Caravanning Tasmania.

Take it. We are in Tassie now. I don't think there is a straight, or flat road in the state. There are numerous caravan parks and also numerous free camping spots. We have an 18ft van and haven't had any problems so far. I have seen some bigger rigs on some hilly roads eg. around Queenstown.

we looked at taking our 16 footer to tassie the fare for the van was waaaaayy to much.so were taking our pajero and just hotel it for a week and still be cheaper than taking the van over
cheers

There are lots of caravan parks and lots of free camping places. The state is just made for free camping. It does depend on how long you want to go for and how much free camping you are willing to do. We have been a few times and last time, Jan-March 2011, we took our camper trailer and loved it, except for some bad weather, cold and wet. (Spent 8 weeks in Tasy) But in a caravan you would be nice and snug. We would definitely be taking our camper again next time.

Take the van can,t go wrong we took our 21ft outback sterling with a petrol 98 pajero towed it no problems but a little slow at times the road in to Queenstown is awesome when towing plenty of free camping the caravan parks are plentiful but most but not all are not as well set up as the mainland
Take some levelling ramps very few sites in tassie are level
Have a good trip Steve

Go for it. Drove over 4000kms that little place in four months last year.
Had the Hema GPS and tried everytime to take the back gravel roads when going somewhere. Found some absolutely great places with nobody around. They are used as logging roads and some locals use them but rarely came across the trucks and the roads were in pretty good condition.
You will find places besides streams to park up and relax or just chill out.
Very peaceful away from the crowd and found that the back roads usually did not have the switch backs that the bitumen roads have.
I would only travel on the more isolated back tracks with a detailed GPS (plus the Tasmania Atlas & Guide for back up) and there is a good book called 4WD tracks in Tasmania- Off Road Tasmania by Chris Boden, third edition that details the tracks, difficulty, what to see as well as the history of the area, road condition etc.
It was worth it. Will need some chill pills as sometimes you will get stuck behind an old local doing 45-50 in a 100 zone and unable to pass for a long time and they dont pull over to let the dozen or more vehicles behind them pass. One of the reasons the back roads were a blessing for me.

Hi Kev

You really need at least six weeks for a quick look around. It is costly getting there, so it pays to wait until you have the time to do it justice. If you are set up for free camping, there are lovely spots to go. Caravan parks may be fairly full in their summer school holidays, otherwise you should get in OK. We left the van many times and did day trips - which meant we didn't have to worry about not being able to turn around in an unknown car park for a waterfall or feature, and could get out on the forestry and back tracks.

Get a quote on hiring and compare to cost of taking your own rig. Even consider a tent (but maybe not in winter as a couple i know did as they couldn't get a caravan booking on the Spirit at short notice when they got to Melbourne as part of their big lap). So much more convenient to have your own caravan and all your stuff with you than hiring - so consider that too.

I have very brief blogs in My Blog from our 2006 trip.

Motherhen

We toured Tas for a month this time last year, with a C/t & it wasnt long enough to
see it all. You will need to go to the Spirit of Tas. website to establish the cost of
taking the van. You need to measure the overall length of the car & van combined
to get an accurate cost.They charge by the meter, & height may also be an added
factor of cost. It is not cheap....but.....
I doubt you can hire a mobile home at a cost comparable to taking your van, or stay
in motels either, but you can check that out.
The roads are generally good & speed doesnt seem to obsess Taswegians, so driving
is pleasant. Plenty of camps & van parks.
Tas is dragging her skirts a bit, & nearly everything is for sale, but scenically it is a
beautiful place. "Just like NZ" is oft quoted, but that is drawing a long bow,
nevertheless...everyone should go at least once..........oldbaz.

What a wonderful response! You folks are amazing. Thanks very much for all your great advice. This years trip is May Jun Jly Aug, Pinjarra WA to Darwin, then down through the middle to Sth Aust and then home. I just thought that if we lobbed in Sth Aust with time to spare we could shoot across to Tassie for a while. It's now obvious that I need to dedicate Maybe six months of 2013 to time in Tassie and Vic. We will take the van across, and I can feel a plan already starting to develop. I was pleased to hear of the Free Camping in Tassie as we bush camp almost 100% of the time. We stick to the dirt and try to only see bitumen when we cross it (that way we see an awful lot that others don't, and generally have the world to ourselves - and the firewood).
Thanks once again for all your great responses. We shall now do Tassie at a leisurely pace on another trip and get the most from it

Best Regards ....................... Kev.

On my last trip to Tassie I did very little camping. I chose small towns away from major centres and just booked into the local hotel. Cheapest was $20 p/n Dearest was $55, and average was about $30-$35. If you don't free camp this is not much more than the van parks will charge you and at the end it might be cheaper than taking the van across. The two way journey cost me $550 and I used about $500- $600 max on accommodation over a 4 week period. I think $1200 is very cheap for transport and accom for a four week holiday. That's about $40 a day.