Suggestions & Things to see /do in NW Tasmania

[kpc]

In January, I'm thinking of flying to Launceston and hiring a car for 5-6 days to tour / see the area (never been before). Not going to Hobart where I've been 3x before. Any suggestions of where to go / stay / see / do etc (without breaking the bank balance)?

My uneducated thoughts so far:
Launceston itself
Strahan and Gordon River cruise
Penguin Market in Penguin(found about this in a random Google search:shock
Eat Tasmanian cherries
Kayaking somewhere

(Have been to Cradle Mountain before)

help and suggestions please!!:idea::idea:
thanks

 

[drron]

Well as the self appointed ambassador for North West Tasmania you have come to the right place.just finishing my 20th week this year working in Latrobe(devonport).And yes one of the best things about january is the cherries.
So presuming you are flying into Launceston then basically head west along the Bass highway.one of the best places for cherries is the Cherry shed at latrobe.At the other end of Latrobe is Anvers chocolates and that is worth a stop.
I have been active on TA Tassie forums and have been doing a few threads on my experiences-
Rambling around the North west. - Tasmania Forum - TripAdvisor
3 weeks in Latrobe.A series of observations - Tasmania Forum - TripAdvisor
And some old threads from when in Burnie-
Trip Report-4 weeks in Burnie-part 2 - Tasmania Message Board - TripAdvisor
4 weeks in Burnie-Part 3-whisky and other tastes. - Tasmania Message Board - TripAdvisor
4 weeks in Burnie-part 5.Trips to the east. - Tasmania Message Board - TripAdvisor
A few thoughts on a month in Tasmania. - Tasmania Message Board - TripAdvisor

for the kayaking and a different taste of the West Coast I would reccomend Corinna.Here is my review of the accommadation-dont worry about the name i had forgotten to log out of my wife's TA account-
A different world - Review of Corinna, at Home in the Wilderness, Zeehan, Australia - TripAdvisor
Now that should give you some reading.Glad to answer any questions and I will be adding to my current thread.

 

[kpc]

Thanks so much drron!!!! Have started reading your threads with great interest:idea:.I'll be back with more Qs and a rough itinerary for your approval

 

[kpc]

I need help drron!:shock: I've read through all your links and so far have come up with this rough plan for my trip in early Jan but need help / advise to fill in the maqny gaps.:idea:. NB been to Cradle Mountain and Strahan before so NOT in my current plans.

Sun:
Arr LST at 0945. Pick up car and drive to Penguin, arr at 12 noon to see Sun market, then lunch and stay the night to see Penguins on beach (Penguin Point Fairy Penguin Tours) at dusk...or can I see the penguins on the beach for free somewhere? Meal at Wild Cafe, Penguin

Mon:
Not sure whether I should stay at Penguin another night, and use it as a base to explore the local area (?where). or stay somewhere else this night??

Tues:
Head off to Corinna for a couple of nights. Want to do Pieman River Cruise - Arcadia 11 but unfortunately accommodation seems to be booked out at Corinna. Was thinking of staying somewhere cheap nearby eg Zeehan, and then driving the 40 minutes to Corinna for the 4 hour boat cruise, using the "Fatman" barge to cross the Pieman River. May be do a walk around Corinna after this as the last barge crossing is at 7pm before heading back to Zeehan (is this the best place to stay?? - Heemskirk Motor Hotel is available)

Wed:
Still in Zeehan / Corinna. Visit mining museum at Zeehan?

Thus:
Visit Latrobe including House of Anvers chocolates and the Cherry Shed (?maybe this should be our last day so we can buy some cherries to bring home)
Where should we stay? Launceston, Davenport or Latrobe itself

Fri:
What do we do before our flight back to Sydney in the evening?
Maybe: Hollybank Treetops adventure but seems a bit expensive and am not sure it is for us
Why walk when you can fly?

Leave Launceston at 820pm.

As you can see, lots of gaps!! Thanks.

 

[Justinf]

The cave tours near Deloraine are well worth doing.

 

[nathanxu]

I would spend 3 days in the West Coast of Tasmania. 1 day to get there, 1 day on the river cruise, 1 day to drive back to Davenport. You have to spend some time in Bay of Fire just out of St Helens.

 

[drron]

Sorry today was my commute home from DPO and JQ made sure I had no QP time.
I really dont think the Penguin markets are great-to me a lot of rubbish-others though really like them.An up and coming market at the moment is the Makers Market-every Sunday at the Axeman's Hall of Fame.Craft but with some truly different stuff and prices not too bad.just a short deviation of Bass Highway.And I would pick up cherries at the start and finish of the trip!In season I get through a kilo a day.:shock:
Wild cafe on Sunday lunch is very busy and best to book.Not as good as it was.Service slow,very noisy.Food hasn't changed-which is a bit disappointing for us as repeat visitors.
There is a boutique hotel in Penguin-the Madsen-haven't stayed but looks good-it is for sale though.I dont think I would spend 2 nights in Penguin.Stanley is good but a bit more driving and backtracking.Another reasonable place would be Boat Harbour-holiday places and apartments,a good restaurant-Jolly Roger and a stunning place.Also next to the Rocky Cape National Park.
Pity about Corinna-the pub there has nice food and a nice quiet spot.Might be worth giving them a ring.Not sure about Zeehan accommadation.
For the last day I was going to reccomend David Alps at Strathlynn(the Ninth Island vineyard) but today I learnt he has left-as has the chef at Stillwater which was the best restaurant in Lonnie.But any of the Tamar vineyards with a restaurant are good.
Will think about it and post some more.

