More than anywhere else in Australia, The edge of the world enjoys four distinctly different seasons, each with its own special pleasures. Locals and visitors alike enjoy the region’s temperate maritime climate.
Summer is the season of fun and festivities at the Stanley Show, the Melbourne to Stanley Yacht Race, and the North-West’s athletic carnivals.
Autumn is a mellow season with calm, sunny days. It’s the time when the native deciduous beech blazes with colour. Not to be outdone, the European trees are also a riot of red, orange and gold.
Winter is a dusting of snow on highland peaks and toasting your toes by an open fire. Winter days are often crisp, clear and bracing.
Spring is cool and fresh. Gardens around the region come to life as Tasmania celebrates with the Blooming Tasmania festival.
Rainfall varies dramatically across the State. Hobart, with an average of 626mm (24 inches) is Australia’s second-driest capital city (after Adelaide). While on the West Coast an annual average of 2400 mm (95 inches) ensures the rainforest thrives.
The edge of the world also boasts the most daylight hours of any other region during summer.
The edge of the world region revels in 15.2 hours of daylight at the summer solstice on 22 December. That’s two-and-a-half more hours of daylight than Darwin receives in summer and an hour more than Sydney enjoys.
The experts at the Launceston Planetarium (part of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston) say the day is even longer if twilight – the period before sunrise and after sunset when it is still light enough to carry out normal outdoor activities – is included. Of course in winter the edge of the world has less daylight than the mainland states and territories. We have just over nine hours, an hour less than Sydney and two hours and 20 minutes less than Darwin.
But that’s no reason not to come to Tassie in winter. Visitors are often surprised to find that winter is characterised by crisp blue skies and sparkling sunshine. Bring a jumper and enjoy the freshest air in the world (but that’s another story).
The minimal artificial light in Tasmania’s night sky means it is an exceptional location for viewing one of the wonders of the cosmos, the magnificent Aurora Australis.