Tasmania
Separated from the mainland Australia by Bass Strait, Tasmania is indeed a land apart, bountiful in wild landscapes, a cornucopia of wine and food, a florid colonial history and attractions that range from the quaint and the quirky to the utterly divine. Tassie teems with wildlife: seals and penguins, shearwaters and sea eagles, dolphins and whales. Scale the summits of remote peaks in any one of the 17 National Parks, sink to the depths of prehistoric caves, feel the sand between your toes on a deserted beach and fill your lungs with the world's freshest air in an ancient rainforest.