Winter in Tasmania is a fairy tale affair. Photo / Tourism Tasmania
Winter in Tasmania is a fairy tale affair. Photo / Tourism Tasmania
From floating saunas to whisky weeks, Tasmania is winter at its most magical, writes Danielle Norton.
Not all holidays are about drinking cocktails on sun-soaked tropical beaches. This winter, head south to Tasmania where you’ll find crisp air, hearty food, roaring fires and a warm welcome.
1. Tuck intohearty fare
A portal to a world of fine drinking hidden behind the sandstone walls of the old St Mary's Hospital building in Hobart. Mary Mary. Photo / Adam Gibson
Winter calls for warming meals that soothe the soul, and nothing is more comforting than Italian food. Peppina Restaurant is the best I’ve found in Hobart. The traditional trattoria focuses on seasonal Tasmanian produce and local wines, with handmade gnocchi and a trustworthy sommelier to choose the perfect local drop to balance your meal. Close by, bar Mary Mary has six fireplaces, warm tones of mahogany and leather, and the scent of spiced apple hot toddies wafting through the bar. Institute Polaire has a more wintery vibe with an icy colour palette and a hot, award-winning wine list.
Roll out your kilt, pull up your socks, grab your bagpipes and head to Great Lake for the winter solstice. From June 21-22, this annual festival is a two-day weekend fling of grand proportions, featuring Celtic bands, Scottish-inspired foods and highland hospitality. This festival of Gaelic, Celtic and Scottish heritage gives everyone a chance to kick up their heels, drink some fine Tasmanian whisky and pay homage to the Scots who braved the open seas to settle in this foreign land.
3. Learn a new skill
Wooden Boat Centre Tasmania. Photo / Tourism Tasmania & Nick Osborne
Winter is the perfect season to settle inside and pick up a craft. Keep your hands and mind busy with an intensive weekend blacksmithing course on the Hobart waterfront that will give you an introduction to the fundamentals of hand-forging. You can join resident blacksmith Pete Mattila to learn different forging techniques and create your own knife. If working with timber is more your style, head to the Wooden Boat Centre in Franklin and practise steam-bending timbers such as Huon Pine, King Billy Pine and Celery Top Pine.
4. Enjoy a dram
Lark Distillery. Photo / Sam Shelley
With over 60 whisky distilleries in Australia’s tiniest state, Whisky Week (August 4-10) offers visitors the chance to try a dram from the northern coast to the southern coastline, from outlying tiny islands to the midlands and all the way to the highest mountains of the central highlands. To discover the heart of Tasmania’s modern whisky story, visit Hobart’s Lark Distillery. In 1992, Bill Lark revitalised Australia’s whisky trade when the Lark household started producing Tasmanian single malt spirits. https://www.taswhiskyweek.com/www.larkdistillery.com
5. Sing it out
Between June and July, drown out the winter sads in Burnie at the Winter Solstice Blues Festival. Catch the indigenous children’s choir singing songs of their country and indulge in everything from singalongs to musical comedy. Join a songwriting workshop, take the kids to a teddy bear-led singing session, or tap your toes with country music legend Beccy Cole. In July, you can attend Permission to Trespass. The off-season events give visitors access to usually locked gates. Enjoy sumptuous suppers, singing in sheds and, of course, whisky, at locations all around Table Cape and Wynyard.
Travelling with young ones? The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart is great for children and more kid-friendly than Mona (though families are also welcome there too). There’s an interactive gallery for under-7s, and kids can pick up a Discovery Backpack full of interesting items or a TMAG Tentacle Trail scavenger hunt from the visitors’ desk that will guide their curiosity when exploring the collections. Families will love a Devil Tracker tour at the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo near Port Arthur and a Pennicott boat trip from Bruny Island, Freycinet or Cape Raoul will blow bad moods away while also giving you a high chance of seeing exquisite marine animals and sea bird life.
Located on Hobart's historic waterfront, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is the second oldest museum in Australia and has its origins in the collections of the country's oldest scientific society, the Royal Society of Tasmania, which was established in 1843. Photo / Tourism Australia
7. Trespass in beautiful places
Overstep the boundaries and see behind the locked gates of several private properties across Wynyard and Table Cape. For the whole month of July, “Permission to Trespass” grants visitors access to properties with rich cultural history and breathtaking views that are typically off-limits to the public. Enjoy a degustation lunch with chefs in private villas, join an indigenous Palawa guide for a tour around Boat Harbour or attend Moonlight Stories, a night of stunning creativity, where artworks are projected on to the Table Cape lighthouse on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.
8. Turn up the heat
Located in the little town of Derby, the Floating Sauna Lake Derby is the perfect way to finish a mountain bike adventure, or simply a retreat to take in the beauty of nature and the mountain air. Photo / Dearna Bond
If you’re brave enough to take the plunge, the Lake Derby floating sauna is Australia’s only floating wood-fired sauna and will certainly awaken your senses. The Tasman Hotel also has a signature experience called The Keys which involves breathwork, cold-water immersion in nature and a journalling session. Just being in a natural environment does wonders for your mental health and Tasmania has some of the world’s most ancient and fascinating old-growth forests in which you can rejuvenate your body and mind.
9. Rug up and get out
Exploring Tasmania’s rugged landscapes in winter means hiking in pristine wilderness without the crowds. One of the few guided walks that continues year-round is the Three Capes Adventure with the Tasmanian Walking Company. Their luxury lodges have hot showers, roaring fires, chefs and even a hottie in your bed at night. Wild Bush Luxury also hosts a three-day Maria Island Walk with accommodation at the historic Bernacchi House. Warm beds and glasses of elegant Tassie Pinot Noir greet trampers at the end of each day.
Walking the Labillardiere Peninsula. Photo / Susan Wright
10. Get cosy
Tasmanian architects and designers understand their climate and they know that guests want cosy accommodation and great views when the temperature plummets. In Hobart, a St David’s Park suite at the Tasman is a retreat from the elements. Set yourself up with a book and a glass of red wine before a fireplace with textured blankets and sheepskin throws or sink into a luxurious bubble bath. Peppers Silo Hotel in Launceston doesn’t have in-room fireplaces but they do have a hotel labrador for snuggles and walks.
