Things to do in Tasmania for kids??

[GTP 044]

Hey everyone,

I am taking a couple of weeks off work soon with the kids, and I am beginning to plan what we are going to do. With the price of airfares from Melbourne to Tassie being so cheap, I thought I might surprise them by taking them on an airplane and perhaps heading over there. My plan would be to fly over early in the morning and return to Melbourne later in the day. My kids are 7 and 9 years old, so sight seeing stuff wouldn't interest them but any ideas of other things that young kids would like would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Greg.

[Polyal]

Hmm tough as Tassie is more of a nature place, not like Surfers etc.

Depending on where you are going there are jet boat rides, do spins and things up rivers which is fun.

One of the best things I have done there was going quad biking along sand dunes on the NW coast, go right to the waters edge; but the kids might be a bit young, maybe they could hang on to the back?

There is an airwalk down south, a town called Richmond thats like Sovereign Hill I guess.

I guess a Cascade tour is out of the question..LOL

[tex]

Hi mate, got your note.

I agree with Polyal.

I hope your kids are into animals and nature, if they are, they would love some of our native animal parks.

if you flew into the South, there a few parks within a confortable days driving. The Devil park with it's raptor shows is cool I reckon, and from what Ive observed kids love it. They have the usual little hawks and stuff, but also the mighty Tasmanian Sea Eagle. That's some bird I goota say! it's freaken huge.

We've got all the usual native wild life, and some of the inetractive shows have the kids screaming for joy. They get to meet devils, Wombats, roos, possums, platypus quolls etc etc. Even the giant fresh water crayfish are damn impressive.

if your kids were excitied about seeing some of our cute and not so cute wildlife, I reckon they would have a fat time. If they are kids more interested in the Surfers them park stuff, maybe not such a wonderful idea.

I take your point on the sight seeing - kids get bored real quick!

You could do a lot worse than do a bruny Island high speed sightseeing cruise though - lots of seals, lots of birds, sometimes whales and the most rugged coastline you'll see anywhere in Aust. No exaggeration! Plus the RIBS are packing over 1000 hp. One of the has quad 350 V8 Yamahas.

Goodluck

[GTP 044]

Thanks for your help guys.

[GTP owner]

Flying over and back in 1 day doesn't leave much time to do much. It takes a lot longer to travel around here than you expect - don't go looking at the map and think you can cover 150km in an hour and a half!
Choose your city then pick what to do. If Launny, then heading into the gorge is a good way to take up a day. Penny Royal, chairlifts, walks, that's all you will get to do.

If Hobart - choose 1 of Port Arthur, Huon Airwalk (and maybe hastings caves), Mount Wellington and walks, or say perhaps Richmond village.

And bring warm clothes - they are predicting snow to 500m on Wednesday. I get to drive to uni through it every now and then

[ltd]

There's a couple of zoo type things there for the kids, as well as the don railway, the franklin river cruises out of strahan, the nut; whole bunch of other stuff too. Mum and Dad though should definately go to the Tamar Valley, check out Josef Chromy, Bundaleera and Sharmans. Jansz is a waste of time and effort as their mass produced pinot is now bland and lacking in character, Tamar Ridge is always worthwhile. That's if you're into wine though. If not, I think there's a Boags factory tour.
My folks live there and absolutely love it.

[TUF_302]

Your kids would definitely need to be outdoor types to really appreciate tassie i think, theres no amusement parks or anything like that here really

[zdcol71]

I've got a mate who lives in Ewendale (Evensdale??) and I am visiting them in February for an annual Penny Farthing race. Apparently it is world renowned, and is a stage of a world wide event. It is apparently all very Victorian,Tweed jackets, Sherlock Holmes pipes etc and a lot of fun in the village, with all the associated events, for kids and kids at heart alike.

[GTP owner]

Its Evandale, and yes it is a bit of fun.
Tassie always has something going on, whether it is a fair or a rural show, but it can be a bit hard to know what and when. Agfest has just been on and attracted thousands. But you have to be interested in the outdoor life.