Tasmania Loop via Strahan and Cradle Mountain - Mighty

Nine nights and 1,543 kilometres in a loop from Hobart in a campervan, a full circle of Tasmania by way of both coasts.

Mount Field comes first, the oldest national park in the state, where Russell Falls drops in tiers through tree ferns and the swamp gums behind it are among the tallest flowering plants on earth, then Strahan on the west coast.

Cradle Mountain follows, with the Dove Lake circuit below it, then Stanley under the Nut, a volcanic plug rising from a spit of land, and Devonport and Launceston across the north. The Bay of Fires comes next on the east coast, whose boulders are covered in orange lichen, then Wineglass Bay at Freycinet, where pink granite peaks stand above the sand, and Port Arthur, the best preserved convict site in Australia, before Hobart.

The camper and the day-by-day plan come from Mighty, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Ten days for 1,543 kilometres is a comfortable pace for a full circuit, though it leaves one night at most stops. The island is a good deal cooler than the mainland and the highlands get snow outside summer. The Cradle Mountain shuttles run in place of private vehicles to Dove Lake for most of the year, and the Gordon River cruises at Strahan need booking. The loop format avoids a one-way relocation fee. Anyone with a fortnight rather than ten days should give Cradle Mountain and Freycinet a second night each, since both are walking stops rather than viewpoints.