2026 Australian Rowing Championships

The imposing summit – the fifth highest in the state – stands supreme above Dove Lake, which provides the classic Cradle Mountain view. The ridges and peaks around the lake, meanwhile, add new angles to the panorama.

This one mighty mountain, which rises at the northern end of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, is just the starting point to the area’s wilderness experience. Alpine lakes lie scattered across the landscape, riverbanks are cloaked in rainforest, and wildlife is prolific along the trails and around visitor areas.

Cradle Mountain is a place for all seasons, beaming through summer (with occasional unexpected snowfalls), gleaming white in winter, and glowing golden in autumn when the deciduous fagus turns in colour on the slopes above Dove Lake.

Come for the mountain, but expect so much more.

Tasmania’s capital has been pressed into shape by nature.

The city is framed by the rugged figure of kunanyi / Mount Wellington and the flow of the wide River Derwent, with wilderness lingering nearby – just beyond the mountain.

Beyond mountain and river, it’s cultural and dining experiences that thrive in Australia's second-oldest city. The underground Museum of Old and New Art, aka Mona, looms large in global art circles and on the itineraries of scores of travellers.

The famed Salamanca Market has been a Saturday tradition for more than 50 years, and the city’s food scene is dynamic, with cafes, restaurants and bars transforming Tasmania’s famously fresh produce into refined expressions of place and season.

See Hobart from the water, or on foot around the waterfront, or even from the saddle of a bike on a mountain descent. Taste wine at urban wineries, and when the day is almost done, sip a whisky beside a dinosaur fossil, or settle into a cosy bar inside the walls of a 19th-century hospital.

For the serious angler, with a permit for Tasmania’s inland waters, Lake Barrington is a top spot to cast off.

It’s well stocked with king-size fish by the Inland Fisheries Service.

There’s also plenty of room for a swim, row, water ski, power boat or to paddle a canoe. Or simply sit and stare into the glassy waters that mirror the evergreen surrounds.

A kiosk opens on weekends in summer and during major sports events. Water activity is not permitted within the boundaries of the international rowing course towards the southern end of the lake.

There are camping spots aplenty for an overnighter, and bathrooms in which to freshen up, so it’s a good hit of the outdoors without having to rough it. There are also picnic areas with sheltered tables, and BBQs.

It’s no stress to wander down and be immersed in Tasmania’s wilderness at Lake Barrington, just 15 minutes' drive from Sheffield.