The Tasmanian Guide To Father’s Day Gifts & Experiences
If the dad, father figure, partner or other special person in your life would rather do something uniquely Tasmanian than unwrap another tie this Father’s Day, you’re in the right place. As the first Sunday in September approaches (Sunday 6th, for those playing at home), we’re looking to some of our favourite local businesses for gifts with a little more thought behind them - from long lunches and beer and whisky tastings, to handmade furniture, ocean adventures, and a few things with which to get his hands dirty. Here’s the edit on how to treat Dad to a little more of Tassie.
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The Agrarian Kitchen Kiosk (image: Anna Critchley)
EAT WELL, OBVIOUSLY
With Father’s Day falling just as Spring gets underway, a dad-and-me lunch on The Agrarian Kitchen’s front lawns is a bit of a no-brainer. Take the drive out to leafy New Norfolk and settle in with your choice of goodies from the Kiosk (every Friday-Sunday, 11am-2pm). While the menu is ever-changing based on seasonal produce, chances are very high that there will be something right up your dad’s alley when recent offerings have included a venison and red wine pie, and a passionfruit curd-stuffed finger bun. For something a little fancier, run-don’t-walk to get your name on one of the last tables available at The Agrarian Kitchen’s award-winning restaurant, or splash out on a gift certificate for the special guy in your life to use on one of the enterprise’s interactive cooking classes.
Even if staying in is more up your dad’s alley, a man still needs to eat. Let your imagination run wild with a hamper of local goodies to indulge in from the comfort of a couch: think bread and pastries from Pigeon Whole Bakers and Bread + Butter, cheeses from Bruny Island Cheese Co., Ashgrove or La Cántara, and incredible hazelnuts from north-west Tassie’s Hazelbrae. Or just lean into every dad’s sweet tooth, and do a sweep of Kenyak’s guide to gifting its range of handmade Tasmanian chocolates. Bonus points for over-ordering - guess you’ll just have to keep some for yourself.
LARK Distillery (image: Lara Christie)
POUR HIM SOMETHING GOOD
For the Dad who believes the perfect present is best served cold, put together a bespoke six-pack (or, more ambitiously, a whole case) of Tasmanian craft beer. In Hobart, independent retailers Cool Wine and Hop Vine & Still specialise in boutique brews, while Launceston’s Crown Cellars knows - and stocks - more than a beer or two. If interactivity is on the cards, make the gift an outing. Tasmania’s craft beer scene has grown into something well worth drinking your way around, with breweries and taprooms all over the state offering mixed paddles and, in some cases, behind-the-scenes tours. Our guide to Hobart’s beer scene is a good place to start building an itinerary fit for your dad … and his favourite child, if you’re lucky.
If his preference for amber liquids runs more towards whisky than beer, local pioneer LARK Distilling Co. has Tassie covered. Spoil Dad with an award-winning bottle of something from LARK’s signature range, or chip in with the family to go all out on the Pontville Exclusive, a just-launched, never-to-be-repeated release that should probably go straight to the pool room. The whisky experience isn’t limited to product, either - a tasting at LARK Cellar Door, or an evening of cocktails and the city’s best cheeseburger at GOTHAM at The Still are the kinds of in-person options that make a gift as much about quality time together as what’s in the glass.
NovoTHOR® full body red light therapy at Dr Daniel Tan & Associates (image: Alivia Rose)
HELP HIM TAKE A LOAD OFF
Even the dad with his own man-shed and favourite pair of slippers needs a little nudge towards self-care. Help him lean into his softer side with a little something from Richmond Botanicals Co. - a jar of Salt Blend Bath Soak will essentially pick him up from wherever he is, walk him to the tub, and put him in it, formulated as it is with traditional bathing ritual mineral salts. To really lock in the relaxation, bundle in the Magnesium Bath and Body Oil - it’s the ultimate at-home hack for tired legs, shoulders, feet, or anywhere else that needs it. More comfort for dad, fewer “my back’s killing me” complaints for you to listen to. Everyone’s a winner.
