

You can fly into Hobart or Launceston from most cities in Australia. International flight do not service Hobart or Launceston so you will most likely have to fly to the mainland and then onto Tasmania. Flight from Sydney take about 2 hours and you can get pretty cheap flights with the likes of Jetstar.

You can also catch the ferry over, Spirit of Tasmania from Melbourne to Devonport which takes between 9-11 hours and usually goes overnight. The ferry prices range greatly depending on dates, type of vehicle and number of passengers but it starts at about $300 for a car one way.

Hobart

Australia’s second oldest city with colonial architecture, vibrant food and drink scene, innovative festivals and art exhibitions and at the foot of Mount wellington- Hobart has a lot of to offer. It is relatively compact and small so easily navigated on foot but if you are looking to explore the surrounding beaches and Mount Wellington, hiring a car is a good idea. Two days in Hobart is a good amount of time to explore the highlights, check out the bars and trending food scene and do a hike in Mount Wellington.

Things to do:

1. MONA. You cant come to Hobart and not check out the MONA (museum of new art), located in North Hobart you can either drive there of catch the ferry up the river. Catching the ferry up the Derwent River is an experience in itself. The museum is a bit strange, provocative and slightly disturbing but a must see when in Hobart all the same. Ferry tickets are $23 return and MONA entry tickets are $30. Open daily 10am-6pm.

2. Drive or hike up to Mount Wellington: Mt Wellington towers over Hobart standing at 1271 m. The view from the top on a clear day give stunning views over Hobart and the slopes are laced with walking trials and tracks for mountain bikers. The Hobart Shuttle Bus Company runs tours daily tour hour tours to the summit. You can also just self drive and it is about 25 mins from the city centre. Sunrise or sunset from here is also pretty special.

3. Visit Cascade Brewery. A tipple in Australia’s oldest brewery is a must when in Hobart. Daily tours run here (1 hour) or you can just order a tasting paddle. They serve great food and plenty of other beverages if beer isn’t your thing.

4. Salamanca markets. If your visit to Hobart falls on a Saturday, check out the weekly markets in Salamanca every Saturday. Here you will find fresh local produces, hand made gifts and fine food and drinks.

Where to stay

We did a mix of shit box to penthouse on this trip and treated ourselves to Christmas in Hadley’s Orient Hotel. Its a beautiful old world style of hotel with great buffet breakfast and ideal city centre location. Free parking is included just around the corner but note it is in a multi-storey car park so vehicles over 30 m wont fit. It is a bit on a pricey side so a good alternative if you’re looking for good location but not splurging is T Hotel. Very basic but has a fridge, kettle, tea and coffee making and is very centrally located.

Where to eat:

• Room for a pony (North Hobart): Excellent beer garden, good brunch and lunch and dinner menu. They serve great wood fire pizzas after 12 and stay open until 9 pm.

• Ginger Brown: A brunch institution near cascade Brewery, does all your brunch favourites and good baked goods at the counter. It has a relaxed, chilled coffeehouse vibe and the prices are pretty reasonable.

• Born in Brunswick. Unfortunately it was shut when we were in Hobart due to COVID related staffing issues but it kept coming up highly recommended as one of Hobart’s best brunch spots.

• Bury me standing. Great coffee and famous for their bagels, most notedly their hot cross bagel. Get here early as they sell out.

• Pigeon hole: Great sandwiches, bread and baked goods. Get there early as by 2pm there isn’t much left.

• Templo: One of Hobart’s best Italian restaurants which doesn’t look like much from the tiny shop front. It seats only 20 at a time so be sure to book ahead. The menu changes regularly and it famed for its pasta.

• Frank Restaurant: Ideally situated on the wharf, one of Hobart’s most popular waterfront dining and bar venues serves Argentinian food made for sharing. Service was excellent and food and views were ever better.

• Urban Greek: Authentic greek food with a twist in a former garage fitted out with bent copper lighting fixtures, a timber bar and polished concrete floors and family style hospitality.

