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West Coast

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Along the western coast of Tasmania are several pretty towns, both on the coast and inland. East of these are vast amounts of national park, which offer spectacular landscape scenery and bushland walks. The west has also been at the heart of the longest running environmental debate in Australia, between environmentalists and the government.

The two parks that take up the west of Tasmania include the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park to the south, and the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park covers a wide area, and is home to the Franklin, Gordon and Olga Rivers. The Lyell Highway runs through the spectacular rainforest of the park, and there are several bushwalks that you can take from the roadside as you are driving through, including Donaghys Hill and Nelson Falls, which are both fantastic to see. Frenchmans Cap about 20km from the Lyell Highway offers excellent bushwalking. Also worth visiting is the Kutikina Cave, an Aboriginal archaeological site.

To the south just inland from Cape Sorell and Hells Gates is Strahan, situated along the Macquarie Harbour. Heading north, there are two main routes to Zeehan. One which travels inland via Queenstown, the other which travels near the coast through the Henty Dunes. Zeehan was once a major mining town, suitably nicknamed the Silver City. There are several buildings that have survived from Zeehans mining days that you should visit, including the bank, Grand Hotel, post office and St Lukes Church. You should also visit the West Coast Pioneer’s Memorial Museum, which tells the history of mining in the area.

You can get around the area as well as to the area on the TWT buses. The services run most days and pass through the main towns in the area. Accommodation is also available around the town and also at nearby Trial Harbour. You can head both north west and north east from Zeehan. North west leads you to Corinna another old mining town, although this time for gold. The only accommodation is at the Pieman Retreat Cabins, although it is a great place to stay, and you can join one of the sensational Pieman River Cruises. Heading north east from Zeehan is Rosebury, and like Corinna is another old gold mining town. Although the mine closed in the early 20th century, it reopened in 1936. One place you should definitely visit from here is the beautiful Montezuma Falls, which can be accessed from Williamsford just south of Rosebury.

Popular Tasmania Travel Destinations

PLEASE NOTE: The Tasmania travel destinations outlined above are only a small selection from the tens of thousands of Australian travel information pages available on Australian Explorer. A comprehensive list of destinations for Tasmania Holidays can be found on the main Tasmania Holidays location guide.