Tasmania is said to be Australia's best kept secret. Australia's smallest state, the island can only be reached by plane or ferry and, on first glance, seems to be more European than any other part of Australia - because of this, most visitors skip it. But that is a mistake - they miss a beautiful and in parts grandiose coastline, large forests with huge Eucalypts, mountainous National Parks like Cradle Mountain N.P., shown above, and the enormous South West N.P. with almost inacessible areas. The most famous hiking trails of Australia are in Tasmania, the Overland Track and the South Coast Track.

Many cities and towns of Tasmania display well-kept 19th century buildings, like Hobart ("H"), the capital in the south, and Launceston ("L") in the north - after Sydney, they are the second and third oldest towns of Australia! Devonport ("D") with its ferry port is the gateway to Tasmania.

The conflicts over Tasmania's natural resorces between loggers, dam builders and environmentalists are deeper than in most other parts of the world; the first Green party of the world was founded here in 1972. But although the conflicts have not been resolved yet, Tasmania's beautiful nature is still largely intact.