This has to be Australia’s most beautiful road trip

IT’S easy to see why these glacier-sculpted mountain peaks and misty alpine moorlands have become a pilgrimage for bushwalkers from all over the globe.

SOME holidays tick bucket-lists, others see you sipping cocktails and snapping ‘grams by the pool and others still are devoted to expanding your mind. North West Tasmania’s wintery beauty and curious charms make it more like visiting The Faraway Tree.

It’s easy to see why the World Heritage listed glacier-sculpted mountain peaks and misty alpine moorlands of Cradle Mountain have become a pilgrimage for bushwalkers from all over the globe.

The road trip from Launceston pairs stunning landscapes with world-class foodie stops along the way, serving as the perfect lead up to the mountain.

Is there anything better than this? Picture: Chris Kidd

The drive is postcard country; hundred and fifty year old pubs with a dog dozing by the fireplace, the sight of a local walking his alpaca on a lead down the main street or an entire town decorated with topiary creatures. Different is what Tasmania does best.

There are a half dozen different routes that lead up to Cradle, but the Take Me To The Mountain route, part of the Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail is our road of choice.

Strictly speaking, it’s not a trail as such but a community of artisan local providores that have formed an orderly crawl of gourmet food and drink to be sampled as you make your way to the peak.

Here’s what not to miss...

DRINK

Seven Sheds Brewery

22 Crockers St, Railton, Tasmania 7305

[phone]

www.sevensheds.com

Seven Sheds Brewery owner Willie Simpson. Picture: Kim Eiszele

Beer aficionados are directed to the backyard style Seven Sheds Brewery in the topiary town of Railton to visit one of Tassie’s smallest breweries — who are punching well above their station.

Sample beer expert Willie Simpson’s traditional English and Belgian ales brewed with fine Tasmanian malts and hops, or try more creative brews that mix the flavours of oatmeal, pepper berries, raspberries, quinoa, sour cherries and peated malt.

“The majority of Seven Sheds cellar door visitors are from other parts of Australia,” owner Catherine Stark says.

“Visitors love the friendly locals and the slower pace that Tasmania offers. Tassie can be as energetic or relaxing as required and you’re never far from great food and drink experiences like the Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail.”

Hellyers Road Distillery

153 Old Surrey Rd, Burnie, Tasmania 7320

[phone]

www.hellyersroaddistillery.com.au

Hellyers Road Distillery’s master distiller Mark Littler. Picture: Chris Kidd

Back on Burnie’s coast you can tour the Hellyers Road Distillery which makes award-winning whisky famous for its burnished copper glow.

“Our core range is characterised by citrus overtones with a vanilla sweetness also coming through on the palate,” master distiller Mark Littler says.

“We find it’s enjoyed by people who may not even gravitate to single malts as their drink of choice. Of course, it helps if you like your whisky...”

EAT

Delish Fine Foods

SHOP 3, 36 Main Rd, Wivenhoe, Tasmania 7320

[phone]

www.delishfinefoods.com.au

This intense dedication to perfecting single origin produce to ensure quality is what makes the Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail unique — take the gourmet cheese range available at Delish Fine Foods delicatessen for example, which has been carefully selected by Swiss master cheese maker Kurt Wyss.

House of Anvers

9025 Bass Highway, Tatrobe, Tasmania

[phone]

www.anvers-chocolate.com.au

Igor studied at the Institute of Foodstuffs in Antwerp.

Igor Van Gerwen established the chocolate paradise, House of Anvers.

The chocolatier House of Anvers is perched on the main highway between Devonport and Launceston to cleverly capture the ‘food lovers on the move’.

Established by Igor Van Gerwen, who came to Australia from Belgium after six years studying at the Institute of Foodstuffs in Antwerp, Belgium.

Igor has worked for some of the finest patisseries in the Flemish and Walloon regions and learnt, among other culinary skills, the art of handling chocolate. Here you can let him handle it right into your waiting maw, seven days a week.

41 Degrees South

323 Montana Rd, Red Hills, Tasmania 7304

[phone]

www.41southtasmania.com

The UNESCO approved salmon producer 41 Degrees South is also along this route, where you can learn about the eco-friendly process of salmon farming.

EXPLORE

Tasmazia

500 Staverton Rd, Promised Land, Tasmania 7306

[phone]

www.tasmazia.com.au

This is definitely a place you’ll want to get lost in. Picture: Chris Kidd

Another route takes you through the Tasmanian Promised Land, home to the whimsically named Village of Lower Crackpot and Tasmazia, a storybook theme park that features a complex of mazes and a miniature village.

General Manager Brett Harston clarifies, “It all started when the founder was eight and saw a Laurel and Hardy movie about their adventure in a maze.”

Thirty-odd years ago Brian realised his dream of building his own maze, starting from a paddock in his old dairy farm on the property where Tasmazia is located.

CRADLE MOUNTAIN

Once you reach Cradle Mountain, you have the option of exploring one of the many walking tracks.

Naming whimsy in these parts is hard to shake; take the Enchanted Walk, a winding path which takes you through buttongrass moorland and turns into a snowy Narnia of ancient rainforest in the winter months. Or the two-hour Dove Lake Circuit, a mostly flat path that skirts the lake’s edge and opens up to a Mordor view of the black spires of Cradle Mountain, which vulch over the track.

The warning sign of the Overland Track cautions it as ‘a serious undertaking, requiring well-prepared walkers with a good level of fitness, who understand the risks of walking in a remote alpine area’ — it’s also one of the most beautiful wilderness bushwalks in Australia, turned especially magic in winter with clotted snow caught in frosted eucalypt and rugged mountain backdrops.

You never know who you’ll meet along the way. Picture: Chris Kidd

Feel like treating yourself? Soak up the spectacular Tasmanian wilderness from the massage table at The Waldheim Alpine Spa.

“Great news! It really is truly stunning,” Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge General Manager Mike Blank says.

“The spa experience is enhanced by a towering presence of the King Billy pines and fresh mountain streams running through the wilderness.”

GETTING THERE

Cradle Mountain is a 2-hour drive from Launceston, but this scenic drive deserves a full weekend to discover the various stopovers. Plan your trip with flights to Launceston just one hour from Melbourne and one hour and 45 minutes from Sydney

DID YOU KNOW

• Although it looks small on a map, Tasmania is comparable in size to Ireland

• Tasmania has the world’s cleanest air.

• Over 40% of Tasmania is protected in National Parks. The National Park is also home to Tasmania’s highest mountain, Mt Ossa, known for its Jurassic Dolerite peaks.

• Winter’s average is 12°C

• 167m — Lake St Clair is Australia’s deepest natural freshwater lake carved out by glacial periods over the last 2 million years.

Curious? To get among it and experience all Tassie has to offer this winter — start your story here.