Comfort food...

Winter is the season when  food needs to be nourishing and sustaining.  It's time for comfort food.  Those dishes that involve cooking methods such as braising, simmering and roasting...all to warm your soul on these cold, cold evenings.

Operating in the heart of Hobart every Sunday is Tasmanian Farm Gate, Hobart's weekly farmers market.  The stall holders stand by these four beliefs:

* Produce must be fresh, picked the night before.
* Everything must be regional.
* Produce must be in season.
* Only the grower or producer can trade at the market.

That's how you know what you're purchasing will be of the highest quality and taste divine.

According to the stall holders this winter, these are the top products to put in your shopping basket.

Hearty vegetables such as potatos, swedes, turnips, beans, cabbages, pumpkin, silverbeet and sprouts.

Stock up on crisp, juicy, new season apples.  Remember an apple a day keeps the doctor away!

Grab some premium Tassie Beef and Premium Goat Meat.  Don't forget Goat Meat pies and Berkshire Pork bangers.

Make sure you try Bruny Island Artisan Cheeses.

For the pantry, grab some Woodstock award winning jams and relishes.

Do all your shopping while sipping on locally roasted coffee.

Make sure you turn your purchases into something delectable...with ingredients this fresh and wholesome, you can't go wrong.

Tasmanian Farm Gate - Every Sunday in the Melville Street outdoor car park, Hobart Tasmania.  Rain, hail or shine!

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Festival of Voices

Just because it's cold outside doesn't mean there isn't plenty to keep you occupied here in beautiful Tasmania.

Tourism Tasmania brings you The Lumina Winter of Festivals, more than 100 festivals and events that are taking place over Tasmania during autumn and winter.

If you're staying in Hobart (why not try the Zero Davey apartments?) then next up on the schedule is the Festival of Voices 7 - 11 July, 2010.

The festival features around 40 events over 5 days.

Festival highlights include the Festival Bonfire and Big Sing, the Festival Club in Salamanca Place and the Festival Finale Concert in Hobart's Federation Concert Hall.

National and local choirs choose the festival to perform and to celebrate.  Come with your choir or with your friends and family.

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Exploring Tasmania...weeeeeeeeeeeee!

The last time we visited Launceston for the weekend, we stayed in a beautifully maintained Heritage listed, Victorian home called Ashton Gate.  It was close to the city centre and more importantly, the Boags brewery.

My husband was a little dubious about staying in B & B style luxury accommodation but after a weekend of being taken care of by Jennifer and John he didn't want to go home!

We had breakfast at Ashton Gate each morning and hit Stillwater and The Jailhouse Grill for dinner.

Stillwater.  Set in a beautifully restored 1830s flour mill.  The Tuna was to die for.

Our room.

As much as my husband wanted to spend the whole weekend at the Boag's Brewery, I convinced him to spend a day with me at the Hollybank Treetops Adventure.  

A bus picked us up from the B & B and took us to Hollybank reserve, which is only about 15 minutes from Launceston.  Hollybank is one of the earliest private plantations in Tasmania consisting of European trees.  They were originally planted to obtain wood for the construction of cricket bats (!).

The reserve is so tranquil and beautiful, and there were plenty of families enjoying the grounds.  I was almost sorry that we'd left the kids at home.  Almost.

We were there for the Canopy Tour.  I must confess I've developed a terrible fear of heights (something to do with the Stratosphere in Vegas) so seeing how high the platforms were made my knees knock a little.

The basic concept of the Canopy Tour is that they take tourists up into the forest canopy and you then traverse between treehouse-type platforms along steel cables. The platforms are built around tree trunks in the mid canopy of the forest, approximately 30m high.  You're kitted out in a harness with pulleys attached and slide along the cables from one platform to the next.

It's like being on a flying fox, but on a whole new level.

Ged and Tillsy, our tour guides, were very entertaining and quite good at dealing with scaredy cats like me.  The first few flights were pretty tame but I screamed like a banshee as I slid down the zipline (much to the amusement of the others in the group, little kids included).  

By the last flight, a 370 metre trip over the Pipers River, I was having a ball.  I thoroughly enjoyed the adrenalin rush of sliding above the forest.  The views from the platforms were stunning.

