• Sail into Tasmanian bliss on a boat or sailing cruise. It's a popular way to explore the port cities of Launceston and Hobart, and outlying islands. The southwest Tasmanian coast can be explored from Strahan on the west coast.

• Go snap-happy taking photos of wildlife. Tasmania's national parks (website: www.parks.tas.gov.au) are home to a rich variety of animals, many of them unique to the island. They include wombats, platypus, wallabies, fairy penguins and the Tasmanian devil, a small, black, dog-like marsupial.

• Walk the popular Tahune AirWalk, offering a suspended 37m- (121ft-) high walkway above spectacular forest canopies. It is part of the Huon Trail which includes the Hastings thermal pool, caves and sheltered bays of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel.

• Go hit the pistes at Ben Lomond, Tasmania's main ski resort. Base yourself at the Creek Inn - Tasmania's highest pub. Alpine wildflowers run rampant in spring and summer when bushwalking becomes the main activity.

• Experience utter wilderness in The Walls of Jerusalem National Park: the perfect environment for lots of hiking, but be warned, the treks are not for novices.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.