9 minute read
day in scenic Strahan
he sea breeze is blowing wisps of cloud at warp speed as I knock on the front door of King Island’s most distinctiveT home to have a coffee with two complete strangers. Artists Dianne and Andrew Blake not only own a spectacular house – its exteriors all sharp angles and timber and cement cladding, the airy interiors of Whale Tail House are dominated by CinemaScope windows that invite the outside in. They also have a wonderful back story. The couple moved here in 2011 after 20 years in Arnhem Land working as arts coordinators at a community arts centre. “We both love connecting with the environment and with community – that’s why we loved Arnhem Land and why we love it here,” Dianne tells me. “The two places are at opposite ends of the continent, but both have the most amazing coastlines and landscape diversity, and offer a real sense of community.” We stroll through the house as Dianne and Andrew talk me through the construction process – they worked exclusively with local companies – and show me their art collection, which includes remarkable Indigenous artworks as well as their own pieces. When I thank the Blakes for opening their home to a stranger, Dianne smiles. “King Island is very inclusive of visitors. It’s a sharing place, and we follow suit.” In this spirit, the couple offer private house and art tours by appointment for any curious visitor. During three days on King Island, I cram in plenty of memorable experiences – from standing beside racks of giant kelp strands, listening to their soft staccato rattle as they twist in the briny breeze, to an evening harbourside stroll spying little penguins porpoising their way to a convenient boat ramp, then waddling
THIS SPREAD (Clockwise from left) Kittawa Lodge’s owners enjoy an empty beach; Whale Tail House; Cape Wickham golf course.
CAPE WICKHAM
WHALE TAIL HOUSE
OCEAN DUNES
CURRIE
KING ISLAND
KITTAWA LODGE
3 delicious King Island experiences
1. CURRIE BOATHOUSE There’s no chef employed at King Island’s best-known eatery. ‘The Restaurant With No Food’ offers a quirky setting on Currie Harbour for communal dining – in return guests BYO all food and drinks.
2. KING ISLAND DAIRY This iconic dairy works with select local farmers to source the milk delivered daily for its awardwinning cheeses – yours to try and to buy at the cheese store. We can’t go past the baked brie.
3. WILD HARVEST The bounty of King Island inspires the menu at this fine dining spot in Grassy. Think beef from nearby fields, abalone from the ocean out front and veggies harvested by the farmer that day.
up to their burrows – but paying a house call on strangers is perhaps the most unusual. Yet this sense of connection is quintessentially King Island. Here, locals don’t just tell you about things they think you’d like – they pick up the phone and make it happen.
“It’s one of the things that made us fall in love with the place – it’s still untouched, it isn’t jaded about tourism,” says Aaron Suine, who first put me in touch with the Blakes. Aaron and his husband, Nick Stead, moved to King Island from Sydney and opened the island’s first luxury lodge at the end of 2019. Consisting of just two rustic-chic accommodations – both with charred cypress exteriors and floor-toceiling windows designed to let you watch the sun sink into the sea – Kittawa Lodge is a haven designed for holing up.
Not that I end up doing a whole lot of that; there’s too much to explore in King Island’s 1000 square km of territory (home to just over 1500 residents). There are farm tours, seafood restaurants and not one, not two, but three links golf courses including the renowned Ocean Dunes and Cape Wickham. The latter scored the number two spot on Australian Golf Digest’s list of Australia’s top golf courses: at the final hole, a beach acts as the bunker. The course, which flows up over outcrops and along the shore, is so beautiful that I’m tempted to take up golf.
Until now, golfers have been King Island’s most regular visitors, but increased flights – including Sharp Airlines’ ongoing trial of direct flights to and from Hobart – have raised the island’s profile.
Its reputation for quality produce, including beef, cheese and crayfish, will appeal to foodies. However, King Island’s biggest attraction is the fact that you can explore its striking landscape without ever encountering another person.
The island’s stunning scenery ranges from melaleuca forests and wetlands, where birdwatchers flock to observe rare species such as the orange-bellied parrot, to fertile farmlands and, of course, spectacular shorelines. You can choose your stretch of coast to suit
THIS SPREAD (clockwise from far left) Melaleuca forests; Kittawa Lodge co-owner Aaron Suine; inside Kittawa; local cray; Ocean Dunes. your mood, opting for sheltered white-sand beaches or more dramatic wave-tossed stretches of shore.
