9 Day Western Wilderness & Wildlife Encounter

Day 1 (Sun): Hobart & Bonorong Night Tour

Upon arrival at Hobart airport no later than 3.00 pm, be transferred to your accommodation in the CBD where you have time for a quick refreshment stop. At 04.30 pm, we take you to the first highlight of this tour. Arrive at Bonorong sanctuary where we invite you to a 2.5 hour behind the scenes night-tour where you have the opportunity to get close to many of Tasmania’s endemic animals an get a lot of information first-hand.

Accommodation: Old Woodstore Hotel in Hobart

Day 2 (Mon): Maria Island

This morning, travel to the seaside village of Triabunna and board a ferry to cross the Mercury Passage to Maria Island. This unique island national park sits just off Tasmania’s east coast. Enjoy a day of peaceful walking amongst historic ruins, across sweeping bays, rugged fossil cliffs and imposing mountains.

This island sanctuary provides an opportunity to view its resident wildlife, including Common Wombats, Cape Barren Geese, Tasmanian Pademelons, Forester Kangaroo’s and even the Tasmanian Devil in their natural environment. Later this afternoon, continue your journey along Tasmania’s sunny east-coast to Bicheno in the Freycinet area.

Accommodation: Beachfront at Bicheno Hotel (Pool view room or similar)

Day 3 (Tue): Freycinet Peninsula & Penguins

After breakfast, travel to Coles Bay and embark the award-winning 4-hour Wineglass Bay cruise. Cruise the spectacular coastline of Freycinet National Park from Coles Bay to Wineglass Bay. Be enthralled by the stunning granite coastline, including the dramatic pink peaks of the Hazards range. Discover a coast dotted with sparkling white sand beaches, including Cooks and Bryans beaches, only accessible by water or a full day bushwalk.

Explore the inner passage of remote Schouten Island, home to Little Penguins and Short-tailed Shearwaters, before heading into the Tasman Sea towards Wineglass Bay. Look out for various hidden sea caves, blowholes and waterfalls amongst the sheer granite cliffs. Disembark the vessel in the early afternoon and visit the Friendly Beaches before your guide takes you to your accommodation.

The rest of this afternoon is at leisure. At dusk we invite you to an informative tour on a private property to get close to the local colony of Little Penguins nesting and breeding in the dunes.

Accommodation: Beachfront at Bicheno Hotel

Day 4 (Wed): Bicheno & Bay of Fires

Today, continue your journey along the East Coast and visit the stunning orange-lichen covered granite rocks of the Bay of Fires conservation area. Take the opportunity to wander around, explore the whitest sandy beaches and the turquoise waters. We travel on to the St. Columba Falls, the highest waterfalls in Tasmania and through lush and green valleys before we arrive in Launceston, the second biggest city in Tasmania.

Accommodation: Grand Chancellor in Launceston

Day 5 (Thu): Launceston to Cradle Mountain

This morning, enjoy a city introduction of Launceston and visit the stunning Cataract Gorge, where the South Esk river forces its way through sheer granite rocks.

Next, begin your journey to UNESCO Word Heritage-listed Cradle Mountain National Park. En-route, stop in Sheffield to see the famous murals. Travel through lush rolling farm pasture before reaching the alpine bush of the Cradle Valley. Enjoy an introduction to this captivating alpine environment before settling in at your accommodation for the night.

Accommodation: Cradle Mountain Hotel

Day 6 (Fri): Dove Lake to Strahan

Today you will be mesmerised by the beautiful alpine landscapes of Cradle Mountain, where in many places, dolerite cracked into vertical columns has resulted in spectacular sculpted mountains and cliffs. On a clear day the rugged grandeur of Cradle Mountain is reflected in the tranquil waters of Dove Lake, or you may experience the drama of its craggy peaks through swirling mist. Your guide will introduce you to the many endemic fauna and flora species of the region, including magical forests of Pandani, Sassafras, King Billy Pines and species such as echidnas, Pademelons and wombats.  In the afternoon, travel towards the rugged west coast and the quaint fishing town of Strahan.

Accommodation: Strahan Village

Day 7 (Sat): West Coast Wilderness Railway

This morning, be transferred to Queenstown where you board the nostalgic West-Coast Wilderness railway. Join our four-hour Rack and Gorge tour and take a heritage steam train journey through remote rainforest to the incredible King River Gorge, turning at Dubbil Barril before returning to Queenstown. In the afternoon, continue the scenic journey on the road and visit a mining pit and waterfalls before you arrive at Derwent Bridge on the picturesque Lake St Clair.