• Salamanca Whiskey Bar. The nicest date spot you will find in Hobart, dimly lit and tastefully decorated just off the main street of Salamanca. Their cocktail list is extremely extensive with over 30 whiskey based cocktails and the whiskey list even bigger. The best part of here is not the cocktails or the whiskey but the enormous cheese board and giant slices of cake. The cheese board will comfortably feed 4-6 to nibble on but we got it between two for dinner and seriously struggled. At $50 this was the best value cheeseboard with meats, cheeses, grapes and crackers. Don’t miss a trip to this bar.

Bruny Island 

Things to do:

1. Hiking. Bruny Island has a plethora of walks on it ranging from 1 hour gentle walks to more challenging 6 hour walks. The most famous of the walks on the island are the Flutted Cape walk, bring you along the sea cliffs which are the highest in the southern hemisphere and the Labillardiere Peninsula Circuit walk, a longer 18 km walk loop in the South Bruny Island NP. 

•  Fluted Capes Walk: One of Tasmania’s 60 great short walks. This 2.5 hr walk takes in the start of the glass point walk and verse off in a loop over the Flutted Cape sea cliffs, the highest in the southern Hemisphere. It is a challenging walk with a lot of uphill and on an uneven trial. The track starts just down from Adventure Bay and is well sign posted,  the views of the sea cliffs are well worth it. 

• Labillardiere Peninsula Circuit walk. Starts from Jetty beach and is 18 km circuit, allow 6 hours. This is a delightful, long and varied walk around the perimeter of the picturesque Labillardiere Peninsula on Bruny Island.

• Luggaboine Circuit Walking Track: a shorter alternative (5km) if you don’t have the energy or time for the Labillardiere Peninsula walk. This walk leaves and returns in a loop to jetty beach. The trial is a bit overgrown at times so prepared to get scraped my thorn bushes and wear long trousers and sleeves. 

• East Cloudy Head: Starts at the cloudy bay beach and through the cloudy bay camping area. The views are nice looking back at the beach but I wouldn’t say they warrant the 12 km walk mostly through overgrown bush. We definitely could have skipped this walk and completed the peninsula walk instead. 

• Cape Queen Elizabeth Track: 13 km track return that starts opposite Bruny Island Honey. It is only passable at low tide along the beach so ensure you check the tides before heading. This is one of Bruny Island’s most popular walks. Centrally located just before “The Neck”, this track takes you through bushland before reaching the beach. Here you can see the famous rock archway formation where the trial ends.

2) Enjoy the local produce: Bruny island is well known for it local wine, cheese, honey and seafood. Sample the honey at Bruny Island Honey and all things honey related, fudge at Bruny Island Chocolate, cheese at Bruny Island Cheese (they also do beer and wine tasting here too). 

3) Get drive through oysters. Get Shuked do incredible oysters that are farmed just across the road. You can sit in and enjoy the different type of oysters with a glass of wine or beer. 

4) Wine and dine at Bruny Island Premium Wines. Do a wine tasting and have lunch here, they also produce ciders too that you can taste. The tastings are $5 each and are redeemable against wine or cider purchases. The tasting platter is amazing and they have a good selection of meals on the a la carte menu. 

5) Catch sunset or sunrise at The Neck Lookout. The Neck is a narrow stripe that joins the north and south parts of the island. The view from here is amazing. At the bottom of the lookout is a penguin viewing platform, fairy penguins usually come out after sunset. 

6) Swim at Jetty Beach. A beach down an unsealed road on the southern part of the island. There is a free campground by the beach. It is so beautiful and has the clearest water we saw on Bruny Island.

7) Visit the Cape Bruny Lighthouse. Try get here for sunrise of sunset and you won’t be disappointed. A stunning lighthouse on the southern most part of the island. It is free to visit and it is full of wildlife if you arrive at dawn or dusk.

Where to eat:

If you are staying the night on Bruny Island and looking for dining options past 4 pm, you’re options are singular: Bruny Island Hotel. It is not a bad spot, located near the neck with lovely views serving your classic pub grub and seafood platters.

• Bruny Island Premium Wine Company. Best spot on the island for a nice lunch and a spot of wine tasting. It is a family run business producing wines, ciders and doing lunch daily from 11am. The sharing platters here are incredible.

