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The narrative of Tasmania’s Huon Valley is beautifully simple. It spans rivers, orchards, forests, towns sans gentrification, friendly locals and, to a lesser extent, homes where smoke from chimneys drifts without purpose when the yachts on the nearby bays are becalmed.

Water views are a constant from the Huon and on those days when sails are as limp as the English cricket team, you will occasionally be able to track a skipper’s agitation while sipping coffee somewhere. A somewhat less coveted feature than the water is the great piles of firewood that fuel the insouciant smoke. Within wheel barrowing distance of homes as well as pubs, cafes and B&Bs are truly impressive quantities of split firewood, most of it stacked neater than a newsreader’s suit.

You’ll doubtless be pleased to know that these harbingers of warmth aren’t regularly pointed out by the locals when visitors stop to ask for advice on things to do. But when you nestle up to a fire in a pub or restaurant after you’ve been out watching either whales, dolphins, seals or albatross (or skippers) somewhere by the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, or have been walking through caves or forests or even tasting wines in vineyards, the knowledge that just out back is a pile of wood that promises more warmth than Bambi stirs a surprising amount of satisfaction.

It’s quite a neat trick really. Somehow it compels you to order another glass of the local pinot noir after dinner and, on occasions, at lunch. Once when travelling around Tassie I met a pair of Queensland women who giggled that they couldn’t drive past a café or pub if there was smoke coming out of the chimney. But for all that fire-side repartee Tassie isn’t as cold as you might imagine. It’s about the same distance from the equator as Rome.

The Huon region is just 30 minutes south of Hobart. Somewhat unsurprisingly Huonville is the region’s unofficial capital and while the name is uninspired its provenance is far more fetching.
Captain Huon de Kermandec (often spelt Kermandie) was second in command in a French expedition lead by Admiral Bruni D’Entrecasteaux that was dispatched in search of a fellow explorer (La Perouse) who, in the manner of lost captains, was a little tardy returning from the New World.

Kermandec was captain of the Esperance, D’Entrecasteaux the Recherche. In 1792 they sailed to Van Diemen’s Land, reportedly, to escape the battering of those regularly mischievous twins the Roaring Forties and the Southern Ocean.

Captain Huon spent only about five weeks in Van Diemen’s Land but must have been one hell of a nice bloke. His eponym is all over the place. Right by Huonville runs the Huon River. Huon pines, one of the slowest growing and longest living plants in the world, grow on its banks.

At Recherche Bay in the south-west pocket of Tassie the French planted what is believed to be the first European vegetable garden in Tasmania. This was six years before Matthew Flinders circumnavigated the island and quite the precursor to an industry whose legacy considerably out muscles Captain Kermandec.

Apple orchards ran over the hills and through the valleys and Huon orchardists produced enough apples for grandmas the world over to turn out scrumptious pies for eons. The apple prices tumbled late in the 20th century and locals set about expanding their repertoires.

Bruny Island Charters, Peppermint Bay, the Tahune Airwalk and Hastings Caves are some of the region’s stars. The area is also renowned for its produce including mushrooms, wine, seafood, and cheeses. In what is at once a triumph and a pointer for a Royal Commission, road side stalls sell seasonal fruits at a fraction of the cost of supermarkets.

Bruny Island is just off the coast of the Tasmanian ‘mainland’ and is easily accessed via a short ferry ride from Kettering. Bruny Island Charters takes visitors in search of those whales, seals and dolphins. This is no sedate tour. It’s a thrilling ride in a powerful boat where the skippers have the wherewithal to get their passengers into sea caves and between narrow passages at the base of towering sea cliffs.

Other watery pursuits include Huon Jet Boats. A jet boat shoots over the river and blasts passengers 12 km up stream. The river becomes a thrilling obstacle course of fallen trees and disturbingly shallow parts – the boat has a draft of just 4inches – at speeds up to 50mph. Other big numbers come in the 360-degree spins.

The family friendly Peppermint Bay restaurant puts the best produce of the Huon Valley on show. The menu focuses on local seasonal produce including organic beef, saffron, abalone, farm cheeses, and smoke house fish. The restaurant, bar and provedore are housed in a stylish contemporary building that would be a monte for first place if the region ever decides to hold a beauty contest for bricks and mortar.

November 2007 marked the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the Hastings Caves. The 40 million year-old dolomite caves were discovered in November 1917 by timber workers. The largest cave was named after a former Tasmanian governor (Sir Francis Newdegate) has some 1.6 km of passageways. There are fully guided tours to about 400 metres of upper cave. One section is known as the cathedral and you’ll understand why when you see it. The lighting in the Newdegate Cave is subtle and beautiful. Massive stalactites hang from the roof of the cave like chandeliers. The stalagmites, well, they’re uncannily phallic.

Near the cave entrance is a thermal spring which supplies water year-round at 28 degrees Celsius. There is a spring-heated swimming pool. Just like a bath, steam rises from it on cold days.
Other points of interest on the Huon Trail are the charming towns of Franklin, Woodbridge and Geeveston. Franklin is forging a foodie-haven reputation. With its waterside cafes – the Huon River runs by Franklin – mark it down as a coffee or lunch stop at least.

Geeveston is gatekeeper to the Tahune AirWalk, an ingenious conglomerate of steel almost half a kilometre long where some walk ways are suspended 48 metres high. There are bird-like views of southern forests, the Hartz Mountains and the Picton and Huon Rivers.

While in Geeveston keep an eye out for the wooden sculptures of local identities. One is of Jessica Hannabury (1883-1981) a milliner who gave clothes to hard-up local kids. Jessica learnt to drive at 63 and though she never motored faster than second gear Jessica, wonderfully, kept a hay bale at the end of the garage to help with her braking.

The Huon Trail also loops to Cygnet and Woodbridge, past more fabulous water outlooks and by Fleurtys Cafe. This modern café by Birchs Bay is set under gum trees and by the property’s essential oil distillery. You can walk off lunch through the nearby forest. The trails can be a thoroughly gentle introduction to Tasmania’s mighty World Heritage Area in the great and glorious chunk of Tassie’s south-west.

Consider yourself warned however. There won’t be any smoke. Fires aren’t permitted in the WHA.

Notes from the Island
www.discovertasmania.com is a comprehensive guide to the island
www.tasmania4adventure.com.au

The information was correct when published in 2008. Prices and information may have changed.