Much less risky is strolling round the museums, the Saturday morning Salamanca markets, the quaint settlers’ houses and charming streets of Hobart – the second oldest city in Australia and one with a remarkable history. If you want to glimpse the lives of the earliest ‘settlers’ to Van Diemens Land, visit Port Arthur, a prison without walls. The surrounding countryside was so inhospitable, even the harshest imprisonment was considered preferable.

Yet you can visit the wildernesses; fly by seaplane to the untouched national parks of the southwest, or explore the Franklin-Gordon Rivers National Park. Take a boat to the one-time convict colony of Sarah Island, or meet wildlife face-to-face in the Cradle Mountain area.

Freycinet National Park with its pink granite mountains, deserted white beaches and dry eucalypt forests; the genteel Tamar Valley with its beautiful artisan vineyards; the ravishing east coast – they all await you on your luxury, tailor-made holiday to Australia.