Touring New Zealand for 3 weeks then on to Australia. Is Tasmania worth a visit or is it similar to scenery in New Zealand. If it is worth visiting how long should we allocate for this?
Many thanks.

Tasmania is NOT similiar to NZ and yes it is "worth a visit" but you give no information i.e where are you from, when are you going, what age group are you in? This makes it very hard for anyone to give you good information.
By the way Tasmania is Australia.

Tasmania is definitely worth visiting, and you will find that it is not at all similar to NZ. To do it well would take at least a week, but you could see the high spots in 4 days.

Hi Surich,

Agree 100% with Liz and Alf; my last three sets of clients came into my office with no knowledge or thought of going to Tasmania, but after we met, I "sold" them on the idea.

The first set, Mom and 12 year old son came back and are already planning to go again next year! The second was a couple who were doing exactly what you're planning -- they went to NZ first; had 5 days in Tassie, (doing the highlights as Alf said), and then Cairns/Sydney (but had 3 weeks.

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie, Kiwi & Tasmania Specialist

Hi Surich
I haven't been to Tasmania but quite a few members of my family have. They liked it very much. From what they have told me, there probably are a few similarities between Tasmania and NZ, not necessarily in scenery, but perhaps more in its pace. I'm certainly looking forward to going there and wouldn't be put off the possibility of it being similar to NZ.

Yes, Australia (including Tasmania) and New Zealand (especially the South Island) are very different in terms of geology/landform, wildlife and vegetation. Geologically Australia is very old, NZ very new.

Culturally of course both countries were settled within a few decades of each other by much the same sort of people, with the key difference that Australia was established as a penal colony and the Irish influence was much more noticeable. There's also a big difference in the place of the pre-European peoples. The NZ Maori and the Australian Aboriginals are very different cultures, and the Tasmanian Aboriginals were practically wiped out anyway. The Maori mounted a much stronger and better coordinated military resistance and now occupy a more prominent place in NZ society.

Incidentally, I'm planning to get a copy of Tom Kenealley's latest book, this time on the settlement of Australia, "The Commonwealth of Thieves" - looks like an excellent account.

Yes, Tassie is worth the visit. Go to Bruny Island, just a short ferry boat ride away from Hobart. You'll see wonderful scenery and a lot of Australian and New Zealand fur seals.

Hmmm, planning third trip to Tasmania and forgot about Bruny Island. Is this a day trip from Hobart or better from Huon Valley where I plan to spend several days thanks to LizF's recommendations. Ideas? Thanks.
oliverandharry

Its just a short drive over the other side of the peninsular from Huonville to Kettering where the Ferry goes to Bruny Island. Probably take you about 15 minutes to the Ferry and you can do Bruny in a day trip. The road that you would go is south from Huonville and turn left at Gardner's Bay to Woodbridge - Kettering is only 4 Klms north of there! Just north of Woodbridge is Peppermint Bay where there is a lovely sea-side place or hotel or something with lovely meals and alcohol and which overlooks the sea. There is a special launch which comes from Hobart bringing tourists there just to have lunch so that is a nice place for lunch or dinner. The route over is the route that I took when I saw all those nocturnal animals so that too is a bonus.

Oliver and Harry,
Don't I recall LIZ mentioning a few months back that she had bought the Huon Valley?

I'm sure Margo will remeber that the best Thai restaurant in Australia is actually in Tasmania, North Hobart to be exact!

Melodie, I see you've added a few new "specialists' to your sign off. What about San Jose?

Thank you again, Liz, I've since found two good Bruny websites, and that's been added to our list for May. We are not Bligh scholars, but since we're going on to Norfolk Island, the Bligh Museum on Bruny looks worth a peek. And lovely food as well, yum!

AndrewDavid,

New sign-offs? Nah, nothing new, just the same old ones! I just spread 'em out!

San Jose is fine...I know the way!

Melodie

Melodie, living up to her name, eh.

A/D

so what are the high/must do spots of Tasmania?

Lots of info here on TAS Sweet_Willie - I suggest you do a search, or perhaps start a new thread, as this one is a bit dated (2005).

I agree with Melnq8 that you start another thread but in the meantime perhaps you can make use of this:

I am putting this on another post so may as well put it on here too - for Tasmania information on just about everything.

http://www.discovertasmania.com/brochures

Come back for specific questions that you may have and we can answer them - hopefully