Winter Rituals To Experience Before The Season (Officially) Ends
While Tasmania almost definitely has several more weeks (months?) of puffer jackets ahead of it, the impending official end of the Winter season is as good an excuse as any to squeeze in every quintessential cold weather ritual before September. From chasing truffles and the Aurora to embracing icy waters, warming whiskies and comfort food, here’s how to spend the next couple of weeks at the bottom of the world.
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The Truffle Farm (image: Jess Bonde)
WE’RE GOING ON A TRUFFLE HUNT
Tasmania lays claim to Australia’s black truffle industry roots, with Tim Terry unearthing the country’s first truffles in the late 1990s. Today, Tim’s daughter Anna continues to share her family’s passion for these delicious morsels at The Truffle Farm in Deloraine in the state’s central north - and there’s no better time to experience one of the farm’s immersive truffle-hunting tours than in Winter, when that funky fungus flavour reaches its peak. Join the specially-trained - and very cute - truffle-hunting doggos on one of three Winter experiences, each of which take you into the truffiere to dig up a black beauty with your own hands, before indulging in a truffle-inspired food offering, ranging from samples of the Tasmanian Truffles range (truffle mustard on your next Bunnings snag, anyone?) to a full feast: a three-cheese and truffle sourdough toastie, fresh truffle ice cream, and a glass of local wine or beer.
Closer to the capital, hunting is off the cards, but there’s still plenty of ways to enjoy Winter truffles, with a number of menus making the most of the season. Top picks include the five-course truffle degustation at Fico, the truffle tutti menu at Peppina, and Callington Mill Hobart Whisky Lounge’s five made-for-whisky-pairing truffle dishes. Forget gold - truffles are the new buried treasure.
Floating Sauna Lake Derby (image: Josh Firth)
‘COS YOU’RE HOT THEN YOU’RE COLD
Uniquely positioned to enjoy (a word we use loosely) close to sub-Antarctic water temperatures, Tasmania has unsurprisingly embraced contrast therapy, with sauna/cold plunge combo experiences popping up all over the island. While it’s not unusual for an entire calendar to elapse without the oceans, rivers or other bodies of H20 eclipsing the 19°C mark, Winter obviously owns every possible record for the coolest of them all. In the south, Harnon, Kuuma Nature Sauna, Elsewhere Sauna and Sauna Boat Tasmania all take the concept of ice bath and dial it up a notch, situated as they are near (or even on) natural sources of water. Up north, the infrared sauna style is trending, with Launceston’s Method Plus Action, City Cave, OSMOS Recovery Spaces and Elevate Recovery all creating space for maximum hot-cold repetitions, while Floating Sauna Lake Derby in the state’s north-east is the wellness counterpart to mountain biking-mad Derby’s adventurous spirit. East coast bound? Get your steam session in at Selkie’s Wellness Garden in Bicheno, or Scamander Bathhouse. With hot-cold therapy options all over the map, it’s no wonder we call Tassie the Scandinavia of the south.
Aurora Australis Night Sky (image: Jordan Wilson)
JUST LOOK UP
With its longer, darker nights, Winter holds a competitive edge for catching the Aurora Australis, a natural phenomenon that transforms the southern sky into a canvas of vivid reds, pinks, purples and greens … when the fancy strikes it. Never one to share its secrets, the Aurora typically shows up with little notice, just after you’ve slipped under the doona on a weeknight before a big day at work. But - and trust us on this - it’s worth braving any and all Winter nights for. The Aurora Australis Tasmania Facebook group is your best friend for hot tips on when and where to grab the wide lens, so that you - like every other Tasmanian - can try your hand at capturing the scenes for an Instagram story series that will convince even the mainland-est of your mainland friends that they live in an inferior state. And, Aurora Australis or not, the clear skies of Tassie’s Winter make for superior astrophile content. To really embrace the dark sky life, join a signature star gazing experience with Tassie Tours, or get your hands on one of the last tickets to LARK Distillery’s very special DARK LARK Stargazing event (Friday 14 August), where you’ll have access to an expert astronomical researcher, telescopes, and - naturally - hot gin- and whisky-laced cocktails.
GOTHAM at The Still (image: Lara Christie)
WARM THE COCKLES
Speaking of libations, is there any better time to explore Tasmanian whisky than when its propensity to - ostensibly, at least - raise your body temperature is most welcome? We think not. As the pioneering distillery that helped establish the island as a globally recognised whisky destination, LARK Distilling Co.’s suite of venues are a good place to start, whether via a tour of the Pontville Distillery, a dram at the Cellar Door, or late-night cocktails and the best cheeseburger in town at GOTHAM at The Still. When it overturned a 150-year-old Tasmanian distilling ban in the 1990s, LARK inspired a groundswell of new whisky-making across the state - and we, the spirits-drinking public, are the lucky beneficiaries. Each distillery is unique in its house style, but all share the same enviable access to pure water, local barley, and cool-climate maturing conditions. Special mentions go to Waubs Harbour on the east, Belgrove Distillery in the Midlands, and Cradle Mountain Whisky in the north-west, but you really can’t go wrong with any of the options on offer. No wonder Winter and whisky are basically the same word.
Stillwater Restaurant’s seafood chowder (image: Ness Vanderburgh)
WINTER BODIES ARE MADE IN WINTER
What happens under the puffer jacket stays under the puffer jacket, so now is the time to make the most of the calorie counting freeze, and lean right into the Winter bent for comfort food. It’s little secret that Tasmania produces some of the country’s best dairy, and it should be equally understood that an evening in front of the fireplace is incomplete without several slabs of cheese. Between Coal River Farm, Wicked Cheese, Pyengana Dairy, Ashgrove Cheese, Grandvewe, Bruny Island Cheese Co., Bream Creek Dairy, Tongola Cheese, La Cántara Artisan Cheeses and more, the grazing platter game gets stronger as the weather gets cooler.
Away from home, oyster and scallop season is in full swing, so get to the east coast for Freycinet Marine Farm’s signature scallop pie - a homage to these little gems of the sea, folded through a rich velouté sauce, and encased in a decadent crème fraiche pastry. Winter also serves up a mean chowder, with two of the best being a pink eye potato and fennel-laced bowl at Launceston’s Stillwater Restaurant, and the novelty of a filled cob loaf at Mures on the Hobart waterfront.
For sweets? The Agrarian Kitchen Kiosk’s make-your-own s’mores bundles are made for toasting to gooey perfection around the fire pits, and on until the end of August. And don’t snooze on Kenyak, the darling of Tasmania’s chocolate scene, and available in boutique quantities from some of the island’s favourite hospitality and homewares venues, or online.
Eat the carbs, add more butter, and don’t skip dessert. Love you, Winter.