• Adventure bay general store: A general store, post office and little cafe all in one. You can get some toasties, sandwiches, pies and coffee here.

• Alonnah General Store: Another small cafe doing muffins, coffees, B&E roll near “The Neck”.

Where to stay:

If you’re not camping there are a few guest houses and rental properties on Bruny Island. As we camped I can’t speak for them so I will let you know your camping options.

Free campsites: Jetty Beach, Neck Reserve and Cloudy Corner camping grounds. All have a bush toilet which was well maintained and had toilet paper. Cloudy Corner also had a tap with drinking water.

Paid campsites: Captain Cook Holiday Park in Adventure bay. They have cabins, powered and unpowered sites. A powered site costs $35 with fresh spring water a good camp kitchen, shower facilities and coin operated laundry.

Mount Field National Park

Only an hour or just over from Hobart, this beautiful National Park is a perfect day trip from Hobart. It is Tasmania’s oldest National Park, proclaimed in 1916. It has some of Tasmania’s most beautiful water falls and also home to one of Tasmania’s two ski slopes, Mount M​awson. Skiing at Mount Field can only be done in winter and is small, run only by volunteers. Mount Field National Park is also home to some of the tallest trees in Australia.

The Lady Barron Falls circuit is a must do here. From the visitor centre you can see all of the major attractions on an easy 2 hour circuit walk encompassing Russel Falls, Lady Barron Falls, Horseshoe Falls and the Tall Tall Tree trail. The visitor centre here has a great cafe serving breakfast and lunch at a very reasonable price.

• Russel Falls: Tasmania’s most photographed waterfall and rightly so. This stunning three tired beauty sits at 45m high. It is an easy 20 min stroll from the visitor centre.

Richmond

A beautiful quaint English town, Richmond is dotted with 19th century colonial buildings. The Richmond Bridge, Australia’s oldest road bridge is a nice spot to sit under and feed the ducks. There are a few nice shops, cafes and a cute English pub serving scones with clotted cream and jam.

The Coal Valley nearby has some great wineries, Richmond would be a great place to kick back after a day of wine tasting or just to grab lunch and have a wander around before you hit up your next destination. It is only 40 minute drive from Hobart making it a nice easy day trip to try the Coal Valley vineyards and check out the cute town.

Tasman Peninsula & Port Arthur

Just 1 hour south of Hobart lies incredible and roughed coastal landscape, sandy beaches and historical sites of the Tasman Peninsula. You can easily visit on a day trip from Hobart but there are plenty of reasons to extend beyond a day trip- surfing, hiking, kayaking and rock climbing. This area is home to the tallest sea cliffs in the southern hemisphere, standing at over 300m high. The best way to explore this beautiful area would be to take on the four day Three Capes Track that is becoming Tasmania’s go to coastal hike. If you aren’t up for 4 days of hiking, you can do sections of it instead. We spent two days/ 1 night in this area breaking it up between one day at Port Arthur and one day around Eaglehawk neck seeing the cliffs and coastline and an early morning hike to Cape Huay.

Things to do:

Hiking: This area is home to the 3 night/4 day 46 km Three Capes walk which departs from Port Arthur, via boat to the beginning of the trial head and finishes at Fortescue Bay. You need to be self sufficient along this walk. Good but basic hut accommodation is provided but you need to bring your own bedding. There is a bus at the end which brings you back to Port Arthur. It is the best way of seeing the Tasman National Park.

Cape Huay: Of course if a 3 hour day hike is more your scene, this is one of the best. It takes you up along the lofty cliffs of the Tasman National park and gives incredible coastal views. It leaves from Fortescue camping ground. This is an excellent free campsite with paid hot showers ($4 for 4 mins), toilets and dishwashing facilities. This campsite is often full during peak season though.

Eaglehawk Neck

A small town at the isthmus as your head to the Tasman Peninsula and Port Arthur. In convict days, the 100 m wide neck had a row of chained dogs to guard the isthmus and prevent convicts from escaping Port Arthur and reaching the mainland. These days it’s a much more inviting place with fascinating rock formations, blow holes, stone arches, cliffs and strangle pavements that light up at dawn.

