ENTERTAINMENT ARCHIVE

February 2005

TASMANIA – AUSTRALIA’S NATURAL STATE
by Jim Chudd

That’s right, Tasmania is not in Africa! It is an island off the southeast coast of Australia. About the size of South Carolina with a population under 500,000, it is one of the eight Australian states and territories. Self-dubbed as “Australia’s Natural State,” Tasmania is truly a land of pure water and clean air. With an intriguing history, fabulous food and wine, and countless opportunities to experience wilderness and wildlife, Tasmania is a destination visited by few, but enjoyed by all.

Historically, Aborigines occupied Tasmania for a period of time that has not been definitively established, but certainly numbers thousands of years. In a grim bit of Australian history, the Aborigines suffered genocide at the hands of settlers and the British military beginning in 1828 and ending remarkably soon thereafter. The Europeans first “discovered” Tasmania when Dutch Navigator Abel Tasman set foot on shore in 1642. Tasman dubbed the island “Anthony van Dieman’s Land” after the contemporary Dutch bureaucrat in the East Indies. After visits by a number of other explorers (including Cook and Bligh), the British finally claimed the island for the monarchy and established a penal colony in the 1820’s. This led to the building and opening of the infamous inescapable Port Arthur prison in 1832.

Port Arthur remains a fascinating place to visit. Visitors have the opportunity to empathize with the prisoners by following life stories from arrest to trial to imprisonment to final fate. At night, the Ghost Tours are eerie reminders of the past as visitors explore the grounds with lanterns. Port Arthur closed in 1852 after many prisoners suffered and died. Many structures built by convicts still stand at Port Arthur and in outlying areas such as Richmond with its bridge and gaol. Throughout Tasmania today, hundreds of examples of architecture from the settlement period exist in the main cities and colonial villages. Tours are available at many estates, and opportunities abound to spend the night in historic hotels or bed and breakfast establishments.

It is difficult to believe that a major attraction of any area can be food and wine; yet Tasmania is just that kind of region. As I checked in at the Grand Chancellor Hotel in Hobart, I was greeted by a bowl of what appeared to be Yellow Delicious Apples fresh from the May harvest (remember the inversion of the seasons downunder.) I was getting a bit hungry after rushing from the airport to see the town of Richmond, and then on to a wildlife reserve. Taking an apple from the bowl, I bit into the quintessential apple experience. This was just the beginning of my culinary experience of a lifetime. Apple bowls abounded throughout my travels in Tasmania, as it was the season of harvest. This is the only time of the year that locals keep their cars locked, as one is likely to find an unprotected vehicle full of apples on return!

Outstanding cheeses are produced in the northwest region, and seafood is all around featuring salmon, oysters, lobster, crayfish and trout. Fresh vegetables and fruits abound from the local farms, while meats include beef, duck, emu, and yes, kangaroo. The most striking feature of all of these foods was freshness. With everything produced on the island, freshness is a way of life for the “Tassies” (pronounced Tazzies). Fresh local produce is on display along with local crafts in Hobart on Saturday mornings at Salamanca Place. This is a market experience that must be planned into any trip to Tassie.

Tasmanian wines hardly make it to the mainland of Australia, and rarely if ever are found here in the USA. Outstanding products include sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot noir and chardonnay varietals. A trip to the wine country areas is essential if only in passing through to a planned evening destination. Small wineries are happy to share tastes of their wares, and many have great intimate dining rooms to showcase the wine with food. Value is excellent for all of the wines (especially with the favorable exchange rates with the US dollar recently), but I was especially impressed by the quality for the money of Tasmanian sparkling wines. $10 US can buy a very drinkable product, while $30 buys the best available which competes quite favorably with premium French Champagnes (my opinion.)

Most people visit Tasmania for the natural wonders. Tasmania is a microcosm of ecology that is unique, even by Australian standards. Although the uniquely indigenous Tasmanian Tiger is thought to be extinct (but some Tassies still claim occasional sightings), the Tasmanian devil is still uniquely here. This creature that we know strictly from the Warner Brothers cartoons as Taz is really the size of a small dog. Completely black with a small patch of white under the chin, Tassie devils do a slow spin in circles, and have jaws as strong as those of crocodiles. At feeding time I watched these creatures devour whole raw chicken pieces with bone cracking relish. Unfortunately, many of these interesting animals end up as road kill, along with possums, wallabies and the occasional roo (kangaroo).

The natural beauty starts at the seashore, where boat trips such as Bruny Island Charters allow viewing seal colonies and marine birds amidst the spectacular rock formations along the coast. This particular tour serves a fabulous seafood lunch liberally quaffed with local wines. Freycinet National Park on the East Coast allows a moderate hike to a rocky crag overlooking Wineglass Bay, frequently mentioned as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Sea kayaking is usually available year round in relatively calm water. Award winning eco-tourist Freycinet Lodge offers overnight accommodation with yet another fantastic dining room. Moving inland, Cradle Mountain/Lake St. Clair National Park is a World Heritage listed site. This is the last great temperate wilderness in Australia, and one of the last in the world. Blending into this retreat is Cradle Mountain Lodge, the winner of numerous awards including Tasmania State tourism awards for Best Resort and Environmental Tourism. Lodging is in individual cabins scattered across the grounds, and the resort never feels crowded with people. In the evening, the lodge organizes nocturnal wildlife viewing for such species as Tasmanian Pademelon, Bennetts Wallaby, Wombat, Echidna, Eastern Quoll, Platypus, Possum and the ever-present Devils. A hike around the lakes certainly works up an appetite for yet another bacchanalian repast in the lodge’s restaurant.

Although I found the Tasmanian people to be quite friendly and charming, mainland Australians tend to look down their noses at the Tassies, likening them to hicks whose ideas of animal husbandry are quite literal. Because of the relative isolation Tasmania, jokes about Taswegian (another unflattering nickname) inbreeding also abound among the “sophisticated” inhabitants of Sydney and Melbourne. Pay no attention to such ravings. True, many Tassies are descendants of deported English convicts, but you should find a friendly native ready to shout you a round of stubbies (buy you a beer) in a Hobart pub. Although you probably walked into that pub as a bloke, you will most likely leave as a mate.

In summary, Tasmania offers a vacation that is uncrowded (tourists have not flocked here); historically interesting; rife with flora, fauna and natural beauty; and a gourmet delight. The emphasis on ecology is best exemplified by the recently awarded “Best Overall Tourism Attraction in Tasmania”: the Tahune AirWalk which allows visitors to walk 150 feet above the ground among the treetops of a pristine setting overlooking the Huon River and the Hartz Mountains. With this kind of planning, Tasmania is destined to remain Australia’s Natural State.

Jim Chudd

Jim Chudd is credentialed by the Australian Tourist Commission as a Certified Aussie Specialist. He is further recognized as a Tassie Specialist by Tourism Tasmania. He is the owner of American Dream Travel in Fort Collins and arranges custom tours for visitors to Australia predicated by individual interests. He can be reached at (970) 224-5384 locally or toll free at (888) 791-6905. He will be making his fifth trip to Australia in August, 2002.