Tasmania lies across Bass Strait from the mainland, Australia's only island state and its most compact. Within a few hours' drive you find glacier-carved mountains, white-sand bays, convict ruins and a capital with a serious food and art scene. It is cooler, greener and slower than the rest of the country.
Cradle Mountain
In the north-west of the island, the jagged peak of Cradle Mountain rises above Dove Lake, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The 6-kilometre Dove Lake Circuit takes two to three hours, and wombats graze the buttongrass at dusk.
The Overland Track runs 65 kilometres from here to Lake St Clair, usually in six days. From 1 October to 31 May you must book ahead, pay a fee and walk north to south. Private cars cannot drive to Dove Lake while the park shuttle runs.
Freycinet and Wineglass Bay
On the east coast, the pink granite peaks of the Hazards rise above Freycinet National Park, reserved in 1916 and one of the two oldest in Tasmania. The 2.6-kilometre return walk to the Wineglass Bay Lookout takes about an hour; keep going down to the beach itself for a quieter look at its perfect curve.
Hobart, MONA and Salamanca
Hobart sits on the Derwent River beneath kunanyi / Mount Wellington, whose summit road gives a view over the city and the coast. Salamanca Market fills the waterfront every Saturday with a few hundred stalls of local produce and crafts. Upriver, MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, is carved into a sandstone cliff; the best way there is the 30-minute ferry from Brooke Street Pier. Further south, Port Arthur, begun as a convict station in 1830, is one of eleven World Heritage convict sites.
Bruny Island and the Bay of Fires
A short car ferry from Kettering crosses to Bruny Island, known for oysters, cheese and sea cliffs. In the north-east, the Bay of Fires has white sand and granite boulders stained orange by lichen. Look out for wombats, wallabies and Tasmanian devils, and drive slowly at dusk.
Getting around
Hobart (HBA) and Launceston (LST) are the main airports, and the Spirit of Tasmania car ferry sails from Geelong to Devonport. Distances are short but roads are winding, and a car is the easiest way to explore.
When to go
Tasmania has four real seasons. Summer, from December to February, is mild and the busiest time for walking and the east coast. Autumn brings settled days and colour in the highlands, while winter is cold, and snow can fall on the mountains at any time of year, so pack warm layers.