Tourist Australia > Destinations > Tasmania > Derwent Valley and Central Highlands > Derwent Valley
Your tourist guide for Derwent Valley provides you with the essential travel resources to plan your holiday!
Derwent Valley, Tasmania – A Journey Through Heritage, Wilderness and Timeless River Country
The Derwent Valley is one of Tasmania’s most evocative landscapes — a place where a mighty river carves its way from glacier‑shaped highlands to fertile plains, where pioneer history lingers in every stone cottage, and where wilderness begins just beyond the last fenceline. What starts as the River Derwent’s icy rise at Lake St Clair becomes a ribbon of life that threads through forests, farmlands, trout‑filled lakes and some of Australia’s most storied rural townships.
This is a valley shaped by Scots and Irish settlers, by explorers and bushmen, by dam builders and bushrangers. Their legacy is written into the land — and today, travellers can follow their footsteps through a region rich in heritage, natural beauty and unforgettable experiences.
At its heart, the Derwent Valley is a blend of heritage charm, outdoor adventure, and serene Tasmanian landscapes. Visitors come for its historic towns, its world‑class fly fishing, its dramatic highland scenery and its sense of stepping into a quieter, more contemplative Tasmania.
Your journey begins in New Norfolk, one of Australia’s oldest towns and home to an exceptional collection of colonial architecture. Wander past Australia’s oldest Anglican church, admire the quaint toll house by the bridge, and breathe in the lingering scent of hops at the Oast House Museum, a reminder of the valley’s long agricultural heritage.
A short drive away, the Salmon Ponds offer a peaceful, tree‑lined retreat where the first brown trout in the Southern Hemisphere were hatched in the late 1800s. Their descendants now populate Tasmania’s lakes and rivers, making the state a global fly‑fishing destination.
Continue upriver to the historic farming settlements of Hamilton and Ouse, where stone cottages and quiet streets echo the valley’s pastoral past. Beyond them, the road climbs into Tasmania’s highlands, crossing rivers harnessed by hydro‑electric power stations — engineering feats that helped shape modern Tasmania.
As the highway rises, the landscape shifts dramatically. You enter the Central Plateau, a stark, ancient world carved by glaciers more than 10,000 years ago. Here, the ice gouged out the bed of Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest lake, and left behind a mosaic of lakes and tarns that now sparkle across the plateau.
Turn west and you reach the Great Lake, stretching from Miena to Breona — a vast inland sea beloved by anglers. The partially unsealed road north winds through tall forests and past cascading waterfalls, offering glimpses of Tasmania’s rugged interior.
Descending southeast from Miena, the scenery softens once more. European‑inspired names — Nant, Cluny, Dennistoun — hint at the settlers who shaped this region. The stately town of Bothwell, on the edge of the wild country, is steeped in Scottish heritage and is home to one of the oldest golf courses outside Scotland. Nearby stands Nant Estate, where Irish political exile John Mitchel was once held before his daring escape with the help of the New York Irish.
The Derwent Valley is an easy 35‑minute drive from Hobart via the Lyell Highway. From there, the road continues through the valley and into the Central Highlands, connecting with major routes across Tasmania.
