![]() ![]() Even David Bellamy got himself arrested in a tin dinghy. The year 1982 and Australia’s largest civilian protest, to preserve the wild Franklin and Gordon rivers from development, changed everything. Strahan is Corinna developed – a premier-league village-resort created from what was a lonely logging settlement. Current favourites of gastronomy critics include high-end Dier Makr ( ), Peppina ( ) and Fico ( ). Either way, the view of Australia’s finest harbour setting is superb, one reason why Darwin preferred Hobart to Sydney. If you’re up for five hours of wilderness-lite, walk up like Charles Darwin. Hobart’s other icon is Kunanyi, aka Mount Wellington. Arrive on a gallery ferry from Brooke Street Pier. Still, there’s no faulting the wow factor of a subterranean gallery like a pharaoh’s tomb. What they don’t say is you may not like an irreverent collection which juxtaposes antiquities with works sourced from the badlands of modern art, none more so than a digestive machine which is fed at 11am and defecates at 2pm. Behind that shift has been MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art ( ). Surprise two: Hobart is a whisky town.Ī backwater in the Nineties, Hobart today is what a city by film director Wes Anderson might look like: dizzyingly inventive yet charmingly playful. I’d follow it with fish and chips harbourside at Fish Frenzy ( ) then a whisky digestif from Lark Distillery ( ). Exact replica huts of explorer Douglas Mawson ( tell more. Ice-breaker ships in Constitution Dock are a reminder this is a launchpad for Antarctica. Sunday farmers’ market Farm Gate ( ) is also excellent.įollow the waterfront to the Tasmanian Museum and Gallery ( ) for a primer into what makes Tassie tick: history, wildlife, green ethics. Its Saturday crafts market (8.30am till 3pm) is a perfect Tasmanian introduction. You’re staying at the port where convict-built sandstone warehouses now harbour galleries, crafts outlets and cafes a lovely spot to browse and people-watch. ![]() Surprise one: Hobart is perfect for pottering. I’ll bet that’s exactly what happened to those downshifters.Ī modern studio apartment in Salamanca Suites ( ) and a gentle day to recuperate. And maybe, like me, you’ll end up at estate agents’ windows pondering a possibility of another, better life. Save them for the next trip because you’ll also find that Tassie has a way of worming into your heart. That there are still places like Bruny Island and the bucolic south, the Walls of Jerusalem National Park or Flinders Island, a world apart even by Tasmanian standards, to discover. Whatever you do, you’ll leave wowed by ever-changing scenery and with a realisation that you’ve barely scratched the surface. If you prefer resort facilities, base in Strahan not Corinna for two nights, for example. I’ve included wildlife hotspots in this circuit for first-time visitors, a mix of classics with areas less suited to mass-market tourism so, arguably, more rewarding. You won’t just see scenery bathed in luminous light but some of the strangest concept creatures ever to be put into limited production. While I’ve avoided multi-day walks in this itinerary – visit Great Walks of Tasmania ( ) for inspiration – everyone should stretch their legs at some point. Between them is a World Heritage-listed wilderness like Elysian gardening. The west is like Scotland on steroids: raw, wild, flailed by the Roaring Forties. ![]() The east coast is scalloped by astonishing beaches and lapped by sea the colour of kingfishers. Tasmania packs a lot of scenery into an area the size of Ireland. In short, they’ve reminded us that a key part of the state’s appeal is its character – easygoing, fun. And glass-walled, five-star stays remain if you want them.īut post-pandemic, a new generation of lifestyle downshifters has rejuvenated Tassie’s tired B&Bs and put the soul back into soul-food. ![]() Tasmanian food and wine remains stellar, blessed by the clean waters of the Southern Ocean and the world’s purest rainfall, a byproduct of what is officially the world’s cleanest air (having Patagonia and Antarctica as your nearest neighbours upwind has its benefits). Then the pandemic hit.ĭon’t get me wrong. Elsewhere, tours became ever more chic, hotels ever more glamorous (aka expensive). Mainlanders (as Tasmanians call all other Australians) lauded the cutting-edge creativity and gastronomy of capital Hobart. For over a decade Tasmania had become ever more aspirational. The curious thing about the pandemic was how it affected perspectives. ![]()
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