The Northwest Getting there & around

Getting there & around

Bus & tram

Bus

There are no public transport services to Marrawah or Arthur River, but Redline Coaches (1300 360 000; www.tasredline.com.au) services the Northwest’s larger towns.

On weekdays (except public holidays), Metro (6431 3822; www.metrotas.com) has regular buses from Burnie to Penguin, Ulverstone and Wyn­yard (all $4.30 one way), departing from Cattley St. Burnie to Wynyard buses also run on Saturday.

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Air

Regional Express (REX; 13 17 13; www.regionalexpress.com.au) flies between Melbourne and Wynyard Airport (aka Burnie/Wynyard Airport or Burnie Airport) from $105 one way.

Tasair (03-6248 5088; www.tasair.com.au) flies between King Island and Burnie/Wynyard from $193 one way.

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Car & motorcycle

The main north-to-west-coast route is the Murchison Hwy (A10) from Somerset west of Burnie, running through to Queenstown. The Western Explorer is the inland road from Smithton through the Tarkine wilderness area to the west coast, including a difficult 50km section between Arthur River and Corinna. Promoted as a tourist route, the road is OK for non-4WD vehicles, but it’s remote, potholed and mostly unsealed – think twice in bad weather or after dark. Fill up your tank in Marrawah in the north or Zeehan in the south, as there’s no petrol in between. The Arthur River Parks & Wildlife Service (6457 1225) provides road condition updates.

At Corinna there’s a pay-per-crossing vehicle ferry across the Pieman River, from where you continue to Zeehan and the rest of the west.

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