Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - What to do on Tasmania around Christmas?

On my crazy dash around the pacific in December I'll be in Melbourne from December 20th to 26th.
At first I thought I'd go to Adelaide and Sydney to see some things as well as spend a day in Melbourne (I've spent a week in Sydney so I've seen most of the sights, but I still haven't done the harbour bridge walk).

My idea was to take an over-night bus to Sydney, spend a day or two there and then fly to Adelaide and take a one- or two-day wine tour (maybe not an option since it'll be Christmas and a lot of places will be closed) before returning to Melbourne. It's a very hurried program and I'm supposed to be on vacation, so I started loking into other places.

I've found some pretty cheap flights to Hobart and Launceston on Tasmania, and the question is if there's enough things to do to keep me busy for a couple of days? The new plan is to split my time between Melbourne and Tasmania, skipping Sydney and Adelaide.
Or perhaps I could do some Adelaide-Tasmania combo in that time?

Any advice on places to see on Tasmania? I've found the Launceston and Hobart web pages and have found the most common tourist attractions such as the Cataract Gorge an the wine country.

For one day, go to Port Arthur, Tasman National Park, and the Tasmanian Devil park. They are all pretty close to each other and they can make for a nice and fulfilling day.

Then you could hit Richmond, take a drive up to Mt. Wellington, take a tour of the Cascade Brewery. Plenty of stuff to do, just depends on what your looking for.

An overnight bus to Sydney would be a minor torture. Fly or take the train

Have a look at the Oz Fest 5 thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=706312) which will be inTassie

On my crazy dash around the pacific in December I'll be in Melbourne from December 20th to 26th.
At first I thought I'd go to Adelaide and Sydney to see some things as well as spend a day in Melbourne (I've spent a week in Sydney so I've seen most of the sights, but I still haven't done the harbour bridge walk).

My idea was to take an over-night bus to Sydney, spend a day or two there and then fly to Adelaide and take a one- or two-day wine tour (maybe not an option since it'll be Christmas and a lot of places will be closed) before returning to Melbourne. It's a very hurried program and I'm supposed to be on vacation, so I started loking into other places.

I've found some pretty cheap flights to Hobart and Launceston on Tasmania, and the question is if there's enough things to do to keep me busy for a couple of days? The new plan is to split my time between Melbourne and Tasmania, skipping Sydney and Adelaide.
Or perhaps I could do some Adelaide-Tasmania combo in that time?

Any advice on places to see on Tasmania? I've found the Launceston and Hobart web pages and have found the most common tourist attractions such as the Cataract Gorge an the wine country.

Hi, what a trip, it will be fun.

First- everything will be open whilst you are here EXCEPT on the 25th, Christmas day and a day when everything , and I mean everything is closed. Pick this day to relax somewhere or to drive somewhere, as there will be nothing else to do.

I agree with previous post about the overnight bus trip, it will kill you and nowadays there is little need for the pain. There are LCCs which will get you to SYD for the same price.

I would advise you to choose Hobart as an entrance and if you get a hire car from the airport (cheap rates in Tassie) you could drive to Launceston and depart from there. Driving is easy and the roads are quiet. The apple isle is laid back, and mainlanders joke about two heads but it's all tongue in cheek. Tasmania is a beautiful island, very lush and green, with a great heritage. It was one of our original settlements so there are great convict areas and ruins all in good condition. The centre of Hobart is a foodie haven and it's the base for the SYD to Hobart ocean racing, so plenty of salties too. We used to get all our apples from here but now we also get berries cream wines beer cheeses and all of the latest fads tend to start here. As you drive north, take the time to venture over to the far left to the west coast. Around Strahan and Queenstown there are unbelieneable sights and you will be in awe of the scenery. PS Hobart being the capital has direct flights to most mainland capitals so if the mood strikes you, a direct SYd or Mel flight would be available. If you have already seen SYD, the idea of spending time in MEL and tasmania makes excellent sense. December is usually hot, but it has been known to slip suddenly back into winter for a day or two, so the idea of packing a pullover is warranted. have a good trip, regards bkkrop

Ah Tassie - my home town (well it is now).
Tassie in December is amazing depending on WHEN you are here. If you want to come I suggesting booking accomadation NOW as in Hobart there is generally very little in nice stuff around Christmas due to the SYD-HBA yacht race and all its associated hangers on.
What sort of things are you interested in? Give me a general idea (walking, food, exploring etc) and I'll give you some touristy and some non touristy ideas. PM me or I'll elaborate here.

