I went to Tasmania for the Aurora Australis, but I never expected this
The Southern Lights aren't the only thing that lights up in the night in the Apple Isle.
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As the glowing green caterpillar pauses to look up at us, I feel like I’m having an Alice in Wonderland moment.
“I haven’t seen that one before!” an excited Dr Lisa Gershwin says as she peers in for a closer look. And I’m beaming right back at her as I realise how many glow-in-the-dark discoveries are waiting right here in the Hobart Rivulet.
One of Australia’s top 100 scientists, Lisa shares the joys of bioluminescence and biofluorescence on her Glow Shows in her studio and Glow Tours that go out into the night. With our UV flashlights, Lisa has taken me into another world where bright blue slaters move through tree bark, plants sway in unexpected colours and a possum reveals its ready-for-the-rave pink fur and blue ears in the tree above us.
When I started planning my trip to Tasmania, I was hoping to see the Aurora Australis. Now I’m discovering it is far from the only way Tasmania glows. Take ghost mushrooms. Thanks to their bioluminescence, there’s no need for a UV light to see these native mushrooms glow. The next morning in a forest outside Hobart, I learn all about these unusual beauties and other fungi on a foraging tour with Mic Giuliani from Sirocco South. Then Mic takes my basket of edible foraged finds and adds them to our six-course lunch in the forest including a wild mushroom crème brûlée with matching Bream Creek Vineyard wines.
Over lunch we talk about the Southern Lights. I soon discover that everyone I speak to in Tasmania has a story from that night in May when what NASA has described as possibly one of the strongest aurora displays in 500 years lit up the night. Over the years, I’ve been lucky to see the Northern Lights from solid ground, on ships and even from a plane, but the crazy thing is, as an Australian, I’ve never tried chasing the Aurora Australis before.
In the converted barn eatery The Kiln in the Huon Valley, I meet the author of the Aurora Chaser’s Handbook and creator of the Aurora Australis Tasmania Facebook group, Margaret Sonnemann, and share an appreciation for the mysterious ways of the aurora gods.
We agree that their unpredictability makes them all the more magical, before Margaret shares some tips on where to see them in Tasmania. Turns out as long as you’re away from light pollution, you could see them anywhere. “The auroras are just as good all over Tasmania. People think you have to be in a special spot but I can produce countless photographs from all over the state taken at the same time and there’s barely an iota of difference.”
Margaret says that thanks to Tasmania’s small weather patterns, if the auroras are out and you’ve got cloudy skies, you’re still in with a chance. “One of the best auroras I ever saw was in the Huon Valley. It was raining in Hobart, but the serious chasers can just drive and go from place to place.”
And the good news for those of us who missed them in May? While we still have some more aurora-friendly solar maximum time to come, Margaret says sometimes the best aurora displays come in the few years after it peaks.
In the end, the Southern Lights don’t come out during my trip. But as all aurora chasers know, you need to plan a holiday you’ll love either way. And that’s just what I’ve done.
On Bruny Island, I watch the sunset from the top of the Cape Bruny Lighthouse on an illuminating tour, and soak in a wood-fired hot tub under the stars at the off-grid Hundred Acre Hideaway. In the Huon Valley, I take in the sweeping views from my geodesic dome-style home, Silverwood, join a mulled cider cruise with Huon River Cruises, and have Rosehaven TV flashbacks in Geeveston. While in Hobart, I enjoy a waterfront stay at Tasmania’s storytelling hotel, MACq 01, and savour the seasonal fine-dining experience that is Fico.
The icing on my Tasmanian cake is a stay at Saffire Freycinet, the award-winning luxury lodge set in the rugged beauty of the Freycinet National Park. Here I get kitted out in a beekeeping suit and join Rob “the Bee Man” Barker as he opens a beehive before a special honey tasting.
I experience the joy of dining on hyper local ingredients at Palate restaurant and watching the changing colours on the Hazards. And on a Connection to Country walk with First Nations guide Mick Quilliam, I discover that the Oyster Bay people see the auroras as mother earth’s great-grandchildren dancing in the sky.
In the lounge I meet a Sydney couple who have chased auroras in Norway, Iceland and Greenland and missed out every single time. Their first aurora sighting may not have happened this time in Tasmania, but they’re still smiling as they talk about how much easier it will be to get home. And to come back and try again.
The writer travelled as a guest of Tourism Tasmania and Saffire Freycinet.
What are the best green-stays in Tasmania?
Hundred Acre Hideaway is a solar, wind and gas powered off-grid stay on Bruny Island with wood-fired hot tubs overlooking South Bruny National Park. From $315 a night.
Saffire Freycinet is an all-inclusive resort with a focus on sustainability. Their range of environmental programs includes a sanctuary for endangered Tasmanian devils. From $2700 a night.
Originally published as I went to Tasmania for the Aurora Australis, but I never expected this
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