8 Day Tasmania Tour In Circle

Arrive today and travel into Hobart city at your leisure. Your accommodation for tonight is booked and waiting at the elegant, 4-star Movenpick Hotel centrally located and walking distance to the cities restaurant and shopping areas. Check-in is anytime from 2pm onwards.

Pick up from the Movenpick Hotel to begin the fully guided portion of your Tassie tour package. Explore the Hobart waterfront area before heading to the summit of Tasmania’s Mt Wellington (1270m) boasting spectacular panoramic views in every direction. Further exploration through town sees us take in the historic Female Factory and Cascade Brewery while viewing many of Australia’s oldest convict built structures. Heading east, we meander into the Coal River Valley, one of Tasmania’s premier wine regions. Naturally we will lunch at a lovely, family operated winery, sampling some of Tassie’s best wine and local produce before continuing on to the historic township of Richmond.

We will see the beautiful stone arch construction of the Richmond Bridge, built by the convicts in 1823 this is Australia’s oldest bridge still in operation. Much to everyone’s delight we stop at the boutique Federation Chocolate factory just outside of Richmond for some sampling of fresh, hand made chocolates. The flavours change depending on the season and the produce available!

It’s then on to the Tasman Peninsula for our first taste of the east coast. The Tasman National Park boasts towering sea cliffs and a wealth of cultural history as we venture south. A beautiful lookout point over Pirates Bay provides the ideal location for a scenic, mid-afternoon tea/coffee break. Learn about Eaglehawk Neck ; the site of the infamous Dogline ; as we cross onto the Tasman Peninsula. We then explore some of nature’s true wonders with short, scenic walks at Tasman’s Arch and Devils Kitchen. Continuing on we squeeze in a stop at the colourful Port Arthur Lavender Farm before overnighting right on the cusp of the Port Arthur World Heritage Historic Site.

Our day begins with a 2.5 hour fully guided, scenic tour around the Port Arthur Historic Site. Explore many of the original buildings as we learn about the early convicts and the role they played in Tasmania’s history. Learn about Point Puer (the juvenile boys prison), the Isle of the Dead graveyard and the Port Arthur timber industry while enjoying a short, scenic harbour cruise to view the site as incoming convicts would have.

Next, we leave the Tasman Peninsular for our journey up the very east coast of the island. At Raspins Beach we view the imposing Maria Island off the coast of Orford before stopping to see the unique convict built Spikey Bridge and the captivating coastline at Spikey Beach over tea, coffee and biscuits. Next up is Swansea – a beautiful East Coast town; and the Great Oyster Bay area. Arriving in Bicheno for our evening accommodation we will squeeze in one last feel good activity by spotting the cute little Fairy Penguins arriving ashore right in Bicheno township.

Start the day at the amazing Blow Hole on the rocky coastline of Tassie’s Bicheno. Visit the multi-award winning East Coast Nature World wildlife park to see many of our native animals and in particular ; the feeding of the iconic Tasmanian Devil. Learn about this amazing animal and its recent struggle for survival. Pat wombats and hand-feed kangaroos, geese and ducks; this is a wonderful and interactive morning.

Enjoy travelling Tassie’s most scenic coastal road with breathtaking views of the east coast en route to a truly stunning location ; the Bay of Fires. At Binalong Bay we will stroll along the pure white sandy beaches and snap photos of possibly the most colourful spot in Tasmania. Enjoy some fresh oyster samples from Lease 65 Oyster Farm just outside St Helens on the East Coast.

In the afternoon we proceed towards Launceston stopping at Pyengana, Tassie’s award winning cheese factory and dairy. We then twist our way through an ancient Myrtle Rainforest and cross the trail of the dragon, an old mining area centred around the town of Derby. The carved memorial trees at Legerwood are one of Australia most unique and tasteful memorial sites, this will be our tea and coffee break for today before arriving in Launceston CBD for our evenings lodgings. There are many city restaurants to choose from just minutes walk from our inner city lodgings.

Today we will spend the morning exploring downtown Launceston ; Australia’s 3rd oldest city behind Sydney and Hobart. We will see the King Bridge, City Park, inside the beautiful old Heritage listed Post Office and of course take a 40 minute stroll through a jewel in the city – Cataract Gorge Reserve.

