Tasmania – Australia’s Forgotten Gem

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Correspondent (Travel)

 

Situated just an hour’s flight from Melbourne, off the south Australian coast, sits an unassuming isle of unrivalled beauty. Tasmania, so often the butt of many a joke from their mainland neighbours, has come on leaps and bounds in the last decade and can now boast the accommodation and dining facilities to rival its stunning natural splendour.

The island has always boasted stunning scenery with a fifth of the its total landmass being designated as a World Heritage Site; which means that unspoilt wildlife, lush rain forests, spectacular sandy beaches and crystal clear oceans are all at your beck and call. If this is what you are for, then look no further than Freycinet National Park on the east coast of the island. Set against a back drop of vast pink granite mountains, the park boasts pure white beaches and some of the clearest oceans in the world. The calm conditions helps in exploring the ocean and the coastline in a kayak and with the water clarity, scuba diving and snorkelling is a must. The most idyllic of these coastal hot spots is Wineglass Bay, but if you’re the more active holiday maker then the Hazard mountain range offers an array of interesting and visually spectacular hikes as well as abseiling for the really brave.

Wildlife has always been Tasmania’s strong suit but it is in the more cosmopolitan capital of Hobart where the big changes have really been made over the last decade transforming the island into one of Australia’s must visit places. The small port city offers fine dining and accommodation, yet retains the quiet, more understated charm that many of its mainland rival capitals lack. Hobart can now also boast Australia’s premier tourist attraction in the Mona gallery. Opened in 2011 to a critical fanfare, this revolutionary and one of a kind art gallery is more revered than a certain opera house in Sydney.

Tasmania is also home to a multitude of the most unique species of wildlife on the globe. Wallabies, Platypus and Tasmanian Devils to name but a few roam the various national parks of the island with the only way to truly experience these glorious animals is the private safari tours that run up and down the state.

For sun, sand, high culture and a unique and wondrous wildlife experience, you need not look any further than this small but wonderful Australian state. Its remoteness sets it apart from mainland Oz and makes for a truly wholesome experience. Whether you are a culture vulture or an adventure-fuelled explorer, Tasmania will have something for you.

Image Courtesy: Srikumar Venugopal(Wiki Commons) Released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic; Bjørn Christian Tørrissen (Wiki Commons) Released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported