Despite being pretty much the only structure for miles around, the Bay of Fires Lodge isn’t easy to see. It’s made of Tasmanian hardwood, plantation pine and lots of plate glass and has been sensitively tucked into the wilderness of the National Park as if it grew there. The spa’s coup de grace is the […]
Thousand Lakes Lodge, Tasmania. On the rough road ahead is the dark shape of an animal, running away at full pace. In the dim dawn light, it looks a little like one of the wallabies that bound about the scrubby plains of Tasmania’s Central Highlands. But no, it’s far too short and shabby, moving more […]
Guide Peter Marmion (L) with tourists from the Odalisque on top of Balmoral Hill, Port Davey. Photo: Supplied Our three-day adventure begins at Hobart’s Cambridge Aerodrome, where we board a 10-seater twin-engine plane for one-hour flight to Melaleuca. “We” are a group of six journos (including two bird-watching experts) and Zac the chef, from Hobart’s […]
All you could wish for: Whitehaven Beach’s powder-soft silica sand and clear blue sea. Photo: Supplied I step ashore at Whitehaven Beach, drinking in the magnificent sweep of one of the world’s best beaches. It’s a cloudless day with an onshore breeze. Dressed smartly in black, barefoot staff stand to attention, offering me a glass […]
Adam Liaw discovers a boutique distillery making its mark on whisky. This is sponsored content for Tasmania. On the outskirts of Launceston, overlooking the picturesque and mist-covered valley of the North Esk River, Adam Liaw rugs up and sets out on a crisp winter morning to discover a boutique whisky distillery and it’s proud owner and maker, […]
Snorkel the Abrolhos Islands: Even getting to the Abrolhos is an adventure: this group of 122 islands, about 60km off the coast of Geraldton in WA, can either be reached by air, with joy flights landing on East Wallabi Island, or by charter boat, which involves usually a three- or five-day tour on a live-aboard […]
Tasmania’s stunning coastlines allows visitors to connect with the natural beauty. Photo: Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service. This is sponsored content for Tasmania – Come Down For Air Tasmania offers amazing ways to shorten the distance between farm and fork. On an island where seasonality and hospitality go hand in hand, find intense new flavours […]
Barnbougle Dunes has 22 two-bedroom cottages, three four-bedroom villas, and a two-bedroom ocean villa. Photo: Gary Lisbon Our rating 4 out of 5 THE LOCATION Barnbougle Dunes arrived on Australia’s golf scene in December 2004 and its little sister, Lost Farm, opened in 2010. The two courses sit side-by-side on Tasmania’s wild north-east coast, five […]
Rock formations on the beach, Bruny Island. Photo: Tourism Tasmania It’s the sunset end of a late autumn day and I’m standing naked in a forest, surrounded by the tallest trees I’ve seen in years. Not exactly where I’d expected to find myself on my first evening on Bruny Island, just south of Hobart. But […]
Bruny Island Cruises – sailing around The Friars off the coast of South Bruny. A few minutes out from the pier, our skipper Huw Griffiths slows the boat and sets our sights up to Grassy Point to acknowledge the Nuenonne, the first inhabitants of Bruny Island. Back in the day, Griffiths says, it was the […]
The penthouse at Change Overnight It’s the dark end of winter in Tasmania, and it feels suitably as though I’ve stepped into a Dark Mofo installation. The long corridor is as black as the night sky, and urban sounds – car horns, traffic noise, city chatter – play through hidden speakers. But this bunker-like corridor, […]
The Helmsman’s House at Frenchman’s River has jaw-dropping views from the terrace. Photo: Supplied So you really want to get away from it all in Tasmania, but still be within 45 minutes of Hobart and its myriad attractions? Head for the Huon Valley, Gourmet Farmer territory, and two newly opened luxury cottages at Frenchman’s River, […]
