TASMANIA

Day 1 | Saturday 14 November
Arrive Launceston & Clarendon House
Tasmania’s northern gateway offers a graceful introduction to the island’s character – fertile farmland, winding rivers and well-preserved architecture born of Britain’s first southern experiments. This afternoon we gather in the hotel lounge for introductions before driving through the South Esk Valley to Clarendon House, an elegant Georgian estate built by convicts in 1838. Its sweeping staircases, formal gardens and working outbuildings embody both the ambition and contradictions of the colony’s landed class. After a guided tour, we return to Launceston with time to freshen up before our welcome dinner at Stillwater – one of Tasmania’s finest restaurants, set in a converted 19th-century mill. Overnight Launceston (D)

Day 2 | Sunday 15 November
Tamar Seaways
Rivers were the arteries of early Tasmania, linking remote settlements to the wider world. Our morning begins with a guided tour of Launceston, located at the meeting of the Tamar and Esk rivers, revealing handsome streetscapes shaped by commerce and craftsmanship, followed by a visit to the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, whose collections range from natural history to superb examples of colonial fine and decorative arts. Continuing north, we follow the course of the Tamar river to Low Head, a place of enduring maritime service since 1805. Here, the Pilot Station and Maritime Museum recall the hazardous task of guiding ships through unpredictable currents. After lunch at leisure beside the harbour, we visit the Bass & Flinders Centre in George Town to relive the explorers’ 1798 circumnavigation of Tasmania – a voyage that confirmed the island’s insularity and transformed European understanding of Australia’s geography. Returning to Launceston in the late afternoon, the evening is at leisure to enjoy the city’s heritage precincts and riverside paths. Overnight Launceston (B)

Day 3 | Monday 16 November
Glover Country
This morning we journey south through rolling countryside to Nile and Patterdale Farm, once home to colonial artist John Glover. His luminous paintings captured the pastoral idylls of Van Diemen’s Land – sunlight on eucalypt, sheep grazing under open skies – while also portraying the presence of Tasmania’s First Nations peoples within the landscape. Through his work, we glimpse both the beauty and the tensions of a world in flux, as European settlement reshaped ancient Country. Lunch follows at Josef Chromy Wines, with a menu showcasing seasonal Tasmanian produce matched with estate-grown wines. Back in Launceston, the remainder of the afternoon is at leisure. Overnight Launceston (B, L)

Day 4 | Tuesday 17 November
Woolmers Estate and the Midlands
Tasmania’s heartland is shaped by stories of settlement, resistance and transformation, and today’s journey south and east traces the landscapes where these histories unfolded. We begin at the UNESCO World-Heritage listed Woolmers Estate at Longford. Established in 1817, it remains one of Australia’s most intact pioneer farm complexes. Here we visit Unshackled: The True Convict Story, an exhibition first shown at the Tasmanian Museum in 2024, which examines the shared struggles of convicts, political radicals and First Nations resistors, and their lasting influence on Australian democracy. Continuing across the broad plains of the Midlands – once patrolled by constables and traversed by chain gangs – we pause in Campbell Town to view the poignant “Convict Brick Trail,” each brick inscribed with the name of a transported worker. A short drive then brings us to Ross, a preserved 1830s village of sandstone cottages, elm-lined streets and one of Australia’s finest stone bridges. After wandering its historic centre, we break for lunch before continuing east through forested hills to the Freycinet Peninsula. We arrive as the granite peaks of the Hazards begin to glow rose-pink in the late afternoon light, with dinner this evening enjoyed in a private room of the Lodge’s restaurant. Overnight Freycinet (B, D)

Day 5 | Wednesday 18 November
Wineglass Bay
The rugged coastline of Freycinet National Park has witnessed millennia of human interaction, from the fishing routes of the Paredarerme people to the ventures of sealers, miners and early mariners. Today we see this spectacular landscape from the water with a morning cruise of Wineglass Bay. Gliding past Schouten Island and soaring cliffs, we learn about the region’s ecology, its maritime industries and its role in shaping Tasmania’s early economy. Lunch is served on board, featuring fresh seafood and East Coast wines. The later afternoon and evening are at leisure to relax at the Lodge surrounded by bushland and sea. Overnight Freycinet (B, L)

