see my tasmania day 1 post here
see my tasmania day 2 post here
First off, on the final day of my Tassie trip, I saw myself in the stunningly beautiful Huon Valley. After a quick visit to a lovely chocolate shop, the Cat's Tongue Chocolatiers, we were off for some cider!
When I got to Tassie, I was surprised to find out just how strong the cider-making business is in Tas. I found a lot of the ciders I tasted to be more old-style in taste, flatter and not as fizzy as a lot of the more mainstream commercial ones you find in most pubs.
Having grown up in Ireland, where Bulmer's Cider is very popular, I was used to ciders which can be a little sickly sweet, especially after one glass, so I was pleasantly surprised and liked the style of ciders currently being produced in Tas.
At Willie Smith's, I met the lovely and hospitable Andrew Smith. Andrew joined this family business 26 years ago. He quickly saw how vital good produce was to his customers. After some investigation, he decided that the only thing he could do to improve the already great fruit was to do even less to it and made a move the business into the organic space.
Andrew was a great bloke and gave us a quick tour of the cider farm, including the orchards where they grow apples to produce a cider which takes its inspiration from the traditional cider-making techniques of Northern France.
Michelle and I then jumped in the car and headed to the most impressive 'Apple Shed' run by Willie Smith's. This incredibly unique space is a restaurant, cider house and museum. It is decorated and fitted out beautifully. All credit to the design team, who have produced a cool and hip space similar to something you'd find in Sydney or Melbourne, yet set in the beautiful countryside.
Here I got some shots of the museum area, which was impressive and very detailed in its presentation. Then in true Tassie fashion, we were invited to do a cider tasting at 10.30am!
You can find more info on all the ciders produced at Willie Smith's
TASMANIA - DAY 3
This is an article I wrote for the blog for a Tourism Tasmania’S ‘Go behind the Scenes’ campaign. I was offered the opportunity to spend a few days in Tasmania, touring and experiencing what Hobart and its surroundings provide.
MICHELLE'S HOUSE
So who's up for a little lot, house envy?
We visited Michelle's house on the third day of my stay, and it was totally. Utterly. Gorgeous.
I adored it. I could have spent the whole day photographing it. Michelle almost had to drag me out of place, kicking and screaming.
Antiques and collectables dotted throughout the house were fit enough to make any Sydney stylist or prop house seethingly envious.
We stopped off here for a bit in-between things. After I drooled at all Michelle's lovely homewares for about an hour, Michelle kindly gave me a pot of her fab jam, which she hand makes herself in her kitchen and types up the pretty little labels on a funky old, retro typewriter... Very cool.
I know Matthew's work through his TV show and Books. Also, my good photographer friend Alan Benson is Matthew's photographer of choice for all his work due to their friendship of some 20-plus years. Michelle, Alan, and Matthew work together on a monthly food column for food magazines in Aus. It's in these publications where all 3 of these amazingly skilled people come together to produce visually stunning results.
So I was delighted when I found out the final stop of my three-day whirlwind Tassie adventure would be a visit to meet Matthew and his gorgeous wife Sadie and their little boy at their Fat Pig Farm when they raise Wessex Saddleback pigs and milk a beautiful Guernsey cow; Elsie.
Nestled in a narrow gully near the Huon River, Fat Pig Farm is where Matthew and Sadie raise 30 grass-grazing, dirt-digging Wessex Saddleback pigs, a few pocket rocket low-line Angus and a couple of dairy cows. They are grafting an old orchard with new varieties and planting a new orchard and veggie garden. You can sometimes buy their ham and bacon at The Bruny Island Cheesemonger in Salamanca.
After Sadie gave me a tour of the pigs and their impressive and extensive veggie garden, we all enjoyed some of Matthew's food around a campfire next to his beautiful lake on the farm, along with some great Tassie pinot including some of Matthew and Sadie's own home-produced wine. It was a fantastic way to end my trip before returning to Hobart.
I ended up staying an extra two nights and pottered around the famous Salamanca markets on Saturday, returned to Mona for a second visit (it's that good), walked up in the glorious sun to the stunning Battery Point area where I ooohed and aahed at the beautiful, quaint houses and stopped off at a tea room for a cuppa, and the divine bakery and coffee house JACKMAN & MCROSS
I hope I have given you all a decent idea of what it's like to spend a few days in Tassie and the immediate surrounding areas outside of Hobart. I really had a fantastic time.
Hobart is a really funky little town. It's a brilliant place to head to for a weekend or long weekend if you are based in Sydney or Melbourne, as it's just a quick 2-hour flight. I was surprised at the edgy feel of many places I visited and Hobart's forward-thinking approach.
Jetstar flies direct from Sydney, and I found them to be brilliant to travel with. I usually am a strict Qantas flyer, but I was impressed by how friendly and cool it was to fly with Jetstar for the first time.
Thank you to Tourism Tasmania for offering me this amazing experience. They were brilliant in covering my flights and accommodation, and I look forward to working with them again soon.
