A Tassie Adventure

Visit Salamanca

·       Salamanca Place, in Sullivan’s Cove, is Hobart's favourite hangout! Lined with a long row of simple Georgian sandstone warehouses built in the 1830s, these buildings are now home to lots of boutique craft and design shops, jewellers, coffee shops, restaurants, the Peacock Theatre, fashion boutiques and artists’ galleries, and upstairs is the Salamanca Arts Centre.

·       Every Saturday, Salamanca comes alive with the Market! You can buy anything from handmade wooden toys, to funky clothes, fruit and veggies, ancient pottery, you name it! Beautiful green lawns beckon with park benches and trees that twinkle with fairy lights of an evening! Salamanca Square, just behind Salamanca Place, has some fabulous coffee shops and restaurants! We love the Laundromat Machine Cafe (the caramel, pecan and ricotta pancakes are incredible! Inside the Square next to the giant chess board!), the Retro Cafe, The Quarry, Tricycle, and Dr. Coffee are also great! Don’t miss Norman & Dann’s handmade chocolates either.

·       Then during the afternoon/ evening Salamanca shifts into party mode. Every Friday night from 5.30 to 7.30pm, the Salamanca Arts Centre Courtyard rocks to the sounds of Rektango. The band plays gypsy, jazz and swing music. For a few more drinkies, the bars we love include: Cargo (GREAT wood fired pizza, gelato, and drinks of course!), James Squire Bar, The Quarry, Barcelona, and Irish Murphy’s (pub) is always fun too. If you want to party the night away... check out Syrup or Isobar.

 MONA – Museum of Old and New Art

·       The opening of the MONA has created such a stir since opening in early 2011 and is the nation’s largest private art collection. Monanism, the opening exhibition, reveals Egyptian mummies, ancient coins and curiosities alongside some of the world’s most infamous and thought-provoking contemporary art. David Walsh’s aim was for every one piece you love, there will be one that you hate and one that is offensive... and I think he has pretty much been successful with that! Take the ferry over to this incredibly located museum and see what all the fuss is about...

Go up Mount Wellington

·       Rising 1270 metres (around 4,000 feet) above Hobart's harbour and the wide Derwent River, Mount Wellington provides a wilderness experience within 20 minutes' drive of the city and is much loved by locals. The 21-kilometre (13-mile) drive to the summit takes you from temperate rainforest to sub-alpine flora and glacial rock formations, ending in panoramic views of Hobart, Bruny Island, South Arm and the Iron Pot and the Tasman Peninsula. Check out the view from the interpretation centre (which protects you from the blustering winds!!!) Open viewing platforms on the western side of the car park look out to the southern World Heritage Area beyond. Also heaps of bushwalking tracks everywhere! No other city in Australia has a vista like this one. Don’t forget your coat!!!

Cascade Brewery

·       It's been called a must-do Hobart experience... The Cascade Brewer tour. You'll learn about Australia's oldest brewery, its finest beers, the brewing process and a little something our brewers call 'The Feel". Intertwine it with some of the brewers' stories and the beautiful 'Woodstock' gardens, before topping it off with a real taste of history - a fresh one directly from the taps. Located in South Hobart, 10 mins from town.

Cascade Female Factory

·        Female Factory Historic Site is the most significant site associated with female convicts in Australia. The World Heritage-listed Cascades Female Factory tells the story of the displacement, mistreatment and forced migration of convict women and girls, and their contribution to colonisation throughout the history of colonial Australia to the present day.

Richmond

·       A delightful Georgian village not far from Hobart. It has Australia's oldest bridge (built in 1823) and Roman Catholic Church (established in the 1830s). Both are actually still in use. We love it for the old school sweet shop, for feeding the ducks at the river (by the old Richmond Bridge), lazy day picnics, for getting lost in the mazes, and for dressing up in crazy old clothes and getting black and white pictures taken! There is also the Richmond Gaol (get put into solitary confinement!) and many a good Ghost Tour to be had...

Port Arthur

·        Port Arthur Historic Site on the Tasman Peninsula is Australia’s most intact and evocative convict site. Presenting more than 30 buildings, ruins and restored period homes, dating from the prison’s establishment in 1830 until its closure in 1877. During this time about 12,500 convicts served sentences and for many it was a living hell. Go on the Ghost Tour.... if you dare!

Hop on Hop Off Bus

·       Hop-on and hop-off as many times as you like, or stay on board and do the 90-minute city loop tour – the choice is yours! The City Loop operates between 20 popular locations including the MONA ferry terminal at Brooke Street Pier, Salamanca Place, Battery Point, Wrest Point Casino, Sandy Bay Village, Cascade Brewery, Cascades Female Factory, Hobart CBD, Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, Maritime Museum of Tasmania, Hobart Convict Penitentiary, Hobart Aquatic Centre, The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and Victoria Dock.

A little further a field...

Freycinet National Park

·       With its lichen specked granite rocks and its white sandy beaches, it is also home to Wineglass Bay. Yes, one listed in the book "1000 places to see before you die". Wineglass Bay is spectacular... enough said! Coles Bay is also in the area, and is situated at the foot of the Hazards Mountains. A very popular summertime holiday destination and a favourite spot for outdoors lovers! Tonnes of bushwalking, rock climbing, diving and whatnot to be found!

Cradle Mountain

·       With its majestic alpine peaks, and beautiful lakes, it’s no wonder why Cradle Mountain is one of Tasmania’s most popular tourist destinations. A scenic two hour drive from Launceston, Lake St Clare National Park boasts some of the most spectacular bush walking in the state. Whether it is a comfortable 2 hour toddle around Dove Lake or the incredible Overland Track, this part of Tassie is unsurpassed. Not far from Cradle Mountain, in the foothills of the Great Western Tiers, boutique vineyards grow the grapes that make some of the island’s best sparkling wines.

Tahune AirWalk

·       The Tahune AirWalk is an exhilarating nature-based experience set in one of Tasmania's most world-renowned forests, the Tahune Forest Reserve. The AirWalk is a walkway that takes you on a journey through the treetops in this stunning wet eucalypt forest. Extending for 597m through the forest, the Tahune AirWalk is elevated high above the ground, giving you a bird's-eye view of the beautiful tree species and forest life. You can also do Hang gliding and Segway tours. Located in Geeveston, an hour out of Hobart.

Hastings Caves

·       Located 90 mins drive South of Hobart, Hastings Caves give you the opportunity to walk through caves formed 40 million years ago! See spectacular formations including flowstone, stalactites, columns, shawls, straws, stalagmites and the unusual helictites - tendrils of calcite that grow in all directions in tiny filaments. Tour magical chambers of flowstones and shawls, then relax in a thermal pool.

Strahan and the West Coast

·       Follow the stories of miners, pioneers, convicts and protesters on the Gordon River and in the Tarkine. Strahan is your base for unforgettable river cruises, tours, railway journeys and scenic flights. This is your gateway to the World Heritage Wilderness Area. Check out Hells Gates, Sarah Island and Macquarie Harbour. Perhaps even go on a cruise to the Gordon River.

This is only a starter and there is plenty more to see and do in Tasmania! Enjoy exploring!!!