Round the isle by campervan

Press, 14 June 1983, Page 27

Round the isle by campervan

We travelled 1700 kms round Tasmania in a 4cylinder Mazda campervan, ideal for a family. We had not pre-booked but had no problems finding a space at camping grounds. Leaving Hobart we travelled west through the hop-growing Derwent valley and past farm-lands into higher country where we viewed huge power projects, beautiful lakes, tame wallabies at Lake St Clair, snowcapped mountains, deep gorges, native bush, ferns and wildflowers. We travelled everywhere on good roads. Coming into the Mount Lyell copper mine area with the bare, multi-coloured hills around Queenstown was a sharp contrast to the native scenery. The mineral areas of Zeehan (fantastic mineral museum), Roseberry, and Mount Bishchoff were interesting. In the north-west, at Stanley, “The Nut” (with a muttonbird colony on top) gives a commanding view in all directions. Allow time in the north to see places of interest: Table Cape, Cataract Gorge, Cradle Mountain, Bowman Bridge, safe beaches and handicraft shops where bargains are better than in Hobart. Through the passes and down the east coast the scenery is even more beautiful than on the west. At Ross, Richmond and Hobart 150-year-old buildings and bridges of locally quarried stone add to Tasmania’s historic interest. From Hobart visits to Mount Wellington with its marvellous panorama, Russell Falls at Mount Field National Park, south to the Huon Valley, Port Arthur, Battery Point and the Wrest Point Casino all contributed to a varied and interesting four weeks holiday, enjoyed immensely by our family. — B. ARNOLD Blenheim

“The Press” recently invited readers who are familiar with Tasmania to offer tips and advice that could be helpful to others setting off to Australia’s island state for the first time. Space does not permit the printing of all the contributions received, but the selection reproduced on this page is representative of the views submitted. Whitcoulls $lO gift vouchers will be sent to the three contributors whose items appear below.