Southeast Tasmania

Understand

Tasmania has regions determined by geography, the south of Tasmania is one of the older settled regions in Australia, and it has many buildings and sites that can trace their origins back into the mid nineteenth century and the convict era. Many Tasmanians did not want to acknowledge the convict past into the late twentieth century, when the convict heritage was being explored in movies, books and sites, to the point that now in the twenty first century, convict culture and legacy is exploited wherever possible. The Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas is a set of two peninsulas in the south-east of Tasmania. Located close to Hobart, this area is a popular day trip destination and is home to the former penal colony of Port Arthur along with many natural wonders within Tasman National Park. The Derwent Valley is the largest drainage basin in Tasmania. It contains more differing ecosystems than any other area of Australia, from alpine to temperate rainforest to riverine reed beds. The area is scenic and beautiful, with tumbling streams, mirror lakes, poplars, rolling green hills and snow capped mountains in winter. Must sees include New Norfolk - the third oldest town in Australia with its history, Mt Field national park, Salmon Ponds where trout were first hatched in the southern hemisphere, the Styx Valley with the tallest hardwood trees in the world, the oldest golf course outside of Scotland at Ratho.

Getting there

By plane Southern Tasmania has one airport: Hobart International Airport (HBA IATA). Flights to Burnie and Launceston, and to the mainland cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide arrive and leave regularly.

By car Southern Tasmania is cross-crossed with natural geographic barriers, so routes by road are often winding and scenic. Roads may not be in the best repair outside of the capital city, so drive carefully and be aware of conditions. It's a three-hour drive using National Highway 1, and a two-hour drive from Launceston again using NH 1.

By boat Several cruise lines stop at Hobart - sometimes first stopping at Port Arthur - usually for several days.

Getting around

By car Southern Tasmania is connected by a number of arterial highways

Brooker Highway (Highway 1): Hobart centre to northern suburbs and Derwent Valley Tasman Highway (A3): Hobart to South-East, and South-East to Midlands Arthur Highway (A9): South-East to Tasman Peninsula Midlands Highway (Highway 1): Hobart eastern shore to Midlands Southern Outlet (A6): Hobart to Kingston Channel Highway (B68): Kingston to Margate and D'entrecasteaux Channel Huon Highway (A6): Hobart to Huon Valley Outside of major highways, road conditions may vary. Drive to the conditions and obey local speed limit signs. Parking in Southern Tasmania is administered by local councils, and policies vary. Smaller towns may have free parking townwide, but some still operate parking metres. Hobart city centre has several parking towers, but they fill up quickly at peak times such as lunch and Saturdays, so plan extra time to find a park.

By bus Skybus offer an Airport to Hotel service running from Hobart International Airport to the CBD. Metro Tasmania provide public bus services within the urban area of Hobart, and Hobart City Council offer a courtesy bus to Salamanca Market on Sundays. Bus services outside of Hobart are infrequent and may be expensive. TassieLink and Kinetic Tasmania formerly RedLine provide some services to the Derwent Valley, Sorell, Tasman Peninsula and Huon Valley.

By train There are no public train services.

By ferry Bruny Island can only be accessed by a passenger/car ferry, departing from Kettering and operated by SeaLink. The Museum of New and Old Art offer a catamaran passenger ferry departing the Hobart waterfront to the museum at Berriedale. A public ferry operates between Berriedale on the eastern shore of the Derwent River and Brooke Street Pier in Hobart. Several companies also offer looped river tours on the Derwent River and D'entrecasteaux Channel.

See

Out of the total eleven convict sites making up the UNESCO World Heritage listing "Australian Convict sites", four are located in Southern Tasmania; two on the Tasman Peninsula, one in Hobart and the Darlington Probation Station on Maria Island. South Bruny National Park on Bruny Island contains wonderful coastal walks, wildflowers, birdlife, forests and a historic lighthouse, and is home to one of the last remaining population of white wallabies. Cygnet has a rich arts culture

Do

Huon Valley Eagle Hang Gliding. Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs. Huon Jet Boat. Tahune Forest AirWalk.

Eat

Huon Valley Beach Restaurant and Cafe, Ocean Esplanade, Blackmans Bay, ☏ +61 3 6229 7600. Bruny Island Cheese Company, Main Road, Great Bay (Bruny Island). Fleurtys, 3866 Channel Highway, Birchs Bay, ☏ +61 3 6267 4078. Kyari, 13 Church Street, Geeveston, ☏ +61 3 6297 1601. Pear Ridge, 1683 Channel Highway, Margate, ☏ +61 3 6267 1811. Peppermint Bay, 3435 Channel Highway, Woodbridge, ☏ +61 3 6267 4088, [email protected].

Drink & nightlife

The Derwent Valley has wineries such as Stefano Lubiana, Laurel Bank, Derwent Estate, Meadowbank and Kinvarra Estate The Nant Distillery produces single malt whiskey