Tasmania: Safari Activity Holiday

Tasmania's outstanding 19 national parks encompass a diversity of unspoiled habitats and ecosystems which offer refuge to unique and often ancient plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. There is a park for every season in Tasmania and a Park for every person. In the National Parks you can discover spectacular landscapes, from highlands carved by glaciers to quiet, solitary beaches; from cool, silent rainforests to colourful, alpine wilderness wild flowers. If the National Parks are not enough for you, then you can also visit the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, which protects one of the last true wilderness regions on Earth. This covers about 3.46 million acres (1.38 million hectares) and represents about 20% of the area of the island state of Tasmania. It protects huge tracts of wilderness, which harbours breathtaking landscapes and wonderful fauna and flora. Whether you visit a National Park or the World Heritage Area, you will find that Tasmania has much that is unique. Tasmania's isolation from mainland Australia has ensured the survival of many plants and animals that are rare, or even extinct, elsewhere in the world. Tasmanian animals are mostly nocturnal, so you will see them at night, in the early morning and at dusk. If you are watchful, there is every chance you will come upon them as you walk a forest path or sit quietly by a stream. Be quiet and look out and you may come upon a wombat family dining or a shy platypus. Some animals, like the Tasmanian devil, are well-known, whilst others such as the eastern quoll, pandemelon and bettong will equally fascinate you. You can discover some of Tasmania's fascinating bird life too, which includes twelve species unique to Tasmania. There are specialist tour operators who can take you animal spotting if you want to have an expert along and Tasmanian wildlife parks provide excellent information too. Entry fees for Tasmania's national parks are about £11 per day for a car and up to eight passengers, or £5.50 per person travelling by bike or public transport. You may find National Parks Holiday Pass good value. This allows you to visit national parks throughout Tasmania for up to two months. It costs £28 for a car and up to eight passengers, or £14 per person travelling by bike or public transport. National Park Passes can be bought at park entry booths, tourist information centres and National Park visitor centres. Tasmania is a wonderful place for a safari holiday.