Tasmania's West Coast Road Trip: An Itinerary for the Road Less Travelled

Hobart is not the secret southern gem it once was, revered only by those who dared to venture off the end of Australia in search of exceptional food and drink skirted by breathtaking scenery that’s unique to the country. It’s still all of those things, absolutely, but nowadays it’s renowned and well known.

So instead of using Tasmania’s capital as a destination and that’s all, we’re viewing it as a start line. Not quite the same start line as the Targa Tasmania but as a launch pad into one of the less frequently trodden road trips this part of the world has to offer - a unique Tasmania West Coast itinerary.

From the capital, we headed north west, initially following the Derwent as if making a beeline to the north in a hurry, but when the road junctures, we spear away from the faster and more direct Route 1 in favour of the A10 which initiates our path west.

This trip is about the path less travelled and Lake Saint Clair is the first in a series of natural treasures that draw time-rich tourists away from the freeways like a siren. The reward is a glacial lake carved deeper than any in the whole of Australia’s mainland and a sense of tranquillity paradoxically framed in brutal and jagged mountains.

It’s on these banks you’ll find The Lodge - a haven for brazen hikers looking for a place to soothe their weary everything after tackling the infamous Overland Track - or in some cases a springboard for those just starting out. Either way, this Arcadian retreat morphs into its surroundings with sustainable cabins and low impact living that’s invisible from the lake and hard to pick even from its beaches.

From here we negotiate some of Targa Tasmania’s exceptional driving roads and the so-called 99 Bends into Queenstown - not Tasmania’s prettiest town, but it makes up for its sub-par aesthetics with folklore and downright quirkiness.

Next though, is a small community that is significantly easier on the eyes. What might appear to be a sleepy town on the banks of Long Bay, Strahan is a surprisingly bustling hub at the end of the Wilderness Railway across the stunning harbour, and The Ship That Never Was - Australia’s longest running stage production.

You could stay here for a week and not get bored, but the north beckons and we push on but not before taking our Hyundai Palisade for a blast on the seemingly unending Ocean Beach (not as hard to access as you might imagine) and then onto another even smaller community that packs a lot in.

Corinna was burnt into the map thanks to the gold rush and although its official population peaked at 750, it’s actual transient population topped about 2500. There’s not much metallic gold left here but the food at the Tarkine Hotel, kayak cruises on the Pieman River and historic accommodation is the modern day gold available to anyone passing through.

Speaking of passing through - that’s only possible using the only remaining cable ferry operating in Tasmania - the Fatman.

Leaving town to the north east is back on the sealed road and, if you keep turning left, you’ll end up in Arthur River about 100km later. This coastal outpost feels as remote as it is but rather than a backward backtown, this is a place for peace and fun seekers in equal measure, whether it be tearing up the beaches on two and four wheels, or simply existing in the cleansing breeze.

Not far north is a place the locals call the Edge of the World but you can ignore the plaques and keep going a little further because the actual edge is just beyond Bluff Hill Lighthouse. This is both Tasmania’s most westerly point and the start of the furthest uninterrupted straight of ocean anywhere in the world. Next stop Argentina 15,000km away.

From here you can track almost directly north and, with special permission, visit the CSIRO clean air station, situated here for some of the most unpolluted and pristine air on the planet, but with time running out, we made one final push to our destination.

Stanley is the most northern major town in Tasmania, protruding conspicuously into the Bass Strait but the gorgeous seaside town is overshadowed by the core of an extinct volcano dubbed the Nut. It provides a visually impressive finale to this road trip which, itself has been punctuated by impossibly beautiful landmarks along the entire way. Tasmania is rightly known for its culinary pathways, unrivalled outback hikes and some of the best driving roads in the nation, but deviate from the frequently trodden byways along the centre and east fringes and you’ll find all this and more along the barren but beautiful West.

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