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| Freezing on our Bruny Island cruise |
Let's start with near Hobart so this post doesn't become ridiculously long!
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| The view over Hobart |
In the centre
An absolute total must to do while in Hobart is to drive up Mount Wellington. If the day is clear (or relatively clear) you have a magnificent view over Hobart and beyond. Glorious! There's plenty more you can do as well if you're up for it.Another bonus is the Salamanca markets, which are actually right in Hobart and run every Saturday between the hours of 8am and 3pm. Here you can get everything from fruit leather (think home made roll ups) to hand made dolls.
To the West
Now Tasmania is also home to one of the remaining Cadbury chocolate factories in Australia, and the good news is it's just a short drive out of Hobart in Claremont. Here you can get a factory tour which ends in their shop. Unlike most places their shop does not contain exactly what you could buy in Woolies but at an inflated price. It contains factory seconds, at a cheap price! We visited one Easter and stocked up on eggs while we were there! So good! Unfortunately, they no longer do factory floor tours.A little further afield, at a 1 hour drive from Hobart, is Mount Field National Park. Here you will find lovely walks and beautiful waterfalls. I find Tassie rainforest some of the loveliest because it's always so green. You can find all the information you need about the walks and park entry fee on this website. If you're going to be visiting a number of parks while you're there, you should seriously consider their holiday pass which is $60 per car and lasts for 8 weeks.
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| A swing bridge at Tahune |
To the South
A 30 minute drive South will bring you to Huonville which is a little town on the Huon river, know for its proximity to the Tahune Airwalk where you can see the famous Tassie Huon pine trees. If you listen to the locals, Huon pine is beyond magical. In any case, the airwalk is a good day trip, with a high viewing platform and swing bridges in the rainforest. |
| The view from the top of Bishop and Clerk |
To the North
Driving North from Hobart it won't take you long to reach Sorell, a great place to stop and pick your own berries if you visit in summer. From strawberries to silvenberries, they have it all.If you're felling adventurous plan a day trip over the Maria Island which sits just of the coast to the East. There you will come across many bumbling wombats that will let you unusually close, and some lovely walks. You will need to take a 30 minute ferry ride to get to the island, which leave from Triabunna (about an hour out of Hobart). We climbed Bishop and Clerk one our day trip. It was a hard slog because we were short on time (due to the Ferry winter time table) but it was worth it with the magic views back to Tassie.
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| Port Arthur |
To the East?
Sitting out on a jagged piece of land that is connected to the main island by road, is Port Arthur. Probably one of the best preserved historical sites in Australia, at least that I have visited. It used to be a prison for convicts and many of the buildings still remain in tact. This is a really great day trip and you shouldn't miss a visit. There's even ghost tours, if you're so inclined.On the way there you can stop at any number of lookout points, including the tessellated pavers and the devils kitchen.
One of the highlights of our trip a couple years ago was our trip out with Bruny Island Cruises. Bruny Island is a small island just a bit South of Port Arthur, but we actually did their Tasman Island cruise. We boarded into a tiny yellow boat and it was rough, and cold, and wet, and we loved every minute of it! We even saw a whale when we reached Pirate's Bay.
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| Tasman Island |
There's just so much you can do in Tasmania, including skiing would you believe it! If I've missed your favourite thing to do near Hobart let me know!
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| Couldn't miss adding in this cutie |
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