English: Location of Tasmania on Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tasmania, affectionately known as Tassie, is the island state of Australia. OK, I know Australia’s mainland is a very large island, but we also have a little island. The shape of Tasmania is such that “map of Tassie” has become an Australian-ism for a certain area of the female body, however we won’t dwell on that.

See the little dark shape down the bottom of  the map to the left? That is Tasmania. A lovely, rustic place where my sister and her family live.

Unlike the spiders of S for Spiders fame, I do have many lovely photos of Tasmania.  This shot of the Huon River is one of my favourites.

Huon River – Tasmania

Here is another shot I quite like of the same river, at a different point and on a different day.

A different view of the Huon

If you visit Tasmania at the right time of year, there are apple orchards in fruit everywhere. Tasmania has an ideal climate for growing apples and grows them very well.

Apples growing in Tasmania

I mentioned rustic. This rustic little cottage was where my sister used to live. My sister and her husband had down-sized as only one child was left at home – or so they thought. They’ve since up-sided again as youngsters moved back home! 😆

Rustic Tasmanian Cottage

The last time I visited, mobile reception was so bad, the only place I could get any hint of signal was standing in the middle of the road in front of the cottage.

The view out the back door was lovely.

Tasmania Hills

Discover Tasmania has a wealth of information and much more professional photos than mine!  Cradle Mountain is a wonderful destination, as is the road into Queenstown.  No hints, but that road is an experience NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN.  The Franklin River has a very political history and is a wonderful place to visit.

Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park is known to most visitors as the location of the popular Gordon River cruises (see Key Attractions for cruise details), but this 440,000-hectare (1,087,262-acre) national treasure is also the part of the Tasmanian World Heritage Area you drive through when you travel from Hobart to the west coast. The gentle watercourse that crosses the Lyell Highway between Lake St Clair and Queenstown is a far cry from the Franklin River of documentaries, but don’t be misled – the challenging and rewarding section of the river is still downstream, as remote and untamed as ever.

http://www.discovertasmania.com/activities__and__attractions/wilderness_areas/national_parks_and_reserves/franklin-gordon_wild_rivers_national_park

Do visit the Discover Australia link – you will see they have tipped the map of Australia upside down, with Tassie as the candle on top of the cake!

Port Arthur is a must visit too.  Not only is Port Arthur of historic interest because of the convict settlement, but also because Australia’s last mass shooting happened there in 1996 and triggered the gun control laws Australia has today. The red, bold emphasis below is added by me for our USA readers! 😛

After the American War of Independence Britain could no longer send her convicts to America, so after 1788 they were transported to the Australian colonies.

These men and women were convicted of crimes that seem trivial today, mostly stealing small articles or livestock, but they had been convicted at least once before and Britain’s policy was to treat such re-offenders harshly.

http://www.portarthur.org.au/?base=9660

I don’t want to steal photos of Port Arthur, so please visit the link above. I have been there, but so long ago I have no idea where my own photos are!  Port Arthur also holds Ghost Tours for those so inclined.

Tasmania is also the home of MONA, The Museum of Old and New Art.  A fan of MONA , Dai Wynn, describes it thus:

MONA falls into the category of awesome experiences; spectacular, scenic, thought-provoking, organised, unique, confronting, ..

If you are artistically inclined, it should be a definite on your agenda!

Tasmania is a lovely part of the world and a lovely part of Australia. It can be really, really cold in winter. In fact, I’ve seen my sister have her wood fire burning in February, so it can be chilly in the middle of summer too.

This article is not only part of the A – Z of Australia series, but also a shout out to my sister and her family.  My new family haven’t met all their cousins and uncle and aunt yet, we just haven’t been able to afford the trip. But we will.  Sis, I love you!

Visitors can fly to Tasmania or take the Spirit of Tasmania and take the family car for A$89 (current price) – people cost extra! I’ve done that a couple of times over the years.

Visit http://myatozchallenge.com to find more countries and articles on the A – Z Challenge. Check out the A – Z of Australia Menu above for other articles on this site.