Hobart and the Apple isle : Tasmania's state capital, Hobart, on the Derwent River estuary, has retained much of its early architectural heritage, particularly in the handsome stone street scapes around Salamanca Place and Battery Point. Its Anglesea Army Barracks are the oldest barracks in Australia still in use by the military. In contrast to Hobart's convict era past are its modern suburbs and the tower of West Point Casino built in 1973, the first legal casino in Australia. The city, with a population of around 230000, has a spectacular backdrop in Mount Wellington and the equally imposing Mount Nelson, both often shrouded in clouds or snow. Much of the 'Apple Isle's' countryside, such as at Goshen, is tranquil pasture or dense forest.

The old penal settlement of Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula east of Hobart was a prison between 1830 and 1877, but is now Tasmania's most popular tourist attraction, with tranquil lawns, sea views, and no doubt, a few ghosts. At Richmond (north-east of Hobart), the 1823 Richmond Bridge, distinguished by its six arches, is the oldest surviving bridge in Australia. On the wild west coast, the port of Strahan on Macquarie Harbour once serviced the nearby travelling up the beautiful Gordon River.

MOUNTAIN GARNDEUR : Tasmania's rugged interior is a wonderland. Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park contains the famous Overland Track, a spectacular 83-kilometre bushwalk linking Lake St Clair in the south with Cradle Mountain in the north. Frenchmans Cap at 1443 metres, is the highest peak in the island's World Heritage area. In 1983, the waters of the Gordon River below its junction with the Franklin River were threatened by the proposed construction of a hydro-electric dam. World Heritage listing of the river prevented their destruction.