TASMANIA (Australia)

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Separated from the mainland of Australia by the 240km stretch of Bass Strait, the island state of Tasmania is a land apart, a place of wild and beautiful landscapes, friendly, welcoming people, a pleasant, temperate climate, wonderful wine and food, a rich history and a relaxed lifestyle.

Tasmania began life as a penal settlement and today there are convict built ruins at Port Arthur and well preserved Georgian sandstone buildings and historic towns and villages.

Tasmania's isolation from the Australian mainland has helped preserve its rich colonial heritage and pristine wilderness areas.

In winter the Tasmanian countryside looks very green and English which contrasts with the south west and western coasts which are wild and remote with a high rainfall and subjected to large seas which batter the coastline.

Inland the rich forests and mountains form one of the last great wilderness areas, almost all of which is now World Heritage-listed national park.

Tasmania has four distinct seasons; in summer the days are warm rather than hot and the nights mild.

In autumn temperatures drop and the days are cool and sunny with occasional frosty nights. Winter is wet, cold and stormy particularly in the west and overcast days are commonplace with snow on the peaks. In spring it is windy as the warmth gradually drives away the storms.

The population is concentrated mainly on the north and south east coasts where easy access to bays and rivers and rich undulating countryside makes it ideal for farming activities.

The first European to see Tasmania was Dutch navigator Abel Tasman who named it Van Diemen's Land in 1642. Matthew Flinders circumnavigated the island and in 1856 Risdon Cove on the Derwent River became the site of Australia's second penal colony.

Today Tasmanian enjoy an easy going lifestyle and a vibrant cultural life, boasting one of the best small orchestras in the world and literary authors such as Richard Flanagan, winner of the 2002 Commonwealth Writer's Prize.

There is the maritime museum of Tasmania which is a historic Carnegie building with an interesting collection of early photos, paintings, models and shipping relics. In the Tasmanian Museum & Art gallery in Hobart's oldest existing building, the Commissariat Store built in 1808, there are Tasmanian Aboriginal relics and an excellent collection of colonial art.

The Allport Library & Museum of Fine Arts features a collection of rare books on Australasia and the Pacific region and antique displays that change several times a year. Other museums include the Tasmanian Transport Museum, the Lady Franklin Gallery, the Military Museum at Anglesea Barracks and the Moorilla Museum with antiquities dating from 600 BC.

Antarctic Adventure is a combination theme park and interactive science centre.

Special events include the Hobart Summer Festival held late December for one month, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race which begins on Boxing Day, the Royal Hobart Regatta in early February and the Royal Hobart.

Mt Field National Park Tasmania Australia - Located 80km north west of Hobart, the Mount Field National Park features spectacular mountain scenery, alpine moorland, dense rainforest, lots of wildlife and spectacular waterfalls.

Hartz Mountains National Park Tasmania Australia - Proclaimed as a World Heritage Area, Hartz Mountains National Park is renowned for its rugged mountains, glacial lakes, gorges, alpine moorlands and dense rainforests. There are great views from Waratah Lookout and interesting walking tracks to Lake Osborne and Hartz Peak, making it a popular destination for weekend walks.

Maria Island National Park Tasmania Australia - This National Park is popular with bird watchers for there are 11 of the State's native bird species here. The park is also home to Forester kangaroos and Cape Barren geese.

Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park Tas Australia - This is Tasmania's best known national park and is a World Heritage area with spectacular mountain peaks, deep gorges, lakes and wild moorlands. It extends from the Great Western Tiers in the North to Derwent Bridge on the Lyell Highway in the South.