Australia’s island state of Tasmania sits to the south of that vast land mass, a hour’s hop by plane from Melbourne.

Tassie is about the size of Scotland or West Virginia, and packs in an awful lot of coastline. We drove from the coastal capital of Hobart up the east coast, passing through seaside towns with familiar names like Swansea to the ochre rocks of Bicheno.

Our travels also took us to the north, stopping at Beauty Point and stunning Freers Beach at Port Sorrel. The tide was out and there wasn’t another soul there – apart from hundreds of sand crabs scuttling around.

The towns are comfortingly sleepy and old-fashioned, while the coastline is beautiful, especially under a cobalt blue autumn sky. If you’re going to Tasmania, don’t stray far from the seaside.

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