“It’s not that we have so many walking trails and beaches – it’s that you can have one to yourself for the whole day,” Aaron Suine says. He says that just a few days of exploring King Island’s wild beauty leaves its mark upon his guests. “They lose their normal rhythms – their breathing, even their speech starts to slow.”
Aaron is particularly fond of the south of the island, and often sends guests out with a picnic to explore its bays and beaches. “If you keep driving all the way south you come to this amazing beach with this incredibly white sand, and you know the next landfall is Antarctica.”
The island has some fine restaurants, but guests at Kittawa can also have Aaron rustle up a fourcourse dinner for them in their own lodge – a highly recommended experience. From dry-aged porterhouse carpaccio to light gnocchi with sage and walnuts, it’s a meal to remember.
Book Sharp Airlines offers regular King Island flights to and from Launceston and Burnie. A direct Hobart service trial continues until 31 May (pending updates).
Set off on a Northern Forage
Graze from cradle to coast
You don’t need to venture far to unearth gourmet goodies on the Northern Forage drive journey. Think truffles dug out of rich earth, plump raspberries devoured straight off the canes and lobsters plucked from pristine waters. For help navigating this cornucopia, the Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail has collected some of the finest foodie businesses in the north and north-west into a tasty series of itineraries, with stops found all the way from Stanley and Smithton on the island’s western tip to the Tamar River outside Launceston. Pack the stretchy pants. F resh air; pure landscapes; farm-fresh food; fine wine – all along Tasmania’s northern coast awaits a veritable bounty of the good things in life. From orderly rows of grape vines and lavender to untamed temperate rainforest and wave-lashed coasts, the Northern Forage drive journey offers an abundance of experiences. Take off on this scenic road trip and enjoy it your way.
Stay a while
The Ship Inn Stanley has put the quaint fishing village on the map of discerning travellers with its immaculate restoration of an historic hotel. For an off-grid stay, tiny homes and stylish cabins abound up north, including the eco-friendly Compass Hut outside Devonport. A genteel country escape awaits in the Meander Valley at Quamby Estate, a heritage homestead with 10 luxe rooms. Avid golfers, meanwhile, will never want to leave after a stay at the famed Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links outside Bridport, especially since the unveiling of the brand-new Bougle Run short course.
Have a sparkling time
Think you need to head to France for some of the world’s best sparkling wines? Think again. The Tamar Valley is emerging as Tasmania’s answer to the Champagne region; follow the Tamar Valley Wine Route to find out why. Pair a minimal-intervention wine flight with a spa day at Swinging Gate Vineyard; visit Goaty Hill Wines and discover one of James Halliday’s ‘Dark Horse’ fivestar wineries; or meet local legend Andrew Pirie by booking a tasting at Apogee (available by appointment only). To do the scenic region in true style, enlist a helicopter pilot for the day, thanks to the collaboration between Unique Charters and the chic Tamar vineyard Clover Hill.
Hop in the saddle
Tassie was propelled into mountain biking fame by Blue Derby Mountain Bike Trails – a network snaking around the former mining town Derby and the Blue Tier. After their ride, cyclists can now unwind at Floating Sauna – a Nordic-styled spa on Lake Derby. If that isn’t enough to lure bikers north, Wild Mersey Mountain Bike Trails continues to open new sections; the final course will offer 100 km of trails from Latrobe to Railton and Sheffield. Add in The Penguin Mountain Bike Park and the trails leading off it into the Dial Range and you’ve got a world-class biking trip.
Go wild
Tasmania’s north specialises in the kind of unadulterated scenery we’ve all been craving. Roam out to the Edge of the World, a wild coastline facing the world’s longest continuous stretch of ocean – next stop Argentina. Venture into the depths of takayna/Tarkine – Australia’s largest cool-climate rainforest – and chase after waterfalls all around the north, including Dip, Guide and Lilydale falls. Or discover ‘Tasmania’s Serengeti’ at Narawntapu National Park with its roaming kangaroos, wallabies and wombats. For cuteness overload, Low Head Penguin Tours offers guided sunset trips to watch little blue penguins waddle to bed. If you’d like to up your Insta game, there’s the vivid Little Blue Lake near South Mount Cameron and the floral spectacle of Bridestowe Lavender Estate in summer and Table Cape Tulip Farm in spring. No filters needed.
To plan your Northern Forage road trip, visit discovertasmania.com.au/ northern-forage
Have will hound,travel
THERE’S NO NEED to leave your four-legged friend behind next time you set off to travel around Tasmania. With the help of good boy Basil, Nola James compiled a guide to the best dog-approved activities, eateries and accommodation options across the island.