Accommodation: Strahan Village

Day 8 (Sun): Strahan to Lake St Clair

Depart the Cradle Valley and travel to towards the rugged Tasmanian west-coast. Pass old but still active mining towns such as Roseberry and Tullah. In Zeehan, visit the very informative West-Coast heritage centre. The centre offers a unique insight to the history of the West Coast of Tasmania and gives visitors a comprehensive experience and understanding of the heritage of the area, adding value and significance to your visit of this beautiful region of Tasmania. Arrive in Strahan in the later hours of this afternoon.

Accommodation: Derwent Bridge Chalets

Day 9 (Mon): Mt Field National Park

After a hearty breakfast your guide takes you into Mount Field National Park, the oldest in the state. Be mesmerised by the lush forest landscapes, from eucalyptus temperate rainforest to alpine moorland.

Explore the green forest canopy where you can crane your neck to see some of the tallest flowering trees in the world. This cool temperate rainforest allows you the opportunity to search for some of Tasmania’s 12 endemic bird species including Scrub Tit, Black Currawong and Tasmanian Thornbill.

After lunch (own expense), return to Hobart in the late afternoon where the tour concludes at around 4 pm.

Tour details

Group Size: Maximum of 8 guests for shared
Private Touring: Available on request at additional cost. Please enquire directly with your group size & interests.
Languages: Fully guided German, French, Spanish, Portuguese private touring throughout Tasmania is available on request.

How you'll be making a positive impact

Citizen Science with Premier Travel Tasmania

Premier Travel Tasmania contributes observations of flora & fauna via iNaturalist, the world’s leading global social biodiversity network. This platform allows our team to create research-quality citizen science data that enables a more detailed picture of our national biodiversity, and assists bodies such as the CSIRO, ecologists and other decision makers to deliver better outcomes for the environment and our species.

Our guides record observations with iNaturalist Australia by using the iNaturalist app on mobile phones or desktop computers. An observation records an encounter with an individual organism at a particular time and location on Kangaroo Island. We require photos to be attached to observations for them to become research grade and added to the Atlas of Living Australia.

This is where you can greatly assist us in capturing images out in the field! Although we make broader observations that we think are valuable to the local scientific community, we have identified the following species to track when we are exploring Tasmania by vehicle or on foot.

Key species we're looking out for include:

• Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle
• Eastern Quoll
• Spotted-tailed Quoll
• Tasmanian Devil
• Platypus
• Common Wombat (mange-effected)
• Forty-spotted Pardalote
• Swift Parrot
• Hooded Plover

Red-filtered Flashlights for our Nocturnal Beauties

White torches or spotlights can significantly disturb our marsupials, due to the greater sensitivity of their pupils to light compared with humans. Premier Travel Tasmania use and share with guests the importance of using red-filtered spotlights.

Although spotlighting is a fantastic means of revealing some of Australia’s most endearing creatures, white torches or spotlights can significantly disturb our marsupials, due to the greater sensitivity of their pupils to light compared with humans. High-powered spotlights effect the ability for pupils to function properly for extended periods of time, leaving them blinded temporarily.

For this reason, we share with guests the importance of using red-filtered spotlights along with prohibiting flash photography. 

Wildlife Rescue Training in Tasmania

All guides at Premier Travel Tasmania undertake Wildlife Rescue Training, given the high incidence of road collisions with native wildlife across Tasmania. Bonorong Wildlife Rescue provides training for guides covering wildlife rescue and transport procedures, to provide the best chance to save injured or orphaned wildlife that may be spotted when out touring on Tasmanian roads.

Premier Travel Tasmania is also a founding partner of Friends of Bonorong, assisting in fundraising for the immediate care of wildlife in need and the ongoing protection of Tasmanian species. Guests travelling on shared wildlife departures contribute to this effort, with a portion of the tour cost going towards the Bonorong medical facility and education of guests with a behind the scenes night tour of their facility.

Developing Partnerships To Meet Sustainability Goals

Premier Travel Tasmania has developed partnerships with key environmental organisations in Tasmania, including Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service, Friends of Bonorong, Wombat Rescue Tasmania, Devils@Cradle and Orange-bellied Parrot Recovery Program.

Friends of Bonorong, Devils@Cradle and Orange-bellied Parrot Recovery Program are all supported financially via touring experiences provided by Premier Travel Tasmania.