Shore Excursions - Hobart Sightseeing
TOUR ONE: Hobart City Sights, Mt. Field National Park, Richmond Historic Village
TOUR TWO: Hobart City Sights, Port Arthur (Penal Settlement)
HOBART TOUR ONE
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Hobart City Sights, Mt. Field National Park, Richmond Historic Village
We tour Hobart city showing you the major icons and then we journey into the countryside. In just over an hour to Mt Field National Park, located north-west of Hobart.
This is a unique opportunity to visit a cool temperate rain forest (that is very different to rainforests found in warmer climates.)
This rainforest contains ancient species dating back over 60 million years and here you will see some of the world’s tallest trees. There is a guided walk into the forest and a visit to the beautiful Russell Falls.
The tour travels to Richmond, a classified historic town with fifteen heritage buildings of the 1824’s era including the oldest goal and oldest bridge in Australia. Richmond is regarded as Tasmania’s finest and most beautiful historic village. There’s time to stroll into shops that showcase the best of Tasmania's fine art and crafts.
Hobart Richmond Bridge
Bonorong Wildlife Park
HOBART TOUR TWO: Hobart City Sights, Port Arthur (Penal Settlement)
Hobart City Sights, Mt. Field National Park, Richmond Historic Village
We tour Hobart city showing you the major icons and then we journey into the countryside of the Tasman Peninsula to visit the penal settlement of Port Arthur that is an hour and a half away.
Port Arthur is an historic heritage site established in 1830. Here thousands of convicts from England were imprisoned. Set in traditional English gardens, the site encompasses thirty restored buildings and many ruins.
Port Arthur Penal Colony circa 1830
Devonport
Cradle Mountain
Cradle Mountain, just 1.5 hrs from Burnie forms part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and shares a "Twin Parks" agreement with the World Heritage listed Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve in the People's Republic of China.
The region draws visitors from around the world. The jagged contours of Cradle Mountain epitomise the feel of a wild landscape, while ancient rainforest and alpine heathlands, buttongrass and stands of colourful deciduous beech provide a range of environments to explore. Icy streams cascading out of rugged mountains, stands of ancient pines mirrored in the still waters of glacial lakes and a wealth of wildlife ensure there is always something to captivate visitors. The area is one of the most popular natural areas in Tasmania. A visit will reveal why.
Ancient pine forest, Cradle Mountain
About Tasmania
Tasmania lies 240 km (140 miles) south of the Australian mainland, separated by Bass Strait that is a wild ocean and where the winds blow up from the Antarctic. There are remote places of wilderness with spectacular scenery. Over half the island is uninhabited. Tasmania’s major attractions are its mountains, landscapes, pristine coastline, historical buildings and its space.
Tasmanians are renowned for their warm and genuine hospitality and your visit here will be memorable.
About Hobart, Tasmania
View from Mount Nelson
Hobart is Australia’s second oldest city and has a population of 193,000 people. In 803 Hobart became a port, landing free settlers, convicts and supplies to this new colony. It has remained an important port as scientific voyages to the Antarctic depart from here.
The city is has impressive colonial architecture especially at ‘Battery Point’. This small suburb is considered Australia’s most complete colonial village that has scarcely changed since 1930s and 40s.
The National Trust has classified one hundred of Hobart’s buildings. Much of the architecture both public and residential, is in the simple Georgian style, with brick and sandstone the predominate materials.
Today the city sprawls along both banks of the Derwent River and to an area at the base of Mt Wellington.
Tasmania's Rainforests
Mt Fields National Park Myrtle Beech Trees, Tree Ferns, Gully Ferns
Tasmania contains Australia's largest tracts of cool temperate rainforest, covering around 10% of the State. Cool temperate rainforest is very different from rainforest found in warmer climates. Unlike tropical and warm temperate rainforests, there are no root buttresses or palms, and climbing plants are rare.
In autumn and early winter in particular, the rainforest floor is dappled with an array of brightly coloured fungi.
Tasmanian rainforest evolved way before Australia's eucalypts.
Tasmanian rainforest contains some of the most ancient species of Australia's flora. Many of their ancestors once grew in Antarctica, Africa, South America and New Zealand, when these continents were joined together as a landmass called Gondwana. Tasmania’s rainforest dates back over 60 million years, well before ‘sclerophyll vegetation’ evolved, such as eucalypts and acacias.
Tasmanian rainforest grows in many different places and in many different ways. There are four main types: callidendrous (tall trees); thamnic (shrubby); implicate (tangled); and, montane (mountainous). Each has different groups of species growing in different ways. The variation is largely due to differences in soil, rainfall, aspect and altitude.
Port Arthur Penal Settlement
Historic Port Arthur is a major tourist attraction
The Port Arthur penal settlement began life as a small timber station in 1830. Originally designed as a replacement for the recently closed timber camp at Birches Bay, Port Arthur quickly grew in importance within the penal system of the colonies.
The initial decade of settlement saw a penal station hacked from the bush, and the first manufactories.
The 1853 cessation of transportation resulted in fewer convicts.
The 1850s and 1860s were years of remarkable activity, that aimed to make the station economically sustainable. Expansive tracts of bush were harvested to feed a burgeoning timber industry and large plots of ground were turned over to cultivation. 1857 saw the conversion of the old flour mill and granary into a penitentiary, adjacent to which was built a large range of workshops housing a steam-driven sawmill, blacksmith and forge, and carpentry workshop. In 1864 the last great project at the site, the Asylum, was also begun.
This pulse of energy, however, could not be sustained. The 1860s shuffled into the 1870s and the settlement began to enter its twilight. Numbers of convicts dwindled, those remaining behind were too aged, infirm or insane to be of any use. The settlement that had hummed with life slowly ground to a standstill. The last convict was shipped out in 1877.
Richmond Historic Village
An original Georgian village dating from 1824 is situated 24kms from Hobart and has a population of 830 people. The town is comprised of many historic public buildings, manors and cottages built of slate, cobbles, handmade brick and mellow stone. The Richmond bridge, built by convicts in 1823 is the oldest in Australia.
The town has a well preserved convict gaol, old shops, an Inn and a granary among its notable buildings. Visitors enjoy strolling its shops that showcase the best of Tasmania's fine art and crafts.
Visit the website of Lets Show You Tasmania Tours for more information about Tasmania.
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