Queenstown

Queenstown grew around the Mount Lyell copper mine from the 1890s, and the way it processed ore reshaped the landscape: smelters burned huge quantities of timber, sulphur fumes killed the remaining vegetation, and heavy rain then stripped the soil, leaving hills of bare pink, orange and grey conglomerate that became the town's defining image. Vegetation has slowly returned in patches, which locals debate. The town holds the Galley Museum of mining photographs, the historic Paragon Theatre, and a gravel football ground with no grass. The road in from Hobart descends through ninety-nine bends, and mine tours run underground when operations allow.

What you actually see

• The bare hills - eroded conglomerate slopes stripped by smelting and rain.
• The ninety-nine bends - the descent into town on the Lyell Highway.
• The Galley Museum - mining photographs and town history.
• The gravel oval - the football ground with a surface of crushed rock.

When to go

November to April for the driest weather; the west coast is wet and cold much of the year. Snow falls on the surrounding hills in winter. The town is quiet and services limited outside summer.

Honest expectations

The landscape is the product of environmental destruction, which some find striking and others bleak. The town has visible economic hardship following mine closures and restarts. Rain is frequent and heavy, and dining options are few.

Nearby

Strahan lies west; the Franklin-Gordon park and Lake St Clair are east.