Tassie is my favorite Australian state -- go and enjoy! Freycinet, Cradle Mountain and Strahan are amazing if you like magnificant scenery.
I agree with previous poster, if you are going to travel around the island at all, consider flying into Hobart/out of Launceston, or reverse.

Thanks for your advice everyone. I appreciate your help.

I found one web site that gives some pretty good ideas for things to see on a 3-7 day tour: http://www.puretasmania.com.au/default.asp?pID=22

I'll consider flying into Hobart and fly out of Launceston (or vice versa), but because my trip will be close to the Sydney-Hobart race, flights to Hobart are pretty expensive (around $250 one way) compared to flying from Melbourne to Launceston and back for about $110 round-trip on Tiger Airways, which should hopefully be up and running by then. If not, using Virgin Blue or Jetstar would cost me about $180 round-trip.

After all, it's "only" a three hour drive between Launceston and Hobart, so I'll probably opt for using Launceston for both arrival and departure.
The web site I posted above also has tables for estimated driving times. Seems like a circle route Launceston-Freycinet-Hobart-Strahan-Cradle Mountain-Launceston would take about 13-14 hours of driving. Seems doable in 5 days.

As for activities I like to do, I like outdoor activities (hiking, climbing, rafting) and I like taking pictures of beautiful nature formations.
One or two visits to a wine area is also on my to-do list.
I'm not a big-city person, but I'm sure I'll enjoy Hobart and the other towns/cities on Tasmania since they all seem small and friendly.

Vunder - if you like outdoor activities head over to Strahan and do the Piners and Miners tour. Its expensive ($350) BUT the most amazing experience. It involves a train ride (well a ride in a converted landrover), a drive, a hike and a boat trip - all with a guide. Most gear supplied, along with b/fast, an amazing lunch and snacks.
http://www.puretasmania.com.au/default.asp?pID=49 is the webpage. I did it with my dad earlier this year and it was totally magical - the most amazing experience, and the fact I got to share it with my dad made it even better.
Flying into/out of Lonnie is probably adviseable if you want to try to save some money.
Pure Tasmania is a V useful website...and most of their accom (except the Hobart stuff) is generally quite nice.
The drive from Lonnie to Strahan can be quite hair-raising if you follow the west coast straight down....lots of unsealed roads etc, HOWEVER it is a very gorgeous drive photography wise.
The east coast is also very pretty - and there are some nice drives/walks around there as well.

I found a tour company called Under Down Under Tours (http://www.underdownunder.com.au/).

Has anyone heard of them? Are they any good? They have a couple of tours that I may consider since I'm not sure I really want to learn to drive on the 'wrong' side of the road.

If I decide to rent a car, what sites/companies can you recommend?
I've found http://www.rentforless.com.au, http://www.locostautorent.com/ and http://secure.holidayautos.com so far

Those tours look intense and I dont know if you will really get time to really experience all those things.
Dont forget the usual rent a car suspects. Europcar, Avis, Hertz.

] They have a couple of tours that I may consider since I'm not sure I really want to learn to drive on the 'wrong' side of the road.

If I decide to rent a car, what sites/companies can you recommend?
I've found http://www.rentforless.com.au, http://www.locostautorent.com/ and http://secure.holidayautos.com so far

I had this same fear (I don't drive that much in the States!) before going to NZ this last November. I got over it and it was fine. I didn't drive in any of the major cities (drove in Napier and around Hawke's Bay) but it was fine. People were VERY patient (especially when they heard my accent!) and helpful. The only "catch" were all of the roundabouts and figuring out how to make a right-hand turn from them. Just ask! I did and the driver let me follow him to where I needed to be :)

Also, if you go to the isites when you get to Australia they'll help you with car rentals as well since they have some locals who do this too.