i am in the middle of planning a 6 week trip over to australia and new zealand with my sister. she was wanting to go to tasmania while we were there as well. however, she heard that if we are spending a considerable amount of time in new zealand that going to tasmania as well is kind of point less, so we wondering if there is a point to doing both new zealand and tasmania? thanx in advance for any help you can give me.<BR>one other thing, i read here recently about a boat that goes up from cairns to the cape and i was wondering if any one had any more information about that boat ride? again, thanx in advance for all your help!<BR>samantha

You often hear that NZ is similar to Tassie but i think mainly it's the weather in parts and also the green rolling hills but from my research into Tassie and I haven't been there yet, I believe it has a lot to offer that is quite different to NZ. I have covered most of NZ. but would like to see Tassie at some point in time. do a web search on both and see what most appeals to you.

There is really very little that is similar between the two places. Tasmania has world heritage listed areas which have not been explored yet and others that are easy hiking and have an abundance of wildlife - something that NZ does not have. Tassie has little convict built,cute villages, the convict penal area at Port Arthur which is in a beautiful area. Tassie has Freycinet Peninsular which has some of the lovliest coastline you could ever find. On the other hand NZ has high snow covered mountains, glaciers, glacier lakes and in the north island a thermal area - but the south island is the most magnificent of the two.

Samantha:<BR>Been to New Zealand twice for a total of 2 months. Been to Hobart for a weekend. I found them to be two entirely differently places. Liz describes both nicely. <BR>They are two distinctly different places. While in Hobart we took a tour and visited Port Arthur and actually saw a Tasmanian Devil at one of the stops. Vicious little critters!<BR>Also spent Saturday morning at the Salamanca Market. Lovely place.<BR>We stayed at the Grand Chancellor hotel right on the wharf. They have a great seafood buffet on Saturday night, or was it Friday night?<BR>I vote for Tassie.<BR>John<BR>

Hi Samantha,<BR><BR>I agree with the other posters - Tasmania and New Zealand are not "alike". For one thing, the people you'll meet. You can't just "lump" the Aussies and the Kiwis together and say they're the same! Actually, I find that there is an "island mentality" with the Tasmanians; while they are Australian, they do take great pride in telling you that you're sampling TASMANIAN cheese and TASMANIAN wine, etc. I was there in April, and I never heard anyone say "here's some Australian.....whatever". <BR><BR>With 6 weeks you have enough time to sample both - you lucky person!<BR><BR>Regards,<BR><BR>Melodie<BR>Certifie d Tassie & Kiwi Specialist