The sheer fact King Island is only home to about 1600 permanent residents means most of the time you feel as though you have the entire island to yourselves. You really feel as though you’re free to roam imagining it is your own private island.

As the borders open up next month and Tasmanians start travelling again, I’d urge readers to still consider places closer to home such as King Island.

Located in Bass Strait about half way between the North-West Coast and Victoria, it is just over an hour’s flight from Hobart and is reassuringly covered by Tasmania’s Covid safety requirements. Once the borders open and the well-touristed spots are teaming with people again is when places like this small island will really come into their own.

With its super-friendly locals, lush, green rolling hills, good food and brews, clean air and beautiful coastlines, King Island is like Tasmania’s version of Ireland and is well worth putting on your bucket list.

Another selling point of the island is it is only about 25km wide and 65km long. Every major attraction on the island is easily accessible and at any one point you’re only about 30 to 40 minutes from your home base and anywhere you want to go. If you like a particular spot you can easily go back for a second look.

If you are into golf, surfing, diving, swimming, walking and or getting up close and personal with some of the most abundant and unique wildlife you’ll see in the state, then this is the place for you. The most obvious animals you’ll encounter are masses of Bennetts wallabies and possums but you’ll also see pademelons, echidnas, platypus (if you’re lucky) and many species of endemic bird life.

Then of course there’s the food offerings the island is renowned for – such as its prized dairy and beef. King Island Dairy’s extensive range of award-winning cheeses including its full-flavoured Roaring Forties Blue to its buttery Cape Wickham Double Brie and Netherby Cove Camembert are enjoyed by cheese lovers around Australia. Then there is the beef, which is sourced exclusively from grass-fed cattle, which having grazed on the island’s salty grasses has a unique taste, and is widely regarded by many of the nation’s top chefs as some of the most tender and tasty in the world. The fresh seafood including crayfish, abalone, scallops and oysters are also worth seeking out.

For travellers after a locally made alcoholic refreshment, the island has a microbrewery, the King Island Brewhouse, which was opened by Corey and Sarah Brazendale at Pegarah in July. And Heidi Weitjens’s King Island Distillery, in Currie, which features handcrafted native and barrel-aged gins and a ruby grapefruit vodka with a citrus twist.

As well as boasting quality fresh produce the island is developing a reputation for great culinary experiences at venues such as Oleada, Boomerang By the Sea, and Wild Harvest, the latter which was recently voted the second best fine dining experience in Australia by TripAdvisor.

When we visited Wild Harvest, in the isle’s southern township of Grassy, on the Saturday night of our stay I was stunned by its amazing views and hilltop location over looking Bass Strait and the hamlet’s deep-sea port.

We arrived at dusk a little earlier than expected but were soon warmly greeted and ushered in by one of our friendly hosts for the night, Lucinda Dengerink. She then quickly ensured we had a drink in hand while showing us around the restaurant’s warm, cosy interior complete with its Baltic pine floorboards salvaged from the town’s singlemen’s quarters, extensively stocked walk-in wine cellar and toasty open fire.

On arrival she’d also introduced us to the eatery’s super cute resident pet Squeaky, the hand-raised piglet who roamed the restaurant’s veranda and enthusiastically welcomed other diners. Head chef and co-owner Ian Johnson later tells me that even though the restaurant does pride itself on using local beef and pork on the menu, fortunately little Squeaky “won’t see the pot”. “No, he’s too much of an identity now ... there will be no ham or bacon finish for him!” he joked.

The Wild Harvest dining experience is really dinner and a show. The night we visited we were treated to a six-course degustation dinner which was highlighted by locally sourced dishes. These included Bass Strait scallops poached in a ginger glaze, steamed pink ling in a lip-smackingly good lemon butter sauce with freshly foraged, baked, crisp and crackly saltbush, quail which was nested on a bed of Asian slaw. We were also treated to a divine steamed and shredded crayfish dish which was complemented by a full-flavoured sauce made with the mustard from the head of the crayfish. This was followed by chargrilled, tender and flavoursome King Island 300g scotch fillet with twice-cooked potatoes and panna cotta to finish.

Johnson claims to be “no rock star chef” and says he’d rather focus on good local food done simply so the ingredients can shine.

As each course came out Johnson impressed diners with his amusing insights and local knowledge of not only the island’s food products but also its people, heritage and history.

Some elements of our dishes such as salt bush and kelp were even foraged from local beaches during a tour Ian led that morning in his four-wheel-drive tour bus. Overall, the range of seafood and beef dishes were perfectly prepared and combined with its outstanding service, Wild Harvest is an essential dining experience when visiting the island.

As the designated driver, the only worry I had was when driving home that night was the island’s abundant wildlife population which is even more active after dark. However, Ian wisely warned us to take it easy before we hit the road and no wallabies were maimed in our short drive back towards Currie, the island’s main town.

After our visit I read in the online reviews that Ian can also organise a bus to and from your accommodation if you’d like to partake in the wines and local beers that are expertly paired with each course.

Next time, if I’m ever lucky enough to go to this remote, unspoilt, magic little spot off the tip of the North-West Coast again, I might just take him up on that offer.

The author was a guest of Tourism Tasmania and Wild Harvest

MAKE A NOTE

STAYING THERE

There is a wide range of accommodation options on King Island but three of the best would have to be …

■ Kittawa Lodge, is located at 1272 South Rd, Pearshape, King Island.

The eco-friendly luxurious lodge, set on 39ha of secluded, oceanfront land, is located about 20 minutes south of Currie. Surrounded by nature, guests can explore hidden coves and pebbled beaches along the foreshore and snorkel in pristine waters rich with diverse marine life, all just metres from your private lodge, that has been designed to maximise natural light and a connection to the outdoors.

■ Rates start at $980 a night (each lodge sleeps 2 guests), with a minimum two-night stay.

For more information email info@kittawalodge.com

■ Ettrick Rocks, is located at 660 South Rd, Nugara, King Island

The luxurious coastal retreat with breathtaking ocean views, includes one, two and three-bedroom lodges.

One of the units is just 35m from the shoreline and boasts views up and down the island’s west coast from the Currie Lighthouse in the north, to Cataraqui Point, in the south.

■ Rates start at $650 per night, for the one-bedroom retreat and $850 for the three bedroom retreat during weekdays and $760 for the one-bedroom lodge and $950 per night, on weekends.

For bookings phone 1300 195 596

■ Taraki Lodge, is located at 1419 North Rd, Loorana, near Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes golf courses. Taraki Lodge is just a 15-minute drive from the King Island Airport, and a 15-minute drive to Currie. The beachfront lodge is situated on 14ha of private land, which provides guests with complete privacy, private beach access. The lodge includes four big ensuite bedrooms with king-size beds, wraparound deck as well as an outdoor red cedar spa with ocean views.

■ Rates start at $1210 per night (for the entire lodge which can sleep up to 8 people).

For bookings email: tarakilodge@gmail.com or phone: 0457 433 272

GETTING THERE

Sharp Airlines fly directly from Hobart to King Island several times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Flights from Hobart to Currie take about an hour and 15 minutes. Sharp also offers flights from Launceston and Burnie to King Island seven days a week.

To book or for more information go online to sharpairlines.com or phone 1300 55 66 94