Tasmania is a perfect vacation getaway. It has beautiful landscapes from the towering ranges of Mount Ossa to the crystal clear waters of Wineglass bay. Even though 45 percent of Tasmania lies in nature reserves, it still is fairly populated. Around 515,000 people live on this gorgeous island, most of them calling the major city of Hobart home. Hobart is the capital of Tasmania and is the major metropolitan area of the island. Tasmania is just 150 miles south of Australia and its sheer size has ranked itself to be the 26th largest island in the world.
Tasmania’s landscape has much to offer to the adventurous individual. To start off, Tasmania has a combined size of 26,410 square miles, 24,911of those square miles is credited just to the main land while the rest is nearby smaller island. One of the many major attractions is Mount Ossa. Mount Ossa scales at an impressive 1,617 meters tall (5,305feet), which is definitely large enough to catch any climbers’ attention. This mount range has many jagged peaks due to glaciation and is volcanically inactive after all these years. Thanks to these mountain ranges along with the more central western mountain ranges, Tasmania is the most mountainous state in Australia.
Mount Ossa
Tasmania has many flora and fauna to offer the world. To begin with the famous wild animals of Tasmania, a major creature is the Tasmanian devil. This nocturnal and carnivorous marsupial is only found in the wild in Tasmania and is quite the vicious animal. Devils are known to eat nearly anything they find or kill. These animals are scavengers that eat wallabies but will eat road-kill if they come across it. They are also known to eat even the bones of their prey. Carnivorous marsupials provide striking examples of recent extinction and critical population declines.
After the loss of the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, in 1936, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) inherited the title of the world’s largest surviving carnivorous marsupial. Confined, in the wild, to the island of Tasmania, it too is under threat of extinction because of a naturally occurring infectious transmissible cancer known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease (Webb). The Devil Facial Tumor Disease is caused by infections from the bites of other devils. This usually occurs due to fighting between two devils over food. This disease is credited for killing many devils because the tumor can spread to the mouth of the animal and will be become so drastic that the devil could actually starve to death.
The Infamous Tasmanian Devil
As for tourism, from the beautiful landscapes to the blooming cities, Tasmania has it all. One of the major attractions that a visitor must visit is the capital city of Hobart. This city is the largest metropolitan city in all of Tasmania and is home to some places such as Salamanca Place. Salamanca Place in Sullivans Cove is the destination for food, art, shopping and music. Here Hobart’s culture meets some of its richest history. Next on the list must be Freycinet Penisula, The peninsula is home to the breathtaking Wineglass bay which is one of the top ten beaches in the world! This bay is known for fishing, sailing, bushwalking, and even some rock climbing.
Wineglass Bay
Hobart
