THE Tasmanian Trail is a 480km traverse through the heartland of Tasmania. This ambling and undulating trail with several options for different access goes from Devonport in the north to Dover in the south, giving the user a broad dissection of Tasmanian countryside. In their handbook, The Tasmanian Trail Association has broken the trail into 16 “Stages” of varying distance and difficulty.
I took out a one-year membership of the Tasmanian Trail Association for about $100. This allowed me to download and print the guidebook and course maps, as well as get an access key (additional and refundable cost) for gates and toilets. While the trail guidebook has small graphic profile maps of each stage, it wasn’t until I walked them that I was able to accurately know how much climbing there was.
Besides the fantastic and varied scenery and topography, the trail goes through 13 towns along its course and passes close to several others. These town locations are well symbolised in the guidebook Stage maps, indicating if they have accommodation or shopping. For light entertainment along the way, there seems to be a discreet competition
