Tasmania is devilishly good trip
CHRISTINE HICKS- USTA Travel
Western New Yorkers hoard summer as if starved of it. We open windows and put on shorts in April, plant our backyard gardens before the threat of frost has passed and scream out loud when the first leaf hits the ground. Just when we get used to the idea that we don't have to put on gloves, boots and coats, we have to put on gloves, boots and coats.

All this made me think of Tasmania, though for the devil of me, I can't think why. Perhaps it's a case of (the recently aired) "On the Beach" meets "LoonyTunes" (a constant in my brain).

Summer in Tasmania is winter here. In an area roughly the size of West Virginia, this Australian island is where you can breathe the world's cleanest air and enjoy the longest daylight hours of any capital city (Hobart), all while viewing the Southern Lights (aurora australis).

Despite its proximity to Antarctica - just 2,000 kilometers away - it enjoys a moderate climate, with temperatures averaging 52 degrees in winter and 70 in summer. Owing in part to its extreme location, it maintains marks of Gondwana, the ancient southern supercontinent from which it originated. More than 40 percent of this Australian state is protected wilderness or natural reserve. There are claims that the world's oldest plant and tree can be found here, though the usual scientific disputes are sufficient to put that in question. But above all, summer, for us, the winter-weary, is what matters.

What's to do in Tasmania? It is a hiker's paradise, with hundreds of paths accessible by foot, water or air, guided or unguided, for a few hours or a few days. The Forest and Heritage Centre in Geeveston, southern Tasmania, is home to the Tahune Forest AirWalk, quite literally a 26-kilometer walkway constructed 25 to 45 meters in the air above the rainforest canopy, a route 620 meters long. This is part of the natural

complex that includes the Huon Pine (driving) trail past those ancient trees, which are at least several thousand years old.

But we want beach, and they have beach. Just don't look for a Sandals resort and forget "all-inclusive." With British flavor, Tasmania offers up "self-catering holidays," and "serviced apartments." Decidedly undeveloped, much of the beach is just wonderfully empty. Take, for example, the wonderful, white and lengthy arc that is Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park. A more pristine beach you won't find anywhere; it's earned ranking as one of the best in the world. But to get there will take a little effort on foot, or by car. You can nest with the yellow-throated honeyeater at campsites in the park or take accommodation at Coles Bay. Or you can day-trip in by sea kayak or hiking.

It's not your mainstream destination, certainly. But Tasmania has summer when we have winter, as well as unspoiled beaches awaiting your discovery - a devilishly good combination.

(Christine Hicks-Usta has enjoyed more than 30 years of globe-trotting as a member of the travel industry. Direct questions to her at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)