Top Ten Treks

(Corel)

Comment On This Article

Add to My Favorites

Is your knowledge of Tasmania limited to what you learned from Bugs Bunny cartoons? If so, you need to get out more. A good place to start is the island's South Coast Track. Along the way, you'll scale the Ironbound Range and tumble through rain forests where parrots sit in fantastical leatherwood trees. You'll also camp on unsullied beaches strewn with abalone, ringed by eucalyptus trees shooting 300 feet toward the sky. What you won't see here is people—visitation averages about 2,000 hikers a year in Tasmania's largest unbroken wilderness. Wildlife along the South Coast Track includes most of the storybook creatures you learned about in grade school: bandicoots, seals, platypi, wallabies, and, of course, the shy Tasmanian devil. The best time to visit is November to March (Tasmania's summer). Thick rains sometimes make passage in the region difficult, so plan to keep the daily mileage low. You'll want to take your time anyway to fully absorb the unique ecological wonderland that surrounds you.

More info on the South Coast Track.