The New York Times-20080127-Q-A

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Q&A

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We are planning to go to Australia next February. Where do you suggest we go? We have 15 days and would love to go to Tasmania, but we don't know if it is a good season to go. -- Hilda Paliza

Down under, the Australian summer is our winter, so February is an ideal time to visit Tasmania, according to Matthew Power, who wrote In Tasmania, a Three-Day Trek Into an Exotic Wilderness (May 28, 2006). Unlike much of the rest of Australia, the island has a temperate climate, and summer weather still predominates in February, Mr. Power wrote in an e-mail message. Plus, he added, the peak rush of tourists (Christmas to mid-January) will have passed.

The main attraction in Tasmania is hiking, or as locals would say, bushwalking. Mr. Power recommends trekking through the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, particularly the Overland Track, for a five-day hike through Tasmania's temperate wilderness. For more information on that hike and to make reservations, go to www.overlandtrack.com.au.

For shorter day hikes near the coast, base yourself in the port town of Hobart, advises Sharon Otterman, who wrote the Next Stop column Tasmania Goes Boutique, Nice and Slow (July 29, 2007).

For lodging in Hobart, the Henry Jones Art Hotel (25 Hunter Street; 61-3-62-10-7700; www.thehenryjones.com) was described as affordable luxury by Bonnie Tsui in a Check In, Check Out column on Jan. 9, 2005.

For more on Tasmania's wild and beautiful landscape, read the T: Travel Magazine's feature Tasmania Is Out of This World (Nov. 19, 2006) by Darcy Frey. All of these articles and more are available on the Tasmania destination page at www.nytimes.com/travel.

DAVID G. ALLAN

[Illustration]DRAWING (DRAWING BY AARON MESHON)