tasmania: huon valley food adventure

We love Tassie for its produce! Today we had the morning in Cygnet at Lotus Eaters. It wasn't long after breakfast but who says you can't have a Lotus Eaters banana cake with creamed cheese icing, clotted cream and fresh plums for second breakfast? No one. Ever. I don't need lunch!

I just love Cygnet. Local producers supply as much of the ingredients as possible to meet the needs of the cafe. A few doors down Cygnet Garden Larder provides the ultimate in grocery shopping  for local (& consequentially seasonal) produce. We came home with this huge box of groceries (potatoes, silverbeet, an avocado, two capsicums, huge head of broccoli, lemons, tomatoes, two punnets of strawberries and two organic hunza pies) for a little over $50! 

There was a welcome downpour which sent us in to the homeopath. They deal with the homeopathics behind the counter but the front-of-shop is for fun - secondhand and new books and beautiful European toys. Can you imagine our two kids playing quietly from the toy box while we perused? Well they weren't but it wasn't that sort of book shop. In my bundle of purchases I bought The Field Guide to Tasmanian Produce. The book should really be named The Field Guide to Tasmanian Produce and a Million Reasons Why You Should Move to Tassie. 

This praying mantis enjoyed reading up about local food tonight in the camp kitchen! 

Making our way back to our caravan, we stopped at the Pagan apple farm cellar door for juice & cider. 

We barely ventured more than 20km from our roaming home today but we had a really delightful day full of good food, people and inspiration. 

huon valley tasmania

I had a day to spare before I flew home from Hobart. My first stop was Jackman & McRoss (interesting article) in the (Paddington like) upmarket Battery Point. My piccolo was good and although I was dubious about having a warm bread roll with butter and cream for breaky the bread was so fresh and the housemade Tassie raspberry jam so delicious I brought home a jar! It was only upon leaving that I noticed there was a second specials blackboard in the larger dining room. It was busy so I did have to wait a good five minutes to be served but it was all worth it and why not slow up for a bit and enjoy the moment?!

Salamanca Arts Centre is a short stroll from Jackman & McRoss and I was pleasantly surprised by the shops that run along the old wharf. Matthew Evans' shop 'a common ground' is stocked with local produce and little boutiques with homemade clothing are a must visit. The prices are what you'd expect from touristy shops though so browsing is not a bad option if you're watching your coins!

A friend lent me her (husband's) car so I took the Huon Highway down to theHuon Valley. With a quick visit to the Huonville Tourist Information Centre(thanks helpful Louise) I was on my way to apple country.

Geeveston was my first stop after getting some advice from the very helpful Louise at the Huonville Visitors Centre. Geeveston is a small town with a lot of history (that's Tasmania for you!. Not far from the Tahune Air Walk (I'm saving that for when we visit again with the children). The town boasts strong ties with the timber industry. I visited Makers on Church Street and the Southern Design Centre which both showcase local artisans. There's a platypus viewing platform within the town's reserve and the best times to catch a glimpse of a platypus are morning and late afternoon.

Back up the Huon Highway I turned at Huonville to head to Cygnet which is the closest town to Matthew Evans' Puggle Farm. It's a stunning drive through the countryside.

I do believe in fate. For some reason I 'needed' to head to Lotus Eaters and I found out once I arrived. I got talking to a couple of locals. I'd missed lunch so I ordered blueberry cheesecake & a piccolo. The locals were still devouring an enormous plate of curry and I mentioned I'd missed lunch. They kindly offered me some curry. I know this may sound odd but you can see why I said "yes please!"

We got talking and it turned out the gentleman was part of a family who lived near our property on the Far South Coast of NSW. Next thing I knew I'd accepted an invitation to their beautiful farm at Woodbridge. Takeaway cheesecake it was!

I couldn't have had this day of adventure if I wasn't traveling alone. Sometimes you get to experience gifts in life because you're in the right place at the right time and open to an adventure.

I returned to Hobart along the coast road in the early evening pleased with having made the most of the daylight hours and content with life.