Tasmania

At a superficial glance Tasmania feels closer to Britain, with its combination of cool wet mountains and farmed lowlands, than to the scorched outback of mainland Australia the other side of the Bass Strait. That impression lasts only as long as it takes to get from the airport tarmac to the first stand of forest. Tasmania not only supports the richest areas of cool temperature rainforest in Australia but also superb heaths and bogs, wild rivers, and dramatic mountains whose flora is as unique and distinctive as its famous mammals.

Tasmania provides the best chance in the southeast of the country to easily see a variety of Marsupials including some that are now extinct on the mainland. Add to this a bird fauna that ranges from penguins to parrots and the attraction of Tasmania to the naturalist are obvious. Tasmania’s special status is recognized in that much of the western mountains and coasts have been designated a World Heritage Area. Even if its wildlife was not of international importance, the grandeur and variety of the scenery would have ensured its designation.

After visiting the Myrtle and Sassafras forests of Huon we’ll spend a couple of days on the renowned island of Bruny where Pademelons and Quolls feature as well as many species of orchid including delicate little ‘Green-hoods’ less than 5cm high. We’ll explore the wild World Heritage Area around Lake St Clair and the Cradle Mountain. There’s weird Banksias, and gorgeous white and red Waratahs, an immense variety of conifers and just immense Eucalypts. We’ll enjoy Tree-ferns, gaudy yellow Guinea-Flowers and the beautiful Christmas Bells whose metre-tall stems are topped by clusters of tubular red campanulate flowers. We’ll finish the tour amid the spectacular red granite peaks of Freycinet and the Tasman Arch.

We’ll see primitive egg-laying mammals like the Platypus and the Echidna and look for predators such as the famed Tasmanian Devil. Wallabies are frequently seen and we’ll also search for Quoll, Bandicoots and Sugar Gliders, Amongst the many birds we’ll see are Wedge-tailed Eagle, Pink-eared Duck, the noisy Kookaburra, the lovely little Beautiful Firetail Finch and the exquisite Superb Blue Wren.