Tasmania

                                       Tasmania

1. Sullivan’s Cove, Hobart

(© Robert Harding World Imagery / Alamy)

The birthplace of Tasmanian whisky, Sullivans Cove on the River Derwent was where the British, in 1804, established the settlement that would go on to become the vibrant, beautiful port city of Hobart.The waterfront of Tasmania’s tiny capital city (pop. 212,000) is today almost entirely intact from the British colonial era, when convicts, sealers and whalers made up the bulk of the hard-bitten community. A stroll along the restored Salamanca Place is eerily picturesque: the Georgian-era buildings were carved by 19th-century prison laborers from golden sandstone, and are framed by Hobart’s gleaming waters, with eucalyptus-covered mountains in the distance. The once-crumbling stores around Salamanca Square have been renovated into art galleries, bookstores, outdoor cafés and high-end restaurants, including Smolt, which specializes in Tasmanian salmon. After dinner, continue around the harbor for a drink at the Henry Jones Art Hotel, a former convict-built warehouse converted into chic luxury accommodation and exhibition space for local artists.

2. Hike to Wineglass Bay

(© Alistair Scott / Alamy)

 Pounded by the wild Southern Ocean, Tasmania has a cooler and more volatile climate than mainland Australia. But the east coast is the island’s sunniest shore, and the Freycinet Peninsula its most welcoming stretch, with white sand beaches and lime green waters framed by magnificent peaks called the Hazards. Stay at the majestic new eco-lodge Saffire in Coles Bay, which opened in 2010 with breathtaking views from its designer cabins, then take the hour-long hike over the mountain saddle to Wineglass Bay. The arc of the beach is like an enormous goblet, whose pristine sands are patrolled by wallabies. The landscape may look like an antipodean version of Hawaii, but throw yourself into the waves and you quickly realize that this is definitely the deep south, where the currents flow directly north from Antarctica. Saffire also runs boat trips along the peninsula, where you can spot thriving seal colonies—as well as an isolated rock quarry where pink marble was mined to decorate the lobby of the Empire State Building in the early 1930s.

3. Explore Convict Relics

(© William Robinson / Alamy)

 Tasmania’s grim convict past is encapsulated in the ruins of Port Arthur, which from 1833 to 1853 housed repeat offenders from Australia’s other prison camps. The idyllic pastoral setting on the Tasman Peninsula, with verdant bush and trimmed green grass, forms a striking contrast to the Gothic structural remains, with their sinister-looking cellblocks and bleak history. An extreme form of solitary confinement was instigated here, where prisoners were locked in total darkness and provided just bread and water for days on end, driving many to madness; to deter escapees, the peninsula’s narrowest point was guarded by half-starved dogs. Today Port Arthur’s serenity only seems to highlight its tragic past; the standard tour of the site contains many gruesome details and ghost stories. Spectral sightings at Port Arthur first began in the late 19th century, but true fans of the occult can now sign up for the Paranormal Investigations Experience, a four-hour search for late-night unnatural activity that uses the latest “professional” testing equipment.