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7 Day Self-drive Discovery Tour

DAY 1Hobart

Start the day in Hobart by jumping aboard the Red

Decker bus. You can ride right up Kunanyi/Mount

Wellington, head to the Cascade Brewery for a tasting

tour or just make a leisurely loop of the 20 city stops.

Once youre back on two feet, take a walk with Hobart

Historic Tours and get an insight into the fascinating

characters who shaped the citys early years. These

include explorer James Kelly, who built the sandstone

steps leading from the Salamanca wharf up to Battery

Point (as a shortcut to work). Climb these at lunchtime

and head up Kelly Street to Environs Caf, where youll be

heartily rewarded with a shepherds pie.

Check into your Hobart accommodation.

Join the Old Hobart Pub Tour at dusk for a more salacious

bit of storytelling starr ing the smugglers, convicts,

whalers, jailers and scallywags who once jostled for

barstools in the citys first taverns.

Then for dinner try the gourmet burgers and the buzzing

atmosphere at Tasman Quartermasters. If there are noseats in the packed house, grab an ale and simply park

yourself on an upturned barrel.Kunanyi / Mount Wellington

Visitflightcentre.com.au/tasmaniaor call Flight Centre on 1300 739 735to book.

Set the compass and head from south to north via the

East Coast on one of the worlds most scenic road trips.

EAST COASTEAST COAST

DAY 2Tasman Peninsula and Port Arthur

An hour and a halfs drive from Hobart, the Tasman National

Park protects a spectacular coastline shaped by thousands of

years worth of wind and crashing waves. On the way follow

the walking track to the Tessellated Pavement an expanse

of rock tiles that look as though theyve been neatly

installed rather than naturally formed.

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Visit flightcentre.com.au/tasmaniaor call Flight Centre on 1300 739 735to book.

Port Arthur Ghost Tour.

All4Adventure.

Freycinet Marine Farm.

Further north in Cranbrook, the owners of Spring

Vale Vineyard are well known as Pinot Noir specialists,

but they can also ply you with Gewrztraminer and

Chardonnay from their heritage-listed cellar door, which

started life as a convict-built stable. Head a wee bit northstill and, as you close in on the days destination, youre

at the mid-point of your trip: halfway between Hobart

and Launceston.

Check into your Coles Bay accommodation.

As the sun begins to sink, join Freycinet Adventures for

a twilight paddle. The guided kayak tour offers unique

views of the bay and the pink granite Hazards beyond.

Then hit dry land for dinner at Richardsons Bistro in

Freycinet Lodge. After your on-water exertion, the

relaxed seating and hearty bistro menu will provide an

ideal wind-down.

DAY 4Coles Bay to Bicheno

Today its time to knock around the East Coast beaches,

beginning in pristine Coles Bay famous for being

Australias first plastic-bag-free town! The lookout at

nearby Wineglass Bay provides the kind of view that

cameras were invented to capture. Make the 45-minute

trek to the mountain vantage point to get a perfect shot

of the wine glass-shaped cove.

Then get familiar with the pedals on your four-wheel

motorbike, which youll be riding for the next couple

of hours to explore the well-tracked national park. The

All4Adventures guided tours are no hoonish af fair more

an exciting way to venture from the forest to the sea.

Then a lunch of freshly shucked oysters, abalone and rock

lobster awaits you at Freycinet Marine Farm.

Check into your accommodation at Bicheno.

Theres a nightly parade on the beach at Bicheno as up

to 600 Little Penguins emerge from the water, en route

to their beachside rookery. Book ahead with BichenoPenguin Tours, then stick around on the sand for dinner

at Beachfront Bicheno.

Keep your eyes peeled for the Doo-lishus food van (usually

parked at the Pirates Bay Blowhole), where Bev and Phil serve

some of the best fish and chips in Tassie.

Closer to Port Arthur you can climb 100 steps down to the

mouth of the Remarkable Cave, where the Southern Ocean

has carved a tunnel through the rock face, leaving a space

shaped oddly like a map of Tasmania.

Check into your Port Arthur accommodation.

