Tasmania

Overview
Tasmania has a concentration of delights for travellers. It is edged with uncrowded beaches that include gorgeous Wineglass Bay on the east coast, one of the world's best beaches. In contrast is the wonderfully tempestuous west coast. Places like Marrawah and Strahan's Ocean Beach are pounded by huge swells generated by the roaring forties winds as they blow unhindered all the way from Africa. This provides what might be the world's cleanest air.

Tasmania is one of the world's most mountainous islands, and this combines with its southern location to add an element of unpredictability to its temperature climate. Dramatic changes in weather conditions often add to the experience of the island's spectacular scenery.

Although it is Australia's smallest state - only 296 kilometres from south to north and 315 kilometres east to west - Tasmania's territory also includes the Bass Strait islands and subantarctic Macquarie Island. A population of just 477,100 is eclipsed by over half a million visitors each year, and Tasmania is famous for its friendly welcome and relaxed pace of life.

The Palawa people have been here for around 35,000 years, and despite the terrible impact that white settlement has had on their culture, they are a large and increasingly influential community today. Middens are common around the coastline, showing where generations of Palawa people cooked shellfish meals. These culturally significant sites can be tens of thousands of years old.

Abel Tasman sighted and named Van Diemen's land in 1642, closely followed by French and British explorers. The British - never keen to be outdone by the French - acted in 1803 to establish a presence on the River Derwent. With the arrival of the British, white settlement got off to a rollicking and violent start - as penal colony for the first 50 years. Many of Tasmania's early stories involve escaped convicts like pie-maker Alexander Pearce, who was executed for killing and eating a fellow escapee while trying to get form Macquarie Harbour to Hobart. The Pieman River, beside the tiny west-coast town of Corinna, is named after Pearce.

Tasmania is the home of the world's first Greens party. Local environmental politics captured international attention in the 1980's when the No Dams campaign saved the Franklin River from being flooded for a hydro-electric scheme.

The island's spirited cultural life includes the renowned Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, award-winning author Richard Flanagan and many arts and literary events. Ten Days On the Island is a biennial festival that attracts island communities from around the world in a celebration of the unique qualities of island life.

Although two-thirds of the land is too harsh for farming. Tasmania has a growing reputation for boutique agriculture and aquaculture. A gastronomic circumnavigation of the island offers as much diversity as the landscape and a chance to discover Tasmania's cool-climate, wines, fresh seafood, fruits and fine cheeses.

Tasmania is bursting with wonderful surprises. A winding country road can suddenly reveal a colonial village, a boutique vineyard or a breathtaking ocean view. From landscape and history to food and culture, Australia's island state is feast for travellers.

Tasmania Climate
Tasmania has a temperate maritime climate similar to that of England's and, surrounded by ocean, it rarely experiences extremes of temperature. The prevailing weather pattern is from west to east and as a result the west coast is the wettest, while the east coast is almost always warmer and milder than the rest of the state.

Summer brings warm days and mild evenings from December to February with maximum temperatures averaging 70°F (21°C), while winter can be stormy with snow on the mountain peaks between July and August, with average maximum temperatures of 40°F (12° C). Rainfall occurs throughout the year... Perhaps the best time to travel to Tasmania is from February to April, as the weather is most stable from the end of summer to autumn.