AWAY FROM IT ALL
Taking in Pumphouse Point and Evandale
THE ELEGANT ART OF FLY FISHING is more difficult than it looks. I’m standing on the edge of Tasmania’s pristine Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest lake that’s situated 180 kilometres from Hobart and tucked into the Central Highlands of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, with my rod in hand and a basket of flies made from fur and feathers at the ready to snare a wild brown or rainbow trout.
It’s the golden hour of a magical late-afternoon light and with no phone reception or internet access due to the remote geography, the only sounds are the waves gently lapping on the shore and the whir of my line as I cast it into the untrammelled depths.
“Fly fishing takes you to the most beautiful places in the world because trout like living in beautiful places,” says my coach Karen Brooks, a national fly-fishing champion. “It really is one of those pastimes that forces you to be in the moment because you have to learn how to read the water, take note of your surroundings and understand where a fish might be. It also takes you through a range of emotions from anticipation and elation to frustration and everything in between.”
Despite Karen’s expert tutelage my end emotion is frustration, but fortunately returning fishless to Pumphouse Point is not going to ruin my dinner. Perched on Lake St Clair, Pumphouse Point is a converted 1940s hydroelectric pump station located a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Launceston amidst the raw beauty of unspoilt mountains, ridges and glacial valleys. Consisting of a Shorehouse and a private Retreat, as well as the original Pumphouse at the end of a 250-metre-long pier, the property sits on the body of water its traditional custodians, known as the Big River Tribe, called Leeawuleena, meaning ‘Sleeping Water’.
My room is in the Shorehouse, a former substation, and is decorated in elevated Boy Scout style with Tasmanian oak furniture, charcoal carpet and linens, with toasty underfloor heating in the bathroom.
I tumble in after my attempts at fly fishing and discover panoramic views of the lake and the surrounding snow-covered peaks of Cradle Mountain, along with a larder groaning with Tasmanian produce such as roasted salmon, triple cream brie and pork rillettes, and a minibar stocked with Tasmanian pinots and sparkling wine as crisp as the temperature of Lake St Clair. I tear myself away from the lure of a deep bath and the softest of beds for a quick shower before heading downstairs to the shared lounge, which is decorated in mid-century style with a roaring wood fire as its centrepiece.
Dinner is a communal experience, allowing for conversations about fishing, hiking and relaxing with fellow guests over a meal that might include free-range Marion Bay chicken, leek and potato soup and warm lemon and apple pudding; or perhaps roast lamb with pink-eye potatoes and broccoli and a sweet finish such as coconut-lemon tart, all sourced from nearby Coal River Farm. For those who are still hungry, a loaf of freshly baked crusty bread can be delivered to your room at any time of the day, and will arrive in 20 minutes to enjoy with the provisions in your minibar.
The following day begins with a morning hike winding along one of the many trails around the foreshore of the lake and up high into the mountains. The brisk air and otherworldly landscapes are intoxicating and calming all at once, with other activities to connect you with nature including canoeing or bike riding around the property, with dinghies also available if you’d simply prefer to drift about exploring hidden coves, perhaps with a picnic packed by the Pumphouse Point kitchen.
In the nearby Derwent Bridge area, artist Greg Duncan’s The Wall in the Wilderness is an intricately carved timber mural depicting the history of Tasmania’s Central Highlands, and when you return after a day’s exploring you’ll find pademelons (not quite a wallaby but not a kangaroo either) grazing on the grounds at sunset.
In the evening there are boardgames and an honesty bar to while away the hours by the fire, and back in your room you can pour a local pinot to sip as you sift through your photographs of the wilderness or browse the thoughtful selection of Tasmanian literature and coffee table books on the coffee table.
After a hearty highland breakfast of eggs, homemade baked beans and more of that freshly baked bread, the next morning I hop in the car to the quaint historic town of Evandale, a winding and picturesque two-hour drive away. Home to The Glover Prize and the National Penny Farthing Championship, Evandale is a National Trust-classified Georgian village dotted with unspoilt churches, bell towers and inns, and can easily be explored in half a day of wandering its quiet streets armed with a Heritage Walk booklet from the Evandale Community & Information Centre.
When it comes to retail therapy, Evandale’s chief attraction is its treasure trove of antique stores staffed by
The day begins with a morning hike winding along one of the many trails around the foreshore of the lake and up high into the mountains.
congenial locals who sell everything from bone china to whale bones (one store I visit has an enormous whale skull for sale), along with vintage clothing, silverware, oil paintings and knick-knacks of all varieties. I find everything I didn’t know I needed from hand-knitted cardigans and beeswax lip balm to a local watercolour for my mum, and when I feel myself flagging, I stop for some of the best scones in Australia at the Ingleside Bakery Cafe in the Council Chambers built in 1867. I slather the fluffy pillows in jam and cream and eat them in the sunshine in the garden courtyard, but on cooler days a spot by the bakery’s roaring fire would be equally enticing.
If you’re up for a heartier repast, go for lunch at the Clarendon Arms Hotel, where the quirky decor on the walls and shelves includes taxidermied animals that gaze down on you as you order from a menu running from chicken pot pies and burgers to lighter salads and soups, best washed down with a Van Dieman stout or a local pinot. And when you’ve satiated yourself with food and shopping, Evandale is just minutes down the road from Launceston airport, making it the perfect pit stop before returning home to the city from whence you came.