Compare Hobart to Launceston Campervan Hire

The West Coast of Tasmania is wild and remote, populated by old mining towns amongst ancient rainforests. There’s a lot of history to be found in its more remote corners, but the main visitor spot is charming Strahan which affords easy access to Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River You’ll then surely want to cut back inland to take in wild and dramatic Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, oft titled the crown jewel of Tasmania. A quick jaunt across the bucolic Derwent Valley completes your circuit of the state.

Many visitors begin their time in Tasmania in the state capital of Hobart. Hobart City is well worth spending a few days in is often the best place to pick up your vehicle for the journey ahead.

Hobart is Australia's sits in the foothills of Mt Wellington at the entrance to the Derwent River. The port city cheerfully blends natural beauty, history, lively culture and food scene into a well-rounded visitor experience.

Among its attractions is Salamanca Place, a series of renovated 1830's Georgian warehouses that are now theatres, cafes, shops, and eateries. On Saturdays, Salamanca Market, one of Australia's favourite farmers' markets is held here.

Hobart allows many opportunities to leisurely spend the day, tasting locally crafted beer or visiting museums, such as the acclaimed MONA (Museum of Old and New Art).

Continuing anti-clockwise brings you to the Garden City of Launceston and the surrounding agricultural Midlands. Tasmania’s ‘second city’ contains many excellent examples of well preserved Colonial and Victorian architecture as well as easily accessible Cataract Gorge where the South Esk River runs to the sea. The Midlands was Tasmania’s original food basket back in the 1800s and today in the Tamar Valley you can see evidence of orchards, wine grape cultivation, and lavender crops.

Striking westward, Tasmania’s North West is home to a multitude of cute coastal towns, including Devonport where one can take a ferry to the mainland (note: you’ll probably leave your vehicle on the island and pick up another one on the other side). Another popular town of this region is Stanley, home to ‘The Nut’, an imposing flat-topped volcanic intrusion.

A short five-minute walk from the CBD, Cataract Gorge is Launceston’s own piece of wilderness, with walking tracks on both sides, having been established in the 1890’s.

The South Esk River gushes through the gorge to a confluence with the Tamar River at the 1867 King’s Bridge, a popular overlook. The chairlift at Cataract Gorge is the world’s longest single-span lift and a power station, just a bit upriver, made Launceston the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to be lit by electricity.

On the north shore, is the Cliff Grounds, a landscaped Victorian garden, complete with wandering peacocks and wallabies.

Rising 1270 metres above the city at its base, the tallest peak in the Wellington Range (original name: Kunanyi) is frequently topped by snow, even into the summer.

An enclosed lookout near the summit affords a dramatic 360-degree view of nearly 100 miles over the city and the Derwent River estuary, as it enters the Tasman Sea. An extensive network of walking tracks within this urban natural reserve allows for a variety of outdoor pursuits.