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New Norfolk
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Heading inland from Hobart through the Derwent Valley towards Mount Field National Park, the A10 hugs the Derwent River for the 50km to the well-preserved colonial buildings of
NEW NORFOLK
. It was to here that the original settlers of Norfolk Island were moved between 1806 and 1814. The sizeable town has been at the centre of the hop-growing industry for 150 years, and there are still oast houses in the surrounding hop fields. The broad stretch of the Derwent here is clean, beautiful and swimmable, disturbed only by thrillseekers in jet boats: Devil Jet run high-speed rides through the rapids (daily 9am-4pm; 30min, $44; tel 03/6261 3460), leaving from behind the
Bush Inn
at 49 Montagu St, the main road. This inn claims to be Australia's oldest continuously licensed
hotel
(tel 03/6261 2011; B&B $50-70), and with its stained wooden floorboards, huge stone fireplaces and a small ballroom with chandeliers and piano, it's a lovely place to stay; as is the antique-furnished
Old Colony Inn
, a simple, whitewashed building on the same street at no. 21 (tel 03/6261 2731; B&B $70-90). From New Norfolk, you can visit the
Salmon Ponds
(daily 9am-5pm; $5.50), 18km west on the Glenora Road in Plenty; established in 1864, this is Australia's oldest trout hatchery, set in beautiful formal gardens, with six display ponds and a restaurant.
Hobart Coaches has five
buses
on weekdays from Hobart to New Norfolk and three on Saturday. Tassie Link also runs to New Norfolk (4 weekly) on their scheduled year-round service to Queenstown, and on a "Wilderness" service (daily Jan-April, 2 weekly May-Nov). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Australia,
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