Tasmania is the best driving state in Australia and it is not close. It is small enough to cross in a day, mountainous everywhere, and the roads were built for timber and mining trucks along the only lines the country allowed, which means corners. Targa Tasmania has run on these roads every year since 1992 for exactly that reason, and every stage of it is a public road you can drive on a Tuesday. This is the guide for car enthusiasts, region by region.
The north-east
The Sideling
The Tasman Highway between Launceston and Scottsdale climbs over the Sideling range in a long sequence of corners through wet forest, with a lookout at the top. A Targa stage, a motorcyclists' favourite, and the standard Sunday morning out of Launceston. The surface is good, the corners are medium-speed and continuous, and the traffic is light outside the log trucks.
Weldborough Pass
Further east on the same highway, the road crosses the Weldborough Pass through myrtle rainforest so dense it is dark at noon. Tighter than the Sideling, narrower, and beautiful. The pub at Weldborough is the stop.
Elephant Pass and St Marys Pass
Two roads down from St Marys to the east coast. Elephant Pass is the famous one, a Targa stage with hairpins stacked down the escarpment and a pancake barn at the top. St Marys Pass is the alternative, shorter and just as steep. Do one down and the other back up.
The north-west
Cethana
The road from Wilmot down to the Cethana dam and up the other side towards Cradle Mountain is Targa's most famous stage and the best piece of tarmac in the country. Tight, steep, relentless, and almost empty, with the lake at the bottom and the mountains above. If you drive one road in Tasmania, drive this one.
The Cradle Mountain roads
From Sheffield and Wilmot the roads to Cradle Mountain and across to Moina and the Murchison Highway are all worth the detour, with open country and long views between the forest sections.
Hellyer Gorge
The Murchison Highway drops into the Hellyer Gorge in a set of hairpins through rainforest and climbs out the other side. Another Targa stage, and the road to the west coast.
The west coast
The 99 Bends
The Lyell Highway's descent into Queenstown, officially Gormanston Road, unofficially the 99 Bends, and the most dramatic road in the state. Hairpins down a bare, coloured mountainside stripped by a century of mining, with the town at the bottom. Slow, steep, and unlike anywhere else in the country.
Mount Arrowsmith and the Lyell Highway
From Derwent Bridge west to Queenstown the highway crosses Mount Arrowsmith and the Franklin country in a long run of corners through wilderness, with almost nothing on the road but the occasional log truck. A Targa stage for most of its length and a full day from Hobart out and back.
Strahan and Zeehan
The roads between Queenstown, Strahan and Zeehan through the Henty dunes and button-grass plains are open and empty and a good way to spend the second day.
The south
Pinnacle Road, kunanyi / Mount Wellington
From Fern Tree in Hobart's suburbs to the summit, twenty minutes from the city centre to above the clouds. Hairpins through forest, then bare rock and alpine scrub, then the view over the whole of southern Tasmania. Closed by snow in winter, sometimes in summer. The only city in Australia with a mountain road as its Sunday drive.
The Huon and Cygnet coast
South of Hobart the Cygnet Coast Road and the roads around the Huon estuary are slow, twisting and quiet, with orchards and water at every turn. The Huon Highway to Geeveston and on to Cockle Creek is the longest drive south in the country.
Bruny Island
A ferry and then a day of narrow roads with the Neck in the middle. Not fast, entirely memorable.
The Central Highlands
Poatina Road
From Poatina up the Great Western Tiers to the Central Plateau in a set of hairpins, with the whole of the northern midlands laid out below. Short, steep and quiet.
Highland Lakes Road
Across the top of the state from Deloraine over the Tiers, past Great Lake and down to Bothwell. High, open, cold and empty, with snow possible any month of the year.
The east coast
The Great Eastern Drive
The Tasman Highway from Orford up through Swansea, Bicheno and St Helens. Coast road rather than mountain road, with the Freycinet peninsula off to the side and a lot of long, open corners. Joins the passes at St Marys for the loop back to Launceston.
Driving Tasmania well
- Weather changes fast. Snow on Mount Wellington and the Highlands in any month, ice on the passes in winter, rain on the west coast most of the year.
- Log trucks. On the Sideling, the Murchison and the Lyell, they take the whole road on the corners. Listen for them.
- Wildlife everywhere at dusk. Tasmania has more roadkill than anywhere in the country. Do not drive the country roads at night if you can help it.
- Fuel is far apart on the west coast. Fill up at Derwent Bridge or Queenstown.
- Finish at a meet. See car events in Hobart, Launceston and every car event in Tasmania.
Share the drive
Post your photos from the passes on Drivesome, the social network for car enthusiasts. Tag the car and the photo lands on its page and in your garage, and virtual car shows are always open for a good photo of a good car on a good road.
More driving roads
Questions people ask
What is the best driving road in Tasmania?
Cethana, in the north-west between Wilmot and Cradle Mountain. It is Targa Tasmania's most famous stage and a public road every other day of the year.
Can you drive the Targa Tasmania stages?
Yes. Every stage is a public road, closed only during the event itself. The Sideling, Elephant Pass, Cethana, Hellyer Gorge and the Lyell Highway are all on this list.
Is Mount Wellington open to drive?
Pinnacle Road to the summit is open most of the year but closes for snow and ice, sometimes in summer. Check before you go.
How long does it take to drive around Tasmania?
A week is comfortable for the full lap with the passes and the west coast. A long weekend covers one region well: the north-east from Launceston, or the south and the west coast from Hobart.
