That's for posting that Ken, as an ex Tasmanian I have been complaining to anyone who would listen about this whole mess. Even before we took off on the road full time I had May a talk with those in positions to look at this problem even submitted a letter into the review that the state government did a few years ago. The outcome of that was a no brainer.

when you look at the whole picture including the entry/exit fees it's no wonder people just call it "off the list".  The trouble as I see it is the state government will not stand up to the federal government and demand equal status with the other states. 

What at really makes this whole issue a weird one is that Tassie promotes it's self as the tourism destination and yet does nothing to bring that into reality. One can only hope that in the end someone will see the light and turn things around. As a Tasmanian it's really saddens us to see this mess continue.

Brian and Cheryl

 

My brother & sister-in-law went to Tassie last year it was far cheaper to fly and hire a camper than drive the cost of the ferry was too high for them.
Allan

Santa wrote:

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We certainly won't be holidaying in Tasmania any time soon, for what it costs to get the MH over there along with personal fares we could spend a month in SE Asia.

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 Motor Homes up to 7 meters in length go at the same rate as a car.

Tassie is last on our list!
Too expensive to get there.
We will probably never go there.
Plenty to see on the mainland.

We had four months in Tassy last summer - and loved every minute of it! We have a motorhome (Jayco Conquest) - and it cost us $667 return, we used the recliner loungers - which were reasonably comfortable - saw no need for a cabin.

We were there for 134 days - and only paid in caravan parks four nights of that time. The rest was either free camping or very low cost camping. We travelled 6500 ks in that time - and saw everything we wanted to see - snow on Cradle Mountain on 6th December was a wonderful experience, as was the yellow boat ride out into the ocean of Bruny Island - so exciting!

We decided we would most likely only go over there once, so took the four months to make it worthwhile. We met some wonderful people, both locals and travellers, some of whom will be lifelong friends!

I can only recommend that you book early, try and not travel in high season - we went on 1st November, came back 6th March - be prepared to spend the time there - it is a beautiful place, and as my partner says - if you haven't been to Tasmania, you haven't seen Australia!!!

There will always be a debate on travelling to Tassie and the cost involved and we agree yes it is expensive, but what the hell, we haven't worked hard and scrimped and saved our penny's when we had kids to give them a good start in life, not do anything ourselves once we are free of that responsibility. We also live on a very modest pension and when the time came to go to Tassie the date was set and every fortnight I started putting a few dollars away. Safe to say we have paid for our ticket and have enough extra also saved so as to enjoy ourselves. Our ticket cost $2061 return, for our Landcruiser and 23' van and we will be on the Apple Isle for 50 days. A day sail on the way over and night sail with cabin coming back. So for the convenience of having my own car and home with me it's costing us $41.22 per day before any other expenses, tell me were you will get a hire car, motel or onsite cabin for that sort of money even if I threw in running costs a cup of coffee here and there and a night in a caravan park I believe we could do it for less than $120 a day. Now as most would know who have travelled to Tassie the distances between places is not great, and there are a lot of free or low cost camps so with careful budgeting and forward planning there is no reason why no one could visit the Isle at least once in there life time.

 

Whilst travelling about I keep record's probably like most on this site places visited dollars spent etc so as we enjoy our southern trip next year I will from time to time keep every one updated.

Wishing You all a Merry Christmas and a safe a Happy new Year wherever you may be in this fantastic place AUSTRALIA.

Statistics are like Lawyers. They will testify for either side.
$2061 spent in two days, over and back, yet the same money will take you over 8000 kms in any direction on the Australian mainland and over a much longer period..more bang for your buck IMO...15l per 100 kms at worst, towing my rig, is say $24 per 100 kms at say $1.60 per litre...divide 2061 by 24 = 85.8 x 100 =8,580 kms potential travel distance...that carves out a fair bit of Australia, which I will continue to do, before I consider Tasmania at their current extortion cost IMO.....
I really don't mean to be discourteous Copper1 and I really enjoy your posts and wish you safe travels and a great Xmas, however there are two ways to look at their fees when you consider the alternatives available which many no doubt are...to Tasmania's economic loss....Hoo Roo

From Gorilla post ....I accessed the Examiner site and then was able to send a message to the Editor.
Basically I made comment of the Ferry charge and the fact that we spent approx $8000 on our trip the Tassie. We supported all the small business and tourism sections but not that keen on C.Parks, whose standard are well below that of the main land.
Also commented re the C.P owners wanting to virtually ban Free Camping. Want to go back, but charges prohibited.
Hope it gets published.
jay&Dee.
P.S.
Good idea if others follow as the saying goes, the squeaky wheel, get the attention."

-- Edited by JayDee on Tuesday 24th of December 2013 12:19:16 PM

Ok my thoughts
for those that reckon its too dear, go somewhere else
for those that come, we welcome you with open arms and will continue to support free and low cost camp for all comers.
The cost could be a lot better, I have always thought that the cost should be not much more than the same price to travel the same distance on any mainland highway.
I have never objected to paying the price and have done many trips over the years and if you want to experience one of Australia's most unique places you will pay the cost
By the way whats it cost to take a van to kangaroo island, or maybe one of the island in queensland you can ferry to or across port phillip bay but remember to multiply the dollars and km so they are of equal distance.
cheers
blaze

Santa wrote:

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blaze wrote:

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for those that reckon its too dear, go somewhere else

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And that's exactly what we do, much better bang for your buck elsewhere.

My wife's family hail from Tasmania, she's certainly in no hurry to go back there.

The hassles of driving through Vic (my least favorite state) and navigating Melb traffic (my least favorite city) then paying an arm and leg to travel over a stretch of water you can just about spit across, not for me.

Having said that, if you can afford the fares and the trip appeals go for it.

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You stay in SA and melt with the 40 degrees plus temperatures. For the rest who make the trip, even our hottest days are almost pleasant.

 

If you can't drive off Western Hwy onto Ring Road, merge onto the Westgate Freeway and then navigate 3 or 4km to the Ferry, you certainly have trouble coping with Elephant and St Marys Pass navigating up the East Coast

Cheers Chris 

 

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-- Edited by Chris61 on Friday 27th of December 2013 03:43:54 PM