There is a walk you can do to see all the major sites of this area. It takes three hours and takes in Doo Town, the Blow Hole, Tasman Arch, Devils Kitchen and Waterfall Bay. If you are short on time, drive to Doo Town, the Blow Hole and park at the Devils Kitchen. Here you can follow a track that takes about an hour return to see the sea cliffs and Waterfall Bay lookout.

The Tessellated Pavements are in this area, geological formations that create beautiful reflections on the rocks. Best seen at sunrise.

Unzoo: On the way to Port Arthur from Eaglehawk Neck is the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo. Here you will find Tasmanian devils (not roaming free but in very large enclosures), kangaroos, pademelons, Cape Barren geese and kangaroos. There are several 1 hour long tours and feeding of the Tasmanian devils. You can also feed the every friendly kangaroos by hand. Open from 10am-6 pm daily and tickets are $44 adult/ $24 child.

Fortescue bay: Swim, snorkel or paddle board at Fortescue campground. The lagoon is crystal clear and perfectly flat.

Port Arthur: First established in 1830 as a timber station, it was then chosen as the site to be what would become Australia’s most infamous convict settlement site. Entry: $45 per adult/ $20 for children and includes a tour and river cruise also. Because of the history here, it is worth going to if you have time, can easily spend half a day here. The ghost tours run in the evening and are popular but they weren’t running when we were there. If you aren’t a big history buff and don’t have time to come down this way, for us it was more of a nice to do and good to learn about rather than something you cannot miss.

East Coast

Maria Island

Probably one of my favourite places in all of Australia, never mind Tasmania so I feel it deserves it’s own post. But if you were thinking of skipping this little slice of paradise, don’t! Click here to see a more detailed post on what to do on Maria Island, where to stay, how long to stay for and how to get there. For now I’ll keep it brief.

• You can either do a day trip for camp overnight. You could easily spend 2-3 days here and not get bored.
• Accommodation is basic dorm accommodation where you need your own sleeping bag ect or camping.
• Catch the ferry from Tribunna with Encounter Maria Ferry ($45 return). First ferry: 8.30am, last ferry: 5.30 pm.
• There is no food, filtered water or bins on the island. Bring everything on and off with you.
• It’s a National Park, you need to purchase a parks pass.
• There are toilets and hand washing facilities on the island. Taps are not safe to drink from though.
• Hire bikes to get around or walk, no cars are on the island. Hire bikes in advance as they book out.
• You can bring your own bike on the ferry for a fee.

We stayed in Tribunna the night before getting the ferry early to Maria Island. There is not very much in Tribunna but they do have a petrol station and a small but good campsite with everything you need ($35 for powered site) and hot showers ($1 for 4 mins), wi-fi, laundry and camp kitchen. 

After spending the day on Maria Island, we left for Coles Bay and stayed in Friendly Beaches campsite. It is only about an hour and a half from Maria Island to Coles Bay. The long bright days were on our side.

Coles Bay

This is the small township that is at the mouth of the Freycinet National Park. It is a popular holiday town but remains pretty low key with a caravan park few shops, a restaurant, two cafes and pub with a bottle shop. You could spend a week here just soaking up the sun and the laid back vibes on the white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters but if time is not on your side, two days would be enough to see the best bits of Freycinet National Park and the stunning wineries around it. The big draw here is Freycinet National Park which stretches to the Schouten Island to the south and up to Friendly Beaches further north. The post card of the national park is the famous goblet shaped Wineglass Bay. Its worth the hike up to the lookout or to Mt Amos to see it in all its glory.

Where to stay:

Free campsites: Friendly Beaches camp ground. No bookings, first come first served, very popular so get there early. You need a parks pass to access this campsite. You can buy one online and put the number on a piece of paper (or the other side of a cereal box like us) and leave it on display on your windscreen. It’s a beautiful campsite that is directly on the beach. Some dump toilets, no water or mobile phone service.

