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These are the five Tasmanian icons which most easily bring Tasmania to mind, for me.

Tasmanian Devil

Surely this creature, found naturally only in Tasmania, is right at the top of the list.

Many of us first became aware of the Tasmanian Devil, thanks to Taz, the Looney Tunes character. At the time we might not even have been certain that such a creature actually existed!

Well, let's hope that this special animal continues to exist. At the moment, its future is uncertain.

I am referring of course to the deadly disease that has been devastating devil populations in Tasmania. The fight is currently on to save the devil and let's hope that the situation continues to improve.

Tasmanian Tiger

If anything should spur us on to work hard to save the Tasmanian Devil, it's the fate of this other great Tasmanian icon, the Tasmanian Tiger, or thylacine.

This creature, now believed to be extinct, is such a Tasmanian icon that you will see its symbol in many well known Tasmanian logos, for example, those of Cascade Brewery and even the Tasmanian Government.

Some believe that it may still be around though, what do you think?

Cradle Mountain

There is no other place like it. It is so wild, yet so serene.

The valley is actually the result of glacial ice action which took place around twenty thousand years ago. The ice melted about ten thousand years ago, showing us the mountain and surrounding areas that we now see.

It has such a range of landscapes and scenery. Lakes, rivers, forests, unique natural beauty everywhere you look.

Wineglass Bay

This place is listed in the book "1000 places to see before you die" and not for nothing. I didn't know whether to gasp in wonder or to stay silent in awe of its beauty when I saw it.

I'm so pleased that it is part of a National Park. You need to do a bush walk or take a boat ride to see the beach. I hope it remains preserved as an unspoilt location. It's nice to have a few places in the world, where you know that everything looks the same as it did thousands of years ago.

Port Arthur Historic Site

Yes we do have a man-made icon in the list too. The historic buildings were man-made, the brutality and horror experienced here was man-made too.

This historic location has many stories to tell, offers many lessons to be learnt. It's one thing to hear of the convict stories, quite another to try and imagine what it was like to live like a convict in a place like Port Arthur historic site.

As you walk around the ruins of the site, you are transported to another time, not that long ago. But it seems an eternity ago in terms of how times have changed.