Tasmania: More Than Just a Stopover

Tasmania sits 240km south of mainland Australia across the Bass Strait, and that distance is part of the appeal. The island runs its own schedule, grows its own food, and doesn’t much care whether the mainland has heard of it. About a third of the island has UNESCO-protected wilderness. You can drive from Hobart to Queenstown on the west coast and not see a petrol station for two hours.

Hobart and the Waterfront

The capital has around 240,000 people and a waterfront that genuinely functions as a gathering place rather than just a tourist backdrop. Salamanca Place on a Saturday morning has local honey, leatherwood cheese, Atlantic salmon, and Huon Valley apple cider all within 200 metres. The market earns its good reputation.

MONA (Museum of Old and New Art), 20 minutes by ferry from the docks, is the most interesting museum in Australia right now. The owner, David Walsh, built it with casino winnings and filled it with provocative art, taxidermy, antiquities, and a wine bar inside a cave. Entry around AUD$40 for adults. The ferry to it alone is worth taking.

Cradle Mountain

The Overland Track runs 65km from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair and takes five to six days to walk in full. Most visitors do the Dove Lake circuit instead: 6km, 2.5 hours, a lake sitting in a bowl of dolerite columns with the mountain reflected in it on calm mornings. Go early before the buses arrive. The scenery at Cradle Mountain is the kind that makes the journey from the mainland worthwhile on its own.

Cradle Mountain Lodge has rooms from around AUD$350/night. National parks cabins are cheaper.

Freycinet and the East Coast

The Wineglass Bay lookout is an 850-metre walk from the car park with 200 metres of elevation. Most people do that and turn around. Walk the extra 45 minutes down to the beach itself: squeaky white quartzite sand, a horseshoe bay, and on weekdays mostly to yourself.

The Freycinet Lodge inside the national park (from AUD$280/night) has sea kayaking tours through the bay. Hiring your own kayak is around AUD$60-80 for a half-day.

Eating

Tasmania grows serious produce. The king crab, Atlantic salmon, and Huon Valley cherries (December-January) are the benchmarks. In Hobart, Fico on Murray Street does modern Tasmanian food with genuine technique; expect AUD$50-80 per head. Franklin on Argyle Street does wood-fired food in a warehouse space with good local wine from around AUD$35.

The Agrarian Kitchen at Lachlan, 55km north of Hobart, is a restaurant attached to a working farm with a menu that changes based on what’s growing that week. Book months ahead for weekends.

Driving and Timing

The Lyell Highway from Hobart to Strahan on the west coast is one of the better driving roads in Australia. Allow a full day with stops at Lake St Clair and the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Carry rain gear regardless of the forecast.

December through February is high season. April and May are underrated: cool, clear days, no crowds, Huon Valley fruit harvest, and the forests beginning to turn.