BOOKINGS:

any landmarks and towns mark the journey to Saltwater River and our favourite holiday spot, Semaphore House, on the Tasman Peninsula.

Both the road trip and our destination have a compelling hold on me: from Hobart to Sorell, and then south-east on the Arthur Highway through Copping, Dunalley and Eaglehawk Neck, the 90-minute drive yields beguiling views of the bushfire-scarred landscape, bays and beaches.

On the final stretch to Saltwater River, from Taranna and then right at the Premaydena general store, convict-built cottages can be seen on the hillsides and road that winds through undulating green pasture, and along the water’s edge.

The mood of the area shifts to feel more isolated and desolate; an evocative reminder of its dark past. Like Semaphore House, Saltwater River is steeped in convict history. The township was originally part of the Port Arthur complex, just 23km away, and includes the Coal Mine Historic Site.

Our accommodation is on a corner where the road turns sharply towards the shoreline of the western side of Norfolk Bay. The circa-1847 convict-built red-brick house is easy to miss among a cluster of tall trees, but it is a landmark for locals who are familiar with its intriguing history.

The building served as a hospital for the convicts and soldiers who lived at Saltwater River when it was a penal colony in the 1840s and ‘50s, and its name references the convict signalling network that linked Port Arthur to Hobart. It was part of a complex that included a bakery, accommodation for soldiers and a blacksmith’s forge. The surgeon at the hospital lived in a cottage on the hill (now available to stay in as one of Tigerbay Retreat’s holiday properties) directly above Semaphore House.

A pretty circular driveway marks the entrance to Semaphore House, which sits on a headland with views over the sea to sandstone shelves and sea caves. The four-bedroom home has all the hallmarks of Georgian English beauty: sash windows, a four-metre-high ceiling in a renovated kitchen, rough-sawn timber floorboards and an expansive formal garden and orchard. Brass beds with pressed linen, blankets and rustic furnishings evoke a bygone era.

We arrive at nightfall on our first visit since summer. It is cold and wet, but our friends have fired up the wood heater and prepared dinner. The huge, country-style kitchen is the heart of the house and is well-equipped with a new oven, attractive ceramic crockery and platters, and pantry supplies. There’s also an easy-to-use coffee machine and good-sized teapot.

The adults settle in for a night of fireside conversation and good food while the children claim beds and explore the games cupboard. The main bedroom wing is a quirky cluster of three interlinking rooms – a small bedroom is accessed via the main entry corridor, and there’s a cosy, carpeted TV room off the kitchen.

The house is cavernous but comforting. The visitors’ book and our past experiences indicate it is a place for family gatherings and feasts, cricket matches on the expansive lawn, long leisurely walks, afternoon naps and quiet times.

After a late night, we have a slow start to our one full day at Saltwater River. It is too windy to launch our friends’ kayak and canoe in the bay, but the kids explore the shoreline and bash rocks together to make ochre. Beyond them is a vast expanse of choppy silver-grey water.

We bundle into our cars to visit windswept Roaring Beach – a popular surf beach with big sand dunes near Nubeena. On previous trips, we’ve visited Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasmanian Devil Unzoo and the William McHenry & Sons Distillery, and walked the start of the Cape Raoul track.

We also return to visit the Coal Mines Historic Site, wandering among the convict ruins and isolation cells. It’s a truly desolate, fascinating place. It was Tasmania’s first operational mine, and also a place of punishment for the worst class of convicts.

In 1870, novelist Marcus Clarke, having visited Saltwater River, wrote: “Westward from Eaglehawk Neck and Woody Island lay the dreaded Coal Mines. Sixty of the ‘marked men’ were stationed here under a strong guard. At the Coal Mines was the northernmost of those ingenious series of semaphores which rendered escape almost impossible.”

We return to Semaphore House midafternoon to sit by the fire and prepare a warming evening meal. We have an early start the next day: family ritual requires we stop at the retro Lufra Hotel, overlooking Eaglehawk Neck beach, for coffees and hot chocolate. Visit tigerbayretreat.com.au or phone 0414 851 962.

Semaphore House, 724 Saltwater River Rd, is priced from $285 a night for five adults (sleeps eight); and the Surgeon’s Cottage is priced from $285 a night for five adults (sleeps six). HOT TIPS: Use as a base while exploring the Tasman Peninsula and to visit key tourism sites, including Port Arthur Historic Site and the Coal Mines Historic Site. Take your own watercraft as there are surf beaches and safe swimming spots nearby.