Tasmanian Coastal Expedition

Welcome to Hobart, one of Australia’s most rewarding cities and the perfect starting point for an APT expedition into Tasmania’s most extraordinary coastal wilderness.
January in Hobart means long summer evenings, and there is time before embarkation to explore Salamanca Place, Battery Point and the Museum of Old and New Art if timing allows. Board the Coral Discoverer at the docks this afternoon, settle into your stateroom and meet your fellow guests and the APT expedition team at dinner. The Derwent Estuary is beautiful at dusk and Tasmania begins immediately.

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Bruny Island sits just south of Hobart across the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, and its rugged southern coastline is a world away from the settled farmland of the north.
From Adventure Bay, your APT expedition team leads a half-day cruise to the rugged southern coastline, past deep sea caves and the extraordinary rock formation known as The Monument. Seals, dolphins and seabirds are regularly encountered along the way. This afternoon, the APT team leads a leisurely coastal walk along the cliffs of Fluted Cape, where Bennett’s wallabies are frequently spotted and the history of the region’s 19th-century whaling industry unfolds along the path.

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Maria Island is one of the finest wildlife sanctuaries in Australia, a car-free national park where wombats graze next to the ruins of a World Heritage-listed convict settlement and endemic birds are found nowhere else on earth.
Your APT expedition team leads the exploration of the Darlington settlement, where restored convict-era buildings stand as a reminder of the island’s dual history as a penal colony. The Painted Cliffs, their sandstone stained in layers of orange, red and purple by iron deposits, are a short walk from the settlement. Endemic birdlife including the Forty Spotted Pardalote, green rosellas and hooded plovers make Maria Island one of the finest birdwatching destinations in Tasmania.

If you’re feeling active today, join the Fossil Cliffs walk and Reservoir Circuit. Both walks follow easy paths that cross through stunning natural landscapes, with opportunities to spot the local wildlife.

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Freycinet National Park is one of Tasmania’s most celebrated landscapes, and approaching it by ship with the pink granite Hazards mountains rising directly from the sea is the finest possible way to arrive.
Your APT guided walk along the Isthmus Track to Wineglass Bay is the centrepiece of the day, leading through coastal bushland to one of Australia’s most perfectly formed bays. The alternative Wineglass Bay Lookout gives aerial views of the crescent from above. This afternoon, the Coral Discoverer repositions to secluded Schouten Island for a leisurely beach stroll with the APT team.

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Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour represent the most remote and least visited corner of the Australian mainland, and APT’s Coral Discoverer is specifically equipped to provide access that no larger vessel can offer.
This World Heritage wilderness in Tasmania’s Southwest National Park is governed by annual permits from Tasmania Parks and Wildlife, and APT’s long relationship with this area ensures that the expedition team’s knowledge of its ecology, history and Indigenous heritage is exceptional. Today begins three days of hiking, kayaking and Xplorer exploration in landscapes shaped by the Southern Ocean and the Roaring Forties, with the rare orange-bellied parrot among the wildlife the APT naturalists will be watching for.
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A second full day in the Southwest Wilderness and the area begins to reveal itself at a deeper level, guided throughout by your APT expedition team.
The scale of Bathurst Harbour, the largest natural harbour in the Southern Hemisphere accessible only by light aircraft or small boat, becomes apparent as the Coral Discoverer moves through its waterways. The APT team’s Xplorer tender vessels push into channels and coves the ship itself cannot reach, and the silence in these places is total and profound. Walking tracks ashore, where conditions permit, pass through some of the most botanically distinct vegetation in the Southern Hemisphere, and the APT naturalists bring the ecology of these ancient landscapes to life throughout the day.

The final morning in the Southwest Wilderness, and your APT expedition team makes the most of the remaining access before the Coral Discoverer heads north.
Return visits to favourite landing sites, a last kayak in the harbour’s glassy water or simply sitting on deck as the mountains of the Southwest National Park recede behind the stern are all equally valid ways to spend the morning. This corner of Tasmania receives perhaps 1,000 visitors per year. The understanding that comes from three full days here, led by an APT team that knows these waters intimately, is what separates this expedition from most other Tasmanian coastal experiences.

The Huon Valley is Tasmania’s food bowl, and after three days in the Southwest Wilderness, an APT-guided morning among orchards, cider houses, salmon farms and artisan cheese producers is a very welcome change of pace.
The valley’s burgeoning food and wine scene draws food lovers from across Australia and the APT programme gives you direct access to local producers who rarely open their doors to visitors. This afternoon, the D’Entrecasteaux Channel offers pristine beaches and calm water as the Coral Discoverer makes its way back toward the east coast.

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The Tasman Peninsula’s dolerite sea cliffs are the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere, rising 300 metres directly from the Southern Ocean, and approaching them by sea with your APT expedition team is an experience of genuine awe.
Cape Raoul, Cape Pillar and Cape Hauy are named by the APT naturalists as the ship approaches, each formation telling a different story of the geological forces that shaped the Tasmanian coast. Fur seals, dolphins and albatross are regularly encountered here. Your APT team leads options ashore including the remote Fortescue Bay beach, sections of the coastal Tasman Trail, Xplorer cruising and kayaking in Canoe Bay.

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Port Arthur is one of the most significant historic sites in Australia, and the APT guided tour of the World Heritage-listed convict settlement brings its 40 years of colonial history to life with exceptional depth.
Situated on the narrow neck of Eaglehawk Neck, the settlement’s isolation was its original security measure — the peninsula’s near-island geography made escape almost impossible. Your APT guide leads you through the historic buildings, ruins, heritage gardens and restored period homes, covering the site’s full history from its opening in 1830 to its closure in 1877.

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our APT Tasmanian Coastal Expedition concludes this morning in Hobart after ten nights exploring the most extraordinary island in Australian waters.
Disembark after breakfast and transfer to the airport, or ask your Cruiseabout specialist about extending your stay in Hobart or adding an APT land tour through the Tasmanian interior.

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