Excited about this part of the trip, I have a feeling we will love Tassie, we have never heard a bad thing about it. Idyllic beaches, food and wine delights, spectacular scenery, what more could you want?! We left it too late to rent a camper so we ended up in a car and doing our usual booking everything the day before, in some cases a couple of hours before! Thank god for airbnb, who have really been saving our bacon this past week! After touching down in Devonport and picking up our rental, we naturally headed straight for the House of Anvers chocolate factory, well it was Valentine’s Day after all so we treated ourselves to a bag of extortionately priced choccies and gave each other a peck on the cheek. Its really just another day, right? The chocolate factory can be missed, it’s exactly as one would imagine, a large viewing platform to view the far from frenzied chocolate making activities and furnished with resplendent chocolate sculptures. Down the road is the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm, so then we got suckered into buying some raspberries and some raspberry beer. But the real gem of the day was a tiny vineyard, Wines for Joanie, a small family-run winery that had that perfect blend of rustic with touches with Tom Dixonesque lighting and bits of bronze everywhere. The rest of V-day was spent on a beach picnic table with fish and chips and our raspberry beer. Perfect. It seems that a lot of the accommodation on Airbnb in Tassie are small hotels, motels or guesthouses, which worked for us on several occasions but we feel it also kind of defeats the object of what Airbnb is about - a room in someone’s home or apartment, not clinical corporate hotel rooms. Anyway, we ended up in a bed and breakfast found on Airbnb in Beauty Point, which may once have been a point of beauty but now lacks a certain je ne sais quoi in that department. More exploring of Tamar Valley occurred the next day as we cruised through rolling hillside landscapes broken up by pitstops to various vineyards on the way. We made a brief stop at Bridestowe Lavender Farm and learnt this was not the right time of year for flowering lavender, so that was a waste of time. We then raced down to Pyengana cheese factory to arrive as it closed so settled on a drink in Pub in the Paddock - licensed since 1880 (ancient for Oz) and one of Tasmania’s oldest pubs. It was as pretty as a picture, despite the long stares we received from the locals slurping their schooners inside… To Rob’s surprise I was the first to jump out of bed as the alarm rang at 5.40am this morning. We were staying at Binalong Bay in the Bay of Fires and I was excited to get down to Dora Point to watch the sunrise. Sunsets and sunrises are pretty much the only things that will get me up before 8am, or up a mountain. The pictures just don’t do it justice. We had the beach to ourselves and it was another of those pinch me moments. Bay of Fires incidentally stretches over 50 kilometres and is regarded as one of the most beautiful parts of Australia. It received its name after some famous captain saw the fires of Aboriginal people on the beaches. As we continued navigating Bay of Fires we drove all the way up to The Gardens, stopping every now and then to discover incredible beach after incredible beach, Cosy Corner South was amongst one of our faves. I swear our standards are going to be so high by the time we get home that nothing will ever satisfy us again! Freycinet National Park (which annoyingly you have to pay an entry fee for) and “unforgettable” Wineglass Bay was our next stop after a few hours drive along spectacular coastal roads. We headed up to the lookout which was about a forty minute return walk in seriously hot conditions, and we were hatless - cue Rob making a turban out of his t-shirt and me wrapping my scarf round my head. Total tourists. The view was pretty incredible and the impossibly clear ocean, paradise. On our way down, we decided on a detour and went down to the beach itself. I was too chicken but Rob went for a quick dip. The sand here is super fine granite granules that sparkle and catch the sunlight. genuinely if it weren't so expensive to ship things home, I would have bottled some up. The tranquil town of Ross was our home that evening. It wasn't our first choice as it's quite far inland but we genuinely couldn't find anywhere close to Freycinet that wasn’t a total backpacker dive, or four times over our budget. Its clearly peak season here and advance booking is a must. Obviously there is nothing ‘advanced planning’ about this trip so at times its come to bite us on the arse. BUT, not this time, Ross was an unexpected delight! It is a historic and quaint little town packed full of the cutest colonial, heritage listed cottages and sandstone buildings, made famous by its convict history. Of particular interest was the Female Factory which is one of the only few female convict compounds to have existed in Australia. Astonishing to think that convicts spent three to four months on ships sailing across from the UK to Oz for the smallest of crimes, stealing a handkerchief got you seven years! Tough gig! And for all you old bridge buffs (Rob is in included in this category), there is also the third oldest bridge in Australia, that was constructed by convicts in 1836. Fact. And even more bizarrely, Ross is the home of the curried scallop pie (who knew there was such a thing?). Naturally it needed to be tried, despite it being 11am. Oh well, elevenses is a thing. It was really rather tasty! One hour drive back towards the coast brings you to an abundance of yet more vineyards. Spring Vale, Milton, Gala Estate, Freycinet and Devil's Corner were our faves. The thing with all these vineyards is that of course, it is wonderful to try so many varieties, but the real joy is the spectacular Tasmanian vistas that they are nestled amongst.
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AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
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Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |