Destination:
Tasmania

Cradle Mountain

One of Tasmania's most popular attractions is the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, placed on the World Heritage list in 1982. Landscapes include ancient rainforest and alpine heath lands, interspersed with button grass and stands of deciduous beech trees. Trails winding through forests of King Billy pines around the mountain offer superb day treks, and the 50 miles (82km) trek from Cradle Mountain in the north to Lake St Clair in the south is Australia's most famous bushwalk. The Park is equipped with mountain huts that offer accommodation for long guided treks, and Cradle Mountain Lodge offers log cabins in a tranquil setting. Lake St Clair, a narrow 10-mile (15km) long waterway in the south of the park, is Australia's deepest natural freshwater lake.

Port Arthur

In the far south of Tasmania, on the Tasman Peninsula, is Port Arthur, which in the early 1800s was originally a timber station. In 1833 it became a prison settlement for male convicts, and quickly established a reputation as being 'hell on earth'. Today Port Arthur lies among 40 hectares of English Oaks and magnificent gardens as a memorial to Australia's convict past. The Port Arthur historic site offers an inclusive all day ticket, which includes a guided historical walking tour of the ruins and restored buildings, a harbour cruise and access to the visitor centre and interpretation gallery. One of the more popular features of a visit to Port Arthur is the Historic Ghost Tour run at night. Port Arthur is located 65 miles (100km) south-east of Hobart. Allow about an hour and a half to enjoy the scenic drive along the Tasman and Arthur highways.

Salamanca Market

This weekly market takes place every Saturday morning between 8.30am and 3pm, come rain or shine, and is one of Hobart's best loved markets and a tourist attraction in itself. Travellers can enjoy shopping here for everything from locally grown organic fruit and vegetables and freshly-cut flowers to fine Tasmanian arts and crafts and an array of bric-a-brac. The markets are situated along Salamanca Place, the cultural hub of Hobart, where the old sandstone Georgian warehouses house galleries, theatres, cafes, craft shops and restaurants. This is the perfect place to kick off your weekend when travelling in Hobart.

Mount Wellington

Visitors in Hobart can't help but notice that the city's skyline is dominated by the majestic Mount Wellington, which towers over the city at 4,170 feet (1,271 m) high. Travellers can enjoy the incredible panoramic views from atop the mountain by taking a bus to 'Fern Tree' and walking a steep zig-zag track to the top. It is frequently snow-capped, even during the summer months from time to time and the lower slopes are thickly forested. Those who choose to rent a car can even enjoy a scenic drive to the summit. Mountain biking is also a popular sport on the Mount Wellington, so enthusiasts can look into hiring a bike and some gear to enjoy the wonderful single trails on offer.

Cadbury's Chocolate Factory

What could be better than a trip to the Cadbury's Chocolate Factory while visiting Hobart? Not much. Here, visitors will learn how Cadbury chocolates are made, learn the history of the company in Australia, see chocolates being moulded and enjoy tasting the raw materials. There is also display of the different Cadbury products across the globe including of course Australia's own unique chocolates. The retail shop offers special chocolate prices and further tastings of the finished product.

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

A must when visiting Hobart is a trip to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, the second oldest botanical gardens in Australia, which features many different types of flora. Enjoy strolling through the Japanese garden, check out the Veggie Patch and herb garden, marvel at the Cactus House and step into the freezing Subantarctic Plant House where temperatures are kept in freezer-like conditions. The gardens also feature a restaurant and tea room for visitors and grab a bite to eat, and relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the botanical gardens.

Louisa's Walk

Tasmania's premier tourist attraction, Louisa's Walk is a 'live history show', that tells the heartbreaking story of an Irish woman, Louisa Regan, who was sent to Australia in 1841 as a convict, on a seven-year sentence for stealing a loaf of bread. This piece of 'strolling theatre' - thoroughly researched, appropriately narrated, and well-acted - takes the audience through the historic areas of Hobart, before ending up at the climactic location of the Cascade Female Factory, an infamous prison workhouse. The purpose of the show is to fascinate, inform and challenge audiences - to allow them to experience, through the medium of theatre, the chilling origins of Australia's settler history. Referred to time and again as the one thing everybody should see while in Hobart, Louisa's Walk is an educational experience that holds the affective power of theatre, and should not be missed.

The Wall in the Wilderness

'Something special is taking place in the heart of Tasmania, and you are invited to witness its creation' - these are the words that greet you on The Wall in the Wilderness' official website, and by all accounts, the sense of excitement they communicate is well earned. An ambitious project, Australian sculptor Greg Duncan aims - by 2015 - to have completed a massive frieze, carved from gorgeous Huon Pine, depicting the best and worst of Tasmania's history, from pre-colonial times, to trailblazing European foresters, to the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger and the advent of hydro-electric power in the region. The sheer scale of the undertaking is mind-blowing - Duncan aims to use 50 panels, each one metre long and three metres high, carved front and back, giving a grand total of 300 square metres of realistic engravings. Duncan says he hopes that viewing the Wall will be 'an educational as well as an artistic experience' - an important reminder of both the 'successes and mistakes' that characterise Australia's history as a nation. The sculpture, once completed, is to sure to attain - in the words of Tasmania's Premier, Paul Lennon - 'world significance', so don't miss out on the opportunity to view it in its inchoate phase of development.