Tasmania

Tasmania has many aspects to attract backpackers. Tassie is small, beautiful, small, has lots of accommodation, is small, has stunning national parks, is small, has wild pristine forests and is pretty small. The many references to its size are relevant only in that mainland Australia is huge and it can take a long time to get from A to B. Flying helps but road travel means in Tasmania you can get from one end of the state to the other in a couple of hours or thereabouts. Two hours in other states will hardly get you out of the suburbs so to speak. So if you fancy seeing a lot of one state, Tasmania could well be your choice. And don’t be misled. There is more coastline in Tasmania than in New South Wales.

And Tasmania has many unique characteristics. Almost half the state is a national park or reserve. There are only half a million people living on the island which is about as big as the Republic of Ireland or the state of West Virginia and the air in Tassie is reckoned to be just about the cleanest in the world. By ferry or plane it’s only about 240 kilometres from the south of the mainland so you can get to and from Tasmania quickly and easily. It’s a great place to visit and especially so for backpackers.

Hobart is the capital and is one of Australia’s oldest towns. In fact only Sydney is older and yet Hobart is much smaller. It can be explored in many parts by walking. There are ancient [for European Australians] buildings [lots of Georgian sandstone buildings and cottages] and the beautiful Derwent River to enjoy. The city is at the foot of the mighty Mt Wellington which affords fantastic views of the city and the sea. Every Saturday the Salamanca Market swings into gear and backpackers can enjoy the fantastic range of goodies on sale. If you’re after superb handcrafts or local food produce, explore this popular market. The seafood in Hobart is fabulous and you can try your luck in the Derwent River and catch your own. Budget hotels and backpacker hostels are plentiful in the Apple Isle and certainly in Hobart. If you’re in Hobart for Christmas, the famous Sydney to Hobart yacht race ends in Tassie a few days after Santa finishes his rounds. There are many festivities in welcoming the exhausted sailors as they journey up the Derwent.

Not far from Hobart is the former penal settlement at Port Arthur. Boy were times tough for the convicts. The setting is stunning but the inmates had plenty of solitary confinement and hard work to wile away the years. Even the chapel has individual cubicles so prisoner fraternization was kept to a minimum. You can explore dozens of buildings at Port Arthur and even take a boat trip out to some of the nearby islands where frightening tales and true are yours to savor. Escape from Port Arthur was only for the insane with daring tales of cannibalism for those who went on the run.

Backpackers invariably enjoy hiking and Tasmania offers spectacular places to see and camping facilities to make the hike worthwhile. It really is a timeless landscape and one of the best walks is the 60 kilometres from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair. You pass by mountains, lakes and forests and the experience is one which backpackers talk about for years afterwards. If you only do one walk, seriously consider the famous Overland Track.

If you fancy wild rivers you must head to the north-west of Tassie and the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. It’s almost 500,000 hectares in size and has some magnificent pristine wilderness areas including two wild and free rivers. Many years ago the Franklin River was about to be tamed with the then state government intent on building a dam. Massive protests from Australians in and outside Tasmania stopped the dam and today you can take a ferry ride or shoot the rapids in this magical uplifting national park. Rafting the Franklin gives you an up and personal look at forests of the ancient variety.  Spectacular it certainly is. There are short and long walks and plenty of camping accommodation. When you gaze up at those Huon pines, just imagine how the convicts suffered as they felled the mighty trees and sent them down the river.

There is a slogan about Tasmania which calls it, “A world apart but not a world away”. That’s a pretty darn good summary of the Apple Isle. You’ll find things in Tassie you won’t see elsewhere in Australia but you can get there in not much time at all. Backpackers would be doing themselves a great disservice to miss the island to the south of the mainland.