We headed south to the Huon Valley. starting our southern adventure with lunch at the wonderful Willie Smith's Apple Shed at Grove. Here, where an apple wall contains over 390 varieties of apples, the food is amazing and so is the famous Willie Smith's cider.
From Grove we drove on to the Port Huon Cottages which would be our home for the next three nights. The cottages overlook the beautiful Huon River which, given the changes in weather, looks stunning in rain and shine, and particularly at sunrise and sunset.
A few minutes down the highway is the iconic Kermandie Hotel which was built in 1932. Its historic bar walls are covered in framed photographs of old sailing vessels, including the 1920 schooner 'Kermandie'. We had a drink in the tasteful art deco style lounge and dined at the restaurant overlooking the river.
The next day we drove to Geeveston to see Castle Phoenix. We met artists, owner Christina and designer and builder Francis, who began building their castle in late 2009. They believe the project will be completed in around three years' time. It is an impressive building and is certainly a labour of love. Recently they partnered with Heritage Horse Drawn Carriages to conduct tours of the castle.
The Margate Train is always worth a visit with its carriages packed full of arts and crafts and bric-a-brac as well as a micro brewery and pancake café. We loved wandering through the huge adjacent antiques and second-hand shop before driving to the Brookfield markets on the Channel Highway. That night we dined at Osteria@Petty Sessions, a lovely Italian restaurant on the riverfront at Franklin.
The following day we drove even further south to Hastings for a tour of the Newdegate Cave, discovered by timber workers in 1917, and the largest dolomite tourist cave in Australia. It was named for the then Governor of Tasmania and was opened to the public in 1939. Our two Parks & Wildlife tour guides were knowledgeable and entertaining, and one even sang a classical piece inside the cave to demonstrate its acoustics. Its a picturesque cave with prolific stalactites, and lots of steps!
After spending a morning at the Howrah Garden Centre and Stoneman's Garden Centre in Glenorchy, and coming away with half a dozen plants, we lunched at Succulents Restaurant at the Royal Hobart Botanic Gardens and spent an afternoon wandering the beautiful grounds. I was so impressed with the Japanese Garden which I felt was the best I'd seen outside of Japan - stunning water features, an iconic red bridge and loads of wonderful Asian trees including the famous Japanese Maple.
The Evolve Spirits Bar in the Macq01 building on Macquarie Wharf is my favourite bar, due to the prehistoric skeletons and fossils displayed in glass cases throughout the rooms, so it was there we started our evening with a glass of wine, followed by a delicious dinner at the adjacent Old Wharf Restaurant overlooking Constitution Dock.
