Tempting Tasmania
Autumn is the perfect time to visit Tasmania, with the finest in produce gracing tables throughout the state, vineyards harvesting grapes for their next vintage and flora and fauna rejoicing in the turning of the season.
From Launceston in the north to the capital city of Hobart in the south; Freycinet Peninsula on the East Coast; Strahan on the edge of the World Heritage Area in the west; and the alpine heights of Cradle Mountain in Tasmania’s heart – an abundance of activity is waiting to be discovered.
Sail the wide expanses of the Derwent River on the new champagne cruise aboard Sydney to Hobart yacht Helsal IV, departing daily from Wrest Point in Hobart. Best known as Australia's first casino, Wrest Point continues to provide the city's best entertainment, dining and accommodation.
Take a tour of the Tamar Valley wine region as the vineyards change colour, or explore the historic estates of Woolmers and Brickendon while enjoying the classic surrounds of Country Club Tasmania in Launceston. Country Club features an 18-hole championship golf course, Arabian horse riding, the finest in food and wine at the award-winning Terrace Restaurant, and your choice of accommodation from five-star suites to one, two and three-bedroom semi-self contained villas.
Tarraleah is a spectacular 300-acre adventure resort in Tasmania's Central Highlands just an hour and a half from Hobart. Adventure Tarraleah guides offer fly fishing, lake kayaking, bushwalking, mountain biking and 4WD tours. It doesn't stop there - play golf on Tasmania's highest course, walk through temperate rainforest to the Tarraleah Falls, feed the Highland Cattle, taste a few of the 100 single malt whiskies, or soak up the views from the cliff-top hot tub.
The magnificent granite peaks of the Hazards Mountains reflect the autumn colours of Freycinet National Park, which offers a variety of experiences including walking, kayaking, rock climbing, abseiling, nature photography and bird watching. Sample salty-sweet oysters plucked fresh from the waters in front of Freycinet Lodge, relax by the open fire, enjoy the peace and solitude of your one or two-bedroom cabins and wander the grounds and beaches surround you.
Immerse yourself in the natural and cultural heritage of Tasmania's west, home to the equal highest rating World Heritage Area of anywhere on Earth. Here the temperate rainforests have stood for hundreds of thousands of years and bear witness to dramatic changes in the landscape. Take a historic train journey on the West Coast Wilderness Railway, a cruise through the World Heritage Area on the Gordon River aboard Lady Jane Franklin II, or an intimate, engaging experience in one of the most remote and undiscovered parts of the world on a Piners and Miners signature experience.
Piners and Miners has been carefully created to highlight the West Coast's natural and historic beauty – the temperate rainforests of the World Heritage Area, a long history of mining and harvesting of Huon pine and the tenacity of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
The Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is an area dominated by craggy peaks, mountain lakes, temperate rainforests and buttongrass plains. At the end of Autumn, Tasmania’s only deciduous native plant, Nothofagus gunnii or Fagus, turns brilliant shades of red, orange and gold – a spectacular reminder of Australia’s Gondwanan heritage. Climb the rocky mountain tracks to take in the views across the glacial-carved landscape from the summit of Cradle Mountain, indulge in a double massage and private bath at CALM day spa, or sip fine Tasmanian wine and taste our freshest produce by the open fires at Cradle Mountain Chateau . There is a range of accommodation styles, providing a luxurious end to your day exploring the area's unique wilderness. For a more sedate wilderness experience, The Wilderness Gallery is set within the grounds of the Chateau, displaying works from some of the world’s finest photographers.
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