If you Are Thinking About a Health Retreat in an Exotic Location?
Look no further than Tasmania. Why not fit in a Lomi Lomi Massage or a Private or Group Gokhale Method Foundations Course in the Fabulous “Bay of Fires.” Why not feel your very best while being on holiday. As I live, work and teach here, I can arrange accommodations and help schedule times that fit into your travel plans.
Contact Me: Ph: 0428 223 271 or email michelle@gokhalemethod.com
See the article & gorgeous photos below to help inspire you to come to my beautiful island…….
“Tasmania’s stunning landscape and wildlife have seen it voted into the world’s top ten islands”
- Tasmania has been named fourth in the world’s top-five islands by US-based Travel and Leisure magazine
- Voters cited Tasmania’s fresh air, stunning landscapes, quirky fauna and good food among the state’s treasures
- Almost 1.6 million people visited Tasmania between 2013 and 2014 – nearly double the population of the state
- Tourism attractions include the vibrant capital Hobart, the stunning Bay of Fires and historic Port Arthur jail
- The Apple Isle was left off a map of Australia featuring on the Commonwealth Games uniform earlier this year
It’s the small Australian state often overlooked, left off maps and even this year omitted from the national Commonwealth Games sports kit.
But Tasmania is now outshining the rest of Australia when it comes to being a recommended tourist destination, after having been ranked fourth in the world’s top-five islands.
Readers of US-based Travel and Leisure magazine and website cited Tasmania’s fresh air, stunning landscapes, quirky fauna and good food among the state’s treasures, as it was named the southern state No.1 island in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in its latest annual survey.
Hobart, the waterfront capital and most populous city is Tasmania, was described by Lonely Planet as ‘super-cool’
‘Readers raved about this Australian state, calling it a little known treasure that’s unmatched by any other island destination,’ an awards blurb reads.
‘Best of all? The air is as clean as it is in Antarctica, making it the ideal place to take a breather,’ another blurb states.
The state’s ‘nearly hallucinatory’ landscapes got a mention in the survey, along with the ‘hyena-like’ Tasmanian Devil, combining to see the Apple Isle rank ahead of contenders including the Greek island of Santorini and Hawaii’s Maui.
In the survey, readers ranked islands on five criteria: natural attractions/beaches, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people/friendliness and value.
The Great Barrier Reef islands came in ninth on the world rankings by the Travel and Leisure magazine.
The home of the Tasmanian Devil also made it into travel guide Lonely Planet’s ‘Top 10 Regions to visit in 2015’ list thanks to its fine food and stunning outdoors, with almost 1.6 million people already visiting its shores in the last year.
‘The visitor numbers are now pretty much double the population of the state,’ a Discover Tasmania spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
Cooks Beach, in Freycinet Nationalpark Tasmania, is one of the treasures winning the Island a place in the world’s best Islands
The bay at Bishop Mountain, in Maria Island National Park, Tasmania, is a natural beauty
The Ben Lomond mountain is dominated by an alpine plateau over 1500 metres high, it is the main destination for downhill skiing in Tasmania. The windy road to the top is know as Jacob’s Ladder
Hop 240 kilometres across the Bass Strait from the south of the Australian continent to the 26th largest island in the world and you will discover historic gems like more than half of Australia’s World Heritage Listed Convict Sites.
Tassie is also home to the oldest Catholic Church in use in Australia, St John’s Roman Catholic Church in Richmond, and the oldest bridge in use in the country – the historic Richmond Bridge.
Lonely Planet compared areas from around the globe and placed Tasmania fourth, recommending travellers visit Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art and an extension of the Three Capes Track in the state’s southeast – due for completion in the new year and offering walkers a ‘stunning’ view of sea cliffs in the Tasman National Park.
‘Modern Tasmania has adopted a fresh, hip and inclusive attitude sparked by the brilliant revival of its now super-cool waterfront capital, Hobart, and the development of an eclectic year-long events calendar,’ Lonely Planet’s Chris Zeiher wrote.
He called the food scene a ‘gourmet’s paradise’ and said Tasmania has emerged from its humble convict origins to become a ‘wild and dramatic, cultured and quirky, isolated yet accessible’ travel destination.
