Visiting the Bay of Fires in Tasmania, Australia

Aside from the incredible scenery of northeastern Tasmania, one of the best parts of the tour was how much our tour guide shared with us about Tasmania's history.

Tasmania is full of rich volcanic soil from a number of volcanic holes which once spewed lava onto the land. The main one is in the heart of Launceston, in Cataract Gorge, now named First Basin. No one knows exactly how deep First Basin is as there are so many layers of mud at the bottom. Tasmania is quite similar to New Zealand in terms of nature and wildlife, as well as with mainland Australia, India and South America because 60 million years ago, these land masses were all connected in Gondwana.

About 21,000 years ago, the last ice age - which lasted 3,000 years - exposed the narrow strip of land that connected Tasmania to mainland Australia; during ice ages, Tasmania is a peninsula of Australia and not a separate island! There are a few other small islands in the strait between Tasmania and the mainland which are all the highest points of land not covered by ocean.

About 60,000 years ago, Tasmanian Aboriginals arrived overland through Asia. Their closest living relatives are Papua New Guineans. For 18,000 years, they moved around the island following food sources every few weeks; they never developed permanent settlements.

The first European to arrive on Tasmania was Abel Tasman, a Dutch trader, who landed on the west coast in 1642, calling it Van Diemen's Land. He hoped to trade with the locals but since the west coast of the island was thick rainforest, he didn't spot any Aboriginals and declared the island uninhabited, heading south to New Zealand instead.

French Captain Marion du Fresne arrived in 1772 hoping to claim Van Diemen's Land as a French territory. He arrived on the east coast, the much more beautiful and liveable side of the island with safe harbours, nice weather and beautiful beaches. Tasmanian Aboriginals had never seen a white man before and in fear they threw rocks and spears at the French, injuring 13 and killing one. The French fled and also headed south for New Zealand; the Māori apparently killed the rest of the crew on their arrival.

English Captain Tobias Furneaux arrived in Sydney in 1777 to establish a British settlement and by 1788, all of Australia, including Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand were claimed for the British Empire. British sailors Bass and Flinders circumnavigated Van Diemen's Land in 1791 proving it was an island; the stretch of water between Australia and the island was subsequently named Bass Strait.

In order to meet the increasing demand for food for the growing Sydney settlement, the city of Launceston was established in northern Van Diemen's Land thanks to the fertile soil surrounding it. The land was thickly forested so English prisons sent convicts to Tasmania to clear the land. The journey took up to six months; those who survived the trip then had to serve a seven-year sentence in Tasmania, most of whom chose to stay in Australia once they were freed.

British settlers pushed the Aboriginals off their land supported by a government-led genocide aimed at wiping them out entirely. After the horrific period of history, the name Van Diemen's Land was tainted and so the island was renamed Tasmania after Abel Tasman in 1856 in order to encourage new settlers to move here.

Today, mining is the biggest industry on Tasmania with the island rich in tin, gold, silver, zinc, copper, magnesium and iron. Many workers were imported from China to work in the mines who then stayed and had their families here.

Agriculture is the second biggest industry thanks to rich soil and clean air and water. With the majority of the world's population living in the Northern Hemisphere, Tasmania exports more than 90% of its crops during the summer season when it's winter in the north including oats, barley, sunflowers, canola, wheat, potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, peas, beans, corn, cauliflowers, asparagus, pumpkins, apples, cherries, apricots, pears, plums, nectarines, peaches, prunes, olives (for oil), avocados, lemons, limes, walnuts, hazelnuts, wasabi, ginger, saffron, poppies and - surprisingly - tulips to the Netherlands!

Tourism is the third biggest industry.