Adventure is synonymous with Tasmania. The many outdoor activities will leave you gasping for air...and heading for more.

Tasmania boasts a remarkably diverse landscape. Its temperate rainforests, glacially carved valleys, lush green highlands, wild rivers, craggy mountains and sweeping coastlines make not only for a stunning place to visit, they form a playground for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy numerous activities and adventures, all within a few hours drive of each other.

The quality and variety of outdoor activities on offer in Tasmania is overwhelming. Whether its white water rafting on the Franklin River, swinging a sand wedge on the windswept Barnbougle Dunes Golf Course, sea kayaking off Freycinet National Park, riding the exhilarating 110m slide at Dismal Swamp or jet boating on the Huon River, Tasmania has an outdoor pastime to suit everyone.

LEAVE YOUR FOOTPRINTS

In and around Tasmania's dense wilderness and National Parks and more than 2,000km of walking tracks, with one of the highlights being the revered 65km Overland Track, regarded as one of the world's premier long walks. The trek from Lake St Clair takes five to eight days walking with a pack, passing numerous high peaks across the middle of the island.

Almost 9,000 people do this iconic trek each year, meaning an advance booking is essential. A fee of $100 per person is required in the peak season - between November and April - for track and hut maintenance.

There are numerous lesser-known multi-day treks around the island, including the South Coast Track and Frenchman's Cap. The South Coast Track rivals the Overland Track in duration, accessing Port Davey, the state's most remote beauty spot.

Frenchman's Cap is an awesome quartzite-capped peak which dominates the central south-west skyline. Typically, a three to four-day walk, ascending the precipitous 'cap', is a breathtaking experience.

Companies such as Tasmanian Expeditions and Tasmanian Wilderness Experiences guide groups on both walks as well as the Overland Track.

WATER WORLD

The same rugged topography that lures walkers also makes Tasmania Australia's undisputed white water rafting capital. The key to the state's impressive river system is its mountainous centre, which funnels crystal clear rainwater to every coast.

The Franklin River received a lot of attention when protest action saved it from being dammed in the 1980s. Rafting its mountainous gorges is widely regarded as a world-class adventure. There are several companies that guide groups on the Franklin and, unless you are very experienced, it's the only way to do it. Most companies offer five, seven or ten-day trips.

When in flood, Launceston's Cataract Gorge attracts extreme paddlers and, in January 2007, the Australian Extreme Kayak Championships will see its banks lined with thousands of people witnessing a spectacle few cities could replicate.

Less heart-in-the-mouth white water rafting can be had on the Picton and Derwent Rivers, near Hobart, and the Upper Mersey, an hour south of Devonport, where the mostly moderate summer flow makes it ideal for family paddling. There is also superb camping beneath towering eucalypts.

if flat water is more your style, Tasmania is perfect for sea kayaking, with numerous lakes and sheltered bays. Paddlers especially love the stunning landscapes and generally calmer waters of the east coast.

At Freycinet, you can paddle straight out of aqua-blue Coles Bay to a coast of unparalleled beauty, where dolphins and whales are commonly sighted. Vivid orange lichen colours massive granite rocks and the peaks of the towering Hazards Range form a breathtaking backdrop. Freycinet Adventure can guide you on this ultimate three-hour return paddle from Coles Bay. Overnight trips can also be arranged.

There is also the chance to do a four-day tour on the west coast, where sea kayaking takes on a very different flavour and the water changes from aqua-blue to tannin black on the Gordon River. And, from Kettering, 20 minutes south of hobart, Roaring 40's Ocean Kayaking run great day paddles in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, as when as overnight tours.

One way to experience a real buzz on the water without getting wet is an exhilarating ride in a jet boat. Once in, its advisable to hold on tight, because you'll be scooting over the water's surface at speeds of up to 70 kmh.

In the south, hop aboard the Huon Jet on the Huon River, or the Devil Jet at New Norfolk, which takes you on a thrilling run through rapids on the Derwent River when conditions are right.

Strahan's Wild Rivers Jet offers another dimension as the guide tells the story of a spectacular King River. With some good planning, you can even time your trip to see the West Coast Wilderness Railway locomotive crossing the bridge at Teepookana or Quarter Mile.

PEDALLER'S PARADISE

With its many mountain trails and quiet roads that wind through picturesque countryside, both the casual and the more energetic cyclist will enjoy discovering Tasmania’s many attractions from the seat of a bike. There is a diverse array of cycling tours on offer, including relaxing wine, food and heritage experiences. Companies such as Island Cycle Tours, Brake Out and

Tasmanian Expeditions offer trips to suit all interests and levels of fitness.

On the six-day trip with Tasmanian Expeditions, you can cycle from Launceston to Hobart via the gorgeous east coast, bypassing the less-inspiring or busy sections in a mini-bus so that you have more time to investigate the numerous historic sites and towns that dot the route.

Several day trips and longer tours involve mixed activities, such as cycling and walking, or cycling and kayaking.

Island Cycle Tours will take you on an easy cycling and walking day trip in Tasmania’s oldest National Park, Mt Field, just 90 minutes out of Hobart.

For the keen mountain biker, a descent of Mt Wellington down an array of bush tracks and sealed roads to the city is exhilarating. Take in the birds-eye views of Hobart, in between negotiating the alpine shrubs and ferneries.

Montezuma Falls, on the west coast, is a fast ride along an historic railway base to a 100m high waterfall. In the north, the Dial Range, near Penguin, has many tracks.

SLOWING THE PACE

Away from the water and trails, there are many other ways that you can experience the beauty of Tasmania.

If golf is your thing, don’t forget to throw your clubs in the boot, because virtually every little town in Tasmania has a course. And, the best thing is, golf’s sometimes stuffy image takes a battering here – most clubs in Tasmania still have barbecues, not board meetings.

There are many top-class golf courses scattered throughout the state but one of the biggest attractions for the golfing connoisseur is the acclaimed Barnbougle Dunes. In 2005, this magnificent new links course near Bridport, on the quiet north-east coast, was voted Australia’s best public access golf course by Golf Australia magazine – and it’s not hard to see why. Reminiscent of those undulating courses found in Scotland, the fairways meander through high dunes and, heightening the natural drama, the course is bounded by a pristine seaside setting.

Not surprisingly, Greg Norman has been known to fly in by private jet and back out on the same day, to experience this extraordinary course.

FOUR WHEELS, FOUR COASTS

While good-quality sealed roads provide access to some of the state’s wildest regions, with a four-wheel-drive, you can experience even more of Tasmania’s great outdoors.

Seventh-generation local and professional tour guide, Bernard Atkins, takes visitors through the superb coastal scenery to remote Sandy Cape, on the north-west coast, and also guides people there with their own vehicles.

An easier but rewarding 4WD trip is the immense Ocean Beach, near Strahan.

Just 5km from town, you hit the mostly hard-packed sand. Then drive north to the mouth of the Henty River or south to Macquarie Heads from where you can take a different road back to Strahan.

The north-east also offers lots of escape routes for 4WD enthusiasts. The coastal track from Ansons Bay to Eddystone Point accesses some of the east coast’s most beautiful beaches.

In the state’s far north-west, about a 90-minute drive west of Burnie, you’ll find the untamed wilderness of Dismal Swamp. Contrary to its name, stunning blackwood rainforest grows, uniquely, out of a ‘sinkhole’ – a swamp plugging underground caves.

To get amongst it, take a walk in the forest, where sculptures and other pieces of artwork fire the imagination.

For another – and very different – perspective, you can take an exhilarating ride on the giant 110m slide, which is perched high on the sinkhole rim.