The Top 10 Places to See in Tasmania
With Tasmania's 3.4-million acres of protected wilderness, this alluring isle feels close to heaven—Tasmanian devils included
- By Tony Perrottet
- Smithsonian.com, April 17, 2012
(© Alistair Scott / Alamy)
Pounded by the wild Southern Ocean, Tasmania has a cooler and more volatile climate than mainland Australia. But the east coast is the island’s sunniest shore, and the Freycinet Peninsula its most welcoming stretch, with white sand beaches and lime green waters framed by magnificent peaks called the Hazards. Stay at the majestic new eco-lodge Saffire in Coles Bay, which opened in 2010 with breathtaking views from its designer cabins, then take the hour-long hike over the mountain saddle to Wineglass Bay. The arc of the beach is like an enormous goblet, whose pristine sands are patrolled by wallabies. The landscape may look like an antipodean version of Hawaii, but throw yourself into the waves and you quickly realize that this is definitely the deep south, where the currents flow directly north from Antarctica. Saffire also runs boat trips along the peninsula, where you can spot thriving seal colonies—as well as an isolated rock quarry where pink marble was mined to decorate the lobby of the Empire State Building in the early 1930s.
Contributing writer Tony Perrottet, who was born in Australia and now lives in New York, has been visiting Tasmania since the 1980s; www.tonyperrottet.com.
Comments (2)
Love the pictures! When its the best time to visit?
Posted by Peter Tangprasertchai on April 26,2012 | 11:18 AM
Love that pic. I was born in Hobart, live in Brisbane, and will be attending a training course for registered crew members on that tall ship the Lady Nelson in Hobart on Saturday. She's beautiful.
Posted by Ali on April 20,2012 | 11:14 PM