Best new hotels, restaurants, tours and attractions in Tasmania for 2016
IT’S a little like a good whisky. Tasmania seems to be getting better with age. Lonely Planet hailed it fourth best region in the world to visit in 2015 and speaking of whisky, a Tassie single malt was named the world’s best this year. So why the fuss about this once sleepy island, no bigger than West Virginia? Is it the prospect of walking in ancient rainforest or a museum that’s shaken the very definition of art as only MONA can? Whatever it is, visitors are coming in numbers never seen before and leaving with stories that only this island can deliver. Like hunting for Tasmanian sapphires or walking one of the world’s last wild frontiers.
TOURS
SAPPHIRE HUNTING
Ever imagined yourself knee deep in a far-flung river, hunting for Tasmanian sapphires with a master jeweller? Perhaps no. It’s not your typical day out, but Tasmania isn’t a typical destination. Founder of Metal Urges, Chris Hood, runs private tours to locations most will never see — beneath shadows of 100-year-old man ferns in search of rare jewels. Blue sapphire or black spinel, typically reserved for sparkle in a New York Tiffany store, could be in your next sieve. Suit up in neoprene and join the hunt.
THREE CAPES TRACK
It’s already been hailed Australia’s premier coastal walk and from 28 November walkers will vie to take the first steps. The Three Capes Track is forty-six cliff-hugging kilometres on the Tasman Peninsula, where next stop is Antarctica. Tip toe to the edge of Australia’s tallest sea cliffs, cross chasms and walk beneath shadows of towering Eucalypts on this four-day trek. Come nightfall, settle in to architecturally designed huts. On the Three Capes Track the Southern Ocean as your constant neighbour.
WILD OCEAN TASMANIA
Want to get whisker to whisker with a New Zealand fur seal? With Wild Ocean Tasmania you can even keep your clothes on. They’ll kit you up with a dry suit to hover on the ocean’s surface atop a world-first viewing platform. This three-hour eco-cruise hugs the edge of Tasman National Park, complete with Jurassic dolerite arches and ancient sea caves en route to Cape Pillar, home to a loveable seal playground. Here you’ll float, meet and greet.
SELF DRIVE THE GREAT EASTERN DRIVE
What better time to do the Great Eastern Drive than 2016, the 100th anniversary of Freycinet National Park. As if in celebration, between Orford and St Helens, the drive offers a range of new experiences including Devils in the Dark at Bicheno, a redevelopment at Devils Corner Vineyard and plenty on the water. Wineglass Bay Cruises have a fancy new boat, Sail Freycinet offer five star cruises, there’s a hover craft in Swansea and an ab diver-turned-tourism operator offers eco tours out of Binalong Bay. Let’s just say there’s plenty of reason to hit the indicator on this drive.
FOOD AND DRINK
BANGOR WINE & OYSTER SHED
It’s usually reserved for movie stars, but if you’d like to arrive by helicopter to your dining table, Par Avion can make it happen. Within minutes from Hobart, be whisked to Bangor Wine & Oyster Shed in Dunalley (incidentally where Nicole Kidman filmed part of her upcoming movie Lion) and your glass of Tasmanian sparkling and plump Pacific oysters will be waiting. Alternately there’s a gorgeous drive that takes 45 minutes from Hobart.
FOOD BY BEN MILBOURNE
Have a Pop Up Wedding in Tasmania and let Ben Milbourne of Channel Ten’s Bens Menu fame cater in his garden. Those not planning to tie the knot in island pop-up style can join a One Degree Food Tour. Meet producers with Ben on a his north west turf during a paddock to plate culinary adventure or opt for a private degustation dinner at Fairholme, Ben’s private home.
COAL RIVER FARM
If you like cheese direct from the maker, picking fresh strawberries and handcrafted chocolate that is sung to by the chocolatier for good measure, Coal River Farm is your destination. Just 20 minutes from Hobart, you can pick your own berries and orchard fruits, watch the makers at work and settle in for a cool climate wine served with Coal River views at the farm restaurant. Make a day of it and pop into the recently expanded Puddleduck Vineyard and onto Richmond where Australia’s oldest continually operating bridge isn’t exactly new but has some new neighbourhood friends.
HUNDRED ACRES
There’s paddock to plate and now there’s soil to bottle at Ghost Rock Vineyard, in North West Tasmania. Want to know where your wine really comes from? Join a Hundred Acres food and wine workshop at Ghost Rock, not far from the terribly handsome Hawley Beach, worth a visit too. Find out about the ghost, enjoy a private tour and barrel tastings experiences (including the current vintage wines and platter) for $35/person or perch yourself on the grass with a cheese platter and a Pinot.
MOUNTAIN-SIDE BENTWOOD COFFEE
STAY
BLUE DERBY PODS RIDE EXPERIENCE
Not all Tasmanian accommodation gently swings in the breeze, but in the remote north east, it is bike riders finding themselves softly lulled to sleep. Introducing — the Blue Derby Pods Ride experience. By day, it’s about mountain bike trails named among the world’s finest and come nightfall, riders are suspended in wilderness luxury. This three-day experience is for those who hop on a bike every third year through to avid Lycra-wearers pedalling fast toward their next trail fix. Each rider drifts off, knowing rainforest trails are just 50 metres from their elevated doorstep.
28 GATES
At 28 Gates peer through windows of real Tasmanian life. Cast off in a private fishery or opt for the Meadowbank Farm and Vineyard Experience, tasting your way through the history of Tasmania’s second-oldest continuously-owned vineyard. A-plus students attend ‘How to be a wine snob in 45 minutes’ class before venturing to the homestead veranda (or inside) for a locally-sourced banquet with your hosts. Overlooking 6,000 acres of countryside, you’ll arrive to the table as guests and leave with a bottle of Meadowbank under your arm and new country friends.
KING ISLAND GOLFING
Mention King Island and lips are licked at the thought of brie, grass-fed beef and lashings of cream. This pure, windswept dot off the northwest Tasmanian coast has long been known for its produce but how many have ventured to the island itself? If popularity in global golf tourism is anything to go by, King Island is about to hit full swing. Cape Wickham Links (opening October 30) and Ocean Dunes (first nine holes opening October 30) are two links courses poised to place King Island among the top golfing mecca’s of the world.
ARTS AND CULTURE
BIG TICKET EVENTS
Mona — the Museum of Old and New Art — continues to evolve. In 2016, look forward to British living sculptures in their first Australian major show, Gilbert & George: The Art Exhibition (November 28, 2015 to March 28, 2016). While you’re there, also see French artist Mathieu Briand’s utopian experiment Et In Libertalia Ego, Vol. II and Sydney artist Katthy Cavaliere’s posthumous retrospective, as well as Monanism, the evolving collection of Mona owner David Walsh. In January,Mofo returns with a new twist, taking over the city of Hobart from 13-18 January and Mona itself from 15-17 January, featuring highlights The Flaming Lips, percussionist Evelyn Glennie, Japan’s DJ Krush and Antonio Sanchez performing a live score to the award-winning film Birdman.
WILLIE SMITH’S NEW ALEMBIC COPPER STILL
Just in time for summer, the first purpose built alembic copper still in Australia will be used for the production of Calvados (barrel aged apple brandy). Expect apple and pear spirits and liqueurs also at The Apple Shed this summer and don’t miss the Huon Valley Midwinter Festival in 2016. Plans are afoot that will even surpass the traditional wassailing and burning the Winter Man during 2015 revelry.
Source: Herald Sun, Alice Hansen, 19th October 2015
Originally published as: Best new hotels, restaurants, tours and attractions in Tasmania for 2016
