Tasmania.....

Reiner

We spent 3.5 weeks there last January. The following get my vote:

- Jacob's Ladder / Ben Lomond drive
- St Helens - beautiful area, relaxing, fishing
- Pt Arthur / Tasman Pen. - spectacular, history etc
- Cadbury factory tour - kids loved that
- Mt Field / Russell Falls - stunning, great for walking
- Lyell Hwy / World heritage area - numerous places
- Queenstown - one big environmental lesson
- Strahan / Gordon River cruise - spectacular area

Dont worry you only got 2 weeks there, even 3.5 weeks not enough by a long way for us. Just enjoy the time you have!

cheers JD

Might I suggest you'd be better off going straight there, 2 days to Melbourne, and spend the extra time in Tassie. I second jdwynn's itinerary as a good starting point. Then you should throw in Cradle Mt and the Lakes district.

If you want to do some serious 4WD stuff then you'll find most of it down the west coast.

A must is HOBART on saturday for the market it is one of the best in Australia

We did 2 weeks in April last year.

Basic intinary was:

Launceston couple of days.
St Helens (Bay of Fires)
Coles Bay (Freycinet Nat Park)
Port Arthur
Hobart couple of days (Bruny Island)
Strahan couple of days
Cradle Mountain
Stanley

Then back to Devonport for return trip.

2 Weeks in Tassie last April

Basic itinary was:

Launceston couple of days
St Helens (Bay of Fires)
Coles Bay (Freycinet Nat Park)
Port Arthur
Hobart couple of days (Bruny Island)
Strahan couple of days
Cradle Mountain
Stanley

Devonport and home

Reiner what do you want to see & do? Are you looking for remote 4x4 destinations, National Park walks, historical sites, action adventure or touristy destinations? Are you camping, towing or looking for accomodation? 2 weeks is very little time to do justice so is there an area of Tassie you are particually interested in? It may be small but it takes a bit of time to get around.
No doubt you have tickets booked on the boat but as others have said prior shorten your travel time from Brissy down to vic to a few days & spend another wek over there.
Cheers Craig..........

Montezuma Falls & Ring Road (if it hasn't been raining)..
Spray Tunnel..
Stanley-Strahan (spend the $$ & do a Franklin Cruise & possibly railway trip)
Elephant Pass to St Marys (E. Coast)..
Tahune Air Walk

If it's 4WDing- there's a good guide a 4WD tracks- available from ExplorOz..
Also, I think I heard on the radio the other day that the 'Ferry' will be operating out of Sydney again !! I went out of Sydney a couple of years ago, and it was a great trip..
Have a good time

Reiner,
Whilst down at Hobart you could base yourselves at Barilla Holiday Park which we found to be excellent.It is just out of Richmond which is a must see and can do trips to Port Arthur etc from there.
Cheers Mark

Reiner hi ,
We will be down their from the 11th till the 24th, will keep an eye open for you. We will be mainly interested in fly fishing so will be arround the lakes somewhere. We will be in a red se Jack, and camping.
Have a great time Pete

I'm a loud and proud Taswegian. It has surprised me to see all the trips that others have done in our great state and none of them have mentioned Wayatinah ,halfway between Hobart and Queenstown. Definitely one of the BEST caravan park experiences in Tas. Hydro lake full of trout and platypus,heated outdoor half olympic swimming pool and tennis court. Powered sites, or for those that are self sufficient there is a footy oval to set up on. Nice and flat.

Amenities are being upgraded next year so can be a bit overworked during really busy periods.

I was there with the family for two weeks during January. Met a couple from Denmark who were on an eight week Aust trip. Hired their van in Adelaide,drove to Melb and floated to Tassie. After just four days here they decided to spend about 6 weeks here to see the place properly. 2 weeks wont even scratch the surface.

Many make the mistake of looking at a map and thinking that Tas is a small place. True....but it can take a long time to go places here.Had many comments from mainlanders aboiut how different the driving conditions are here.

If you are planning to spend time south of Hobart...( Dover,Tahune Air Walk,Hastings caves), etc..I would suggest the Snug Caravan Park as a home base for day trips.

Port Arthur caravan park is central to all the attractions of the area. Has some ensuite sites too ,if you're lucky enough to score one for your stay.

Hope you have a safe trip here.

cheers Landed Eagle

All that way for only 2 weeks in beautiful Tassie, Reiner! You'll have to return again. We spent 7 weeks there and only saw a sample of the sights. I have pictorial trip notes of the best of what we saw available by email, so if these would help you choose what you want to see the most, member msg me your email address.

Motherhen

This is what I love most about this group, look what I got on info, that alone is worth the membership fee for a year.
I thank everybody here for the replies and I have printed it all out and use it on the trip.If you see a white Nissan ute with two kayaks on top and a teardrop camper behind that is us. 4 weeks out there, only one more sleep :-))
Thanks again to all and will report when we get back.
cheers
Reiner and Sam