Hikers enjoy the view from the summit of Bishop and Clerk on Maria Island. Photo: Andrew Bain The pace has quickened. It’s 4.10pm and word has gone out that the end of civilisation is near. The brewery that marks the end of our cycling day is closing in 50 minutes and we still have 10 […]
The Blue Derby Trail Network draws more than 30,000 mountain biking enthusiasts each year. Photo: stu gibson THE ONE RIDE Tucked in the hills of the state’s north-east and revived thanks to the establishment of the Blue Derby Trail Network in 2015, more than 30,000 mountain biking enthusiasts now come each year to what was […]
Fern-lined trails. It’s mountain biking, but probably not as you know it. A warming fire crackles in a wood stove inside a spacious hut, beanbags lie strewn about, and the kitchen emits the intoxicating scent of roasting pork belly and new potatoes. A few steps away, the most inviting of beds awaits me inside a […]
Unusual hexagonal-like natural wonder: Dip Falls. Photo: Jess Bonde It turns out you can live in South East Tasmania for well over a decade and have little to no idea about everyday life in the island’s diagonally opposite corner. Up in the North West, people snack on something called savoury toast, refer to their ute […]
Lesser-known but equally as stunning: Douglas-Apsley National Park. Photo: Simon Sturzaker Draw a line 45 kilometres north from Wineglass Bay and Freycinet National Park, and you come to another Tasmanian national park. It has none of Freycinet’s fame and a fraction of its visitors, but Douglas-Apsley National Park has features that are no less fantastic. […]
Such are the difficulties – physically and mentally – of scaling Federation Peak, that more people are said to reach the summit of Mt Everest than this 1225-metre-high mountain. Photo: Tourism Tasmania/Glen Turvey In Tasmania, it’s spoken of in almost religious awe. Federation Peak, or simply Fedder, is the most striking and terrifying mountain in […]
Castle Rock, Flinders Island. Photo: Tourism Tasmania The bar has been set high. “I reckon this is the best bit of coastal walking I’ve seen anywhere in the world,” says guide Ben as he outlines the day ahead on a map. It’s a day that will see us rounding rocky, ocean-beaten shores on the west […]
Ideally-suited to Tasmania’s fresh weather, a sauna master will guide guests through the experience. Photo: Anj Blair While Australians will need to wait a while longer to enter any Nordic-Baltic travel bubble, a new experience in Tasmania is set to bring the best of its culture to our shores with the country’s first floating sauna […]
Chef Ben Milbourne of CharlotteJack restaurant Photo: Tourism Tasmania This is sponsored content for Tasmania. The foodie movement in Tasmania is in full swing and there is no better time to treat your taste buds to the incredible produce shaping menus on the southerly isle than during winter. On a visit to Tassie during the […]
Freycinet Lodge spreads discretely over a few hectares inside the Freycinet National Park. Photo: Alastair Bett The mountain terraces, which face the Hazards mountain range, are the newest additions and include two family suites that each accommodate a family of four. Photo: Mel Ferris Photography Inside, an open fire, lounge chairs and couches fill the […]
Wineglass Bay and The Hazards: Mt Mayson, Mt Amos and Mt Dove. I became an RV convert in the car park of Tasmania’s Wineglass Bay. I had taken the two-hour trek up over the saddle of the Hazard mountain ranges with my wife and two boys, aged 10 and 7. The kids were positive enough […]
New luxury bungalows at Freycinet Lodge. Photo: Dianna Snape and design by Liminal Studio Take a bite of the Apple Isle for hidden hotel gems, historic farmstays and remote eco lodges. FREYCINET LODGE Freycinet National Park, Coles Bay; (03) 6256 7222; freycinetlodge.com.au THE LOCATION This lodge is in the spectacular Freycinet National Park, where the […]
