The North-West
From its ragged coastline to Cradle Mountain, north-west Tasmania is an ever-changing landscape. Its rust-red soils, reliable rainfall and warm summer temperatures make it one of the most productive and picturesque agricultural regions in Australia. Inland lies the wilderness.
Up into the mountains
To venture into the wilderness is a personal adventure, an experience that lasts beyond the 'here and now'. It's the ultimate 'nature blast.' Just one and-a-half hour's drive from the north-west coast, the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park forms part of Tasmania's magnificent 1.4 million-hectare World Heritage Area. Stay in a lodge on the edge of the park, take your caravan or tent, or just spend a day exploring the maze of trails which radiate from Waldheim. Feed tame wallabies in the car park. Climb into the saddle for a trail ride around the fringes, into a light aircraft for a wilderness flight or take a guided walking tour.
The visitor centre at Cradle Valley has information on the tracks, from gentle nature rambles for families with young children and trails for disabled people, to week-long treks for the intrepid and experienced. Set aside five days or more and walk the Overland Track -- one of the world's great treks -- to Lake St Clair. Undertake an overnight walk to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park or five spectacular peaks surrounding ancient pencil pine forests and glacial lakes.
Wilderness underground
Beneath the lush farmlands of the region are hundreds of limestone caves from tiny chambers to huge cathedral-like caverns. Take a guided tour of the spectacular King Solomon and Marakoopa Caves at Mole Creek or visit the stunning formations of the Gunns Plains Caves, inland from Ulverstone. Switch on your headlamp for a wild cave tour.
A wildlife encounter
Visit the wildlife park at Mole Creek and stand within a whisker of Tasmanian devils and other native birds and animals. See the endangered Green Swift Parrots at Forest Glen Gardens, near Devonport or native birds in a natural environment, at Sisters Beach.
Follow the boardwalk through wetlands to hides on the freshwater lagoon in the Asbestos Range National Park and see a range of birdlife. Stay on till dusk when kangaroos and wombats emerge to graze on native grasses. Walk along the beaches and search for oysters on the rocks.
Along the rural roadside
As you travel along the coast you will see agricultural enterprises at work -- large machinery on the move, irrigators in the fields, ground and aerial spraying and farmers herding cows down country lanes. Take your time to enjoy the experience, and watch out for the symbol and interpretative signs on the Tasmanian Agricultural Trail, which is being progressively developed around the state.
In quest of fine food
For a food tour of north-west Tasmania, drive along a country road in summer to farms that invite you to 'pick your own' blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and peas -- and take advantage of the fresh local produce on the menus of the best restaurants. Sample the region's locally-made cheeses -- Lactos, Table Cape, Ashgrove, and Mella, or wines from the vineyards at Barrington Estate with stunning views of Mount Roland and Lake Barrington, at Roland Views Estate and at Hawley House, near beautiful Hawley Beach. Stay for a picnic. Try Atlantic salmon or choose from a range of fresh fish at towns along the coast. Complete your meal with local hand-made chocolate truffles. Try liqueur-flavoured honey, buy it by the pot at the Promised Land, or take a honey tour at Mole Creek.
Shopping is an art
Fulfill a passion for dining and shopping in the township of Latrobe which has more restaurants per head of population than any town in Tasmania. Antique shops dot its historic main street.'Home' to bicycle racing since 1890, the Latrobe Wheel Race is one of Australia's biggest handicap events and is held each Christmas.
Stop at the original Coles Store at Wilmot and wander through Tasmania's biggest outdoor gallery at Sheffield, in the foothills of Mount Roland. More than 30 murals depicting the region's pioneers and rural life have been painted in or near the town. Browse in the local craft shops; take a train ride on the Redwater Creek line or lose yourself in the world's largest maze complex and lavender farm, at the entrance to Lake Barrington International Rowing Course. Shop at the Showcase for one of the most extensive ranges of pottery and woodcrafts at Devonport, home port of the "Spirit of Tasmania".
Take a scenic flight from the airport to Cradle Mountain or an historic train ride on the oldest operational steam locomotive in Australia, at Don. Follow the cycle path along the banks of the Mersey River to the Bluff and Tiagarra, to Aboriginal rock engravings on the headland.Visit the Maritime Museum and Home Hill, home of former Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and his wife, Dame Enid.
Take the scenic route
Follow the coast to parks, playgrounds and picnic grounds and the fairy penguin rookeries at Ulverstone and Penguin. Shop in Ulverstone for antiques and copper crafts and at the Penguin Old School Market on the second and fourth Sundays in the month for something old or original. Visit the deer and ostrich farm or picnic at Ferndene, and keep your eyes peeled for a platypus. Visit the Pioneer Village Museum which portrays the history of the port and timber city of Burnie, home of Lactos cheese and Reflex paper.
Down the garden path
Walk among the flowers and celebrate the seasons in spring, summer and autumn when the north-west coast is carpeted in flowers, tom poppies and pyrethrum daisies on the rural hinterland to magnificent public and private gardens open throughout the year.
The statewide Blooming Tasmania Festival begins in September and continues till February, with daffodil and spring Bower shows throughout the region and the Wynyard Tulip Festival a highlight of the season. Take the time to wander through the English Annsleigh Gardens, and Emu Valley Rhododendron Gardens -- with more than 9 000 plants -- on the outskirts of Burnie. Or further west, to the Lapoinya Rhododendron Garden set in a rainforest and the nearby tulip farm on magnificent Table Cape, near Wynyard. Drive on to Allendale Gardens at Edith Creek. Pack a barbecue and spend a leisurely day at Tasmania's only arboretum at Eugenana, near Devonport.