Tasman Peninsula

The Tasman Peninsula sits in south-east Tasmania, roughly 75km south-east of Hobart, joined to the Forestier Peninsula by the narrow isthmus at Eaglehawk Neck. It is home to Tasman National Park, the historic Port Arthur convict settlement and some of the highest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere.

Allow about 90 minutes via the A3 and the Arthur Highway (A9), with the road sealed the whole way. Most travellers visit as a long day trip, though staying a night or two opens up walks, the boat cruise and Port Arthur without rushing.

Yes. A valid Parks Pass is required to visit sites including the Tessellated Pavement reserve, Devils Kitchen, Tasman Arch, Cape Hauy and Fortescue Bay. A daily vehicle pass and a longer Holiday pass (valid up to two months) are sold online at passes.parks.tas.gov.au.

The Three Capes Track is a 48km, 4-day, 3-night hut-based walk run by Tasmania Parks and Wildlife. It is graded a "dry boot" Grade 3 walk and a maximum of 48 walkers depart each day, so bookings on threecapestrack.com.au are essential and often sell out months ahead. The fee covers cabin accommodation, the Pennicott boat shuttle from Port Arthur, Port Arthur Historic Site entry and a return bus transfer.

Yes. The Cape Hauy day walk from Fortescue Bay covers the same dolerite coastline without the multi-day commitment. It is about 4 hours return, Grade 4 difficulty, with significant stairs but huge cliff-top views over the Candlestick and Totem Pole sea stacks.

No, Port Arthur is a separately ticketed UNESCO World Heritage convict site, not part of the national park. General entry is around $53 adult and $26 child, valid for two consecutive days, and includes a harbour cruise, an introductory walking tour and self-guided audio. Open daily from 9am to 5pm except Christmas Day.

It is a flat shore platform of Permian siltstone fractured into an almost perfect tile pattern by long-term tectonic stress and saltwater weathering. The "loaves" and "pans" effect is best seen at low tide, just below the lookout off Pirates Bay Drive.

A short loop on Blowhole Road takes in three dramatic geological sites: the Blowhole, Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen, each carved from the cliffs by collapsed sea caves. They are all signed roadside stops within a few minutes of each other and need only a couple of hours combined.

Yes, especially around sunrise. A short boardwalk and stair descent at the southern end of the peninsula leads to a viewing platform looking into a tunnel-shaped sea cave that, depending on angle, frames a silhouette resembling Tasmania itself. It is about a 15 minute drive south of Port Arthur.

Pennicott Wilderness Journeys runs an approximately 3-hour boat tour departing from Port Arthur, tracing the coast past Cape Pillar, the Southern Hemisphere's highest vertical sea cliffs, to Tasman Island. Expect Australian fur seals, sea eagles, albatross, gannets and, in season, migrating whales and dolphins riding the bow wave. Adult tickets are around $190.

December to April brings the warmest, driest weather and the best chance of calm seas for cruising and clear coastal walking. Winter is quieter and atmospheric, but expect cold, wind and the chance of track or cruise cancellations.

Eaglehawk Neck suits the geology sites and Three Capes trailhead, while Port Arthur and nearby Stewarts Bay Lodge work best for the historic site and Pennicott cruise. Fortescue Bay has a basic Parks campground for walkers, and a range of cottages and B and Bs are dotted along the Arthur Highway.

The Tasman and Forestier peninsulas are the Country of the Pydairrerme people, a band of the larger Paredarerme (Oyster Bay) nation of the palawa, the Aboriginal people of lutruwita (Tasmania). The area carries the dual name Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula in recognition of that long history.