You can walk along this beach, anywhere form 5 min to 5 hours. Check out the Friendly Beaches lookout while you are here. Beautiful views of the beach.

Big 4 Iluka on Freycinet Holiday Park: Great campsite with multiple camp kitchen, toilets, laundry and showers. On site there is a general store, a pub and bottle shop, a cafe and a fish and chip shop. This is the closest campsite to the Freycinent National Park. 

Freycinet National Park

As I said you could easily spend a week here but you can do a few shorter day hikes or one longer day hike and see the main sites in a day. The big ticket walk on the east coast and in Freycinet National Park is the climb to Wineglass Bay lookout for sublime views of the goblet bay and blues waters below.

Day hikes:

There are a few day hikes to chose from here all with the same goal, get a shot of Wineglass Bay. They vary in difficulty and length depending on fitness levels and time.

• Mt Amos: By far the most challenging and not suitable for elderly or very young children but definitely the best views of Wineglass Bay are gotten from here. Expect to spend most fo the time on hands and knees scrambling up rock faces. It isn’t particularly long but just difficult. It takes about 3 hours return and starts where all the other walks start from.

• Wineglass bay and lookout. An easy climb up to the lookout and back. Allow 1.5 hours for it.
• Wineglass bay via Hazards beach. One if Tasmania’s great 60 short walks, a longer 11km circuit that descend into Wineglass Bay via the lookout and then crosses the wide isthmus to the long sandy stretch of Hazards Beach.

Multi day hikes

Freycinet Peninsula Circuit: A 30 km circuit that travel around the Hazard Mountains to Hazard Beach, continues south to Cooks and Bryans Beaches. Walkers then cross the peninsula before descending into Wineglass Bay. Walkers must be self sufficient with tent, food and water as there are no huts along the way or filtered water.

Freycinet National Park has some of the best beaches in Tasmania. Hang out on Wineglass Bay beach, Honeymoon bay or Hazards beach. 

Cape Tourville Lighthouse: Drive up to the lighthouse and walk around the short 15 min circuit around the lighthouse. I wouldn’t recommend running up here like us, the hills are steep! 

Where to eat: 

• Geographie. Great restaurant serving your brunch classics in the morning and pizza focused in the evenings. The decking faces Mount Hazards which is a beautiful way to start the day, eating the best eggs benny with Mt Hazard views.

• Grainte Cafe: Located in the Big4 campsite, lovely little cafe doing breakfast, wraps, baked goods and great coffee.

• Iluka Tavern: Classic pub and bottlo in Big4 campsite serving pub grub and it draws a crowd here in the evening.

Go wine tasting. There are a few wineries are you drive up the east coast, some of the more well known ones are Devils Corner and Freycinet vineyard. The wineries are dotted along the Tasman Highway, the warm days and cool nights make for perfect conditions.

Devils Corner is set on very picturesque vine yard with stunning views, a look out point and outdoor seating looking out onto the hills of grape vines. They serve great wood fire pizzas here and do a premium wine tasting (5 for $20) or their regular wine tasting (5 for $15). With a wine tasting you get 10% off the purchase of bottles. 

Bicheno 

After leaving Coles Bay and doing some wine tasting in Devil’s Corner, we stopped for lunch in Bicheno. It’s a small seaside holiday town on the east coast before you reach the bay of fires conservation area (if heading north) with beautiful beaches, some nice boutiques, a few cafes and restaurants. It remains very much a functioning fishing port and popular with holiday makers. We passed through and spend a few hours but it would be a lovely spot to relax and spend a night or two.

Things to do

• Blowhole: Geysers of white water surging up through cracks in the coastal rocks. This is at the start of the National Whale Trail.

• Walk the National Whale Trial: A lovely 3 km foreshore walk along lichen covered rocks, fishing ports and the best fish and chips in Bicheno.

• Diamond Island Reserve. A granite outcrop connected to the mainland via a sandbar, you can access it off Redbill Beach. You can walk across during low tide.

• Penguin watching after sunset. Bicheno Penguin tours run 1 hour long tours at dusk. Fairy penguin numbers peak between Nov- Jan and you need to book ahead.

