Drive along Tasmania
Airing Date: Apr 26th, 2008
North West TasmaniaDriving along Tasmania's north-west, there are plenty of opportunities for wildlife encounters with an abundance of animals in the region.
Going from Devonport you'll soon reach the very aptly-named town of Penguin, which is most famous for the little visitors it receives during the summer months - fairy penguins. There's only one town in the world called Penguin and this coastal village in north-west Tasmania is it.
Lance and Toni Hingston have opened their house to tourists for 15 years, giving visitors the chance to see the fairy penguins as they come in every summer evening at dusk at Penguin Point. The little penguins usually start to appear in mid-October and visit most nights up until March.
In Burnie, the locals have been keeping busy, they seem to have makers of all kinds, there's a cheese-maker, a whisky-maker and a paper-maker too! There's plenty of interesting locals to meet in Burnie, such as Pam Thorne and Ruth Rees, the artists in residence at Creative Paper Tasmania. They specialise in capturing life through the art of papier-mache and have a large collection of life-size "paper people" sculptures on show. Burnie is also home to The Cheese Tasting Centre and where you can try all types of award-winning Tasmanian cheeses and even grab a picnic lunch to take on the road with you!
Beyond Burnie is the historic village of Stanley which is nestled at the base of The Nut, a sheer-sided bluff - all that remains of an ancient volcanic plug. A walking track climbs to the summit of The Nut, or you can take the chairlift, with spectacular views across Bass Strait beaches and over the town.
The drive becomes greener as you pass the stunning tulip-filled town of Wynyard where they celebrate the annual Bloomin Tulip Festival every October. And Australia's biggest tulip farm, Table Cape, can also be found in Wynyard. They grow more than 4 million tulips each year and 80 different species. The tulip farm is only open for three weeks during spring from late September to mid October.
Heading inland there's The Dismal Swamp, which is far from dismal with an exciting slide to the swamp floor! Named by early explorers for the 'dismal' weather they had when they visited, the Dismal Swamp is a fun nature experience where you can descend to one of the largest sink holes in the southern hemisphere via the extreme slide, or have a botany lesson aboard a buggy ride to the bottom.
Near Marrawah, local legend Geoff King runs tours through the remote wilderness area on his 830 acre coastal property which is approximately the same size as New York's Central Park!
Geoff has turned his property into a wildlife preserve and its one of the few places where you can see Tasmanian devils in the wild.
The most western point of the apple isle marks the end of the adventure and that would be at Arthur River. The best way to see it is on the MV George Robinson which travels up the river through wild rainforest that hasn't been logged, dammed or had a hot fire through it rainforest for almost 650 years.
Further Information:Devonport, TASMANIA
Tourism Tasmania www.discovertasmania.com.au
Penguin PointPh: 03 6437 2590
Creative Paper Tasmania www.creativepapertas.com.au
The Cheese Tasting CentrePh: 03 6433 9255
Bloomin' Tulips Festival www.bloomintulips.com.au
Van Diemens Quality Bulbs www.vdqbulbs.com.au
Kings Run Wildlife Tours www.kingsrun.com.au
Arthur River Cruises www.arthurrivercruises.com
