Road trip: TAS

City break The "island at the edge of the world" has an art scene that certainly maintains major capital city status. Mona, a half hour fast ferry up the Derwent River, is a Disneyland (albeit the adult version) of weird and wonderful works. Currently on show is their ongoing exhibit Monanism, and Hound in the Hunt, a live art experiment whereby 21st century painters use a 17th century optical technique - little more than a mirror on a stick - in the style of Vermeer to recreate Dutch masterpieces. 

Country mile The lactose intolerant should look away: Tasmania is the home of cheese, and no visit to the triangle state is complete without gorging on the stuff. Start by a tasting of 15 of them at Grandvewe's cellar door, overlooking the beautiful D’Entrecasteaux Channel. Bruny Island Cheese Company is the only legally recognised producer of raw milk cheese in Australia. Try the “O.D.O" (one day old) - a fresh cheese marinated in olive oil, garlic and herbs or “1792” a soft, pungent washed rind cheese matured on Huon Pine boards. Alternatively, take the guesswork out of it and just follow the Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail
 
Off-road There's lots for your wheels to love, too. Take a rough, exciting ride through muddy terrain at Cradle Mountain, or enjoy the fusion of sand and bush as you quad bike along the coastal forests and beaches of the Freycinet Peninsula. But for the seriously fun, tackle the 40km expanse of the Henty Dunes on Tasmania's west coast. Reaching heights of around 30m, the Henty Sand Dunes form a desert amid the rainforests of Tasmania's West Coast. The dunes were formed by the Roaring Forties, an uninterrupted wind current that blows from South America, gaining speed all the way to Tasmania.