Five amazing places that prove you should visit Tasmania

Tasmania was a place I hadn’t really considered too much before we figured why not tag on a week here at the end of our Great Ocean Road trip. We were heading south from Sydney, why not go a bit further? And now I’ve been there, I believe that anyone spending time in Australia should visit this state – it’s so nice! It’s incredibly beautiful with some of the most pristine beaches I’ve seen in Australia. I’d even go as far to say that some are only rivalled by the likes of Whitehaven and Lake Mackenzie! And with such a low population it all feels pretty untouched, so you get to have lots of it all to yourself. If you like wildlife you’ll also love it here, it’s everywhere!

We spent a week in Tassie driving up the east coast from Hobart to Launceston, which was just about enough time, any less would’ve meant missing too much! So here are my five favourite spots from our little roadtrip that should convince you to go:

1. Bruny Island

This beautiful island is super easy to get to and so worth it! The ferry is just a half hour drive from Hobart, costs $30 for one car and takes 20 mins to cross over to Bruny. And with views across the ocean inlet and dolphins (if you’re lucky like us!) to enjoy, the ferry itself is actually a highlight! We only had the one day to explore the island but what we saw was beautiful.

The lookout at ‘The Neck’ was stunning and the white sands and clear waters at the wonderfully deserted Adventure Bay were just heavenly! If you’re looking for lunch on Bruny and have a sweet tooth, make sure you visit the Bruny Island Berry Farm. It’s pure joy! Also, if you stick around for darkness (we didn’t) you can also watch fairy penguins returning to their burrows at the Neck. We did this with Low Head Penguin Tours later on instead, and it was pretty special!

2. The Southern Peninsula

This is a really interesting place for both natural and human history. Check out the impressive blowhole, Tasman Arch and Devil’s Kitchen to see three different and dramatic stages of rock erosion by the ocean. The Tasselated Pavement, where natural cracks in the rocks have made them look like bricks, is also pretty cool!

At Port Arthur you can also see Australia’s best preserved convict settlement and the ‘dog line’ where dogs patrolled to stop the prisoners escaping. Nasty stuff! We didn’t actually have the time or budget ($37 each) for the convict settlement museum, though.

The peninsula is also apparently the only area where the Tasmania Devils are completely free from the facial tumour disease that’s been wiping them out. We went to see them at the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo, which was a bit pricey ($33) but good and all for a good cause! 🙂

3. Freycinet National Park

Wineglass Bay at Freycinet is one of the most famous spots in Tasmania and, although it wasn’t my favourite beach there, it’s pretty beautiful! It gets its name from the way the bay is shaped like a glass, and because the water used to run red from the whaling station that was there. Thankfully, there’s no slaughter there now and the water is a much more appealing blue and turquoise! Although saying that, it was raining when we saw it so it was a bit grey ha

There are a number of walks you can do in Freycinet but I recommend getting your lunch packed and your walking shoes on to do the 4-5 hour circuit. You get to see Wineglass Bay as well as the equally beautiful Hazards Beach before enjoying epic views of the ocean and the ‘Hazards’ (mountains) along the Hazards range track. It’s really gorgeous and there are lots of wild wallabies around, which is always fun! And the sun came out for us in afternoon 🙂

4. The Bay of Fires (main pic)

I think this was my ultimate fave spot in Tassie. It is just so stunning! I was expecting it to be nice, but it blew away all my expectations. We headed to Binalong Bay first, which didn’t have the famous red rocks, but it did have a long, pristine stretch of fine white sand alongside beautifully crystal clear water. Being so far south, this water was FREEZING! But to be fair, not quite as cold as I thought it might be, and it’s impossible to stay out of water like that! We then backtracked slightly to head along Gardens Road, which has lots of small bays along it. We stopped on Cosy North and scrambled across the ‘fire’ rocks to reach a secluded little beach – again with white sand and clear turquoise sea. It was paradise!

5. Cradle Mountain

This comes in as a close second for my favourite spot, and that’s partly because it’s so different to everything I’ve seen so far in Australia. Having only really done the east coast and coastal Victoria, there hasn’t been much in the way of mountains! So this world heritage site was a pretty exciting spot.

It’s a two hour drive from Launceston and once you’re there it’s really easy to get around. A shuttle bus runs from the visitor centre to a few different spots in the area where you can start the many walks. We went for the two hour walk #9. This started at Ronnie Creek on the famous Overland Track, wound up and around to Crater Lake to look over Lake Lilla and Dove Lake, before heading back down to look across Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain. Making friends with wild wombats along the way, of course! The whole area is so peaceful and beautiful, and it felt similar what I imagine New Zealand to be like. Definitely go!

6. Penguins!
Okay so the headline says five things… but I’ve already mentioned this in number one, so it’s only half a point really… haha! The Southern coast of mainland Australia and Tasmania are the only places in the world you’ll find Fairy Penguins. They waddle onto several Tassie beaches just after sunset to get to their burrows and it’s amazing to see them. You can see them at the Neck on Bruny Island, Bicheno beach and Low Head – just to name a few.