Nature, Wildlife & Cultural Tours in Tasmania

Overview

Tasmania is Australia's island wilderness state — a compact yet extraordinarily diverse destination where ancient temperate rainforests, glacially carved mountain ranges, and wild coastal landscapes converge to create one of the southern hemisphere's most remarkable natural environments.

Separated from the Australian mainland by the Bass Strait around 10,000 years ago, Tasmania developed a unique ecological character shaped by isolation, cool temperate climate, and one of the world's highest concentrations of protected wilderness. Nearly half the island is protected within national parks, World Heritage Areas, and nature reserves, making it one of the most comprehensively conserved places on earth.

Tasmania is home to iconic and unique wildlife including the Tasmanian devil, the eastern quoll, and the wedge-tailed eagle, alongside ancient endemic plant communities including the extraordinary pencil pine and Huon pine — some of the oldest living organisms on the planet.

For nature lovers, wilderness walkers, and wildlife enthusiasts, Tasmania offers an intimacy with the natural world that is profound, accessible, and utterly unlike anywhere else in Australia.

Top Things to See

Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area: One of the last great temperate wilderness regions on earth, encompassing over 1.5 million hectares of ancient rainforest, glacial lakes, dramatic dolerite mountain ranges, and wild river systems of extraordinary ecological and geological significance.
Freycinet National Park: A stunning peninsula of pink granite peaks, pristine white sand beaches, and turquoise waters on Tasmania's east coast, supporting diverse coastal wildlife including white-bellied sea eagles, Bennett's wallabies, and common wombats in an exceptionally scenic setting.
Cradle Mountain — Lake St Clair National Park: Tasmania's most iconic alpine landscape, where the jagged dolerite peaks of Cradle Mountain rise above ancient rainforest and glacial lakes, sheltering wombats, pademelons, and Tasmanian devils in a setting of breathtaking natural grandeur.

Highlights

Tasmanian Devil Encounters: Tasmania is the last stronghold of the world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial, with a number of wildlife sanctuaries and wild encounter programs offering rare and genuinely moving encounters with this iconic and endangered species.
Ancient Rainforest & Endemic Plants: Walk beneath Huon pines estimated to be over 3,000 years old and explore stands of ancient pencil pine, King Billy pine, and endemic heath communities in forests that have remained largely unchanged since the age of Gondwana.
Platypus in the Wild: Tasmania's clean, cool waterways support exceptionally healthy platypus populations, with guided early morning and evening wildlife walks along rivers and streams offering some of Australia's most reliable and accessible wild platypus encounters.
Seabird & Penguin Colonies: Tasmania's rugged coastline and offshore islands support thriving colonies of little penguins, short-tailed shearwaters, and diverse seabird species, with guided nocturnal tours offering remarkable close encounters in natural nesting habitats.
Alpine Wildlife of the Central Highlands: The button grass moorlands, alpine heathlands, and glacial tarns of Tasmania's central highlands support unique wildlife communities including the eastern quoll, spotted-tail quoll, and Bennett's wallaby in landscapes of austere and spectacular beauty.

Activities

Wilderness Walking & Multiday Treks: Tasmania's extraordinary network of wilderness walks includes the world-famous Overland Track — a six-day traverse of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area — alongside iconic day walks at Freycinet, Mount Field, and the Bay of Fires.
Wildlife Spotlighting: After dark, Tasmania's roadsides, national parks, and private properties reveal an extraordinary cast of nocturnal wildlife — Tasmanian devils, eastern quolls, wombats, pademelons, and owls — in one of Australia's most rewarding nocturnal wildlife experiences.
Birdwatching: Tasmania's endemic and near-endemic bird species — including the swift parrot, forty-spotted pardalote, and Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle — draw birdwatchers from around the world to habitats ranging from coastal heathland to ancient rainforest and alpine moorland.
Kayaking & Coastal Paddling: Explore Tasmania's wild and sheltered coastlines by sea kayak, paddling through the bays and inlets of Freycinet, the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and the remote southwest wilderness coast, with seals, dolphins, and seabirds as frequent companions.
Fishing & River Exploration: Tasmania's pristine highland lakes and wild rivers are renowned as some of Australia's finest trout fishing destinations, with guided fly fishing experiences in remote and breathtakingly beautiful wilderness settings.
4WD & Remote Wilderness Exploration: Access Tasmania's most remote and rarely visited wilderness areas by four-wheel drive, including the wild southwest coast, the remote Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area, and the extraordinary landscapes of the Tarkine — one of the southern hemisphere's largest temperate rainforests.