Van-Tastic Tasmania Adventures

What's so Van-Tastic about Tasmania?

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Pick up: Melbourne, Drop off: Melbourne

Welcome to Australia’s Natural State. Locally nicknamed Tassie and Australia’s smallest state, the southern isle of Tasmania is nature’s holiday house, a place of enormously diverse wilderness areas ranging from the wildest of oceans, dunes and satellite inlets to near impenetrable rainforests, rugged mountain ranges, soaring sea-cliffs and serenely fragile alpine morelands.

A quarter of this outlandishly beautiful, perpetually active and adventure-laden island is composed of wildlife saturated national parks.

Tasmania is also an exuberantly social place that specialises in warm welcomes. It is filled with remote camping sites as well as cruisy hostels, sit-back-and-relax cafes, great bars and pubs, artsy shops and festive occasions.

Whilst discovering this physically dazzling, unique and accessible island expect to be out and about bushwalking, rafting, kayaking, as well as gliding through Australia’s first treetop adventure .

Experience for yourself why Tasmania's Bay of Fires has been named the world's "hottest" travel destination for 2009 by international guide book Lonely Planet.

Our Vantastic partners will look after you! Check out these FREE activities on offer for our Tassie team...

	Take to the water! A great way to arrive in Tasmania is on the Spirit of Tasmania which sails from Melbourne and Devonport most nights and some days during peak periods. Tasmania is surrounded by some of the world’s purest water. As southern Tassie rises out of the ocean in spectacular fashion, check out the migrating whales, seals, sea eagles with Bruny Island Cruises or Tasman Island Cruises. Cruise across Macquarie Harbour and up the tranquil Gordon River into the World Heritage Area on a Gordon River Cruise. Few places on earth have such a rich variety of marine wildlife and seabirds! The Hobart Paddle, a unique way to get a perspective of the capital city (enjoy fish and chips right from the fish punts!). If you enjoy that, you can also take the Freycinet Paddle on the East Coast’s Freycinet National Park, adjacent to Wineglass Bay (top ten world’s most beautiful beach!). For a bit more of a challenge, try negotiating the untamed waters of the Franklin River with Water By Nature (Franklin River rafting)
	Cheap Thrills! Hobart’s big brother (protecting the city) is the majestical Mount Wellington. Of course you can take beautiful bush walks and meander all around the mountains forests and waterfalls, or you can take the awe-inspiring Mt Wellington Descent from 1271m above sea level, down to waterfront pub! For more altitude there's Cable hang-gliding in Launceston (North) & Eagle hang-gliding at the Tahune Reserve. Experience the the thrill of flying like a bird high in the forest canopy with Hollybank Adventures. If you prefer being scared the old fashioned way, try the Evening Ghost Tour at historic Port Arthur.
	More walks than you can poke a stick at Tasmania’s world class wilderness areas, lush temperate rainforests, alpine plains, secluded white sand beaches and offshore islands are littered with 3000 kilometres of walking tracks, which range from a one-week duration slugfest, to 15 minute ’mini-treks’. So, there is no matter if you are in a hurry (try one or our 60 Great Short Walks) or up for a backpack carrying overnight experience (try a Great Walk), Tassie is the place to ‘go walkabout’. Stay overnight in the largest temperate rainforest in the Southern hemisphere with Tarkine Trails. After all that walking why not sit back and enjoy a ride on the West Coast Wilderness Railway - a steam train into Tasmania’s history back more than 100 years to the days when pioneers forged a rail link between the mining town of Queenstown and the port of Strahan.
	Devil of a good time! Wildlife in Tasmania is unique and plentiful – you'll be sure to have encounters in the wild with pademelons, wombats and wallabies. But it's the Tasmanian Devil (grrr), a carnivorous marsupial that once roamed the Australia mainland, and is now only found in Tassie that is topshelf for wildlife lovers. You can see the little critters at East Coast Nature World. and at Devils at Cradle. For some underwater wildlife, take a unique educational tour experience with Seahorse World Pty Ltd a and get up close and personal with the amazing platypus at Platypus House.
	Feel the Beat There is always something happening in Tasmania, and stage 4 of the Van-Tastic voyage means perfect timing for the finish of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race (whoohoo!), the Hobart Summer Festival, and not forgetting the two day Falls Festival, set in a stunning coastal location! Team Tasmania will have a VIP media pass, meaning back stage access to top international music acts and entertainment. Keep hopping along from all the excitement of the ‘Falls’ with a Boag’s Brewery a Cascade Brewery and a Moo Brew Mico-brewery tour. Be sure not to miss the MONA FOMA festival , an urban arts festival running from 8-24 January 2010. An eclectic exposition of stunning contemporary visual art and explosive music.