Coastal Tasmania: Untamed Wilderness

Having made your way to Hobart, you will be met by a representative of Aurora Expeditions and transferred to ourgroup hotel. Upon arrival at your included hotel, please visit the Aurora Expeditions hospitality desk to collect yourluggage cabin tags and to speak with our ground operations team, who may have information to share with youabout pre-embarkation or to provide you with information about where to dine, withdraw cash or purchase lastminute items from a local pharmacy or supermarket. The remainder of your time is at leisure. All meals today are atyour own expense.Accommodation: Hobart Hotel.

This morning, your luggage will be collected from the hotel and transferred directly to the port for sanitisation,clearance and delivered to your cabin ahead of your arrival on board. Please ensure that your luggage is fitted withcabin tags clearly labelled with your name and cabin number. Any valuables or personal items should be kept on youthroughout the day. After breakfast, check-out and bring your luggage to the foyer. Please place any items requiredtoday in your hand luggage as your main bag will be placed in the bays of the coach. Enjoy an afternoon tour beforeour drive returns us to Hobart to board the Greg Mortimer in the late afternoon.Settle into your cabin before attending important safety briefings and enjoy the thrill of departure as we ‘throw thelines’ and set sail. This evening, get to know your fellow expeditioners and our friendly Expedition Team and crew atthe Welcome Dinner to celebrate the start of a thrilling adventure.

From the comfort of your floating base camp, make your first forays to the picturesque bays at South Bruny Island.We hope to enjoy picturesque coastal walks through flowering heathlands and eucalypt forests, a more leisurelystroll on long stretches of pristine sand, or a more active tramp up the headland for sweeping views of Cloudy Bayand beyond to the Southern Ranges. Later, as we sail southwards, keep an eye out on for views of Cape Bruny’shistoric lighthouse.At the extreme south-eastern corner of Tasmania, the idyll of Recherche Bay offered French explorer, BruniD’Entrecasteaux, refuge, replenishment, and scientific discovery. Learn more about his exploits, including the well-documented, amicable encounters and mutual observation between the expedition members and the indigenousLylequonny people. We hope to enjoy a hike towards the extreme southern tip of Tasmania or towards Fishers Pointpast the impressive bronze whale sculpture that commemorates the area’s early whaling history. Having roundedSouth East Cape, experience untamed wilderness of the south coast.Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

From the comfort of the ‘mother ship’, enjoy a ship cruise at the Maatsuyker Island Group. Spy Australia’s mostsoutherly lighthouse at Maatsuyker Island, and delight in the majesty of soaring shy albatross in the skies aboveMewstone Island before setting sail up Tassie’s wild west coast.Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Often described as a ‘coastal wonderland’, the impressive sea-cliffs, pristine beaches and sand dunes, shelteredlagoons and tidal inlets of the remote Hunter Island group provide an exciting backdrop to your adventures. Theislands were named after John Hunter (Governor of the Colony of New South Wales) by Flinders on the first recordedcircumnavigation of Tasmania in 1798; although the islands show evidence of over 23,000 years of continuousoccupation by local Aboriginal people. The islands are a major breeding ground for a range of birds, including anumber of threatened species, including the orange-bellied and swift parrots, white-bellied sea eagle, shy albatross,Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle and fairy prion.Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Marvel at the mystique of the far-flung Kent Islands – often missed on conventional maps – and experience its richnatural and human history. This cluster of three main islands and four smaller islets comprise Tassie’s northernmostnational park. Discover the bountiful, nutrient-rich waters created by the convergence of three major oceancurrents, which help feed Australia’s largest fur seal colony. Scan the shorelines and skies for sooty oystercatchers,short-tailed shearwaters, petrels and prions; contemplate the looming granite lighthouse; and discover stories ofsealers, sailors and shipwrecks in the original lightkeeper’s cottage (the oldest in Australia, and now museum) run bythe islands’ only two inhabitants.Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Flinders Island – called Great Island until it was renamed in the early 1800s after explorer Matthew Flinders – is thelargest of Tasmania’s islands and home to Strzelecki National Park. The island offers sapphire waters, untouchedbeaches, a rich variety of flora and fauna, rocky ridges and towering peaks as a backdrop to your hiking, or kayaking.Energetic hikers may like to scale the granitic beauties of the Strzelecki Peaks to experience spectacular vistas, whilestrollers might enjoy a shorter meander through shaded casuarina woodlands and coastal heath to secluded bays.Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

The striking scenery of Freycinet Peninsula tempts you for another day of discovery, whether you hike its toweringpink granite peaks for a spectacular view, paddle its iridescent-blue waters, or beachcomb a pristine white beachpeppered with orange lichen-covered boulders. The surrounding wilderness is also alive with flora and fauna. Onyour adventures, keep an eye out for white-breasted sea eagles soaring in the skies above, Bennett’s wallabies lazingunder a she-oak, the local pod of bottle-nose dolphins, or perhaps one of the short-beaked echidnas that aresometimes seen foraging for ants in daylight hours. Weather permitting, we may also visit the nearby SchoutenIsland group, where gangs of fur seals can be seen vying for their favourite rocky resting place.Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Known as Tasmania’s ‘Noah’s Ark’, Maria Island is home to an abundance of native wildlife including Bennett’swallabies, common wombats, and rufous-bellied pademelons; as well as conservation sanctuary to a number ofintroduced species including the Tasmanian devil. The island is also considered one of the best places for birdwatching, with a variety that includes all but one of Tassie’s endemic bird species. In addition to its natural history,the island has a rich human history stretching back over 40,000 years. The Puthikwilayti people of the Oyster Baytribe were original custodians of the land and surrounding waters, which was later visited by European explorers,and exploited by sealers and whalers. Convict settlements, failed commercial ventures, and an eventual NationalPark designation are also part of the island’s antiquities.Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

Nestled amid English oaks and gardens, Port Arthur stands in stark contrast to the beauty of the Tasman Peninsula.Once a site of punishment, opportunity, and leisure, it now preserves Australia’s colonial history in stone and brick.Explore the ruins and restored buildings of the Port Arthur Historic Site. Back on board and as we set sail for Hobart,toast your adventures and celebrate with friends – both new and old – at our Captain’s Farewell Dinner.Subject to change due to pending regulatory and permitting approvals.

In Hobart, farewell the crew, expedition team and fellow travellers before your transfer to the airport.