Where to eat:

• Food and Brew. Open from breakfast to dinner. Good pizzas, salads, brunch and baked goods.

• Sandbar cafe. Good coffee, fresh food and healthy treats cafe.

Where to stay:

We didn’t stay here but walked through Diamond Island Resort which has direct access to the beach and Diamond Island reserve, a penguin viewing platform, a gym and restaurant overlooking the beach. 

Bay of Fires

The Bay of Fires might thought to be named this way from its fiery orange lichen that light ups every grainte rocks along the coast. It is believed to be named for the fires of Aboriginal people sighted by Tobias Furneaux. It is not one road but rather a string of stunning beaches that runs from Binalong bay and continues as far as Eddystone point. The sand is so white here and water as clear as it gets with orange lichen covered rocks creating some of the most wonderful natural rock pools.

We got here in the evening to Binalong Bay just in time for sunset and got un for sunrise the next day spending the driving along stopping off at places until midday. That gave us enough time to see the best of the Bay of Fires and have a swim in the stunning rock pools.

Stop offs along the way:

Cosy corner, Suicide Beach, The Gardens. The best Rockpool we came across was just to the right of Suicide Beach. You have to walk over some rocks to reach it but it was empty when we came and seems like the best kept secret of the Bay of Fires. 

Where to stay:

• Free campsite– Cosy Corner has some free beach side camping with a dump toilet only.

• Paid- St Helens: this is a cheaper option than staying in Binalong Bay if you are not camping. It has more going on with a few restaurants, groceries shops, cafes and bars. By the marina are hot public showers ($2 coins/ 3 min). There is a Big 4 here or if you’re not camping, there are some B&B’s and accommodation options in Bindalong bay. 

North East

Derby and around

This little town has come back on the map due to the Blue Derby mountain bike trial network. You are more likely to see more bikes than cars or people in the town. We didn’t have time to stay and explore the mountain bike trial but I would love to come back and stay a few days in this area.

• Mountain biking: Blue Derby Mountain Bike Trials range from easy to extremely difficult, from 1 km spins to 40 km all day rides. Most of the accommodation here is built with mountain bikers in mind and has bikes shed and outdoor showers to wash the mud off. You can hire all the equipment and shuttle transfers included from Vertigo MTB starting at $125 per day.

• Floating sauna at Derby. Go from a hot sauna to a freezing cold lake and repeat. You can book a private session for $225 per session or a shared session which has up to 5 people at a time. $45 pp for a shared session. Book ahead as books out in high season in advance.

• Bridestowe lavender farm. In bloom between Dec and Jan, acres and acres of lavender span across the farm. The shop has sells everything lavender infused and you can get lavender flavoured ice cream from the Ince cream van outside. Open daily 9-5pm $20 entry and $6 for one scoop of ice cream. 

• Little blue lake. Astonishingly blue lake that is this colour due to the minerals in the water. Its not suitable for swimming but a beautiful spot to pull over and see just how blue it is. It’s free to pull up and take a look at. 

• Pipers river wine region. Some of the best sparkling cellar doors are located just north from Launceston. The prize winning wineries are clustered around Pipers brook. Some of the best are Pipers Brook Vineyard, Janz and Clover Hill The outdoor setting overlooking the vineyards is particularly pretty in Clover Hill.

Launceston

After sampling lavender ice cream and drinking the finest sparkling wine, we headed to Launceston to celebrate New Years Eve at the Beer Festival. We spend the following day a bit hungover and very hot in Cataract Gorge, perfect for cooling down in the 32 degree heat. Launceston is Tasmania’s second city and rivals the capital with its beautiful parks and vibrant foodie scene.

Cataract gorge: A must visit with hiking trails, swimming pool, cafe and restaurant, gorge to swim in and the world’s longest single-span chair lift to ride across. Access to the swimming pool and the gorge are free and it’s $16 to ride across one way on the chair lift.

Where to stay:

• Big 4 Launceston: Perfect for us camping with good facilities and 25 min walk from the town centre.