Lantern-light adds to the spook-factor when youre exploring

the World Heritage-listed Port Arthur Historic Site by night.

After a 90-minute ghost tour, the cosy dinner atmosphere

(and a good swig of local red) at Gabriels on the Bay in

Stewarts Bay Lodge should calm your jangling nerves.

DAY 3Swansea to Coles Bay

Drive from Port Arthur to Swansea, a small town on the

north-west shore of Great Oyster Bay. This was Australias

first municipal ity (af ter Sydney and Hobar t) so it seems right

to delve into a bit of history. At the Bark Mill Museum you

can inspect the steam-driven engine once used to milk the

bark of wattle trees, before returning to the present day for

lunch at the mill bakery.

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QVM Inversek Railway Museum.

Gourmet Sauce Company.

DAY 5Bicheno to Launceston

This morning hit the road inland towards Launceston. After

skirting Elephant Pass youll arrive in the township of StMarys, where you can visit the affable Ian Summers as he

potters around his shop Cranks & Tinkerers. Its open on a

roster of odd hours, but if Ians home you can stop by for a

chat or one of his impromptu country banjo performances.

If you feel like a nibble at this point, swing by the Purple

Possum Wholefoods and Caf for some healthy wholefood

fare. Then drive further inland for dessert. At the Tasmanian

Honey Company in Perth, native bees produce Leatherwood

honey in some of the happiest hives on the island,

surrounded by temperate rainforest.

Drive 15 minutes to Launceston and check into your

accommodation for the next two nights.

Digest some stunning views of Cataract Gorge and

Launceston Seaport and then enjoy your dinner at Cataract

on Paterson.

DAY 6Launceston and the Tamar River

Take a peaceful trip this morning along the Tamar River

aboard the Lady Launceston, listening to tales of bushrangers

and gold panning at Cataract Gorge, Tamar Island and the

Batman Bridge.

Grab a Basin Burger at Basin Caf in Cataract Gorge for

lunch. Then divide your time in the afternoon between the

Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallerys two outposts the

1870s-era railway workshop at Inveresk and the 1891 Royal

Park Art Gallery building on Wellington Street. At Inveresk,

the museums Heritage Trail is well worth a wander: it takes

you through the history of the Launceston rail yards and

back to the days of signal boxes and sign-writing. Round

Call Flight Centre on 1300 739 735to book.

DISCOVERTASMANIA.COM.AU

your visit out with some star-gazing at the Planetarium or

some hands-on experimenting at the interactive science

centre affectionately known as the Phenomena Factory.

Novaros Italian Restaurant, set in an intimate Edwardian

residence, is an elegant way to sample some local produce on

your last night in town.

DAY 7Launceston and surrounds

Theres time for a few important stops on your way to

Launceston Airport. First, Evandale a town as renowned for

its crafts and antiques as for its annual Penny Farthing race. If

youre there on a Sunday definitely stop by the morning market

in Falls Park.

Pickling and preserving their way through a range of local

ingredients, the Tasmanian Gourmet Sauce Company in

Evandale can sell you a jar of pretty much anything from

stone fruits to pepper berries. While youre there feel free to

explore their topiary nursery, the largest of its kind in Tasmania.

Your final destination will provide a far better parting memory

than airport coffee. Set on a stunning property in Relbia, the

Josef Chromy Wines vineyard can offer you a gourmet lunch

with your wine and a bottle of light-bodied Pinot Noir for

your suitcase.

Includes car hire, Port Arthur Ghost Tour, Freycinet TwilightPaddle, Bicheno Penguin Tour, Morning Discovery Cruise with

Tamar River Cruises, 1 nights accommodation in Hobart, 1 nightsaccommodation in Port Arthur, 1 nights accommodation in Coles Bay,

1 nights accommodation in Bicheno, 2 nights accommodationin Launceston and Tasmania National Parks Pass.

Availability of experiences in this itinerary may be subject to opening times,seasonal operation or booking requirements, please call ahead to plan each day.

Photo Credit: Tourism Tasmania. All Rights ReservedTourism Tasmania and Rob Burnett, Simon Fleming and Kathryn Leahy.

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