The island of Tasmania is Australia's smallest and most southerly state. With no land to its west before Africa, and nothing but Antartica to its south, Tasmania can seem an isolated and forbidding place, lashed by cold winds and rain from the Southern Ocean. This was certainly the impression it gave many convicts who were transported from England to serve out their lives in the penal colonies established by the British in the nineteenth century.

However, there is another side to this island which today draws ever growing numbers of adventurous souls. The rugged interior holds some of Australia's wildest mountains, forests and rivers - wilderness to be compared equally with that of New Zealand or Patagonia. For others, the colonial heritage is of interest, as well as the common pleasures of resting in one of the world's more quiet and welcoming places. And although the winters are wet, the summers are filled with long hot days that can be spent lying on beaches of the purest quartz sand and clearest turquoise seas.

Take a moment to browse the pages here, and see what Tasmania has to offer the tourist and adventurer. There may be other places in Australia or the world that have longer beaches, older forests, higher mountains or more charming towns. But none will have all four of these, and all accessible within a day.

Tasmania's hosted bed and breakfasts are renowned

One thing you should experience when visiting Tasmania is the legendary hospitality to be found in its wide variety of B & Bs.

Tasmania has a wonderful heritage of historic buildings, many now adapted for use as B & B accommodation. There are also more modern houses, some grand and elegant, some purpose-built as bed and breakfast accommodation, some simply homely and comfortable. A new online directory has just been launched which will help you find B & B accommodation which is perfect for you.

The feature which sets hosted B & Bs apart from every other type of accommodation is the warmth and hospitality of their hosts. And www.TasmaniaBedandBreakfasts.com.au has a section called Meet Your Hosts where you can read a little about the stories - and histories - of just a few of these hosts and their properties.