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The East Coast

Tasmania’s east coast is sea-salted and rejuvenating – a land of quiet bays and sandy shores, punctuated by granite headlands splashed with flaming orange lichen. The sand is white-blonde and the water is gin-clear. It looks as inviting as a tropical postcard, but when you strip off and plunge in, you'll probably be quickly out again – even in summer the water temperatures here can leave you breathless.

This coast sits in a rain shadow – by the time the clouds make it out here from the west, they're virtually empty! It's no surprise, then, that this is prime holiday terrain for Tasmanians, with plenty of opportunities to hike, cycle, kayak, surf, dive and fish – set up your beachside camp and get into it. At day's end, fish and chips on the beach is a sure-fire winner. And if luxury is more your thing, you’ll find hip lodges and top-flight eateries aplenty.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout The East Coast.

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Freycinet National Park
Framed by some of the state's finest beaches and rising into spectacular low mountains, Freycinet incorporates the southern end of Freycinet Peninsula, people-free Schouten Island and the lesser-known Friendly Beaches north of Coles Bay. A photogenic assembly of pink granite mountains, azure bays and white-sand beaches (including Tasmania's most famous beach, Wineglass Bay), the park was named after French navigator Louis de Freycinet and proclaimed in 1916, making it (along with Mt Field) Tasmania's oldest national park.
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Bridestowe Lavender Estate
Near Nabowla, 22km west of Scottsdale, is the southern hemisphere's largest lavender farm. In the flowering season (mid-December to late January), the farm's slopes become rolling waves of purple. There's also a cafe and gift shop that sells all things lavender: soap, eye pillows, teas (lavender and mint, anyone?) and ‘Bobbie Bears' – lavender-stuffed teddy bears that sell by the thousands.
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Maria Island National Park
With its chequered history, car-free Maria Island has some interesting World Heritage–listed convict and industrial ruins among exquisite natural features: forests, mountains, fossil-studded limestone cliffs, vividly patterned sandstone cliffs, and empty beaches. Maria is popular with bushwalkers, mountain bikers and birdwatchers, and snorkellers and divers are in for a treat. Island info is available at the visitor reception area in the old Commissariat Store near the pier. Getting here is part of the adventure: catch the ferry from Triabunna.
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Devil’s Corner
Wine comes with a wide-screen view at this cutting-edge cellar door (eyesore or delight? You decide) overlooking Moulting Lagoon and the Hazards mountains on Freycinet Peninsula. Even if you're not into wine, stop by to check out the jaunty lookout tower, or to grab a coffee, pizza, some oysters or fish and chips from the two food outlets, housed in styled-up shipping containers (mains $15 to $25).
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Wildlife Watching
Lucky twitchers might spot the endangered forty-spotted pardalote on Maria, or perhaps the aptly named swift parrot. You’ll certainly see Cape Barren geese waddling around (and depositing their dietary byproducts on) the lawns at Darlington. Meandering wombats and grazing wallabies are also a common sight. Keep an eye out for echidnas and nocturnal Tasmanian devils on forest tracks.
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Wineglass Bay Lookout
This fabulous lookout looks out (as they do) over the famous bay from 'the Saddle' – the dip between Mt Amos and Mt Mayson, aka the Hazards. It's a steep hour's climb to get here.
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Mt William National Park
Little-known, isolated Mt William National Park features long sandy beaches, prolific wildlife and the eponymous wukalina/Mt William, reached on a one-hour return walk. Standing 216m above sea level, it's more a glorified hill, but still affords view over the stunning coastline and the southern Furneaux Group islands. The area was declared a national park in 1973, primarily to protect Tasmania’s remaining Forester (eastern grey) kangaroos, which faced extinction in the 1950s and ’60s (they’ve been breeding themselves silly ever since).
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Darlington
The township of Darlington (officially the World Heritage–listed Darlington Probation Station) is where you’ll start your time on the island. Close to the ferry jetty are some tall silos and the historic Commissariat Store, now the national park visitor centre. Through an avenue of gnarled macrocarpa trees lies the penitentiary, which once housed convicts and now offers bunkhouse-style accommodation, as well as the restored Coffee Palace and mess hall.
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St Helens History Room
Out the back of the town visitor centre is this unexpected little museum, with more than 1000 items cataloguing the town's social and natural history. Farming, exploring, schooling, whaling, fishing, mining, religion and east-coast wildlife all get the once-over, accompanied by the tick-tick-tick of an antique clock. Don't miss the amazing old funeral buggy, and the cheesy but interesting film introducing the Trail of the Tin Dragon tourist route, which focuses on Chinese tin mining in Tasmania’s northeast.