It's a 3 hour adventure and the most fun I've had!  If you're ever in the Launceston area and up for some fun, then make sure you try the Hollybank Treetops Adventure.  I definitely earned my bottle of James Boags that day.

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Exploring Tasmania...Enter the Caveman...

Ever since I watched 'The Descent' on DVD I've wanted to try caving.

You know, for the adrenalin rush of descending into the earth and exploring the subterranean alien environment.

Not for the monster at the end of the movie.

SCARY!

I want the adventure without the danger, thanks!

Luckily, there's plenty of places that cater to a novice like me and have been tried and tested to make sure there are no monsters lurking in the shadows.

These caves are the perfect destination to visit if you're staying in North West Tasmania.

Head to Mole Creek Karst National Park.  It's approximately 40 minutes from Deloraine (which holds the worlds oldest working craft fair) but can be a great day trip if you're staying in Devonport or Cradle Mountain.

Mole Creek Karst National Park protects deep limestone caves of superb stalactites, stalagmites and columns, glow worm displays, subterranean streams and cathedral caverns.

The park is best known for two richly decorated caves open to the general public, but it's 1, 345 hectares contain 300 caves and sink holes in all.  Although visiting the caves should be high on your agenda, don't miss the opportunity to take a walk through the beautiful forests in which these caves occur.

You'll have the opportunity to explore Marakoopa and King Solomons Caves on a guided tour - they've recently celebrated 100 years of public visitation (and lost no one...yet).  Picnic shelters, free barbecues  and toilets are located close by.

There are several guided tours run at different times throughout the day from 10 -4 for the general public. If you are an experienced caver,  a knowledgeable guide can lead you through one of the region's wild caves, not open to the general public.

The two tours of Marakoopa and the tour of King Solomons are quite different, but each tour takes approximately 45 minutes (tickets for the caves need to be bought at the central office which is about 600m prior to the entrance).

MARAKOOPA CAVE

This cave was  named after an Aboriginal word meaning 'handsome' and is characterised by a superb glow warm display, which is well worth the effort.

The Underground Rivers and Glow Worms is an easy tour for all age groups and fitness types.  Visit the lower chamber with its sparkling crystals, reflection pools, stalactites and stalagmites.  Listen to the underground streams and wander down abandoned river passages.  

The Cathedral Gardens and Glow Worms tour requires a reasonable level of fitness.  The large cavern known as the "Great Cathedral' is not to be missed. 'The Gardens' feature delicate formations and beautiful colours.

KING SOLOMONS CAVE

It's a compact cave system with elaborate geological formations, including stunning calcite crystals known as King Solomon's Diamonds.  The cave has high scientific and conservation significance and is home to a number of threatened plant and animal species.  It is a dry cave, with no stream running through it.

Awesome!  Great way to experience some of the caves in Tasmania without going extreme.

Once you've visited the caves, you can play tourist in the Mole Creek area. 

Hit Stephens Leatherwood Honey Factory for a jar of leatherwood honey.  Or pay a visit to the Tasmanian Wildlife Park and Koala Village for an up close encounter with a Tasmanian Devil.

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Exploring Tasmania...this cheese is the bees knees!

If you're staying in Tasmania and looking for an idea for a day trip, how about Bruny Island?

Bruny Island lies off the south-east coast of Tasmania.  To get to this little paradise, cross the D'Entrecasteux Channel by ferry.  

Spend the day exploring its wild seascapes and sweeping surf beaches, abundant birdlife and wildlife, tall forests and historic lighthouse.  Surfing, kayaking, even fairy penguins, the island has so much to offer.  You can be as mild or as wild as you like. 

All that exploring can make a girl build a pretty big appetite and guess what?  The island is home to some of Tassie's finest quality produce including wine, oysters, fudge and of course, cheese!

One of my favourite reasons to pay a visit to Bruny Island is the Bruny Island Cheese Co.

Bruny Island Cheese Co was started by Nick Haddow, after he spent 10 years working with specialist cheese makers all over the world.  His cheeses are heavily influenced by his travels and for him, cheese making is a pursuit of integrity and flavour.  

