Tasmania, the southern tip of Australian territory, is an island
separated from the mainland by the Bass Strait. It is a place of
wild and beautiful landscapes and friendly, relaxed people, with a
temperate climate, rich history and slow pace of life. There is no
hustle and bustle here, even in the cities. No traffic jams and no
smog. Encircled by the Southern Ocean, Tasman Sea and Bass Strait,
the air is clean, the water pure and the soil fertile. More than
one third of Tasmania is preserved in a network of national parks
and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The island's
European heritage goes back to the early 1800s, but Aboriginals
first reached it about 40,000 years ago.
