Five Reasons Why Tasmania In Winter Is A Desirable Experience

Did you know there’s a land border separating Tasmania and Victoria? 

Due to a mapping error back in 1801 (we’re not sure how many bottles of port captain John Black had under his belt at the time), there’s actually an 85 metre land border on a useless rocky islet in Bass Strait that splits the two states – oh the things you learn on Wikipedia!

Tasmania is a fantastic little isle dangling 240 kilometres off Australia’s mainland. It shares similarities to New Zealand in climate, landscape and high quality, ice-cold lineups. Particularly in winter.

The colder months bring with them those thundering south swells and those same thundering swells mean Shippies is in season – if you’re into that kind of game. For the rest of us mortals, there’s plenty of user-friendly nooks and crannies scattered across the island, all with different surfaces and degrees of threat to one’s life.

And for those who aren’t excited by hunting tunnels, there’s loads of natural and manmade entertainment on tap too, from native wildlife to arts festivals.

The Apple Island has a little something for everyone, if Tassie devils and bone chilling temps don’t bother you anyway.

We dialled in our resident Tasmanian lensman, Nick Green, to give us a handful of reasons why visiting his island home is a good thing to do before your demise.

Nooks, crannies and mysto pointbreaks that require very specific conditions. Welcome to Tasmania.

Scarcity of civilisation
According to the stats, there’s about 520,000 people who call Tasmania home, 40% of which living around its capital, Hobart. That means that the other 60% are scattered across the island’s 68,000 square kilometres, so yes, it’s quiet.

“During peak winter, the popular surfing spots slim down to only the dedicated few,” says Mr Green. “Even throughout the warmer months, if you’re chasing a solo session or with just a buddy or two, its very doable if you put in the extra mile on the road.”

Is this postcard-friendly enough for you?

There’s a whole lot of National Park
42% in fact, a large portion of which is World Heritage protected. They don’t just go handing out World Heritage zoning to anyone either, they save it for the wildest mother nature can produce. Plenty to explore, just remember to pack enough food and water to not die.

“A key element to the beauty of our island is the untouched and raw environment that we both explore and protect,” Nick tells us. “A lot of the coastlines are inaccessible besides long bush walks, plane ride or boat, so you get a real sense of adventure when chasing waves.”

A Tasmanian crowd.

Plenty of high quality setups
“With four coastlines copping swell all year round, if you have petrol, time and patience and are keen to find a wave, you’ll surf every day in Tasmania”, says Nick. “Obviously Shipsterns Bluff has put Tasmania on the map over the years and for good reason, but there’s much more to our little island than huge slabs; waves range from mellow point breaks, to punchy wedges and everything in-between.”

Wildlife 
“Tasmania is home to some pretty rare and amazing wildlife,” says Nick. “Sir David Attenborough recently narrated a documentary on some of the amazing animals our state is home to – definitely check it out if you haven’t already. With almost half of the state protected from human interaction, it’s no wonder you see so much thriving wildlife. Please drive with caution in dense bush areas though as a lot of our critters don’t know the road rules.”

Apologies to the goofies, we promise there are left handers of equally attractive nature.

Dark Mofo
“Come winter, when the sun rises later and sets earlier, the water and air temperature drops dramatically and Tasmanians can easily be struck with the winter blues,” Nick explains. “That was until MONA owner, David Walsh decided to create something worth being excited for. Dark MOFO is a yearly festival which engages both locals and international visitors in an array of art, music, food and drink, all in a very unique way. It’s confusing, its confronting but it has created a name for itself as major drawcard for Tasmania during winter… Well, that and those crazy south swells, but don’t worry about them [laughs].”