If you’re up north, let the tech do the work by treating your dad to a gift voucher for Dr Daniel Tan & Associates, where he can take his pick from a number of Tasmania-first biohacking innovations, designed to optimise performance, recovery and overall wellbeing. A gift voucher gives your special guy the freedom to choose from NovoTHOR® full body red light therapy, AirPod™ mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and more. Heck, let the man treat himself to a tailored RATIONALE facial. Father’s Day is no time to judge.
Scott Van Tuil (image: web)
MAKE HOME A LITTLE MORE HIM
If you’re looking for a gift with genuine heirloom potential, look to Tasmanian designer-maker Scott Van Tuil, whose furniture and homewares are beautifully considered, locally rooted, and made to be lived with. We have our eyes firmly fixed on the ReCast Candelabra in polished bronze, and particularly like the idea of it being a gift for dad that will inevitably be passed down to, well, us.
For something a little more browse-and-discover, set him loose in one (or more) of Tassie’s excellent independent homewares stores. In Hobart, LUC and Alma Supply Store have things covered, while our edit of Launceston’s best homewares shopping takes in the likes of Hope & Me, ecoco, Inside Home & Gifts and other local loves - all packed with things he probably won’t know he “needs” until he sees them.
Blue Derby Mountain Bike Trails (image: Tim Bardsley-Smith)
GET OUT THERE
Whether or not he’s actually any good at it, most dads claim some kind of spiritual connection with golf. In southern Tassie, 7 Mile Beach Golf opened late last year, and has quickly become one of the most highly coveted courses in the state for its spectacular coastal dunes and diverse greens. Book a tee time for dad and send him on his way, or make an event of it by joining him in the often very frustrating - but mutually bonding - pursuit of the par.
Further out along the Tasman Peninsula, a Wild Ocean Tasmania tour makes for an excellent excuse to get dad (and anyone else who’ll come for the ride) out of the house and onto the water. Departing from Eaglehawk Neck, the small adventure-style vessel heads along the coastline, with sea saves, cliffs, seals and seabirds on the itinerary - with dolphins and whales to boot, if you get the timing right.
And, for the guy whose idea of relaxation involves a mountain bike, a bunch of mates, and several kilometres of heart-racing terrain, it’s over to you to organise a weekend in adventure-loving Derby. A Floating Sauna Lake Derbygift voucher will make sure his schedule allows for some semblance of downtime. Set on the shores of Lake Derby, the sauna accommodates up to five guests, with both shared and private sessions available. After all, between chasing his own toddler and chasing thrills on two wheels, every dad needs to just sit down and sweat occasionally.
The Agrarian Kitchen’s seedling sale (image: Dearna Bond)
TIME TO TINKER
If your dad considers a trip to the hardware store a legitimate recreational outing, you’re in luck. Set him a budget at Tasmanian-owned Tool Trends Tasmania or Nubco, and let him loose on whatever project has been languishing in the shed - or, if you’re feeling particularly generous, contribute to the next big-ticket tool he’s been quietly researching for the past six months. For something a little more out-of-the-box, book a session at Glazed and Confused and make something together. With studios in Hobart and Launceston, the pottery crew will have you getting your hands dirty, learning something new and, hopefully, producing something Dad will proudly display at home rather than quietly relegate to the back of a cupboard.
For the dad whose happy place is somewhere between the garden shed and the veggie patch, a pot, plant or other green-leaning acquisition from a good local nursery should do the trick. Down south, seek out Redbreast Plants, New Town Station Nursery, Harmony Garden Centre, and The Agrarian Kitchen’s Spring seedling sale (Saturday 5 September) while up north, Fletcher & Co. Nursery is well worth a visit for everything from garden staples to something a little more unusual. Better yet, go together, let Dad pick out his latest botanical obsession, then offer to help him plant it. You’ll get quality time, he’ll get a new project, and everyone gets to pretend this was the plan all along.