Brook Street Penthouses, Sullivans Cove, Hobart. Photo: Alamy Stock Photo If a pumphouse on a lake tickles your fancy, then travel down to Tassie, where you’ll find this and other terrific island getaways. BROOK STREET PENTHOUSES 8 Brooke Street, Hobart; (03) 6234 5063; Sullivanscoveapartments.com.au THE LOCATION Sullivans Cove is more than just Hobart’s port. It’s a place to […]
Hobart cafe tour: Opens a door to a surprisingly urban Hobart. Photo: supplied “There are 72 cafes within a 10-minute walk of the Town Hall,” says Robyn Everist, throwing down the gauntlet to our small group of locals and non-Tasmanians at the start of her Cafe Culture tour. Sydney-born Everist, dressed in bright blue, set up Hobart […]
Evolve Spirit Wine Bar at Hobart’s MAC01 complex. Photo: Adam Gibson, Samuel Shelley A tipple at the new Evolve Spirit Wine Bar is never a solitary affair – guests share the bolthole on Hobart’s historic docks with a Russian cave bear and a Triceratops, or its nose horn at least. Set within the MAC01 complex, next to the […]
Somerset on the Pier, which is smack bang in the middle of Hobart’s dock area, on Elizabeth Pier. Photo: Supplied After just 24 hours in Hobart I need to loosen my belt by a notch. A persistent sense of constriction hints strongly that two notches are probably warranted but I refuse to accept it. We’re here for a […]
Evolve Bar at Macq1 Hotel, Hobart. Photo: Adam Gibson, Samuel Shelley I FANCY BREAKFAST WITH A VIEW Settle in at one of the curvaceous steel-and-timber tables inside or sit outside on the protected terrace at Brooke Street Larder. Either way, you’ll be able to soak up glorious harbour views over your first meal of the day. If […]
Ibis Styles Hobart is a vibrant presence on Macquarie Street. Photo: Hamilton Lund Our rating 3 out of 5 THE PLACE When it opened in July 2017 the flamboyant 296-room Ibis Styles was Hobart’s largest and most sustainable new hotel. With its vertical gardens and multi-coloured exterior, the Accor property remains a vibrant presence on […]
Darlington, Maria Island. Photo: Supplied They call the last part of this trail “The Fridge”. It’s a scramble up some boulders shaped like a household refrigerator, albeit a fancy modern one; there’s a convenient opening in our rock that would be an ice dispenser in the real thing and turns out to be the perfect […]
Characters at MONA FOMA 2020 in Launceston. Photo: Supplied “I want to be King of Tasmania!” shouts the oafish Ubu, a huge puppet and the the central character of the outlandish satirical play King Ubu, staged at Launceston’s Cataract Gorge. I think, “Don’t we all?” Or at least to visit it. Since the opening of […]
Enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the forest ziplining with Hollybank Treetops Adventure. Photo: Hollybank Treetops Adventure 1. FEAST ALL DAY You can’t visit Launceston without enjoying a meal at the much-lauded Stillwater restaurant, picturesquely housed in a restored riverside flour mill. The difficult decision is, which meal will it be? While reservations are recommended for […]
Launceston’s Cataract Gorge – green lawns, public pool and stunning natural surroundings just minutes from the CBD. Photo: Jarrad Seng/Tourism Tasmania THE ONE WINE BAR Havilah wine bar is the creation of winemaker Ricky Evans and business partner and former Tourism Tasmania marketing executive Chanel Parratt. Evans is behind the wine label Two Tonne Tasmania […]
The Maylands Lodge was the result of an 18 month restoration of one of Tasmania’s most historical buildings. Photo: Maylands Lodge Our rating 4.5 out of 5 THE PLACE This is one of Tasmania’s most significant heritage properties, designed by colonial architect Henry Hunter to be Hobart’s grandest mansion for one of the city’s most […]
Matthew Evans. Photo: Alan Benson Gourmet Farmer‘s Matthew Evans shares his favourite getaway spot. What’s your go-to Tasmanian weekend away? We’re lucky enough to have World Heritage wilderness nearby, but Cradle Mountain, a longer drive away, is the bomb. Where do you stay? Waldheim Cabins, which has basic, dorm-style rooms and you can bring your […]