Tassie's Parks & Nature

Hello Hobart! Settle into your hotel opposite Constitution Dock - minutes from the city centre and the perfect base for adventure (flights to arrive prior to 3pm). Then choose how you’d like to spend your first day in the capital of Australia’s smallest state. Take an easy stroll along the Derwent River or explore Constitution Dock’s many yachts, boats, and fishing trawlers. This lively area, also the finishing line for the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, is an energizing kick off to your Tassie adventures. After getting acquainted with the city, join your Travel Director and group for dinner. It’s a fresh and delicious start to your adventures in beautiful Tassie.

See what makes Hobart ticket on a sightseeing tour of this capital city. Soak in views of the city from the Mt. Nelson Lookout. Learn a bit of history at Battery Point - a maritime village built in 1804, and see Hobart’s famous Cascade Brewery. Then stroll through the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Now's the perfect time to graze Hobart's food scene at the famous Salamanca Market. In this feast for the senses, smell and taste local cheeses, pickles, crepes, oysters, truffles, cider, and more. Meander through the market - learning the local secrets of the market from your Travel Director - discovering its stalls and sandstone warehouse of galleries and unique arts and crafts shops. Anytime you’re ready for a break, grab a coffee or cool drink in one of the market’s many cafes. After a big day, ask your Travel Director for restaurant recommendations and raise a glass to the end of your day. Cheers!

Head out of Hobart today for your first taste of dramatic landscapes, to the cascading waterfalls of Russell Falls in Mt. Field National Park. Then wind your way to Australia’s deepest lake, Lake St. Clair at 160 metres deep. Pause at the peaceful water of this lake whose aboriginal name means “sleeping water” and snap a few photos to remember the moment. You’ll then continue your scenic journey through the rainforest bordered road of World Heritage protected Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, before arriving in the seaside township of Strahan. After a day in nature, you’ll be dazzled by Strahan’s massive Macquarie Harbour, seven times the size of Sydney Harbour, as you arrive at your hillside hotel. Here we’ll toast to a big day over dinner at Strahan Village’s View 42 Restaurant and Bar.

Jump into the wilderness and take to the river this morning on a guided cruise on the Gordon River with a Local Specialist. Look out the floor-to-ceiling windows to the dark waters, stained amber by Button-grass tannins, reflecting this untouched wilderness. Stop for a bit of history and Dive Into Culture at the isolated Sarah Island, once a site of a penal colony, and gain insights into Tasmania’s convict history. Hear the stories and learn about the natural environment, the flora and fauna as you stroll among the 3,000-year-old pine once used in shipbuilding. Visit the Hells Gates, the notoriously treacherous entrance to the harbour, before docking and going on your way. You’ll travel deep into the alpine forest of Cradle Mountain National Park arriving at your Stays With Stories accommodation. Celebrate the natural beauty you’ve seen today with local beer and wine or continue your exploration on the property’s wilderness boardwalk. Be sure to check out the hotel’s art gallery that showcases the Cradle Mountain wilderness through the works of Tasmanian artists.

Waking in the heart of Cradle Mountain National Park, get ready to explore more of this beautiful, protected landscape. You’ll begin at Waldheim Chalet for a bit of history. Learn how after summiting the peak, Gustav Weindorfer and his wife Kate were compelled to build Waldheim (meaning “home in the forest”) Chalet to give tourists the opportunity to enjoy the natural surroundings. Get better acquainted with the land on a short boardwalk stroll with your Travel Director on the shores of Dove Lake, gazing up at the towering, jagged peaks of Cradle Mountain and perhaps dolerite peak on a clear day. Look around nearby too, as Bennetts wallabies, echidnas, and pademelons also make their home here. Want to see more unique Tasmanian wildlife? Consider joining an Optional Experience learning about and getting close (but not too close!) to the Tasmanian Devil. Or join an evening animal spotting experience viewing nocturnal mammals and marsupials including wallabies, wombats, and possums in their native night-time habitat. A creature is always stirring in fascinating Tasmania.

Explore the Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden lovingly created by volunteers, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Set across 11 hectares, this peaceful haven is home to lakes, pavilions and one of the world’s most diverse collections of rhododendrons - and you might even spot a platypus. Stop in the coastal town of Penguin before heading inland to Mount Gnomon Farm, where Guy Robertson invites you to sample orchard-brewed cider and enjoy a paddock-to-plate lunch made with seasonal produce grown on his land. Continue to Sheffield, known as Tasmania’s ‘Town of Murals’, where vibrant street art tells stories of local life. End the day in Launceston, framed by the rolling hills of the Meander Valley.

Enjoy a tasty start to your day at the Tasmanian Gourmet Sauce Company. Sample sauces, jams and chutneys made with ingredients grown on site. Learn how local producers turn Tasmania’s cool climate and fertile soil into bold regional flavours. Taste award-winning wines at Josef Chromy Wines, set among rolling vineyards and lakeside views. Explore Cataract Gorge, where native bushland, towering cliffs and suspension bridges create one of Launceston’s most scenic pockets. In the city, take a moment to reflect on the journey, sharing farewells with your Travel Director and fellow travellers.