 

[kpc]

Thanks everyone for their suggestions; my itinerary is coming together a bit more now...

Sun:
Arr LST at 0945. Pick up car and drive to Penguin (Madsen hotel looks good), arr at 12 noon to see Sun market, then lunch and stay the night to see Penguins on beach (Penguin Point Fairy Penguin Tours) at dusk...or can I see the penguins on the beach for free somewhere? Meal at Wild Cafe, Penguin...maybe not now. Accept that the market may not be the best, but curious to see a town called Penguin....had a quick look at Makers Market at the Axemans (actually we could stop for an hour or so for lunch, and then drive to Penguin after); want to head to Stanley the following day....

Mon:
Stanley (told to visit by the Corinna person I spoke to today); and more importantly confirmed by drron:mrgreen: so we will stay a night here and look around at the "Nut" etc

Tues:
Head off to Corinna for 1 night (rang up and managed to secure 1 night in between 2 other bookings. Want to do Pieman River Cruise - Arcadia 11 and maybe a local walk or two

Wed:
Visit Latrobe including House of Anvers chocolates and the Cherry Shed
?worth visiting Australian Axeman’s Hall of Fame
Stay at Latrobe - any suggestions?

Thus:
Stay a second night at Latrobe (so we at least stay in one place for more than 1 night (not 5 nights, 5 different places!!) or stay at Launceston

Fri:
What do we do before our flight back to Sydney in the evening?

• Explore Launceston surrounds
• Maybe: Hollybank Treetops adventure but seems a bit expensive and am not sure it is for us
• Why walk when you can fly?
• Cataract Gorge at Launceston

Leave Launceston at 820pm.

Bay of Fires sounds really great but given our current itinerary, I think it is out of our way. Will need to come back again to Tas and go there!!

PS: As it is peak season, I feel more comfortable prebooking our accommodation, but I know this means less flexibility as we can't really change our minds and stay at one place longer or detour....

 

[drron]

Great that you could get into Corinna.There are some short walks as well as kayaking so on Wednesday best not to go too far.Also the road out to Waratah is narrow and winding and used by mine trucks.I had no problems in my rental falcon(next best thing to a 4WD ) but it was slow.So maybe Wednesday a stop at Burnie-I dont think there is great accommodation there but at least a bit of choice.However better restaurants at night-we liked Muddled and the one upstairs at the Surf Club.Downstairs at the Surf Club is Fish Frenzy-a branch of the popular Hobart restaurant-we weren't that impressed but others rave about it.
Also at Burnie you can see the penguins virtually in the CBD-close to the Information Centre which is also worth dropping in at as a craft place as well-Makers of Burnie.The penguins here are free and in season there will be a volunteer to give info on whats happening-not that many penguins but free and close.Another spot is Lillicoe Beach just west of Devonport.Here you will also see the Shearwaters arrive just before dusk and the resident pademelon usually keeps people amused until the penguins arrive.
Nothing worthwhile as far as accommodation in Latrobe.There are a couple of apartments/B&Bs on the water in Devonport that may be worthwhile and Hawley House in Port Sorell gets good reviews and also has a restaurant that is said to be good.The problem with dining in Devonport/Latrobe is that there are lots of places for good value lunches but a real paucity of decent restaurants at night.
As to Port Sorell there is a back road(very good) to Exeter north of Launceston on the Tamar so access to the vineyards of the Tamar and the activities at Beauty Point-sea horses,platypi and the Beaconsfield gold mine-though I believe it has gone into administration.
Will come back with some more-but mrsdrron says I have a lot to do just now so stop F A....ing.

 

[kpc]

Thanks so much for your ongoing input drron! The first 3 nights are set.

Sun:
Penguin

Mon:
Stanley

Tues:
Corinna

Wed:
You suggested we stay at Burnie this night but having spoken to a local at Penguin, he reckons we need to go to Burnie to see the penguins:shock:; so we will do this on Sun evening. Would we be pushing ourselves to get to Davenport for the night instead from Corinna if we left Corrinna say about 430pm? from the maps etc, seems about a 3 hour drive.

Thus:
Should we stay a second night at Davenport and use this as a base to explore the local area or maybe stay at somewhere like Beauty Point on the Tamar river?

Fri:
Drive down to Launceston and spend the day around Launceston eg Cataract gorge before we head to LST airport late afternoon.

PS
The guy at Corinna suggested we drive to Corinna from Stanley via the Western Explorer road, and then leave Corinna via Waratah; the Western Explorer road is over 100km of unsealed road, and this worries me a little...tyre punctures, also whether car hire companies (in my case Avis) cover you if you drive on unsealed roads?**** What do you think:?:


****found answer to this, looks like I can drive it on the Western Explorer road but i'm still worried about punctures, windscreen cracks etc...

WHERE YOU CAN AND CANNOT DRIVE THE VEHICLE
3.1 You and any Authorised Driver must only use the Vehicle on a road
which is properly formed and constructed as a sealed, metalled or
gravel road (unless the Vehicle is a 4 wheel drive vehicle).

http://www.avis.com.au/avis/docs/autermsandconditions15DEC10.pdf