It's a small world

The Cascade Brewery is one of Hobart’s most iconic historic buildings. PHOTOS: BRENDA HARWOOD
The Cascade Brewery is one of Hobart’s most iconic historic buildings. PHOTOS: BRENDA HARWOOD
Tasmania’s capital city, Hobart, has a familiar feel for the visiting Dunedinite.
Tasmania’s capital city, Hobart, has a familiar feel for the visiting Dunedinite.
The historic seaside town of Strahan is a staging area for tourists keen to explore the Macquarie...
The historic seaside town of Strahan is a staging area for tourists keen to explore the Macquarie harbour area.
Our Sarah Island guide tells stories of the horrific history of the former penal colony.
Our Sarah Island guide tells stories of the horrific history of the former penal colony.
Beautiful Strahan is the gateway to Macquarie Harbour and the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers...
Beautiful Strahan is the gateway to Macquarie Harbour and the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park on Tasmania’s West Coast.
Cradle Mountain and the remote alpine area that surrounds it are a major attraction for visitors...
Cradle Mountain and the remote alpine area that surrounds it are a major attraction for visitors to Tasmania.
The alpine forest of the Cradle Mountain National Park is criss-crossed with boardwalks, making...
The alpine forest of the Cradle Mountain National Park is criss-crossed with boardwalks, making it a pleasant place to walk — just watch out for wombat poo!
Cataract Gorge at Launceston combines a stunning landscape with tourist attractions in a popular...
Cataract Gorge at Launceston combines a stunning landscape with tourist attractions in a popular Tasmanian destination.
Tasmanian devils screech and tussle over their food at the Devils@Cradle sanctuary.
Tasmanian devils screech and tussle over their food at the Devils@Cradle sanctuary.
A group of Japanese macaque monkeys, living in a large enclosure at the centre of the Launceston...
A group of Japanese macaque monkeys, living in a large enclosure at the centre of the Launceston botanic gardens, are an unexpected sight for visitors.
This wombat stood, completely still, for at least five minutes while dozens of people took his...
This wombat stood, completely still, for at least five minutes while dozens of people took his photograph at Gustav Windorfer’s remote Waldheim Chalet.
Beautiful Strahan is the gateway to Macquarie Harbour and the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers...
Beautiful Strahan is the gateway to Macquarie Harbour and the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park on Tasmania’s West Coast.

The travelling is easy in Tasmania, writes Brenda Harwood.

"Welcome to Straaaawn'', says tour guide Dave, sharpening his usually warm tone into a nasal drawl.

"You've just got to say it like an Aussie, there's no other way.''

It's day three of our AAT Kings guided bus tour and we have reached Strahan, the picturesque harbourside tourist town on Tasmania's western coast. The former fishing village at the head of Macquarie Harbour is the gateway to the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, home to the famous Huon pine (Tasmania's equivalent in mana to the kauri) and the notorious former penal colony of Sarah Island.

There's a buzz of excited discussion as we board our luxury Gordon River Cruise boat for the trip out through the Macquarie Harbour heads to the ocean, then back to the deceptively peaceful, bush-covered Sarah Island, home to the infamous Macquarie Harbour Penal Station.

Known as one of the harshest penal settlements in the Australian colonies, Sarah Island, which operated from 1822 to 1833, was where the hideous "Macquarie Cat o' Nine Tails'' - three standard cats plaited together and tipped with metal weights - was invented and used to terrible effect.

The once completely barren island (the prisoners were ordered to cut down all vegetation when they arrived) is now lush with bush, with the ruins of the penal colony's various buildings, outdoor ovens and ship-building yards visible among the grass and trees.

Local guides led us in groups from place to place, telling fascinating yarns of the island's characters, prisoners, guards and officials. The tone is light and the stories frequently funny, but underlying it is the horror of the fate of the hundreds who suffered here.

It's a fantastic experience, and typical of this high-quality guided tour, where the travelling is easy and some of the most interesting aspects of Tasmania's history and beautiful landscape are laid out before us.

Our group of 37 mature and friendly travellers - mostly couples, with a smattering of single women among them - have become quite comfortable with each other during the first few days of our luxury coach trip, which started in Hobart.

Our first outing in Hobart, after settling in at the waterfront Grand Chancellor Hotel and being welcomed by our tour guide, Dave Overton, and driver, Tom Bartusz, was to hop aboard the coach for a drive through the city's streets.

For a Dunedinite, Hobart has a familiar feel. Founded in 1804 around the estuary of the giant Derwent River on the east coast, Tasmania's capital (population about 210,000) is nestled amid hills with the water forming its central feature. The streets are hilly, narrow and lined with a mix of small wooden cottages and more substantial residences, and Dave keeps us informed with snippets of local history, much of it based on its original role as the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land.

