Question:

How do I get to Tasmania?

Mole Creek

The Mole Creek Karst National Park: contains more than 200 caves, which began to form about 30 million years ago. With a guide you can tour some of the caves and see animals that dwell in the dark, stalagmites that soar to lofty roofs, streams that disappear into the ground, glow-worms that twinkle like stars in this underground wonderland. When you've toured the caves take some time to walk through the beautiful forests in the national park, and reflect on the wonders beneath the ground you're walking on.

Tasmanian crayfish

When is the crayfish season? Where can I buy fresh Tasmanian crayfish?

The commercial season is from about mid November to about mid January. Fresh crayfish is available in season from Constitution Dock in Hobart and at selected retail outlets and restaurants around the state in particular along the east coast of the island and also on King Island.

Flinders Island

Flinders Island is off the northeast tip of Tasmania, the biggest of a group of islands that thousands of years ago were part of a landbridge connecting Tasmania to mainland Australia. The main town is Whitemark. Migratory birds, including mutton birds, rest at lagoons and inlets. Dense coastal scrub shelters a vast array of wildlife, including wallabies and wombats. There's history to be learnt and learnt from at Wybalenna Historic Site, where Aborigines, exiled during the 1800s, pined for their homelands. Sealers camped on smaller islands and, ships foundered on the rocky coast.

Fuel

How much is petrol in Tasmania? Are there many LPG gas outlets?

Petrol is available in metro and suburban areas 7 days a week. Expect to pay a few cents more per litre than other Australian states. LPG gas is also readily available throughout the island.

John Lee Archer

John Lee Archer (1791-1852)
Archer was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was appointed civil engineer and government architect to Tasmania in 1826 and designed many buildings, including neo-Gothic churches, that are now historic sites loved by Tasmanians and admired by visitors. Later in life Archer became police magistrate at Stanley on Tasmania's north coast, where he lived the rest of his life; his grave is in the little cemetery below The Nut. Visitors should keep a look out for the lovely buildings that Archer designed: Hobart: Anglesea Barracks, Parliament House, Penitentary Chapel Historic Site , St John's Church and Orphan School (in the suburb of New Town). Richmond: The Gaol and St Luke's Church. Launceston: the Court House and Launceston Gaol (now a school). Other churches: St Peter's Church in Hamilton, Entally Chapel at Hadspen. Lighthouses and bridges: Cape Bruny and Low Head lighthouses, the sandstone bridge over the Macquarie River at Ross.

Cadburys Factory

How do I see the Cadburys Factory?

The Cadbury Chocolate Factory is located at Claremont a northern suburb of Hobart (approximately 20 minutes drive from Hobart). Taste chocolate samples as you follow the guided tour of the famous chocolate making factory – established in 1921. Chocolate sales are not permitted unless participating in a factory tour. Bookings are essential. You can ring Cadburys Australia-wide toll free booking phone number 1800 627 367, or arrange a harbour cruise/tour of the factory

Wineglass Bay/Freycinet Peninsula

Wineglass Bay and Freycinet Peninsula Tasmania: Wineglass Bay is a wonderful surprise when you climb over the saddle in the Hazards - the jagged range of pink and grey granite peaks on the east coast peninsula that is the Freycinet National Park. The bay's perfect curve of white sand, and the blue sea and skies form a stunning picture. The Freycinet National Park is crowded with forests, wildflowers (including orchids) and native wildlife. The towering walls of pink and grey granite, patched in orange lichen, soar straight out of the water.

Airport busses

Is there an airport bus service?

Yes, there are airport bus transfer services at all major airports throughout the State.

King/Flinders Island

How do I get to King and Flinders Island?

There are regular flights to King Island from Wynyard Airport in Tasmania and from Melbourne in Victoria. Flights to Flinders Island leave from Hobart and Launceston, or you can put your car aboard the Matthew Flinders cargo vessel which departs from Bridport in Tasmania and Port Welshpool in Victoria.

The Nut:

The Nut Tasmania
As you drive westwards along the north coast and approach the historic town of Stanley you'll see The Nut, a huge flat-topped circular headland that dominates the town. It's 152 metres high, with a path and a chairlift to the top. Up there you can take a bracing walk around the edge and enjoy the wind in your face, the sun on your back and wonderful views up and down the coast.

King Island

King Island: off the north-west tip of Tasmania, about halfway across Bass Strait. Wild seas surround the rocky coast - there are more than 70 submerged shipwrecks. From the northern one at Cape Wickham, if the day is clear, you'll see mainland Australia. wildlife: including platypuses, heath, dunes, wonderful beaches and a world-renowned wetland bird habitat, especially in the 6,800-hectare Lavinia Nature Reserve in the north-east. In the south of the island there's an ancient calcified forest and fairy penguins returning in the evening to their burrows. Currie, the main town, is on the west coast.

National Park Pass

Where can I get a National Park Pass?
A fee is charged for entry to Tasmania's National Parks – all money raised protects and maintains the parks for the future. For just $33.00, a Tassie Holiday Pass allows entry for your car and passengers to all 17 National Parks, and is valid for two months. Also valid for two months is a $13.20 backpackers pass for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
Occasional users can buy a 24 hour pass costing $9.90 per car (up to 8 passengers), while walkers, cyclists and motorcyclists and coach passengers pay $3.30 per day. Passes can be purchased from most Australian travel agents, and at all major National Parks and Tasmanian Visitor Information Network centres.

Tasmania's emblems

What is the flora and fauna emblem of Tasmania?

The Tasmania Bluegum (Eucalyptus Globulus Labill) is the official floral emblem. The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus Harrisii) is the unofficial fauna emblem of Tasmania.

