Glistening lakes, lush forests: Go beyond Hobart for a true Tassie experience

“Creamy slow-cooked scrambled eggs covered with freshly shaved truffle,” I say, salivating, as I audibly huff and puff.

I’m in deepest, remotest Tasmania playing a game of “what meal are you looking forward to most after this hell is over?” with my fellow hiking companions. We’re midway through a three-night trip along the Walls of Jerusalem, located in the heart of the 1.6-million-hectare Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, and we’re feeling famished.

Cradle Mountain National Park may be famous for its craggy peak but it also happens to be the home of one of the best day spas in the state.Credit: Getty Images

Our days may be filled with jaw-dropping vistas of glistening lakes, alpine meadows and lush forests, and our nights may comprise evening skies that are so clear we routinely see shooting stars, but we’re missing something: good food. Thankfully, in less remote parts the Apple Isle offers seriously good produce.

Though Hobart and the east coast around Freycinet may get the bulk of the tourist traffic, for hungry travellers looking to break new ground, the north-west region is the place to go. Both one of the most scenic regions in the country and laden with award-winning producers (from dairies to fruit farmers, and wineries to whisky distillers), it offers gourmands a travelling taste sensation amid charm-infused villages and postcard-perfect wilderness.

Post-hike, our first stop is to satisfy my aforementioned truffle cravings by digging for black gold. While these delectable fungi are usually associated with Italy and France, Australia has become one of the world’s largest producers of the most-prized truffle variety, the Périgord, and the birthplace of Australia’s truffle industry is here in Tasmania’s north-west.

Though Hobart and the east coast around Freycinet may get the bulk of the tourist traffic, for hungry travellers looking to break new ground, the north-west region is the place to go.

When pioneering farmer Tim Terry harvested the first nugget of black gold from the rich soil of his Deloraine farm 20 years ago, little did he know that Tasmanian Truffles would become the state’s premium producer of one of the most sought after ingredients on earth. These days it’s his kids, former My Kitchen Rules contestants Anna and Henry, who have taken the reins on the farm.

What goes hand in hand with decadent truffles? An indulgent few hours in a day spa, that’s what. Cradle Mountain National Park may be famous for its craggy peak but it also happens to be the home of one of the best day spas in the state.

Waldheim Alpine Spa in Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge offers facilities comprising open-air hot tub and plunge pool, sauna and steam room. Add local artisan chocolates, strawberries, a bottle of chilled Tasmanian sparkling and picturesque alpine views and you have a recipe for bliss.

Back in the car, we take in some of the area’s produce highlights along the Cradle to Coast Tasting Trail – a decadent epicurean route designed to take in an array of gourmet delights, including farm-gate stalls, distilleries and cellar doors.

If superb cool-climate sauvignon blancs, chardonnays and pinot noirs appeal, then the fertile soils of the Tamar Valley deliver. Stretching some 60 kilometres north from Launceston to Bass Strait along both sides of the Tamar River, this is one of Tasmania’s prettiest regions. It also produces sparkling wine many regard as second only to France’s Champagne region.

To avoid the heartache of pulling the designated-driver short straw, we joined Prestige Tours Tasmania’s Full Day Tamar Wine Tour. Hosted by experienced sommelier Eamonn Seddon, the bespoke experience transports small groups to some of the areas’ best boutique vineyards. And unlike most of the big wineries on the mainland, where the winemakers and owners are very much behind the scenes, here you’ll have the chance to meet the real-life folk behind the wine.

For my friends and me, it’s a suitable “full stop” to our trip, a place to pause and reflect on the fact that, while a few days eating and drinking in the north-west is great, a full week would be even better.

The writer travelled to Tasmania as a guest of Tourism Tasmania.

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