A welcome dinner on our first evening gives our disparate group a chance to get to know each other, and already tentative friendships are forming. The group are mostly Australians, either middle-aged or in vigorous retirement, along with a few New Zealanders, a Chinese couple, a Canadian and a South African.

Day two, a Saturday, is a "free day'' and Dave and Tom are on hand after a communal breakfast to walk us along Hobart's lovely waterfront to the bustling Salamanca Market, a giant outdoor market offering everything from produce and baked food to souvenirs of all descriptions. Among the bustling crowds, members of our group encounter each other from time to time, sharing coffee and a laugh and comparing purchases.

As a historian, I take every opportunity to visit museums, and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) and nearby Maritime Museum are too interesting to miss. Their displays of the region's early history, convicts, native people, settlers, wildlife and extraordinary maritime heritage are balanced with special exhibitions commemorating World War 1 and displays of modern art.

The TMAG displays highlight the dismal early history of this remote region, especially the awful fate of the Palawa aboriginal population, virtually wiped out by disease, the "Black War'' of the 1820s and 1830s, and transportation to Flinders Island. The fate of the Tasmanian thylacine, or "tiger'', was equally dreadful. It was driven to extinction in the 1930s by settlers who hunted it for government bounties.

The flora and fauna of Tasmania plays an important role as our trip unfolds, as we are given every chance to encounter the local superstars: Tasmanian devils, wombats, wallabies, platypus, quolls and even possums.

Nowhere are they more in evidence than in the alpine region of Cradle Mountain, our destination on day four after spending the afternoon on the long and winding road from Strahan. Most of us collapse into bed straight after dinner, to prepare for the next day's adventure exploring Cradle Mountain National Park.

Dave and Tom hand us over to a local guide for the day's activities, which begin with a visit to spectacular Dove Lake and Gustav Windorfer's remote Waldheim Chalet, where we have a very close encounter with a calm and regal local wombat, who stands patiently while we jostle to take his picture.

The extraordinary fact that wombat excrement is cube-shaped provides endless amusement on our vigorous hour-long walk back to the tour coach, along a substantial boardwalk through forest and tussock land. It seems wombats like to use the boardwalk too.

After a relaxing afternoon back at the Cradle Mountain Hotel, during which a new friend and I enjoy watching the wallabies from the spa pool, we suit up for what turns out to be the highlight of a very special day. As dusk falls, a local guide collects us for the short van ride to Tasmanian Devil sanctuary Devils@Cradle, where we are to observe the night feeding of these extraordinary animals.

While the fierce little creatures tussle over possum carcasses in several enclosures, the keeper explains the massive scientific effort that is going into the fight to save the Tasmanian devil, including breeding programmes, and field and lab research. The survival of the Tasmanian devil is threatened by the deadly devil facial tumour disease, making disease-free captive breeding populations a vital part of the conservation effort.

After the feeding experience, it's back aboard the van for a hilarious session of "spotlighting'', when we cruise slowly along looking for wombats, wallabies, possums and quolls. The excitement of the Aussies over spotting a possum brings out the laconic Kiwi in me, and I just have to offer to parcel up our 60 million or so and send them back ``home'' to eat their forests.

Away bright and early on day six of our tour, we wend our way gently downwards, leaving the alpine landscape behind and heading for the northern coast. On the way, we drop in to the Pyke family's 41 South Tasmania salmon and ginseng farm, hearing the history of the place from one of its owners as we stroll through the tree-clad grounds and peer into a series of large tanks containing the fish.

Relaxing and chatting with my new friends in the sunshine, while we await our lunch, I'm struck by how comfortable we have become with each other. Strangers less than a week ago, we have been moulded by our experiences - and through the expert encouragement of Dave and Tom - into a cohesive, warm and supportive group.

The landscape opens out still further as we head into Launceston, Tasmania's second-largest city (population about 75,000), at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers. Another beautiful, historic city, built around a wide river delta, Launceston is renowned for its scenic Cataract Gorge and its wineries.

On my final day with the group - several of us are leaving the tour at Launceston, while the rest are continuing on around the east coast and back to Hobart - we experience both. After touring the gorge and laughing breathlessly with a fellow acrophobic (fear of heights) on the Cataract Gorge chairlift, we are soothed by the excellent wine and delicious food at Chromy Wines.

Dave and Tom are with us, helping to keep the conversation flowing and taking some last, treasured, group photos.

Free to find our own entertainment on my last night, six of us - Kiwis, Aussies and a Canadian - head into Launceston to share dinner, laughter and more stories at a local Thai restaurant. And hugging them all goodbye, I marvel at how new experiences make for a very small world.



 

• Brenda Harwood travelled through Tasmania with AAT Kings' 7-day Tassie's Parks & Nature First Choice guided holiday from Hobart to Launceston.

Priced from $3095 per person twin share.

For more on AAT Kings' Australia and New Zealand guided holidays, short breaks and day tours, visit aatkings.com, phone 0800 500 146 or ask your travel agent.

 

 

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