It is rumoured that when the plant life began to recolonise the poisoned earth, a local government official actually proposed poisoning it deliberately to keep the hills bare for the tourists.
That's one thing that has certainly changed, with a strong emphasis now on feeding, accommodating and entertaining visitors in a much more civilised fashion. You can even go and take a look at the mine, and of course the riding around Queenstown has to be seen to be believed.
Heading east along the Lyell Highway you get to sample the charm of what remains of the stripped slopes, on your way up and over the range towards Lake Burbury. This road eventually leads to Derwent Bridge at the top of the range and on to Hobart. It's worth stopping for a look at Lake St Clair, and perhaps even staying out there at the campground or in the cabins. Beware the aggressive feral possums. They tried to steal the blinkers off my bike once, and I discovered that you're not allowed to kick them. Derwent Bridge has a pleasant enough pub as well as a servo.
Go west from Queenstown instead, still on the Lyell Highway, and you'll find yourself on a constantly twisting ribbon of tar that will eventually take you down into Strahan on Macquarie Harbour. This is one of Australia's truly great rides, but watch out for wildlife and dawdling tourists.
Strahan is a pleasant though extraordinarily touristy place. The club at Regatta Point, across the bay to the south, used to do excellent seafood platters and may still do so now, for all I know.
The Zeehan Highway runs north from Queenstown to, predictably enough, Zeehan. It's actually a relatively short prelude to the Murchison Highway, which will take you all the way to the north coast at Somerset. Confusingly, the Zeehan, Murchison and Lyell Highways are all the A10, except for the bit of the Lyell that leads down to Strahan, which is the B24. Oh, and the last bit into Zeehan is the B27.
Zeehan has an excellent mining museum – there's a lot in it apart from mining stuff – and some interesting old buildings dating back to the heyday of the area when famous European acts played the Zeehan opera house. The pub is a bit too modern to be interesting, but the beer's cold. So never mind Queenstown's past; explore its present!
Know Before You Go:
There are no services (including fuel) between Queenstown and Strahan, Queenstown and Derwent Bridge or Queenstown and Zeehan.
It rains a lot out here on the West Coast; some people claim 300 days a year plus. Take your wet weathers.
All of these roads are pretty good, but beware of leaf litter on the Strahan road and debris washed onto all roads in the area.
Allow time to have a go on the West Coast Wilderness Railway (formerly the ABT Wilderness Railway). It's a blast.
The best place to stay in the area is probably Strahan, which has a good choice of accommodation and places to eat. Queenstown is less well endowed, and there's very little at Zeehan.
For more information:
Tasmania's main tourist information site can be found at: http://www.discovertasmania.com.au
For info on Tasmania's many national parks and historic attractions visit: http://www.parks.tas.gov.au
For more on Queenstown itself, including the West Coast Wilderness Railway, visit: http://www.queenslandtasmania.com
