If theres a single keynote for Tasmanias north-east, its colour - travelling through this part of the Island, you will be aware of the changing tones and hues of the land, the sky, the sea.

On the coast at Bridport, you will find one of Australias top golf courses Barnbougle Dunes overlooking Bass Strait. From Bridport to Tomahawk, you will see long sandy beaches, the bright orange of lichen-splashed granite and the clean, clear turquoise of the sea.

St Helens is a picturesque fishing port on the shores of Georges Bay and is the north-east coasts largest town. Beyond the sand bar, the ocean offers up game fish and the town is Tasmanias game-fishing capital. To the north is the pristine coast of the Bay of Fires.

In Scottsdales green and fertile valley, beyond the dark green of tall pines, dairy herds graze rich pastures and the fertile red soil nourishes wonderful vegetables - onions and peas, carrots and potatoes. In summer fields of poppies splash the landscape, and lavender bushes grow in tidy, purple stripes.

This is a region of surprising variety - from neat croplands of Scottsdale and Ringarooma to coastal heathlands and pastures of Mount William, where Forester kangaroos graze; from the rugged summits of Ben Lomond and Mount Barrow to the dairy pastures of Winnaleah; from the exciting offshore fishing at Bridport and St Helens to the rows of green-blossoming hops around Branxholm.

Each place has its own surprises - sapphires panned from old mines near Branxholm and Derby, impressive wood sculptures of our proud war heroes at Legerwood; farm cheese at Pyengana; skiing and walks on Ben Lomonds craggy heights; echoes of a mining heritage at Derby and the Blue Tier; rough-cut local granite in the towering Eddystone Point lighthouse; sweeping views of forests and farmlands as the Mathinna road descends to Fingal Valley.