Port Arthur penal settlement was established in 1830 and is an important part of Australia’s convict history
Cape Tourville is the home of an unmanned, automatic light, lighthouse built in 1971
The Freycinet Peninsula is bathed in stunning light in the late afternoon. Almost 1.6 million people visited its shores in the last yea
Richmond Bridge is a heritage listed arch bridge, 25 kilometres north of Hobart in Tasmania
Richmond Bridge is the oldest bridge still in use in Australia and was constructed using convict labour until completion in 1825
One of Tasmania’s top tourist destinations is the world’s steepest railway – the west coast wilderness railway
Visitors can witness stunning painted cliffs on Maria Island, a mountainous island off the east coast of Tasmania
Launceston is Tasmania’s only inland city but is still surrounded by rolling hills and the River Tamar
The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is an art museum located within the Moorilla winery, in Hobart. MONA is the largest privately funded museum in Australia and draws huge crowds
Many of the first convicts in Tasmania lived in Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula
Lake Elysia near Cradle Mountain, in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, is one of the principal tourist sites in Tasmania, owing to its natural beauty
Discover Tasmania issued a comedy apology to the rest of Australia when the result was announced, saying Tassie should have in fact come number one.
Their reasoning is that their ‘culinary delights are the pride of the state and the envy of others, with the majority of our food bred, grown or caught within an oyster shell throw of where it’s prepared and served’.
‘Not to be outdone our beers, ciders, whiskeys and wines are among the world’s finest. Sure, having the world’s purest water helps and is perhaps why one of our whiskies was named best in the world.
‘And while we’re not necessarily famous for our weather (beautiful one day, even more beautiful the next), it does attract some of the greatest wine makers on earth,’ they added.
The blog post described how in Tasmania you can find four of the 7 Great Walks of Australia and ‘in our seas, the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) recently reported an influx of NSW octopuses travelling down to make love here rather than ‘doing it’ in their own backyard.’
Almost 45 per cent of Tasmania is part of a reserve, national park or World Heritage Site.
On Tasmania’s west coast you will find Sarah Island, which is home to Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, a former British colonial penal settlemen
St. John’s Roman Catholic Church, in Richmond is the oldest Catholic church still in use in Australia
The Mersey Bluff Lighthouse, in Devonport, was built in 1889 and looks stunning at sunset
Gordon River Dam and Lake Gordon in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park is simply breathtaking
Red lichen on rocks stand out in The Hazards and Coles Bay, in Freycinet National Park
The River Derwent near New Norfolk is a popular place to take a boat trip
A man rides a horse along the peaceful beach at Frederick Henry Bay, Tasmania
Liffey Falls (left) is a series of four distinct tiered–cascade waterfalls on the Liffey River, is located in the Midlands region of Tasmania. Horseshoe Falls (right), meanwhile, is located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania
Montezuma Falls is a temperate rainforest waterfall in the western region of Tasmania
Ruins of an old convict penal settlement still stand on Sarah Island in Maquarie Harbour, Strahan
Before the island broke away from mainland Australia 10,000 years ago it had already been inhabited by Tasmanian Aborigines for around 25,000 years.
The first European to site the state was Dutch man Abel Tasman on November 24 1642 and early settlers were mostly convicts and their military guards. They were given the job of developing agriculture on the island and other industries.
Many of the convicts lived in Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula and the area has now become Tasmania’s most popular tourist destination.
However, in 1996 the site was marred by tragedy when it became the scene of the worst mass murder event in the English-speaking world, 35 people were killed and 23 were wounded when 28-year-old Hobart resident Martin Bryant opened fire.
As well as the beautiful main island of Tasmania there are 334 surrounding islands, including those given female names such as Maria Island and Sarah Island.
Tasmania is no stranger to the Lonely Planet guide. Hobart was named a top-10 city in 2013 and the east coast Bay of Fires was a top-10 region in 2009.
It is Australia’s only listing in the latest publication, and the Tasmanian government says the island state is punching above its weight and well on track to its goal of attracting 1.5 million visitors a year by 2020.
Hundreds of regions were nominated for the Lonely Planet listing before a panel of in-house travel experts scored each on a criteria of topicality, excitement, value and ‘that special X-factor’.
Cascade Brewery, in South Hobart, is the oldest continually operating brewery in Australia and began operation in 1825
Paul Cooper holds a lantern during a spooky Ghost Walk in front of old church at Port Arthur Prison
The stalagmites and stalactites inside King Solomons Cave are another attraction for Tassie visitors
The Beowulf climb at Coles Bay is popular with thrill seekers and adventurers
Stunning Binalong Bay Beach…Solitude and beauty You won’t find anywhere else!
The Bay of Fires, in the Bay of Fires Conservation Area on the northeastern coast of Tasmania, is a beauitful region of white beaches, blue water and orange-hued granite
So…What Are You Waiting For?
Contact Michelle for more information.
0428 223 271 or Email:michelle@gokhalemethod.com
ALOHA DREAMING MASSAGE 