Where to eat:

• Stillwater: A restaurant inside a historic flour mill on the Tamar sits at the top of Launceston’s dining tree serving relaxed breakfasts and lunches and then pulls out all the stops for dinner. Bookings essential for dinner.

• Bread and butter: New cafe formerly a motorcycle warehouse turned into a butter factory. Funky art work, black walls and toasters on the table gives it an inner-city hipster feel. Good coffee and treats.

• Gorge restaurant: The photogenic setting alone would make you want to eat here, especially in summer. Open for lunch and dinner. Nice spot for a romantic meal.

North West

Devonport

Quiet seaside town, the third biggest city in Tasmania but it doesn’t have much going on in it. We drove from Launceston here after lunch, stocked up on groceries and kept going. Its a nice drive up to the lighthouse or stop at the beach and to stock up but not quite spending a night. 

Mersey bluff lighthouse: a nice lighthouse by the beach in Devonport. Nothing overly special but worth a look if you’re passing.

Stanley 

Pretty much everything here revolves around The Nut, the remains of a volcanic plug. The charming little town was named tourist town of the year in 2019. It has a few good eateries and some excellent accommodation options. I really liked our evening and following morning here but it is quite a bit of of the way to come if you are short on time. It’s a three hour drive here from Launceston with some small towns along the way but not much of note.

Unfortunately they weren’t in bloom when we were here and the farm was closed but if you happen to be here between Sep-Oct, don’t miss the Tape Cape Tulip Farm. The volcanic soils of the Table Cape are very fertile and excellent for growing tulips, when in bloom there is a mesmerising display of colours.

Things to do: Most things here revolve around The Nut

• Walk around The Nut on top, a 2 km flat track. Walk up a steep 400 m track to the stop or hop on the chair lift ($11 one way). 
• Take a chair lift tot he top of The Nut.

• View The Nut from the far end of Godfreys beach 

• See the Fairy Penguin’s from Godfreys beach viewing platform (free) after sunset every night (9.30 pm in summer)

Where to stay

• Paid: Stanley Cabin and Tourist Park. Everything you need with powered, unpowered and cabins on site right on the water.

• Free: campsite for self contained vehicles, no facilities but $8 per night and in the town. 

Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair National Park

This area deserves it’s own post on everything you need to know about Cradle Mountain here.

I’ll go through a few things like where to stay and time frame here and in more details of the hikes in the other blog right here.

Cradle mountain is a hikers dream, it is where the Overland Track, a 80 km multi day hiking trial starts from and ends the other side of the National Park in Lake St Clair. 

If the Overland Track isn’t for you and you like the comforts of a hot shower and comfy bed at the end of a days hiking,  Cradle Mountain has so much to offer. You could spend a week here between both sides of the park. There are a plethora of day walks ranging from 19 km to a cruise 2km loop. 

Cradle Mountain is a huge National Park and unless you are planning on doing the Overland Track (6 days), you will have to visit the Cradle Mountain side of the park and then drive to the Lake St Clair side of the park to explore this. If you are big into your hiking, I would suggest giving one full day at least to each side of the park to see the the best parts of the National Park and to complete the best day hikes. We left Stanley at 11 am and got to the visitor centre at Cradle Mountain at 1 pm and headed out for the Dove Lake Circuit and Crater Lake Circuit. The following day we got up early to head for Cradle Mountain Summit hike and then drove on to Montezuma Falls and Strahan that afternoon. If you got to the park early enough you could do the Cradle Mountain summit hike which takes in the best parts of the national park.

Top tips for visiting Cradle Mountain:

• You need a parks pass.
• Book accommodation well in advance, accommodation near the park books up well in advance and it is limited.
• You cannot drive up to Dove Lake or Ronny Creek to start the hikes when the buses are running (between 8am-6pm).
• There are no facilities in the park apart from some toilets at Dove Lake and the interpretation centre so bring all food, water and rubbish on/off the mountain with you.
• Shuttle buses run for free with your parks pass to Dove Lake/ Ronny Creek every 10 mins between 8am-6pm.
• One full day on either side of the park is sufficient if you get up early to do the best hikes.
• Weather can change over night so be prepared with clothing for hot weather and the cold, windy and wet.
• There is no mobile phone service throughout most of the park.