For me, it's all about the flavour.  Mouthwatering!

They produce a big variety of delectable cheeses.  From The Tom (cow milk, simple, fresh), to the O.D.O (marinated in olive oil and herbs), to the affectionately named The Bastard (cow and goat milk, delicate and robust all at the same time).

My personal favourite is the Otto.  It's a fresh cow cheese, wrapped in prosciutto and made in the Italian style.  It has to be baked for 15 minutes before eating.  Delicious served with a glass of wine.

The team at Bruny Island Cheese Co run monthly workshops so that you can go along and learn how to make some of their famous cheeses, as well as great breads, pizzas or even hand made butter.

Alternatively, grab a bottle of Pinot from Bruny Island Premium Wines, stock up on cheese and fresh sourdough bread and enjoy the island.

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Ahhhh Bliss....

The word holiday means different things to different people.  My husband's idea of a holiday is flying for hours to an international destination, checking into an expensive hotel and sleeping for a week.

This drives me mad.

As a mother of several small children I've learnt that sleep is overrated (sleep? What is this sleep that you speak of?) and on holidays I want to DO something.

And I'm not referring to the same old tourist activities that are offered everywhere that we seem to visit.  The ones that leave your wallet empty and credit card company in business.

Let's do something interesting and CHEAP.  Something that gets you into shape (bonus after having babies), increases stamina and pushes you to new heights.

Let's go bushwalking.

Okay, okay.  I can see that you're a bit hesitant.  Bush walking (or hiking) doesn't quite have that wow factor.  You're probably thinking that all it involves is walking...through the bush.

It does.  But let's make it interesting.

If you've been following this blog, you may remember that I've been exploring the wineries and cheese makers of Tasmania.  I've decided that combining a walking trip with my gastronomic holidays is a great idea.  Best of both worlds.

Throw in stunning scenery, a great lunch and exercise to work off the camembert.  Bliss.

If you're holidaying with the kids, bush walking provides quality time without the distractions of video games and television.  It's a great opportunity to develop a real connection to the natural world and to see wild life up close.  And all that fresh air makes them really, really tired.  Double bonus.

 

If you're lucky enough to be able to ditch the kids for a few days, then a walking holiday gives you the opportunity to take a break from your ordinary routine and a chance to reconnect with the natural world and ourselves.  You can go totally zen.

Why have I jumped on the promote Tasmania band wagon?

I've travelled to a lot of places, in Australia and overseas.  And I've discovered that sometimes the most spectacular places are at home.

Tasmania's location in the Southern Ocean has preserved it as not only an island of rare beauty but also one of the most unspoiled places left on earth.

Much of its ancient glacial formed mountains and lakes, temperate rainforests and undeveloped coastline are protected as World Heritage Area, national parks and marine reserves.

This means the rains that fall, the rivers that tumble through its valleys and the oceans that brush its shores are still clean.

Sounds pretty good to me.  And you know I'm a sucker for mountain views.  It's that whole Sound of Music obsession I had as a child.

So I present to you Cradle Mountain in Tasmania.  It has world renowned walking tracks.  Really.  I googled it.

And guess what?

After a day in the wilderness, you've earned some special pampering don't you think?

I've found a spa that will take special care of your tootsies after a long day of trekking.

WALDHEIM ALPINE SPA - Cradle Mountain Lodge.

Doesn't this sound like heaven?

"Waldheim Alpine Spa invites you to embark on the ultimate sensory journey designed to indulge the senses.  The pampering begins with a traditional Hot Lime Foot Cleansing and Thai Foot Ritual, using warmed aroma-therapeutic oils, applied to nourish and condition the feet, followed by the decadent experience of soaking them in Elemis' award - winning Skin Nourishing Milk Bath.  Exfoliating with Exotic Lime & Ginger Salt Glow, feet are lavished with an application of warmed Frangipani Monoi Oil to seal in moisture and leave skin feeling silky soft.  With feet and mind in a blissful state, the focus shifts to the upper body with a customised back, neck and shoulder massage and is completed with an energising foot massage that will leave you floating on air as you leave the Spa."

See, a bushwalking holiday isn't as daggy as you thought, is it?

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