Get high on Tassie

Tasmania throws up many surprises for the harassed urbanite, Greg Clarke discovers

You will find plenty of the unexpected in Tasmania, or Tassie, as the locals call it.

Largely unspoilt and pristine, Tasmania is about 100 times the size of Singapore. But while Singapore has a population of about four million people, Tasmania has just 500,000.

About 20 per cent of Tassie is designated Unesco World Heritage Area. There are vast tracts of temperate rainforests where few have ventured. Much of it is home to indigenous fauna including wallabies, platypus and the unique Tasmanian devil, the world’s largest surviving carnivorous marsupial.

The wildlife has its way with a landscape that has rainforests, mountains, alpine heathlands and white sand beaches. Amid this diverse scenery are many refreshing options for the jaded traveller.

There’s the forest canopy tour, Hollybank Treetops Adventure (www.treetopsadventure.com.au), inspired by scientists working on zip-lines strung between trees in the rainforests of South America.

You can “fly” through the treetops of the Hollybank forest, about 15km north of Launceston (Tassie’s second largest city), wearing a harness, travelling between platforms called cloud stations. Some stations, ingeniously suspended on the trunk, are rigged close to the highest points in the trees.

Incredibly, the last “flying” section extends 380m from tree to tree as it follows a course through the forest and above the Pipers River — without supporting columns.

South African businessman Peter During, the co-owner of the venture, enjoys the life in Tassie so much that he recently moved to Launceston after first checking out Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. “We arrived in Launceston and said ‘this is it’. It’s unhurried, the people are wonderful and there is a Victorian pristineness,” he said.

How about rising far above the clouds in Tasmania? Join former US fighter pilot Dan Duggan, another Tassie convert, on a “fighter mission” in a Jet Provost — aerobatics included — over the Tasman Sea. Top Gun Tasmania (www.topguntasmania.com.au) is the only adventure flight company in Australia owned and operated by a former fighter pilot.

Other flight packages take place in civilian aircraft with landing on the sand of an isolated beach in the south-west of the state. After a sightseeing flight, you will be able to take in the wild primal beauty of the beach and have lunch at Meadowbank Estate, a winery in the Derwent valley near Hobart where the plane will land.

Back on the ground, walking is one of the most popular ways to explore Tasmania. The Overland Track (www.overlandtrack.com.au), a Tassie special, is one of the world’s great walks. Covering 65km through the heart of the Tasmanian wilderness, it normally takes around six days to complete.

There are also shorter, fully-guided walking alternatives all over Tassie. Like the Overland Track some of these plunge into the wild.

After a good long walk, you can soothe the aches with pampering treats at the chic accommodation and spas in Tasmania.

The Cradle Mountain Lodge (www.cradlemountainlodge.com.au) is a luxury resort within the World Heritage wilderness. The Weindorfer Bar has creased leather armchairs and the ambience of a “ski lodge meets gentlemen’s club”.

Many of the cabins, including the sumptuous King Billy suites, are as stylish as a Louis Vuitton travel trunk.

The lodge also has a day spa and a fine dining restaurant. After bushwalking, you can pop into the spa for the masseuse to knead away the fatigue.

There is also plenty of fine food and wine for the connoisseur. Savour fresh local scallops, beef, cheeses and wines with a touch of the untamed in unexpected Tasmania.