Lake St Clair Side

• The National Park is huge so you need to allow 2 hours to drive from one side the other if you’re doing only day hikes.
• Hot showers are available at the visitor centre for free (10am-4pm).
• Free camping spots are close by or a paid campsite is right at the visitor centre.
• The visitor centre here does breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a bar for a well deserved drink after.

West Coast

Montezuma falls

Montezuma Falls, near Rosebery on Tasmania’s west coast, is Tasmania’s highest waterfall. The track to the falls begins at Williamsford, two kilometres south of Rosebery. It’s 10 km return and a very easy flat track suitable for mountain bikes too. The track takes you to the base of the 104 metre falls through rainforest and big fern trees. You can’t swim in the waterfall though. The trial continues on if you fancy hiking further across a narrow rope bridge. This is one of Tasmania’s 60 Great Short Walks too.

Strahan 

After Montezuma Falls we drove one hour to Strahan. Strahan is a small coastal town on the west coast of Tasmania and was once named the best small town in the world. Strahan has grown in popularity due to it’s proximity to national parks, the Gordon River Cruises and West Coast Wilderness Railway.

Things to do:

• Gordon River cruise. We went with World Heritage Cruises for this. The cruise was very interesting, included lunch and was a full day, starting at 9am and finishing up at 3pm. It brought us through Macquarie Harbour, Hell’s Gate, stopped off on the convict settlement, Sarah Island, we learnt about the history of Huon pine and stopped for a walk around the second largest temperate rainforest in the world. Tickets are $135 per adult.

• See the ‘The Ship That Never Was’. Australia’s longest-running play ‘The Ship That Never Was‘ tells the dramatic and hilarious true story about the last Great Escape from Sarah Island. It runs every night at 5.30 pm from Sep- May. Tickets for $20 for adults.

• Explore the Dunes in an ATV or toboggan down Tasmania’s largest sand dunes, Henty Dunes.

• Grab a coffee in The Coffee Shack. They do amazing white chocolate and banana muffins too served warm.

Where to stay

• Strahan Holiday Park. Good free wifi which is hard to come by around here, nice camp kitchen, playground, laundry and showers. They have cabins, powered and unpowered sites.

Queenstown 

The biggest town on Tasmania’s west coast and once a mining town, surrounded by dramatic hills and mountains, Queenstown was once the world’s richest mining town. It has since become a derelict town with nit much going on. When we stopped off it had an eerie feel to it with no cafes or restaurants open, everything seemed to have shut down. Mountain biking is popular here and the only draw to the area is the surreal and rocky ‘moonscape’ of bare coloured landscape. There is one holiday park here and if you’re lucky a boozer but it is not worth spending a night in, just to pass through. The real draw here for tourists is the The West Coast Wilderness Railway which cuts through the rainforest to the coast and stops in Strahan to return to Queenstown. The West Coast Wilderness Railway cuts through the rainforest all the way to the coast. The train journey aims to give an insight into the hard lifes of the miners and those who built the the track in tough conditions.

• 99 Bends: The road into/out of Queenstown is narrow and winding, the view from the lookout is spectacular or even better on a drone. Be careful driving on this road, especially in icy or wet conditions!

• Iron Blow lookout: just to the left as you leave Queenstown there is a turn off for the Iron Blow, it is the site of the earliest major mining venture at Mount Lyell, now just an open hole with water where a rich orebody was once found.

From here we headed on to Lake St Clair, spend the night in a free camp ground nearby and got up early to tackle Mt Rufus the next day. We had two days left on our time in Tasmania then so headed to Mount Field following our hike in Lake St Clair and spent the night there in a free camp ground before getting up early and having a wander around the beautiful waterfall and tall trees in Mt Field National park. We headed back to Hobart to drop the van off and leave Tasmania. That completes a 16 day trip to Tasmania, very do able in 2 weeks and some parts can be cut out or lengthened to fit your time schedule.

I hope this blog has been helpful or given you some travel inspo to discover Tasmania.