Hi there,<BR><BR>I'm considering signing up for a tour of Tasmania (the &quot;Wombat&quot; tour) offered by the tour operator Active New Zealand. I read about it on iexplore.com.<BR><BR>Has anyone here had any experience with Active New Zealand, good or bad? Appreciate your comments.

I would think very carefully about taking a tour of Tasmania until you have done some really good research because you could find yourself in places you don't want to see and not in those you do. Getting to Tasmania is easy - getting around is even more easy and finding a tour/s to suit you once you are there is probably the better way to go. Unless we knew where the Wombat tour went/ cost / etc it is hard to mark suggestions.

Hi Beezus--<BR>A guy I know just finished a tour of the S. Island of NZ using Active NZ--not the same tour as you're considering but it is the same company ;-)<BR><BR>He's been emailing throughout the trip and always had great things to say about the guides and definately seemed to be enjoying himself.<BR><BR>Debbie

Debbie, Thanks!<BR><BR>Liz -- good point. Here's a brief rundown of the Wombat tour - I'm planning to go mid-January. I don't drive and I travel alone, so these kinds of tours are ideal for me. (cost: US $1700 all-inclusive land package)<BR><BR>I edited out all the details and just focussed on the places we'd go. Thanks in advance for feedback!<BR><BR>8 days: Hobart to Launceston <BR><BR>Monday: Hiking to Waterfall Bay <BR>- Tasman Peninsula: Tasman Arch and Devil's Kitchen blowholes<BR>- Waterfall Bay <BR>- Eaglehawk Neck <BR>Overnight: Cabins at Port Arthur<BR><BR>Tuesday: Wielangta Rainforest Walk &amp; Hiking on Maria Island <BR>- Wielangta rainforest walk<BR>- Orford<BR>- ferry to Maria Island National Park <BR>Overnight: Eastcoaster Resort, Louisville<BR><BR>Wednesday : Sailing along the Freycinet Peninsula &amp; Hiking to Waterloo Point <BR>- Swansea <BR>- two-hour hike to Waterloo Point (view of Freycinet Peninsula)<BR>- Cole Bay<BR>- board a catamaran for sail along Freycinet Peninsula. <BR>Overnight: Camping on Freycinet Peninsula <BR><BR>Thursday: Hiking in Freycinet National Park <BR>- summit Mt Graham <BR>Overnight: Cabins at Cole Bay<BR><BR><BR>Friday: Hiking the Overland Track in the Cradle Mountains <BR>- Cradle Mountain National Park<BR>- hike to Marian's Lookout and Waterfall Valley<BR>Overnight: Mountain huts in Cradle Mountain National Park <BR><BR>Saturday: Hiking to the Summit of Barn Bluff <BR>- If weather is inclement, hike to Lake Will<BR>- Lake Rodway <BR>Overnight: Mountain huts in Cradle Mountain National Park <BR><BR><BR>Sunday : Hiking in Cradle Mountain &amp; Nocturnal Naturalist Walk <BR>- south side of Cradle Mountain<BR>- Dove Lake<BR>- Wombat Pool<BR>- after dark with a local naturalist to find some nocturnal marsupials. <BR>Overnight: Silver Ridge Lodge, Mt Roland

That sounds an interesting tour but it is really missing an aweful lot but it does make up for that on natural attractions. Do a search for tours in Tasmania and see what they all have to offer before settling on one - in case you could factor in a little bit more variety.

Well, it is the natural attractions that I like best.<BR><BR>I am also planning on arriving in Hobart a day early (Sunday) to see a little of the town, and then staying in Launceston (or a neighboring town) and seeing the lavendar farm. <BR><BR>Any ideas on how I might get transportation to the lavendar farm, early enough to take photographs as the sun rises?

I considered doing a tour with Active NZ of the South Island but have opted to go on my own. However, the owner called me in NYC several times to encourage me to sign up. He also had another member of his staff call to see if I had questions. Very nice and persistent. I would have done it if it wasn't so much hiking and physical activity. I didn't want to do that every single day. The Tasmania tour sounds very expensive for just a week. The tour I was looking at was $1999 for 2 full weeks.

I agree about the expense of the tour for that length of time and it also does not take in a lot of other wonderful areas. <BR>Anything in the Cradle Mountain area can be organized when you are there and so that can be taken care of oneself - same goes for around Port Arthur. As for Freceynet, you don't need a guide there either - just ask a local and they will show you, or follow the many well mapped trails. You could have a better holiday for much less than your quoted cost by logging on to the Tasmanian Tourist site and getting different tours etc to the areas you want to be in OR just getting there and then doing it all yourself.

Thanks, everyone, for your advice. You all make valid points. I will shop around and see if I cannot find a similar tour for less money, but for me, the big plus for the tours is that they take care of all the little details, leaving more stress-free time to enjoy the scenery. Plus, good guides can tell you a lot about the place you wouldn't learn otherwise.

At Cradle Mountain at least there are very good guides, naturalists and the like who live and work there all the time which means you get local knowledge.