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Barefoot summers. Days spent running about the beach and the caravan park, and toeing it to the shop each morning to get the paper for dad. In time, tender pink soles would harden so that searing paths and days foraging through sand dunes and bush were only occasionally accompanied by the cry of pain caused by sharp twigs or seashells.

To the end of those gloriously long school-free days mum would take me to get school shoes fitted and the tight and shining leather felt almost as foreign to me as it did to Tom Sawyer. Even then, as obnoxious as that leather felt it made me smile. I knew I had been on a great escape.

These days experts probably frown upon nudie-feet children yet no matter what anyone says, going barefoot is still inextricably linked to summer and escape. Even for adults.
Simon and Karin Gilbertson began Barefoot Adventures about a year ago. Simon is a trained chef and spent 4½ years at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne. He has worked in the Cook Islands and Sweden but these days takes far more interest in the sea than the helter-skelter of a commercial kitchen.

Simon goes fishing most days when the weather permits. He catches rock lobster and salmon for his family from the runabout he launches from the boat ramp at Binalong Bay. He employs his skills on the water and those from the kitchen in Barefoot Adventures.

It’s about 35 km from Binalong Bay to Eddystone Point and Simon can drop you off anywhere on this extraordinary Bay of Fires Coast. The captain’s cooking skills come in handy as Simon and Karin prepare gourmet hampers that can accompany your barefoot day on the Bay of Fires. It’s all Tassie produce. From the rock lobster and oysters to the cheeses. If you’ve got a sweet tooth make sure you ask for the chocolate cake. You’ll be surprised how well it goes with the white sand of a near deserted beach between your toes.

Simon will drop you off at the beach of your choice and pick you up towards the end of the day. If you want to try your hand at hunter-gathering Simon will stick around and take you snorkelling for abalone.

At nearby St Helens, the waterfront resort of Tidal Waters has a new owner. Eric Bennett has moved to St Helens from Canberra. Before getting into finance Bennett worked front of house in some of Sydney’s then fashionable restaurants. Eric is just five weeks into the new job but his plans for Tidal Waters include turning one of the two restaurants into a place of fine dining featuring the best of the outstanding local produce. “We want to put Tidal Waters on the map in terms of good food,” offers Bennett. His Chinese-Malaysian partner, Helen, will oversee the opening of an Asian-style eatery in the bistro. Another feature of Tidal Waters will be live music on the large water-side deck on a Sunday afternoon.

There are Visitor Centres at St Helens and Triabunna that can give you the inside word on the east coast, including the stylish new B&Bs populating the coast. The visitor centre at St Helens also has a museum with more than 1000 pieces. There are artefacts from pioneer farmers, colonial sailing days, Chinese tin miners and local Aborigines.

You can get your own preview of much of the coast from Maria Island. The entire island is national park and Bishop and Clerk (630 metres), the historic island’s second highest peak, is its most astonishing point.

The summit is about two hours’ walk from the colonial-era settlement of Darlington. Beyond the settlement and the Cape Barren geese and wombats, the last stage to the top is a taxing scramble over scree and then chunky hurdles of dolerite.

The peak is made up of great stone pillars, the tops of disturbingly sheer sea cliffs. When the vertigo disappears you can stretch out on a section and from somewhere near the cruising altitude of local eagles, admire the uncommonly spectacular views of a great chunk of the east coast all the way to the Freycinet Peninsula.

On top of Bishop and Clerk you probably won’t get the lowdown on the fabulous restaurants in Swansea, or the word on the brilliant wines from Freycinet Vineyard. But the notion to walk barefoot on some of the distant yet gloriously shimmering beaches might wake.

Visit www.discovertasmania.com for more information.