6 nights Calstock, Strahan’s Franklin Manor and Hobart, Self drive
7 days / 6 nights
Begins Launceston / Ends Hobart or vice versa

• From vineyards to historic towns and gourmet restaurants through vast caves and the spectacular beauty of The Great Western Tiers – the area around Calstock offers a huge variety of pleasures.

• Calstock is a pleasure within itself – country house accomodation at its best

• Franklin Manor’s acclaimed Tasting menu & friendly, boutique style.
  

• The wild west coast – cruise the Gordon River, take a helicopter or seaplane flight over the wilderness, jet boat, hike, enjoy spectacular ocean beaches.
  

• Time to explore historic Hobart from a great location on the water’s edge.

Day 1 -Calstock Country House, 2 nights

Collect your rental car from the Launceston Airport and it is about an hours drive west to Deloraine, where you will be staying at Calstock Country House for 2 nights.

Deloraine is set against the backdrop of the spectacular Great Western Tiers, a protected World Heritage Area featuring a chain of mountains that holds more than 3,000 lakes. The towns charming buildings from the 1830s and 1840s now house galleries, restaurants and studios.

Calstock, set in a private park overlooking Deloraine, is a grand, National Trust listed mansion in Georgian style and was built by a prosperous gentleman farmer of the colonial era. While still part of a working farm, the house has been beautifully restored in gracious period style. Each of the spacious upstairs bedrooms has a unique colour scheme and decor. Downstairs an elegant hallway leads into a spacious drawing room with marble fireplace; a dining room, a library-TV room and breakfast room.

Your French born hosts - Ginette and Remi Bancal serve breakfast (on the verandah in summer) and by arrangement imaginative dinners based on organic local produce. A former sommelier Remi prides himself on his wine cellar.

Day 2 - A day of pleasure to suit your tastes

Close to Calstock The Great Western Tiers is an ancient landscape of limestone caves and timeless valleys of farming villages first settled in the early 1800s. The area is popular for its walks, waterfalls, historic homes, gardens, artists and craftspeople.

Spend the day visiting Cradle Mountain or Mole Creek Karst National Park that contains more than 200 caves that began to form 30 million years ago. With a guide you can tour some of the caves and see animals that dwell in the dark, lofty stalagmites, streams that disappear into the ground and glow-worms that twinkle like the stars.

Or spend the day touring the Tamar Valley’s wine route. As well as the many picturesque vineyards that produce Tasmania’s famous cool-climate wines, you’ll discover enchanting seahorses at Beauty Point, and the historic pilot station at Low Head that offers tall ship cruises around the Tamar River mouth.

Day 3 - Strahan and Franklin Manor, 2 nights

A leisurely 2 ½ to 3 hours drive will bring you to the lovely village of Strahan situated near the mouth of the Gordon River on Tasmania’s west coast. Strahan is the gateway to another of Australia’s great wilderness areas. With the background of Mt.Sorell and the expanse of Macquarie Harbour, the area was first put on the map with the notorious penal settlement of Sarah Island. The treacherous and narrow waters of Macquarie Heads at the entrance to the harbour are the scene of a number of shipwrecks.

Your accommodation will be Franklin Manor, a boutique hotel originally built for the Harbour Master in 1896 and now lovingly restored. The Manor has fourteen bedrooms in the main house and four cottages (ideal for families) in the “Stables”. All rooms have queen or king beds, en suite facilities and some have open fireplaces. The highly regarded restaurant serves a country-style breakfast in the morning while the dinner menu has an emphasis on Tasmanian produce and fresh local seafood.

Day 4 - The South West Wilderness

The magnificent scenery of the West coast can be enjoyed in many ways: from a cruise boat, by seaplane, by helicopter, quad bike, kayak or jet boat. Just a few ideas for your west coast day include:

Enjoy a crayfish or Macquarie Harbour salmon, fresh from the sea; put on a miner’s helmet and light, and go deep underground in Queenstown’s Mt Lyell mine; ride the newly restored Abt railway, now called the West Coast Wilderness Railway; follow the tannin-dark Gordon River into the rainforest; climb to the Teepookana Plateau; cross the restless waters of Macquarie Harbour and step ashore on Sarah Island.

Day 5 - To Hobart, Somerset on the Pier, 2 nights

The drive to Hobart will take about 5 hours and is a spectacular one taking you up on to the Central Plateau and through the Lake St.Clair National Park. From Cynthia Bay on the southern end of the Lake take a scenic walk. Or go for a ride on Australia’s highest-altitude ferry and watch the waters of the our deepest lake curl away from the bow - the glaciers that dug Lake St Clair ’s bed and shaped the nearby crags melted 10,000 years ago.

The village of Derwent Bridge is on the southern end of the park, just 8 kms from Lake St.Clair and a great lunch stop.

Arriving into Hobart, your 2 night stay will be at Somerset on the Pier - located in Hobart’s restored waterfront area. With views of the Derwent River and historic Sullivan Cove, your one bedroom suite has a private balcony and there is an on-site café, restaurant and bar. At your doorstep you will find the Museum and Art Gallery, a range of restaurants and pubs, antique shops, studios and galleries.

Day 6 - Get to know the Tasman Peninsula & Hobart

Although better known for its convict penal settlements, the Tasman Peninsula is also notable for some of the finest coastal cliffs in Australia, visible from a couple of spectacular viewpoints along your drive. It is approximately 1½ hours’ drive to Port Arthur, Australia’s most famous penal settlement, and a unique and fascinating insight into the harsh existence that early convicts experienced in the 19th century.

There is also the chance to see Tasmania’s most famous marsupial, the Tasmanian Devil, in John Hamilton’s Devil Park on the Tasman Peninsula – these animals are rarely seen in the wild. The park also runs a Raptor Conservation Centre, with free bird of prey flight displays. A gourmet lunch can be provided at the Devil Park, otherwise take a picnic lunch to enjoy elsewhere along the peninsula.

Day 7 - Departure

Return your hire car to Hobart Airport in time for your departure flight.
 

Options & Upgrades

• Extend by a day and circle back to Hobart – taking the alternative Heritage Highway route

• Up-grade your car to a luxury vehicle

• Nature lovers should extend and visit Bruny Island, either self-drive or hosted

• Up-grade to Deluxe accommodation at Franklin Manor