Soon after we head westward into the Meander Valley which is an absolutely stunning farming and pastural area. Try local made ice-cream and honey tastings of more than 50 flavours at the renowned Melita Honey Farm in Chudleigh before learning about Tasmania’s oldest and biggest Leatherwood Honey producer R. Stephens Honey in Mole Creek.

Our lunch stop today is a true gem hidden in the forest at 41º Degrees South Salmon Farm. After lunch, a truely unique attraction follows with a guided tour of the Marakoopa Caves, exhibiting limestone and crystal formations millions of years old, along with a completely natural population of resident glow worms!

From here we will snake our way up onto Tassie’s central highlands plateau to Cradle Mountain National Park to partake in some up close Wombat and animal spotting at dusk. Tonight we stay at the acclaimed and luxurious 4-Star Cradle Mountain Hotel.

Start the day with a full buffet hot and cold banquet breakfast at Cradle Mountain Hotel. Inside the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park – a photographers paradise – drive to the gorgeous Dove Lake for breathtaking views of Cradle Mountain. Take a short walk to glacier rock and then on to the appropriately named Enchanted Walk to see beautiful cascades and the Pencil Pine waterfall.

Visit the old “Waldheim Cottage” of pioneer Gustav Weindorfer who made Cradle Mountain world famous. En route to Strahan we pass through beautiful Lake Rosebery, old mining towns such as Zeehan and view the Southern Ocean from one of the best lookout points on the west coast – how far can you see – perhaps Argentina? This is some of the freshest air on Earth. Arriving in the historic settlement of Strahan we see the historical train station at Regatta Point, visit an old though still operational saw mill and the award winning Woodcraft Centre with beautifully designed woodworks
on display.

Continue on to our comfortable lodgings at the infamous west coast township of Queenstown where an evening meal will be provided by your hosts.

Queenstown is an old mining town reflecting past glory and surrounded by colourful, mineral rich mountains. We will take in panoramic views over Queenstown from the Iron Blow lookout at the top of Mt Lyell before a lovely rainforest drive right through the World Heritage Franklin-Gordon National Park.

Take a stroll into Tasmania’s very photogenic waterfall – Nelson Falls. The 30 minute return walk is one of the west coasts best through moss covered, temperate rainforest. We then travel through picturesque valleys and mountains, pristine forests and cross wild rivers before winding our way up Mt Arrowsmith to the geographical centre of Tasmania. Button grass plains, strands of unusually shaped snow-gums, majestic mountains and spectacular lakes are in every direction here. The colour palette on display as we journey across Tasmania’splateau is really something for visitors to appreciate.

Turn at Derwent Bridge to see Lake St Clair – Australia’s deepest freshwater lake and the inception of the mighty Derwent River. Lunch will be at the very comfortable lodge on the edge of Lake St Clair. Next up we visit a cultural highlight of Tasmania and an absolute gem hidden deep in Tasmania’s wilderness. A fantastic art gallery called The Wall is an ongoing work by artist Greg Duncan. Unassuming and hidden by forest off the main highway it is the kind of place often never heard of by visitors, but often the cultural highlight of Tasmania for many guests. This stunningly detailed, intricate work depicts many significant stories of Tasmanian history, flora, fauna and more hand carved in Huon pine – our most famous timber. This is an attraction that simply cannot be missed when travelling across the island centre.

In the afternoon we have a close-up look at Tasmania’s Hydro-Electric Power scheme in the township of Tarraleah. This once bustling township was largely abandoned following the completion of the decades-long construction of our Hydro-electric infrastructure. These days it makes for a lovely tourist destination and afternoon lookout stop. Pushing further east into the Derwent Valley a midafternoon coffee stop is in order at Lake Meadowbank before detouring into Mt Field National Park to visit the delightful 3 tier Russell Falls. This gentle 35min return walk will be our last group activity before the final drive leg wanders along side the Derwent River bringing us back to Hobart for your final night accommodation in Hobart City Centre.

This morning marks the conclusion of our touring adventures. Breakfast is included and your package officially concludes with hotel check-out by 10 am. We hope you will take home many great memories, photographs, stories and friendships from your Tassie journey with us this week. We are grateful for the opportunity to host you in Tasmania.