Day 6 | Thursday 19 November
Richmond
Departing Freycinet this morning, we follow the coastal road south towards the historic township of Richmond. One of Tasmania’s most intact colonial-era settlements, Richmond preserves more than 50 Georgian buildings – many beautifully restored – reflecting its past as an important police district on the route between Port Arthur and Hobart. We stroll across the elegant Richmond Bridge, the oldest in Australia, and walk up to St John’s Catholic Church, the nation’s oldest still in continuous use. After time for lunch and to admire the fine streetscape, we continue to the Richmond Gaol, built in 1825 and among the best-preserved convict-era structures in the state. Its history includes the incarceration of Ikey Solomon, widely thought to have inspired Dickens’s character Fagin in Oliver Twist. Later in the afternoon we continue to Hobart, dramatically framed between Mount Wellington and the Derwent River. On arrival, we check into our waterfront hotel, whose harbour-edge position provides the perfect setting for our three-night stay. Overnight Hobart (B)

Day 7 | Friday 20 November
Mona and TMAG
We begin by boarding the ‘Mona Roma’ ferry for a cruise up the Derwent River to Mona – the Museum of Old and New Art. Hewn into the sandstone above Berriedale, this extraordinary private museum descends through a series of cavernous, interlinked galleries where installation, light and sound challenge every convention of the traditional museum experience. After time to explore its provocative collections, we return to the centre of Hobart for a contrasting encounter with the island’s artistic foundations: a colonial art highlights tour at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. Founded by the Royal Society of Tasmania in 1843, TMAG presents Indigenous histories, convict material culture and early colonial art that reveal the deep-rooted narratives shaping Tasmanian identity. This evening we dine at Landscape Restaurant & Grill, whose walls display original works by John Glover alongside contemporary responses to the Tasmanian landscape – a fitting finale to a day immersed in creativity old and new. Overnight Hobart (B, D)

Day 8 | Saturday 21 November
Hobart’s Colonial Footprints
Hobart’s sandstone warehouses and narrow lanes preserve the spirit of a 19th-century seaport. Our morning is free for individual exploration of the lively Salamanca Market, a weekly tradition where artisans, growers and musicians fill the old wharf precinct – the perfect place to mingle with locals and sample island produce. Late morning, and for the remainder of the tour, we are joined by Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, Hobart-based historian and Professor of Heritage and Digital Humanities at the University of New England. Together with tour leader Brad Manera, he contributed to the research underpinning the UNESCO World-Heritage serial listing of Australia’s convict sites from Fremantle to Norfolk Island. Professor Maxwell-Stewart accompanies us to the Cascades Female Factory, where the stories of the women whose labour sustained early Hobart are vividly brought to life. We then follow him to the Hobart Penitentiary, whose chapel, cells and courtroom reveal the evolution of colonial justice, before continuing to the old Campbell Street Gaol. Here he recently installed the new multimedia Convict Memorial, a powerful tribute to the thousands of men and women who passed through Tasmania’s penal system. We return to the hotel in the late afternoon. Overnight Hobart (B)

Day 9 | Sunday 22 November
To the Tasman Peninsula
Our journey continues east across Eaglehawk Neck today, once guarded by soldiers and savage dogs to prevent convicts escaping the peninsula. The road descends to dramatic coastal scenery, with towering sea cliffs and blowholes that reveal Tasmania’s geological drama. We stop at the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo, an innovative conservation project that allows close encounters with the island’s most famous native species, before continuing to Port Arthur. After settling into our accommodation, we spend the evening exploring the historic site on a guided ghost tour, which brings to life the haunting stories of convicts, soldiers and free settlers who once inhabited this remote outpost. Dinner follows in the hotel’s restaurant, overlooking the harbour that once received ships from across the empire. Overnight Port Arthur (B, D)

Day 10 | Monday 23 November
Port Arthur
Today we devote our time to the Port Arthur Historic Site, part of the UNESCO-listed Australian Convict Sites. Our tour leaders introduce us to the layout of this ambitious penal settlement, with its workshops, churches, officers’ quarters and infamous ‘Separate Prison’ – a place designed to reform rather than merely punish. The scale and isolation of Port Arthur speak powerfully of the ideals and contradictions of 19th-century reform. After lunch at leisure within the site café, we then take a harbour cruise to the Isle of the Dead, where simple headstones mark the graves of convicts and free men alike. Returning to shore, the remainder of the afternoon is free to reflect or wander through the ruins before we reconvene
for our final dinner together. Overnight Port Arthur
(B, D)

Day 11 | Tuesday 24 November
Coal Mines & Departure
On our final morning we visit the Coal Mines Historic Site, established in 1833 as a place of secondary punishment for convicts from Port Arthur. Here, we walk among the remnants of mine shafts, officers’ quarters and solitary cells carved into the hillside, gaining insight into the harsh realities of life and labour in this remote outpost. The stark ruins stand as a powerful reminder of Tasmania’s penal past, set against the peninsula’s rugged coastal beauty. Following the visit, we return to Hobart for mid-afternoon flights or onward arrangements. (B)