Salamanca Place

Salamanca Place: in Sullivans Cove, Hobart's historic waterfront, is a long row of stylish Georgian sandstone warehouses built in the 1830s, now boutiques, bars, bookshops, restaurants, outdoor cafes, art studios, craft galleries and jewellers. Each Saturday there's the famous market, where you can buy anything from a handmade wooden toy to a handspun, hand-knitted sweater to a fresh peach to a 50-year-old china plate. Behind Salamanca Place is Salamanca Square, where you can sit by the cooling fountain with a cup of coffee and a muffin and listen to a guitar or a flute player before visiting Antarctic Adventure.

Cataract Gorge

Cataract Gorge Tasmania: reaches almost to the middle of the city of Launceston. You'll emerge from the narrow part of the gorge into an elegant Victorian park with tree rhododendrons, fern glades, a swimming pool, a chairlift, barbecues, a suspension bridge and mewing peacocks. (The chairlift is the longest single-span chairlift in the world.) Walk back to the city on the other side of the river, through bushland, and think about joining one of the whitewater rafting or rock-climbing adventures in the gorge, or go hang-gliding at nearby Trevallyn.

Port Arthur

Port Arthur Historic Site: Between 1830 and 1877 about 12,500 transported convicts were imprisoned at Port Arthur, many of the sandstone prison buildings remain and have been preserved. There are day and evening guided tours of the historic site (125 hectares/309 acres), giving you an impression of what life might have been like in the 1800s for the convicts, soldiers and civilians. One in seven convicts at Port Arthur died there - you can take a cruise to the Isle of the Dead, where convicts and civilians were buried (you need to make special arrangements to go ashore).

Franklin River

How can I see the Franklin River?

The Franklin River is the epicentre of Tasmania's acclaimed World Heritage Area. It has captured the world's imagination with its wild rivers and exhilarating rafting opportunities. To experience the Franklin River you can do this by scenic flight, by foot or by rafting down the River, however the latter option is a demanding multi-day descent. By cruising the Gordon River out of Strahan on the west coast you can take an unforgettable day journey across Macquarie Harbour and deep into the Gordon where it meets the Franklin River.

Lavender

When is the lavender in bloom?

Tasmania is famous worldwide for its lavender, and visiting lavender farms has become a popular activity. When in flower the fields offer a spectacular scene. The French Lavender is in full bloom before and during the harvesting season from the 10th December to the 26th January. The English lavender comes into full bloom in January and harvesting is completed at the end of February.

How do I get there?

What times and what are the costs of passenger ships to Tasmania? Do They take cars and dogs?

The Spirit of Tasmania makes three return crossings per week between Melbourne and Devonport. The Spirit makes an overnight sailing, leaving port at early evenings and arriving the next morning approximately a 14 hour journey. The Devil Cat is a fast wave-piercing catamaran ferry, which is currently makes the journey from Melbourne to George Town in approximately 6 hours. The Devil Cat service operates from December to April. The Spirit and Devil Cat carry cars, campervans and caravans. Early bookings for both vessels are strongly recommended, in particular over the Christmas/New Year period. A limited number of kennels are available at a cost of $21.00 per pet per sailing. (Please note: There must be documentary proof of Hydatid Tape worm treatment for dogs and that they are not permitted in Tasmania's National Parks).

Sullivans Cove

Sullivans Cove
Some of the oldest buildings in Hobart cluster round Sullivans Cove, where fishing boats bob in the picturesque docks and fish punts sell the freshest of fish. Take a walk round the cove and admire the elegant colonial architecture - the sandstone glows in the sun. The old warehouses of Salamanca Place are a magnet for anyone looking for a cup of good coffee, a delicious snack or meal, a piece of handmade jewellery, a secondhand book or a sweater knitted from handspun wool.

Antarctic Link

Hobart is Australia's national Antarctic base, site of the Australian Antarctic Division's headquarters and home port for our Antarctic supply ships. Through the exciting interactive displays at Antarctic Adventure in Salamanca Square; in the rich collection of Antarctic memorabilia in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and our Maritime Museum; and at historic sites such as Hadleys Hotel in Murray Street, where Roald Amundsen stayed before his successful journey to the South Pole in 1912, or Franklin Square, you'll learn the stories behind the 1898-1900 Antarctic Expedition, the first to spend the winter on the ice.

Tasmanian Conference/convention

Who can I speak to about organising a conference or convention in Tasmania?

The Tasmanian Convention Bureau will assist you further with any Conference and Convention enquiry in Tasmania. Their e-mail is mail@tasmania-conventions.org.au

ATM's

Do you have ATM'S? What banks are there in Tasmania?

All major banks can be found around Tasmania. They operate under normal working day trading hours, with ATM and EFTPOS facilities available in all major centres.

Deloraine

Deloraine Tasmania: On the Midlands Highway (highway 1), 40km west of Launceston. A charming town on the Meander River with an attractive collection of old buildings of the 1830s and 1840s, many of which now house galleries, restaurants and studios. The town has lovely views of the spectacular Western Tiers and is surrounded by wonderful countryside - a plethora of caves, waterfalls, cliffs, lakes and nature reserves.

Wineries

Do you have information on wineries in Tasmania?

Tasmania has superb cool-climate wines, winners of many prestigious national awards. In vineyards, pinot, chardonnay, riesling and sauvignon blanc grapes ripen slowly, concentrating the flavours and most aromas of the fruit. You will find most Tasmanian wineries by the Tamar and Pipers River in the north – east region or south on the banks of the Derwent River, south in the Huon region or on the east coast of the island.