Tasmania The island of Tasmania is Australia’s smallest and most southerly state. With no land to its west before Africa, and nothing but Antarctica to its south, Tasmania can seem an isolated and forbidding place, lashed by cold winds and rain from the Southern Ocean.
This was certainly the impression it gave many convicts who were transported from England to serve out their lives in the penal colonies established by the British in the nineteenth century.
However, there is another side to this island which today draws ever growing numbers of adventurous souls. The rugged interior holds some of Australia’s wildest mountains, forests and rivers - wilderness to be compared equally with that of New Zealand or Patagonia.
For others, the colonial heritage is of interest, as well as the common pleasures of resting in one of the world’s more quiet and welcoming places. And although the winters are wet, the summers are filled with long hot days that can be spent lying on beaches of the purest quartz sand and clearest turquoise seas.
Take a moment to browse the pages here, and see what Tasmania has to offer the tourist and adventurer. There may be other places in Australia or the world that have longer beaches, older forests, higher mountains or more charming towns.
But none will have all four of these, and all accessible within a day.
Franklin River This is Australia’s last wild river, that flows untouched from source to sea. Two decades ago the river was threatened by a vast hydro-electric scheme. The fight to save it was a defining moment in the history of environmentalism in Australia.
Port Arthur The ruins of Tasmania’s largest prison, which held many criminals transported from England in the nineteenth century. Touring this restored site is a must in order to understand Australia’s colonial history.
Federation Peak The holy grail of hiking in Australia is the ascent of Federation Peak.Located in the heart of Tasmania’s rugged South-West, it is a long and tiring walk, but worth every inch of the trail.
Summer Festival While the wilderness is there all year-round, the biggest party is over New Year. This is the best time to see the sights of Hobart, visit the Taste of Tasmania food festival, and party on the docks with the sailors from the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race.
its west before Africa, and nothing but Antarctica to its south, Tasmania can seem an isolated and forbidding place, lashed by cold winds and rain from the Southern Ocean. 
And although the winters are wet, the summers are filled with long hot days that can be spent lying on beaches of the purest quartz sand and clearest turquoise seas.
England in the nineteenth century. Touring this restored site is a must in order to understand Australia’s colonial history.