Long lunches, stunning views, ancient forests, boutique wine ... the Huon Valley delivers it all in spades.
Long lunches, ancient forests, stunning views and boutique wine, cider and spirit makers ... whatever you’re seeking, Tasmania’s Huon Valley has it all. It’s time for a visit.
Would you like a local vodka in your welcome drink?” asks the waiter, leading me to a verandah overlooking a bucolic setting of green fields edged with scarlet vines.
For the next three hours that is the only decision I have to make, as a parade of paddock-to-plate dishes is delivered to our long table inside the restaurant at Fat Pig Farm in the Huon Valley.
“We serve what nature gifts us on any particular week,” says chef and author Matthew Evans, also known as the Gourmet Farmer.
The Huon Valley begins just 30 minutes from Tasmania’s capital city of Hobart and stretches to the southern-most point in Australia. A verdant valley flanked by ocean, fed by the Huon River and cleaved by mountains, it includes the storybook towns of Cygnet, Huonville, Franklin and Geeveston.
Farmgate stalls abound and the next stop really is Antarctica.
From a history steeped in apple growing – hence Tasmania’s nickname the Apple Isle – the Huon of today is home to a large community of passionate wine growers, orchardists, cider makers, artisans and foodies.
Truly a place for all seasons, the Huon Valley is flush with fresh initiatives and new beginnings.
FARM AND FEAST
When Matthew Evans, runaway Sydney food critic and now presenter of the SBS series Gourmet Farmer, was looking for a tree change, he was drawn to the Huon Valley. Together with his partner Sadie Chrestman, Matthew offers a variety of experiences at Fat Pig Farm ( fatpig.farm), including ‘Farm Feasts’ where guests dine on a set menu, all cooked in the open kitchen and matched with local drinks. It’s the kind of place where food miles are measured in metres and menus are often pulled together at the last minute (such as when they discover they have “too many turnips!”). There’s a bouquet-sized farmer’s salad with autumn flowers, goat stew with mash, and roasted fat pig that will have you squealing about it for days.
Between courses it’s time to down cutlery and don gumboots to join Matthew for a tour of the 28-hectare farm, a menagerie of chooks, pigs and goats set against rolling hills and natural woodland.
Another devoted Huon Valley cook is Giuliana White, who runs an Italian cooking school The Farmhouse Kitchen (thefarmhousekitchen-tas.com) – from her home in Wattle Grove.
“My passion is to preserve the authenticity of the recipes from the region of Puglia,” says Giuliana, who learnt her skills from her mother, and her mother before that.
“If a recipe has lasted for 2,000 years it means that no improvements or changes are needed.” Giuliana offers masterclasses and miniclasses in pasta, bread, sauce and dessert making. “The secret,” Giuliana says, “is to use few ingredients, with maximum flavour.”
Further north, the Glen Huon Dairy is the working farm for the Bruny Island Cheese Co. (brunyislandcheese.com.au), supplying milk from its herd of mixed cows.
The dairy has just launched a new tour where visitors can walk behind the scenes of a small-scale, organic dairy farm.
PLENTY OF PINOTS
Cool-climate wines flourish in the Huon Valley, making it a popular destination for a self-drive cellar door trail. The multi-award winning Home Hill Winery and Restaurant (homehillwines.com.au) in Ranelagh is renowned for its pinot noir, but the rare and innovative 2019 White Pinot Noir, produced as a result of the bushfires, is also a worthy souvenir.
Five minutes away in Huonville is Kate Hill Wines (katehillwines.com.au), a boutique winery producing riesling, chardonnay, pinot noir and shiraz varieties. Try a tasting at the intimate cellar door, adjacent to a heritage-listed cottage. Other wineries in the Huon Valley you can check out are Elsewhere Vineyard, Two Bud Spur Vineyard, Sailor Seeks Horse and Hartzview.
In Glaziers Bay is Tas-Saff (tas-saff. com.au), a saffron farm that has branched into the distilling business. With a 200-litre still named Cleopatra, and a brand-new farm shop, Tas-Saff has started making Australia’s first saffron gin under the label Grower’s Own. When you learn it takes around 200 hand-picked crocus flowers (crocus sativus) to produce a single gram of saffron, you’ll have a fresh appreciation for the final product.
Clockwise from opposite page, top: Roadside stalls are a feature of the Huon Valley; Visit Tas-Saff for saffron gin and vodka; Cygnet Old Bank B&B; Twin river rafting with Tahune Adventures; Glen Huon Dairy farm shop; Hartz Mountains National Park; Huon Burrow B&B; Kate Hill Wines cellar door; Kate Hill Wines.
Just out of Cygnet, you can’t miss the soaring cellar door of Pagan Cider (pagancider.com.au). Pull up a chair and run through a tasting of apple, pear, cherry and peach ciders.
“Ours is a whole-fruit cider,” explains Mick Dubois, co-founder of Pagan Cider. “We use wine-making technology, which allows us to balance the sweetness and acid.”
SOUTH-WEST WILDERNESS
When the belt buckle strains, take a hike through the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
“IF A RECIPE HAS LASTED FOR 2,000 YEARS, IT MEANS NO IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED.”
GIULIANA WHITE
Shaped by ancient glaciers, Hartz Mountain National Park (parks.tas. gov.au) offers a soft entry into the island’s rugged south-west. The easiest walk is to Lake Osborne, a pretty glacial lake fringed by King Billy pines (40 minutes return from the Hartz visitor shelter). Serious walkers will enjoy Hartz Pass (3.5 hours return) or Hartz Peak (5 hours return).
For elevation without the effort, Tahune Adventures (tahuneadventures .com.au) near Geeveston offers a 600-metre AirWalk suspended high above the forest canopy. Take a gentle stroll along the river to see the world’s most accessible stand of Huon pines, hit the river in a raft or cross it by a swinging bridge or cable hang-glider.
SLEEP UNDERGROUND
From country to coast, farm to forest, the Huon Valley is laden with bed-and-breakfast choices.
Cygnet Old Bank (cygnetoldbank .com.au) is a grand Victorian-style building offering three luxuriously renovated bedrooms, conservatory café and giftware shop. Regular events such as Saturday High Tea and the Paddock, Pillows and Plates experience make it a destination in its own right.
Closer to Franklin is Huon Burrow (airbnb.com.au), a hobbit-like house built into the hillside. This cute yet contemporary space has expansive views over the Huon River and a well-stocked fridge/pantry for breakfast supplies. Nearby you’ll find Osteria at Petty Sessions, where chef Martino Crippa serves up authentic Italian food with a focus on local ingredients. The house-made gnocchi with wild mushroom is a winner. huonvalley.tas.gov.au