The Northeastof Tasmania
Tasmania’s Northeast is blessed with a sunny disposition. Folks here grow up listening to Melbourne radio, drinking Boag’s beer, and disdaining the political antics of the South. The midlands offer wool, the north coast wine, and the sun-coast water, all a gently civilized counterpoint to the state’s famed wilderness. The priceless coastal pockets of Mount William, Freycinet, and Maria Island National Parks are worlds away from the mountainous World Heritage Areas of the south and west. In the middle of miles of flatness, Ben Lomond rises to survey the entire region; its ski slopes provide a bit of winter fun. Self-confident Launceston bustles at the head of it all and the heart of Tassie, a mere three hours’ drive from anywhere in the state.
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The South of Tasmania
Anchored by capital Hobart, a beautiful city of good food and good people, the southern end of Australia welcomes travelers to its towns, forests, and coast. Ninety minutes east of Hobart lies historic Port Arthur, the most significant remaining testament to Tassie's colonial history; 90 minutes west lies the beginning of the vast untrammeled expanse of the South-West World Heritage Area. In between, amid the hop vines of the Derwent Valley and the apple orchards of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, flourish the homes of people who know a good life when they see it.
Australia : Tasmania
With Australia lying empty in a far corner of the Empire, England seemed to have a perfect solution for its 18th-century prison overflow problem. Parliament members happily sent their rabble across the ocean, washed their hands, and went to tea. But lawlessness was still a huge problem in the new prison colony, and penal officials in New South Wales decided to ship the troublemakers away once again. Australia was already at the end of the earth, but Tasmania was at the end of Australia. The British considered assignment to the wild little island, then known as Van Diemen's
