Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake in the central highlands of Tasmania
Our Tasmania
A lap of Tasmania from
Vic’s perspective ...
"The Nut" and Stanley fishing village lies at the end of a peninsular in north-east Tasmania
Twenty five years ago I came to Tassie for the first time, been coming back every year since. It’s always been a motorcycle, tent, sleeping bag and I think I even had a map once. I’ve never really planned any of the trips, but each time seeing something different, meeting different people, and always that same friendly Tasmanian smile.
There are still places I haven’t been, and places I love going back to. Life is still slow here, somehow very different to my ex home town of Melbourne. The first thing you learn is to wind down, slow down and just start taking it all in, enjoying the slower pace of life. I look at the weather forecast and go wherever it isn’t raining, saving the west coast for the good days.
A lap of the island is about 1,000 km, but with side trips expect about 1,500-2,000 km and 10-14 days, longer if possible. My average over the years has been 3 weeks, with an average of about 150 km a day or less. Stay away from the main roads as much as possible, some of the B and C roads are small and delightful to drive along, dotted with small villages, very European in some respects.
View over Hobart from Mt. Wellington
Photographer - Andrew Henzell
Although I love the whole state, some places stand out, like The Nut at Stanley, all that’s left is the core of an ancient volcano, take time to sit on the edge looking out to Bass Strait. Cradle Mountain and a walk round Lake Dove is wonderful, down to Strahan and a slow boat up the Gordon river. The whole state has these wonderful experiences within such short distances, Tasmania is about the same size as Ireland, with only 480,000 people.
I’ve been to the Port Arthur penal settlement probably 20 times, and I always spend a day and reflect what life was possibly like in the early times. When I started visiting this site 25 years ago, it was free to enter, now it’s Aus$24.00 per adult, so I don’t get down as much, but it’s worth it and the local campground is very good.
In between all these places are hundreds of other places to see, and I can’t mention them all here, but always talk to others while you’re on the road, and the locals are a fount of knowledge about the areas you are in, they love talking about their little piece of Tasmania. Enjoy it.
Vic
Devil Campervans